The Portland daily press., 1886-04-22
The Trouble at Chicago and ST,
Louis About:the Same.
Probable End of the Strike on the
New York Street Railroad,
six Thousand Sugar Refiners in
Brooklyn Idle.


cial position The chairman said:
"Without diyulging any of your secrets will you
please state what are the objects OF that organiza
tion?" .,
to educate themselves; to help them save that
which the average workman has wasted through
bad habits to lift them from the Gondltion INTO
make them thereafter employers instead OF EN-
ployes; to educate them by comparison of ideas,
and By IN ge ~ es it Mb ep ad e
jects which affect not only themselves but their
employers, that they may become better work
men, command better wages, and by cooperating
with their employers, help them to such profits
that they will be able TO pay better wages.
InrespoHse to question by Mr. CRANE, the VII.
ness made a statemens covering all the details Of
the attempt to arbitrate between the Knights OF
Labor, represented by Mr.. Powderly, and the
Missouri Pacific, represented by MI: G3uld; @ de de
tleme1 on March 27, and which have been pub
lished. The witness then proceeded with his
statement After delivering MIR. POwderly's sec
ond letter to Mr.. Gould, he saw Gould personally
and that gentleman expressed a desire to meet
Mr. Powderly and himself on the following gay
They met Gould Onlthe following day at IL O'Clock
and were received in his parlor. MIR. Hopkins
Joined in the interview. Gould expressed hlmseI
so strongly insfavor of arbtratlng the dlncultles
that it seemed to the witness that an agreement
was sure to be reached. They met again In the
evening, and Gould produced and read to Pow
derly, as the result of the mornings conversation
a telegram he proposes to send to Hoxle. Gould
read the telegram down to the words, "We see no
objection to arbitratng any difficulties between
the employees and the company, past or future"
and then asked Powderly if it was satisfactory so
far. Powdery answered in the afl1rmatlve.
Gould said ''Then let it end there" The witness
suggested that Gould should put the telegram into
the form of letter to Powderly and Powderly
agreed that, if the general executive board ap-
proved of the rest OF the letter. the men would 6e
Gould placed the letter in the hand OF the witness
with the understanding that if the order to go to
work was issued, the order and letter were to be
given to the press thatnight. The order was is
sued and it and the letter were given to the press
The witness afterwards saw Gould and told hlm
that Chairman O'Neill of the House labor COM
mittee had met the executive committee and that
the committee had the copy OF a proposed Dill TO
provide for arbitration. They. discussed the bill
together the idea being that If the bill passed, ar
btration could be had under the laws and that II
it did not pass the bill would be made the basis OF
arbitration.
Towards the end of the interview Mr. Gould re-
ceived telegram which seemed to disturb him,
and he said there was something wrong In st.
Louis Witness DON'T at this stage split hairs.
Tell Hoxe, in taking the men backtto work to be
blind" Gould wished to see Mr. Powderiy, but
that gentleman could not go and witness and Mr.
Turner went to see Gould with the question
from Powderly. 'sDo l understand from your per-
sonal letter of this date that your company re-
fuses arbitration, andEmust so telegraph Martin
IronS?"
Gould was not in and Mr.; Hopkins answered by
saying: "No we do not. He is MOTTO so under
stand that letter.. AT this point there was
good deal of noise and confusion in the committee
room and Chairman Barnes cautioned the aud
ence that any exhibition OF feeling would result
in having the room cleared and the doors closed.
Witness then proceeded with the history of the
negotiations for settlement and read the tele-
grams already published.
der for the men to 90 to work had been issued by
the executive board as the result of the negotia-
tionS and correspondence.
The witness replied that such an order had been.
issued on the evening of March 28th. The sSfder
was ,predieated, he said, on corresPordence and and
been arrived Att was not until noon OF the
next day tiidt any suggestion of a msunderstand-
ing had reached him. The ultimate result was
that three members of the executive board went
to st. Louis Mr.. Hayes could not tell the COM
mttee what took place there, as witness was not
present.
Mr. Grain asked. s'What was the original cause
of the striker"
Witness, in reply, made a long statement, in
volving the difference between the principle OF
payment by day work and by piece work, and
quoted Gould as saying that by making change
Company he had effected saving of so per cent.
He added that the general cause of this strike
and of the recent strikes all over the country had
been successful. The strike on the horse car
lines in New York last February, that had com
manded such universal public sympathy that the
workmen, whenever they had grievance or
wrong, Joined together and made applications to
form assemblies of Knights of Labor. This was
so general that the order had increased more in
the month of February last than it had in the
prior eight years.
Mr. Powderly was recalled to the stand and in
reply to questions by the chairman, stated that he
was naCll0lSb DIV trade ana was 81 Years OF age,
and that the knights of Labor had first been IN
stituted In 1869. He thought it very important
from the direction which the examination has
taken that the committee should understand the
origin of the knights of Labor. Mr.. Powderly
stated that about eight months after the close of
the war the garment cutters OF Philadelphia Or
ganized as the Garment Cutters Society of Phila-
delphia. 1t was a benevolent organization and
was in existence some four or five years when
@ s % bg saeey t %5 s 6raan
iZation that would go.into the workshops and et-
feet reform there On this proposition the society
finally disbanded, the founder of the knights of
Labor was member of it; he was Uriah d.
Stephens. AS members were leaving the room
the night the society disbanded he asked those
present to remain and hear what he had to say
He said if they would form such an organization
as had been suggested, one that would endeayOr
to effect reform in the management OF work,
endeayor to perfect it, Six Of the men remained,
talked the matter over with him and agreed to
meet again. These seven men and two others
met to perfect the organization on Thanksgiving
evening in 1859 and those nine men drafted the
first crude form of the constitution and manual
for the government of the Association of Knights
OF Labor No man was to know anything about
it, 1t to be secret in all its workings and the
man who joined 1t Ewas not permitted to mention
the name of an association outside of the meeting
room nor was it spoken inside when written about.
1t was to be referred to by stars. The idea was
to bring into the association every department of
productive industry, and the intention was that
no statutes of organization towards bettering or
change of conditions surrounding the employer
nected with the condition of things had been dis
cussed and thoroughly understood. The reason
only The miners themselves, but affected the ma
chinists, engineers, merchants, clerks, and every
body connected with the industry in that region.
In 1874 was asked one evening to become
member of club or association, the name of
which was not mentioned, and l was
initiated into the order of the Knights of Labor
Up to that time knew nothing OF it, but when
saw in that meeting room locomotive engineers
stationary engineers. miners, laborers, truckman,
members Of my own craft and others, made up
my mind that it was an association, which of all
others was calculator to do good to the laboring
man. This man (Stephens) who formed the first
local assembly, was afterwards elected Master
Workman, and was elected to the position of First
Grand Master Workman of the Knights of Labor
The organization continued under him mn for one
he was obliged to decline to serve longer. | was
chosen to succeed him, and from that time have
been chief officer of the knights of Labor The
organization was intended to take in not only a
man who worked at the bench or in the mine, but
every man who toiled by hand or brain, in any
honest occupation. We will not take in the sa-
loon keepers, and even if members wife begins
to sen liquor we made, him take a divorce, not
from his wife, but from the order.
Chairman-In other words, it is a benevolent
society for the protection of all kinds of people
who toll, and is entirely within the law.
Mr.. Powderly-YeS it is entirely within the law.
Mr.. Parker-What is the number of its present
membership?
Mr.. Powderly--Our present membership does
not exceed five hundred thousand although we
have been credited with five millions. We have
one assembly of women with a membership of
1900 and from the day of the organization to the
present day single expulsion or suspension has
never taken place. They manage their affairs in
such way as to reflect credit upon them and be
pattern for men. We make no distinction in re-
gard to color, creed, size or condition. We have
one assembly in New York where the president is
a Roman Catholic the vice president, Presbyte-
rian and the man who occupies the next position
is Hind0o. ColOred men seldom enter into the
assemblies OF white men, but they have assem-
blies of their own and are managing them very
nicely.
Mr.. Buchanan-Up to how lately have you
worked at your trade?
Mr.. Powderly-Not since March, 1877.
Mr. Buchanan-Since that time you have been
engaged as you are now?
PoWderly-Yes. Principally work harder now
than ever did sometimes IS hours q day.
The committee at half past two adjourned until
IL tomorrow, when it is understood the exaMina-
tion of Jay Gould will be commenced.
The Men who Boycotted Mrs. cray's
Bakery.
NEW YORK, April 21.-The grand jury having
presented indictments, Monday, against thirteen
of the boycotters of Mrs. Gray, the Hudson street
baker, seven of them were arraigned before Re.
corder Smyth yesterday morning. They pleaded
not guilty, and were held in $500 bail EACH The
penalty on convictionfor the offenSe charged is by
fine ranging from six cents to $500, or imprison-
ment not to exceed one year.