Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1886-05-13
PRfNorr1Es ar rHr KNraHrs,

ANV4ELAb OF THE hHf6HTS.
Prevention OF strikes and AdJu.I-
ment of Difficultics-work Enough |
10 Co Around Wanted = Land
Tenure by Occupancy.
Messrs. J. "A. Wright, Ferrisand Mulvey of
Executive Board District Assembly No. !,
Knights of Labor, were in Wilmington
for few hours Monday, and were
seen during their stay by GAZETTE
representative, at whose request Mr..
Wright submitted to the ordeal of an
interview. Mr.. Wright is young man
of pleasing address, fluent speaker and
evidently keen observer. He is an in
huential man in the organization, is past
master workman of district assembly No.
!, the oldest in the order, present master
workman of local assembly No. /, and
delegate TO the approaching general con
yention of the order. He spoke without
hesitation, choosing his words we'll and
appeared perfectly able 10 keep on talk
ing for hours without repeating himself.
During the interview he exhibited letters
recently received bearing on labor
troubles, one of which was expressive of
thanks for his good Offices in smoothing
over difficulty and another contained
Wright should come TO his place of bust
ness as soon as he could as he feared
trouble was brewing among his men.
THE PRINCIPLES OF THE ORDER.
"The first object of our order" said
Mr.. Wright, sis really TO abolish poverty"
We believe that injustice and poverty are
the parents of nearly all crime, and, il we
can remove these errors, poverty, which
makes crime, can be removed. Conse-
quently our work is really Christian
work, because, if poverty brings forth
crime and crime is sin, If we can remove
the cause of sin we are doing Christian
work.
"The principles of our order are based
upon justice. We believe that there are
THREE FUNDAMENTAL ERRORS
in society that must be corrected.
First comes the land question. We
believe that every man should own his
own home, his own land and Preside and
have the feelings of a man-that land
should be owned by occupancy instead of
by fee-simple.
Secondly comes the money question.
The government should issue the money
to the people direct without the interyen-
ton OF banks or corporations of any
kind.
The last and greatest error is our
time OF labor. We must, in fact, adjust
the time of labor to suit the demand,
thereby giving to each man Mt all times
an equal chance to earn his share of the
total amount that is produced. If we can
| we would take the idle men of the mar
ket and give them chance to earn liy-
ing, instead of having them rapping at
the doors of workshops, mills and fac
tories where the industrious people are
working, and not give them a chance TO
demand work for LESS than those inside
are working, thereby cutting down the
wages OF those who are working, CON-
polling them in turn to go somewhere
else and cut down the wages Of others
a course which men who have analysed
this subject from scientific standpoint
have discovered is actually injurious to
the whole industrial world.
1.-The fact that this order is beneficial
to the working people we must judge by
the results. In any enterprise we have
nothing to go by in the future but by the
past. These results show that those of ut
who keep ourselves posted in regard to
labor and legitimate capital discover this
| suee ~ ci6ohlNcu luuOI We
PREVENT MORE STRIKES
than would occur with disorganized labor
This can hardly be believed by tn,
masses; for the reason that the com
munity knows how many strikes occur
because they are published, but it doe,
not know how many strikes are pre-
vented, because they are not published
The executive board of district assembl,
: No. being the first executive board ant
Z the first district in the order and the mos
conservative and most successful of any
of them, we know that we have prevented
! as many as ~ strikes in one week wher,
, probably not more than three occurred
1--WE believe that an adjustment o
these difficulties must come, and mus
come soon, and judgment demands tina
they shall be peaceful and this is wha
, the knights of Labor mean. 1t is tn
hope of the people; the hope of the age
in fact the perpetuity of our institution
! depends upon the Knights of Labor con
= trolling this country.
LAND TENURE. 49,"
| 1--WE all know that land is q limited
| quantity. Population is not. Then, il
| the end, somebody is going to get left
( Now, if we could limit population ant
t there was land enough for all to bu,
1 what he could in fee-simple, why we d.
: not legislate for ages to come. / doubt i
s there is any question more UNIVERSAL,
g misunderstood than the land question
: 1t is question you can hardly explain il
r an hour, because the people are not pre-
t pared to hear man upon this question
!, 1t is like the money question-it is to
} dry. .-....-. ISL +"
Suppose we look at New York City
h man can hardly expect to own his ow
d house there unless he is prepared to pa
# from $4,000 to $4,000 for the land O
IS which it is built, or to agree to pay tn
|. equivalent in ground rent. In Brookly
) there are probably 10000 vacant lots, t
say nothing of those on Manhatta
Island. Now one would think the in
crease in population would cover thes
L vacant lots in single season, and
10 would if there were not barrier to th
d production of houses. This is the barrie
II before man can get lot on which I
d build he must pay this enormous SUI
r and, after he has built the house, he
ie taxed for thus adding to the wealth c
,r the community while the man who own
a half-a-dozen or one of these vacant lot
II can hold on to the same until through th
l. increased population he gets probably
o. hundred times what he paid for it and !
y not taxed accordingly. Now hold thai
,r if that man will not sell his lot to the il
d coming population for say $4,000, Ii
Is should be taxed for $4,000. II he wi
n not sell it tax him for its full value.
y WHAT THEY WANT.
4 with regard to what the Knights {
" Labor really are working for, we deman
n that every man should be willing-ever
!. employer should be willing-to pay fc
what he gets; that he should desire I
r. give full value received. He who want
r. two dollars worth of work for one dolla
a, is no honest man, and any employer VIII
rs wants his people to work to such an e,
W tent that their lives are burdens to thei
Of is utterly heartless. We claim that III
Y toll of the whole world should contil
ic ually decrease. The people of to-da
rs have to face rival, Us Louis Blanc ono
g. said, that never thinks, that is neve
in hungry, never sick, never tired and thu
le pays no taxes and there is n
ut standing up against it in competition
10 The only thing left for til
le working people is to control it and &c
~ part of the product from it. OF what us
le are the inventions of the nineteent
le century if no burdens are lifted from il
dustry if no additional comforts fin
their way to the homes of labor? Reason
IF, able labor should be source of Joy, pre-
n III cd xxtaa