The Superior times. [volume] (Superior, Wis.) 1870-1912, 1886-07-03
MONEY AND LAND.
The Demands of the Knights of fLsbOr of
the United States Upon Congress
Changes In Land Laws-Holidsys for
EIections-A Petition with 500, 900 Sig
natures.

natures.
The committee OF Knights OF Labor
appointed at the meeting OF the gen
eral assembly, held at Cleveland, O.,
have sent the following letter to Speak
er Carlisle. Copies have also been sent 1
TO Representative Randall and Nor
rison:
|'At a special session of the general
assembly of the Knights OF Labor,
held at Cleveland, O., May 25 TO June
1, 1886, 81 committee OF three, con-
sisting of Ralph Beaumont, James
Campbell and John j. Mccartney were
appointed to visit the capital during
the present session Of Congress for the
purpose OF asking that body to pass
laws to carry out the principles as
laid down IN our platform OF princi-
pies, a copy Of which we enclose you
The committee have selected a few
measures and embodied them IN a
memorial looking to that end, and
have sent out several thousand TO
their different branches throughout
the country for signatures and en-
dOrsements from the people and We
expect TO be able in few days to pre-
sent to your body these petitions,
with the endorsements OF at least
500, 900 signatures. The following is
a brief summary OF the petitions they
ask the passage OF:
Il. House bill No. 1887, repeating
the timber culture pIe-emption and
desert land acts.
80. House bill No. 1921, for the
adjustment OF railroad and other land
grants.
50. Bills forfeiting all railroad land
grants, the conditions of which have
not been strictly complied with.
81. House bill organizing the Terri
tory OF Oklahoma.
IS. Senate bill opening a portion OF
the Great Sioux reservation to settle
ment..
"6. Bills prohibiting aliens from
holding land in the United States.
u. Bill making presidential and
congressional election days, holidays,
and Furnishing bribery.
80. Bill directing the disbursement
OF at least 100000 treasury surplus
and substituting treasury notes for
banknotes, retired.
"The party OF which you are a mem
Der Is IN the majority by some forty
votes, and We, therefore, look to the
majority party to enact the necessary
legislation to make these measures a
part OF the law OF the land. In max
ing these requests we feel that we are
not enunclatlng any new doctrines,
but, on the contrary, we find the
groundwork of nearly every one OF
them laid down in the Democratic
platform adopted at Chicago in 1854,
on which the present majority Of the
dominant party was elected. We
find that paragraph three of our me-
MORALS Is fully covered by that doc
ument as follows:
I'VE believe that the public land ought,
so far as possible, to be kept as hOmesteads
for actual settlers; that all unearned lands
heretofore improvidently granted to rail-
road corporations by the action of the Re
publican party should be restored to the
public domain; and that no more grants OF
land shall be made to corporations, or be
allowed to fan into the ownership Of alien
absentees.
1--WE also find that the last para
graph IN our memorial ought to meet
with your hearty approval, from the
following, which we copy from the Chi
cago platform:
THAT change Is necessary is proved hy an
existing surplus Of more than one hundred
million dollars (S1OO, ,0OO, ,OOO), which has
yearly been collected from suffering people.
Therefore, again wesay, in request
ing the passage OF these measures, we
are not asking anything from the
dominant party, only to fulfill the
promise that 1t made to the people |
when it was seeking their suffrages, by
which it obtained It's present MAORI
". Weare informed that at a caucus
OF the members OF the dominant par
ty IN the House, held on Thursday
evening, July "a, you were appointed
one Of a committee OF three, whose du-
tysit is to shape the legislation that is
to come before the House during the
balance of this session; hence We pre-
sent to you this letter, conveying to
you the desires of our constituency.
We do not ask your party to support
them. We only look to you and your
party to see that the measures are
brought forward and submitted to
the House for its action, and we are
willing to trust them to the good
Judgment OF the members, regardless
OF party"