Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1886-05-08
TEN THOUSAND MEMBERS, !.
The Order Of knights OF Labor in this
City.

TEN THOUSAND MEMBERS.
The Order OF knights Of Labor in this
City.
HOW THE FIRST ASSEMBLY WAS ORGANIZED
TALK WITH THE ORIGINAL KNIGHT-THE
TEACHINGS OF THE oRpER-ITs RAPID
GROWTH IN FIVE YEARS
There are many halls or meeting rooms in
this city provided with ante-rooms and doors
having little wickets, or traps, about on a leve;
with a mans mouth. At most any OF these
halls, on most any night, one can see men ap-
preaching these doors, and whispering some
thing through the wicket to the doorkeeper in
side. II he whispers the right word
The door is then closed, the wicket shut
down and the public represented
by the outsider sees and knows no more In
in session. 1.-The assemblies OF the Knights of
Labor in this city do not by any means COM
prise mechanics only" said member of the
representing nearly all vacations in our assem-
blies. You would be surprised if you walked
are in the order" The order is only five n years
were at first guarded as profound secrets. The
original Knight of Labor here was Mr.. Louis
Fay, OF the Piasterers assembly, who has been
and still continues most active worker in the
organization.
THE STORY OF THE ORDER HERE.
"1n 1873 and 49, said Mr.. Fay, when asked
by a STAR reporter for the story of the Knights
OF Labor in this city, "the plasterers' wages
here were $3.50 day. Other trades were about
In the same condition. was working then on
the Portland Flats building, and among the
One day he asked me If would dot like to go
into something that would benefit me and
He he 1a h
the name OF 1t, but II ! could get ten men to-
gether he would send a committee. from Balti-
more to organize them. The order was working
In secret at that time. Il was six months
before 1 could get ten men who agreed
Sd OF March, 1881, 1 had the ten piasterers to
meet at the corner of Sth and Z streets. had
sent word to the organizer in Baltimore that
mad ten men willing to join the order. A COM
mittee OF about twenty-five, who had come
over to see Garfield inaugurated obligated
GARFIELD inauguration. We formed then a tenn
Porary organization. On the 10Th of April fol-
lowing We had taken in sixty more plasterers
and formed permanent organization.
THE FIRST RESULTS.
ave worked along, them" continued Mr..
Fay, until about June 1st,when we demanded
$3.50 day and got 1t without any trouble.
In the following month We demanded half
dollar more and got it without trouble. Then
when work began on the east wing OF the State
department. building we asked haIf q dollar
more, and It was given TO us: l should
like to remark, right here, that In 1879 and 80
there was more WORK done here than in any
season for sixteen years, since / have been
WORKING Nkl at the trade: Every boss wanted
not advance wages. That shows that this talk
about the demand making an increase in
wages Is not founded in fact. After the plas-
terers were organized we worked along to Or
ganize other trades. At first it took great deal
of talking, of course. 1t took me six months to
get together the ten men To organize our
assembly. When / approached a man he
asked me what the organization was and had
TO tell him that did not know. He asked me
the name and had to say did not know it,
Soon afterwards, however, other assemblies
were organized. 1t has taken some hard work
To get the organization up TO its present posi-
ton. 1t has taken q great deal OF talking to
show the advantage OF the order to each and
trouble now is that we have to refuse many
who want TO come in. We won't take in any
who are about to strike, or who are coming in,
We think, in order to strike. The order Is op-
posed To strikes. 1t educates its members
against strikes and in favor of arbitration.
Inc strike and the boycott are commended
do Is 70 educate new assemblies, teach them
the principles of the order.
THE PRESENT STRENGTH OF THE ORDER.
1--WE have now" continued Mr.. Fay, "forty-nine
or fifty assemblies here. 1t is hard to keep track
OF them all. The smallest assembly has about
20 members; the largest about $50. AS near as
can come TO IL there are In all of the assem-
biies from $500 to 10000 members. The ave-
rage membership of each assembly is about
200. All the trades have been organized In
assemblies except the granite cutters, the brick
union There are tour ladies' assembiies.p The
cOlOred mechanics are organized in mixed
assembly. An assembly, composed of men of
dl1erent trades Is called q mixed assembly. All
OF the trades organized have benefited both in
An advance of wages and in the education OF
the members. There is no temperance Organi-
zatiOn on the face of the earth that has done as
much good work for temperance as the knights
or Labor. We will not admit any man who sells
liquor, and members are educated to abstain
from using liquor. II you could compare the
mechanics OF to-day with those offive years
hnd now every mechanic endeavoring to live in
as genteel a way as he can. Then know men
In the order who f1xe years ago could not Iead
They are striving to better their condition in
every way.
NO SYMPATHY WITH DYNAMITERS.
"Every strike In the country" said Mr.. Fay,
sand such things as these recent dynamite ex-
plosions are laid at the doors of the knights Of
Labor and of labor organizations. As for
strikes, the knights of Labor have nothing to
mite, We do not want such thing in this coun-
Try. We have our own remedy for grievances
In the ballot. We can elect men who will prop
erly represent us. When the order was first Or
ganiZed here i can remembe there were many
hot-headed fire-eaters who talked about doing
away with the dude militia and INDUCED i'm
other ideas OF that kind. Those men, however
have been educated and are to-day among the
most conservative men in the order.'
FEMALE PRISONERS IN THE POLICE COURT
The first prisoner arraigned before Judge Smell
tals morning was Maggie Hawkins, u cOlored
woman whom Officer Law arrested early this
morning at her service place on NJ street and
prevented her from attacking her employer
with Il Ratchet. The court imposed fine of So
or fifteen dayS-.ttOsc Beverly, a middle-aged
coiored woman, was arrested in South Wash
[ ngton by Officer Hutchinson, who testified that
Rose went into mans kitchen this
morning and threw his furniture out
into the street. Five dollars or df
teen days." said the judge.-Mary Green,
a cOiored servant, was arraigned for borrowing
a dollar from Molly Beall without her permits
sion. The judge ordered restitution and gave
her thirty days in Jail.
a MISSING BALTIMORE GIRL FoUND.-About
two weeks ago Barbara kiump, aged 15iyears
disappeared from her home in Baltimore
since which time her brother has been search
Ing tor her. The police authorities in this city
were notified, and this morning Detective Raff
found the girl in the house OF Annie Miller at
$40 18th street She was taken i'll charge by
her brother and taken back to her home
Don't USE IT.-Alcohol is used extensively In
the arts and Is of great assistance TO the careful
housewife in removing grease stains from any
kind of cloth fabric 1t acts by destroying the
Oil or grease, "cutting it, IL is commonly
called, and this is why no preparation for the
hair containing Alcohol should ever be used on
the head 1t destroys the natural OIL renders
the hair brash and liable to split and break of
on combing or brushing. II you want your
hair n 81 ich Ulo