The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-04-09
The knights Are Not Suffering.

st. Louis Republican.
The statements published yesterday morning
alleging restitution among the families of the
strikers, and illustrating the alleged poverty by
a story of children picking up and carrying away
refuse food from the Pacific shops, was the sub
ject of spirited conversation yesterday after
noon in the Office Of Master Mechanic Bartlett,
the parties to it being Mr.. Bartlett himself
Judge-advocate j. j. McGarry, Master Carpenter
Hodge and Foremah Howard. The Judge-advo-
cate went into Mr.. Bartlett's Office to obtain his
time check, and after receiving it inquired Of
the master mechanic, after pointing out the OBJ
Ajectionable statement, If he had authorized its
publication. Mr.. Bartlett said he had not, and the
edge- adj ocate began search for the person
Pho had. Master Carpenter Hodge had not, but
Foreman Howard said he had told reporter
that the scraps of food thrown out by the work
men had been picked up by children When
asked if he knew IL any of the children belonged
to the families of strikers he replied that he did
not, but he thought they were newsboys Mr.
McGarry then denounced the tale as false and a
libel upon the Knights of Labor. and left the
office
Several grocers were included in the tale as
complaining of the poverty among the strikers,
as it obliged them to credit when they were un-
willing to do it. and as saying that they had
been obliged finally to refuse credit to a number
that he had refused a man credit for two loaves
of bread. These grocers organized themselves
into committee yesterday, and visited the
newspaper Offices for the purpose of denying the
assertions attributed to them.
The circulation of the story created very gem
eral indignation among the knights of Labor
Theaexecutive committee of Local Assembly $3.50.
which includes the striking shopmen, had been
providing for the families of several of the strik
ers up to the time when the Missouri Pacific paid
off, and have had very little of this to do since
as the collection of the money due them by the
company placed most OF the Knights in suffi-
GENTLY comfortable circumstances to prevent the
applications for relief from becoming at all bur-
densome or numerous One of the members Of
the committee yesterday, after taking Repub-
l&Rn reporter to see one OF the misrepresenred
grocers, said
s.The strikers have been fought by the rail
road officials and their friends from the begin
ming unfairly. hut that lie is viIlainous in it's
object and its entire falsehood from beginning
to end We well able to provide for any of
the strikers who need assistance, and If the
strike lasted year longer none OF them would
suffer. The story is likely to hurt u.s. because 1t
will be heard by people who are not well enough
acquainted with our methods to see its absurd
ity, but the majority who see it will understand
the situation. Now is not the time restitution
would have appeared among the strikers, If we
had no benevolent organization to help them.
il that sort of thing would come at all, il would
have come three weeks after the strike, before
the men were paid off, Now they've got their
money, and most of them have kept it.