Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1886-04-01
HrsgoRY on kxl aRrs or aNBoR.


Wheu the Order Was 0r9amzzcd-
Wise Are Eligible 10 membership.
Nss York Aioruing Jaurnai.
Among the great patches Of mail which
reach The Journal office every day there
are scores of letters of inquiry from
mechanics, laborers, working girls, and
in some cases, from employers, who want
to know something about the knights of
Labor and how to gain membership.
The organization was started on Thanks
giving-Day, 1863, In Philadelphia by
Uriah s. Stephens, garment cutter, who
had six other garment cutters associated
with him. They formed what was after
wards known as Local Assembly No. Of
| the Knights OF Labor. The order was
confined to garment cutters, but event
ually other branches of industry were
organized under the shield of the order.
The organization grew slowly until
january list, 1878. IL was all that time
without recognized head. Through the
| Efforts of a few energetic members u
general convention was held in Reading,
Pa, on january LIST, 1878, when the
| general assembly was formed with Mr..
stephens as Grand Muster Workman and
Charles IL. Litchmnn Of Marblehead,
Mass, as Grand Secretary.
| There were about 400 branches of the
order formed up to that time. They
worked secretly until January LIST, 1882,
when the existence of the order was pub
licly proclaimed.
i Since that time the growth of the
Knights of Labor has been wonderful and
enormous. So great has been the increase
that the chief officers have decided not to
allow any more branches to be started
until April 10Th.
To gain admission q person must be
| engaged at Some honorable branch of in
dustry. Both sexes are admitted to men,
bership. As a rule IL is useless to apply
for admission, because 1t is rule of the
order to select members. Thus person
may be proposed and rejected without
ever knowing il. Men are usually pro-
posed by friends who judge them worthy
of fellowship.
Business men can join. In an assembly
100 strong,75 members must be employees.
Meetings, as q rule, are held weekly, but
some assemblies do not meet 80 often. II
is mistake to suppose that the order
favors strikes, as one of the orders fun.
damental rules is that labor difficulties
must be settled by arbitration. If trade
orders strike without first trying arbi
tration it will not get any financial sup
port from the order.
The order Is not oath bound. Eacl
member takes a solemn pledge and if ht
violates it ho is expelled and blacklistet
all over the country. Violation of the
rules renders member liable to II sls
pension ranging from one month to iiv,
years.
There are two kinds of assemblies
trade and mixed assemblies. A trad,
assembly is composed of men engaged
at one special branch of industry.
mixed assembly is composed of mechanics
, laborers, clerks, professional men and 81
on.
ii fla printer is willing to join, and if tn
printers have an assembly convenient tt
. his home, he must join the printers as
! sembly. If not he h ut liberty to join
, mixed assembly. The same rule apple
to all branches of industry.
Local assemblies are governed by dis
trict assembly which may include five o
zoo local assemblies. The district assem-
! bly, is in turn governed by the genera
assembly.
n The order Is benevolent, protective an,
educational. The expenses of member
are very light. A man may admit tina
0 he is member, but he is not allowed {
: give the name of other members withou
D their consent.