Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1886-12-08
UNITING AGAINST THE X OF L..
The Congress OF Trades.IniOns TO Meet
i'm Columbus To-day.

From the New York World December 9th
This week will witness one OF the most fmpor-
tant meetings OF labor leaders ever held in this
country, and their deliberations and conclusions
Will be watched with intense interest 10y trades
unionists and knights of Labor everywhere. A
secretary Of the Brotherhood OF American Car
penters and Jofners: p r. Fitzpatrick president OF
the Iron Moulders' National Union; Adolph Stras-
ser, president OF the Cigarmakers' International
Union, and Chris. Evans, president OF the National
Federation OF Coal Miners. They called a conven-
ton OF all tradesunionS in the United states and
Canadas to meet at Columbus, December Sth. In
that circular it was held that the time had ar
rived to draw closer together the bonds OF unity
between all the trades unions OF America and that
an annual trades congress was needed among
other things, for 'the establishment OF national
ana internatlonal trades-unions, based upon the
strict recognition OF the autonomy of each trade
and the promotion and advancement OF such
DodleS also the formation OF "an American fed
Grafton or alliance of all national and international
tradeSunions, to aid and assist each other"
While there are other objects stated as reasons for
the formation OF such federation there is no
douDt mat those mere given are the principal ones
III Is The preservation or the autonomy of each
trade that Is desired as opposed to the system OF
the knights OF Labor, by which they would be sub
Jecf TO the general board, whose members are OF
various trades. 1t is not, however, so much to the
system OF the Knights of Labor that the trades
uniOnStS object as to the Entertainments I'm several
districts OF the knights on the field of the unions
p. j. Mcguire says he called the meeting OF OFF,
GERS OF trades-unions In Philadelphia last May OF
which the congress next Wednesday is the out
come, because he 'diScerned a secret and formda-
pie movement OF a certain element within the
Knights OF Labor bent upon hostility to trades
unions and aiming TO attack them Singly and, III
possible encompass their destruction" The officers
OF several other unions at the Philadelphia con-
ference bore similar testimony.
President StraSSer and his lieutenants of the
CigarnakerS International union Will represent
the extreme anti-knights of Labor feeling in the
congress. as fOreShadOwedby their Official Journal
In October, an ''Cfficial address OF the EXecu-
tive Board OF the National Federation OF Miners
ana Mine Laborers" was issued TO its members 1t
rec1ted that 1T the second annual convention of
the federation 1t was resolved sSThat the National
Federation unanimously opposes the merging OF
our national trades-unions into the knights of
Labor The manifesto states why the federation
was formed and the good resulting to the miners
and mine laborers and then continues:
National Federation had begun to Shows Ti its as p Suf
ence rival steps in between us, emanating from
the noble order OF the Knights OF Labor, who form
similar organization known as the Miners and
Nine Laborers National District assembly follow
ing our footsteps In almost every particular and,
as 1irebrand thrown in among us. is only calcu-
lated 10 create discord and disunite the miners
and mine laborers OF this country and bring ruin
GUS and disastrous effects upon the members OF
our Trade We will not tolerate or assist
In building up any organization that seeks to de-
stroy our trades-uniOns, and in unmstakable Ian
guage inform one and all that the National Fed
GRAFTON intends to transact its own business as
uiations OF selfish individuals that are bent upon
the destruction OF our national trades-union."
ABOUT forty of the fOrty-flve national and inter-
national trades-unionS WILL ii is expected, be rep
resented in Columbus, besides many local unions
having no national body. In addition to those
unions whose officers signed the circular there will
De the Bakers National union, represented by
George Il. Block, o. this city; Furniture Workers
International union, by II. Enrich, its secretary,
also OF New York; BrlcllayerS' and MaSOnS' by
Thomas ODea, OF COhOes, y. y. Granite Cutters
by Josiah n Dyer, OF Philadelphia, and the United
Order OF American Carpenters and Joiners OF this
city and vicinity, which VIII be represented by H.
CaSSeriy, OF Branch No. j.
William Weihe, president OF the Amalgamated
Association OF Iron and Steel Workers, was one of
the principal men in the tradeS-unons conference
Last May, and its chairman. Since then overtureS
have been made TO the association by the officers
or the Knights OF Labor, and the members OF the
association in Pittsburg have resolved to FORM an
iron workers district assembly OF the Knights OF
Labor, at the Same time they retain their .'open-
union. They Will not be represented i'm Columbus
IL Is also improbable that the locomotive engineers
VIII be IN the Congress next Wednesday, as il is
against their Well-known policy of isolation to be
Identified with the general labor movement.
There is in existence a Federation OF Organized
Trades and Labor Unions OF the United States ana
Canada, OF which Samuel GomnerS OF this city, is
1t has, however, not been so successful
as It's promoters believed 1t would be, although ID
has aided TO forward the discussion OF the labor
problem When II adjourned last December il Was
resolved to meet this year In st. Louis The legiS
iat1Ve committee has changed the place OF meet
Ing to Columbus and the time to one day before
the meeting or the trades congress. The CON-
m1ttee, in making the change, say they 'deem
that they would be recreant to their trust III the
two bodies having the same purpose i'm view were
TO meet In different cities and allow the oppOr-
tun1ty now presented to pass OF bringing them to-
gether and forming thorough and permanent
unity OF all the forces OF labor into
solid phalanX, yet each trade-unfon preserving its
identity alItnnnmK