The Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1885-1886, 1886-05-28
TAKING THINGS EASY.
THE KNIGHTS OF LABOR coNvEN-
TIoN NOT HuRRYING BUSINESS.

Much Debate Over the Executive Conn
mittee Keorganization-A Move ON the
Changers = Powderly Will Stay All
acknowledgement Leetured by Jar
rett and George.
CLEVELAND, Ohio, May, .S-When the
Knights of Labor convention assembled
Thursday morning the committee on laws
appointed at Wednesdays session, laid
number II propositions pertaining to the
government of the order before the DO iy.
The first proposition was the enlargement
of the executive board by the appointment
of six additional members, increasing the
board from five to eleven. An increase in
the number of the board is rendered neces
sary by the rapid growth of the order, which
is now at least twenty times as large as
when the executive board of i've members
was appointed
The proposition elected long discussion,
viii continued throughout the morning
and into the afternoon. There was unan-
unity of sentiment in favor of a
numerical increase of the board, the dis
cussion being on the number which should
be added and the manner of their selec-
ton The maximum number proposed was
one member from each state. The matter
was finally recommitted to the committee
The time consumed by the discussion
being so great, none of the other
propositions presented by the
committee were taken up The
nature of the other propositions is with
held until such time as they properly come
before the convention.
New committees were then appointed
One is the fraterhal committee, which was
instructed to prepare an address TO be pre-
sentel TO the National Grange at its next
session 1t is understood that the oh Jet of
this address will be to induce the farmers
OF the country to enroll themselves
in the Knights of Labor
The other committee is the committee GA
legislation. Its duty is to take charge of
all measures in which labor is interested,
now pending in, or may come before, con
gress. 1t was l; 80 p IN. when the conven-
vention, after having been in continuous
session from O'Clock in the morning, took
recess for the remainder of the day, in
order togive the committees an opportunity
20 devote the afternoon to the duties within
their jurisdiction.
In his address to the convention Wednes-
day morning Mr. Powderly said: The
multiplicity of strikes that have occurred
in the last six months have greatly low
cred our order in the public estimation.
of course great many strikes are attrio-
uted to us with which we should not be
credited, but on the other hand many are
charged TO us we are responsible for" In
closing he said: Il will 60 nowhere, l viii
see no one, / will attend to no other bust
ness until this convention is over. | pro-
pose to stay here and finish this business
if it takes all summer, and | want you to
be prepared to stay with me-"
John Jarrett, ex-president of the
Amalgamated Association of Iron and Stee
Workers, and Henry George spoke Wednes
day night at the American congress oil
churches on the reasons why the working
men distrust the church Mr.. Jarrett said
that Christ, himself carpenter, preached
equality to all, but the preachers of to-day
were loath to preach that the extortionel
| and oppres or who robs his men have M
| place in heaven. Henry George said thai
the workingman's hostility TO the church
was because he recognized the church as the
buwark of the oppressor of the laborers