The Portland daily press., 1886-10-18
THE WORK NEARLY DONE.
Business Before the Richmond
Convention.
important Move in Favor of Forming
Trade Assemblies.

RICHMOND, Va, Oct. 16.-More work has
ceen done today than at any time during the
session of the General Assembly OF the
knights of Labor When the General As
sembly met this morning it settled down to
the work of rejecting Dewey plan for the
establishment of a big labor Journal as the
organ of the order.
Mr. Powderly did not attend the covention
today, as he was feeling quite sick, having
been obliged to get out of bed last night to
go to the fire fer the purpose of saving the
records Charles III. Litch of Marblehead,
Mass, presided in the absence of Mr, Pow
derly.
The report of the committee on law which
had been laid on the table until after the
election was taken up and considered. This
report comprises the new constitution as re-
ported by the special committee on revision,
and also the report of the committee on law,
to which was referred the same. The part of
the constitution referring to the duties OF
the general executive officers was adopted as
reported, with the exception of few minor
changes, such as the providing for sworn
auditor, who shall audit monty the accounts
of general officers. 1t was the sense of the
convention that many propositions which
have been made and not acted upon in the
revision of the constitution shall be referred
back to the local assemblies for ratification.
There is little probability of radical change
in the bylaws or constitution at this present
session, as the opposition is too strong.
The opposition got in its fine work this af-
ternoon when it came to the question of
State assemblies, as provided in the report OF
the committee on law, all local and district
assemblies in any State were obliged to form
aState assembly. After some time had been
devoted to the discussion and the fact elicit
ed that the committee on law had changed
the report of the committee on revisisn so as
to preserve intact the district assemblies as
at present constituted the force and life the
whole question, was knocked out in one
round by the substitution of the word ''Inay"
in the place of shall, making the forming
of State assemblies optional on the local and
district assemblies in the State, which is just
where they stood before the convention met
here.
Representative Blaine of Maiden. Mass,
a rubber worker, introduced an amendment,
which, is full of solid meat and gives the
trade-unionist idea great lift in the order.
1t is conceived in about the following terms
and every word of it means business:
The general secretary shall, on the application
of five more local assemblies situated in two or
more different States, issue to them charter as
control that trade for the entire country.
This means that the State assembly idea
would be imperative, and the order of the
knights would in that time come to be gen.
eral confederation of national trade district
assemblies, similar in character to the great
national trades unions, the only difference
being the preamble or declaration of princi-
pies of the knights and the differences in
initiation and ritual. The idea is something
for which ardent trades-unionists have been
longing for years. The close binding togeth-
er of organized trades under some tie which
would not be easily stripped off at will when
ever it was for any individual trades inter-
est so to do. The words of the amendment
are imperative, "Shall issue charter, and
the general secretary has no discretionary
power. AS soon as five local assemblies had
made application for and received a charter,
they could force every local assembly in the
country to come into their national trade dis
trict assembly, as they would have full pow
er to regulate the condition of that trade
throughout the United States, and local as
semblies outside must in self-protectl0n
come into the national assembly, detatching
themselves from the district assembly to
which they are at present attached. This
went through with rush not voice being
lifted in opposition to it.
The only other matter of Importance con-
sidered was the fixing of the mileage of rep.
resentatives to the General Assembly at five
cents mile, to be hereafter paid from the
funds of the General Assembly, shop or
working card for the use of men working in
establishments controlled by the Knights OF
Labor, was authorized, the same to be issued
by the general secretary
A telegram sent from Chicago said that
L. B. Barry, who was sent to that city by
the convention to look after the pork-pack-
ers' lockout would return here before Mon
day, and would advocate boycott on Ar
mour 81 Co.'S meat, since that firm is the
head and front of this lockout.