Audubon County Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Audubon Co., Iowa) 1885-1894, 1886-10-14
KNIGHTS OF LABOR.
A Day OF Music, Marching and Speech
Making ut Richmond.
Five Thousand knights In the Pro.
cession- streets Crowded with
Strangers ana spectators.

StEunscrs anu SpectntOTss
RICHMOND, Oct. la.--The city was given up
10 the Knights Of Labor demonstration yes
teriay. Thousands OF strangers are In tho
city, aud the streets are crowded. About 8,
0)0 Knights, with many bands were in line,
Very few white members of tho local assem-
blies participated In the parade, owing TO the
presence Of coored Knights In the procession,
| Good feeling prevails as far as can be seen.
At the fair grounds the programme was
broken by number OF disappointments,
among which being the failure of Senator elect
| Daniel, Gov Lee, Mayor Darlington and
others to put in an appearance. They were
booked to speak. a. NJ. W. Powderly not
feeling WE'LL left the grounds early. Speeches
were made only by delegates Ralph Beau
mont, OF EmIra, and Charles II. Litchman. OF
Marblehead, Mass They urged the Knights
10 demand and receive fair wages, aud to de.
| part from both Of the old political parties
| About 1000 people paid 25 cents each aud
were admitted to tho fair grounds, where the
| entertainment was held. The banquet this
evening promises TO be successful,
Yesterday was day of music, marching.
| speech-making amusement for the Knights Of
Labor assemb cd here and the nightwas spent
| In banqueting and dancing. Tho demonstra-
lions have been successful In every respect. A
| good dc al of disappointment was expressed by
| the thousands who assembled at the Fair
grounds yesterday at the conclusion OF the
parade. u. s. Senator Daniel, Governor Lee,
Mayor Darlington, Grand Master Powderly aud
many others were adyer Used to speak. Mr.,
Daniel sent message TO the committee on at
rangements stating that II being this Tooth an
niversary OF the city charter of Lynchburg no
would deliver an address there. Coy. Lee and
Mayor Darlington were kept away by official
| business, aud soon after arriving at the fair
grounds Mr.. Powdcrly became III and returned
| to his hotel. There were two speeches deiv'
| cred by other gentlemen, however Ralph
Beaumont, delegate from Elmira, spoke
| first. lie was introduced by VIM. II, Miller,
editor Of the labor organ of this city, and
talked from the seat OF u carriage In front of
| the main building In the fair grounds. There
were 5000 or 600O people on the grounds and
| us many moro on the outside who hesitated TO
| pay the 25c admission fec. After facilitating
| the citizens OF the Old Domlnion's capital on
| the success Of the demonstration, Mr.. Beau
mont said he was reminded by tho remark able
| contrast Of the scene about him Of the gather
| ing In Reading, Pa, In 1878, Of 32 men who
| organized and put In motion the great order
here represented. This organization, said he,
Is not voluntary one Necessity created II
and made IT grow He denounced class lcgls'
lation, saying IL put the wealth In the bands
| of few, and made monopoly and oppression.
Abraham Lincoln declared this TO be "a gov
ornment of the people, by the people, but
now, said Mr.. Beaumont "witbin % years
| from the time Of this utterance we find It a
government of the corporations, by the corpo'
rations, and for the corporations. The Knights
| of Labor" he said, 'believcd as one that tho
government can be trusted In the hands OF the
| people. This condition." he said, ''remInds
| me Of the explanation of II made by a states
| man recently, ia clearing away the cause OF
| the oppression on our statutes He said that
| our laws and rights came 10 us from England.
| They came, he observed, In two ships One
was loaded with the laws the other with the
rights. The ship bearing the laws arrived safe
| ly, but the one with the rights never found Its
way here"
Mr.. Beaumont denounced the press and the
| telegraph as combining against the labor Gle
mcnt. 1.-THE telegraph" he said, "throttled
| beneficial information and created damaging
statements" Ho painted at length the con
ditlon OF the anthracite coal miners of Penn.
aylyanis, saying that when he lived 1876 miles
| from the mines, he paid $3.50 ton for coal,
and the miners only received ten cents ton
| for mining 1t. The $40 went to the monopo-
| lists. The $780, 900 acres OF anthracite coal Is
| controlled by six corporations who had mort
gagged the fuel of generations unborn-aye OF
| generations a thousand years hence. lie
drew q pathetic picture by contrasting the
wives and daughters Of the corporation own
ers at the sea shore resorts, in luxury, while
| the poor miners amid gases and foul air,
worked their lives out away down In the
| bowels Of the earth, aud their families In poy-
| erty, living In slab shanties, yet the latter
| made II possible by industry and hard work
for the former to spend their lives In opulence
| and bllssful happiness. "W0rk your brains
| more" was his advice, "and you will have to
! work your hands less.n lie did not think the
| fact could be helped that Jay Gould had
| his Millions but thought the time had come
| for the knights to say, "Jay, let's quit now
and let's have another system" The speaker
called upon the knights TO patronIze their own
|
''they had an organ and the editor has 10 live
| In q garnet, and exist ON cheese and crackers"
There were many Interruptions by applause
and cries Of approval, and when Mr.. Beau
mont had concluded ut the end OF thirty min.
utes, Mr.. Chas. ii. Litchman, OF Marblehead,
Massachusetts,, was introduced as the "silyer
tongued orator Of the X. Of L." Mr.. Itch
mans address was more conservative than
| d ,aumonts. The economic questions which
| entered into the duties Of voters as well as
| laborers were dwelt upon. Laborers he said,
must be consumers as well as producers, yet
| they can do neither as they should, unless
| their com 1ensatIcn as laborers was equal to
| the rights guaranteed them by our form OF
government. Labor creates all values, and
| the laborers are entitled to a more equitable
share of values. They can only get this by
| standing together In body, as did the people
| OF the south or those OF the north In 1861.
Mr.. Litchman brought forth yells and cheers
from the colored people until the welkln rang
BY an allusion TO the race Issue raised here
during the convention. His hearers were large
ly composed Of colored people He said the
organ lzation Of the Knights Of Labor ought
not 10 be condemned for the act OF a single
nan, or the indiscretion OF few men In It,
There we're those In the order who did wrong,
and they were punished whenever found.
The Knights Of Labor,as an organization, stood
between monopoly and anarchy. He caution
ed the people against driving the laborers to
desperation, when It might lead to the execu-
lion OF 70o,0 900 In many cities, as well as the
eight men in Chicago. Recently / was
asked" he continued, "what, as Knights Of
Labor, we wanted. I replied that the good
book told us that the earth, and the fulness
thereof, was the Lords, and that as we were
the children of the Lord, we wanted our In
hertance. We wanted the earth" There
we're almost deafenlng cheers, which were re-
newed when Mr.. Litchman added: sand
more than this, we are going to have 1t"
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