Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1886-01-26
KNIGHTS OF LABOR,
Chss. y Litchman. 50 wa the Aims Oh
tects and Work ags Of the Order.

tor tt TIE address Of CHARLES H. Lircl.man
| Esg IN he "Aim,, Or, cts and Work ing. u
| tn knignfs Of Labor Joseph E.mond, as
| presiiink officer, "penrd the meeting BY stat
| II that the order hat been planted here
| little over year agp with bakers dozen,
| and, since that time, there had been formed
| in this immediate vicinity, FIVE assemblies
which now number over 1000 members, and
it was a curiosity in the public mind. to know
something concerning the organization,
whose rapid growth in this place vas tvpi-
cal of similar progress throughout the
country, and for that purpose the gentleman
v no was to address them, had been invited.
| Here he concluded by introducing the speak
or Of the evening. Chas. II. Ltchman, Esq.
Of Marbehead, Mass. The speaker COM
menced by stating thar il was his desiAe to re-
move from the minds of his audience who
were not members. any prejudice they NAV
have concerning the organization. Two ele-
rnents entered into the prosperity of the
country, production and consumption II was
necessary to produce and con ume. The Ia
| borer at one and the same time the
productive and consuming element, aud upon
the power Of the laborer To consume, depend
ed the size of our home market
Labor create. ali value, NOT. OF course, I
the natural elements. the gift Of the
| Divine Creator TO mankind trees of The
| forest the granite cliffs. The ores Of material
wealth IN the bosom of the earth But labor
cut down the forest ard tashoned the trees
into mast- and timber. fbr our ships wood
work for our hous. :, broke down the granite
cliff, and fashioned them into material 70
build the palace. Of trade in a word. labor j. /
the magic word by which the latent forces Of
nature are transformed INTO instruments for
the public good In this sense, then, labor
| creates all value. Therefore it is just and fair
| to demand that unto labor shall be given its
| Just share of the wealth it creates. He did
| not forget that the conditions Of employment
were changing every day, the present wage
| labor system being the outgrowth of and -uc-
| cessor to the vassalsge of a few centuries ago.
| The final emancipation of labor could only
come through the system Of universal coop
| Grafton. which will sometime dawn upon
mankind. So, while hoping and working for the
dawn of that era. We are compelled to deal
with the question as it is and not as we hope
it will sometime be All must have at least
| the necessities of life. food shelter and cloth
| ing We only get them by earning
| begging or stealing them, either a. a working
| man pauper or a tibet. Labor is too proud TO
| beg, too honest 10 steal and therefore prefers
| TO earn what il consumes, and it will earn and
not beg or steal if given an honest days pay
for honest DAYS toll. Waie demanding
this AS a matter of right and justice it is only
fair to render in turn an honest days toll for
an honest days pay. He then argued to show
| that the minimum rate of wages was that
| which would furnish necessities OF life claim
ing that if the power of labor to consume de-
pended on what it received for its toll if paid
only enough to purchase the bare necessities
of existence, that was its limit of power OF
| consumption. Given little beyond that and
| labor could ENJOY the comforts of life. A
little more than that he could aspire to the
! Injuries He alluded to the common crv of
Cover production" and the fixed immutable
law of supply and demand, and showed that
40 called over production Was the inability of
| labor t. consume; that the law of supply
and demand was at least modified by the
necessity for a medium of exchange between
supply and demand Every hungry stomach
was demand, every barrel of flour and JOINT
of beef was SUPPLY The wages paid for
| labor 10 the hungry st mach was the medium
of exchange between supply and demand
| If labor could earn ontI enough to consume
bread and water three times day, it
is useless To produce ANYTHING but
| flour mills and pumps Such position aud
such an argument was both cruel AMI inhu-
man. He then went on to show the necessity
! of organization among working men to gain
that power tor the many, which money gave
to the few. While under the present system
the interest of the EMPLOYER and employ ed
were reciprocal, it too often happened that
+ even on a rising market labor failed to re-
ceive its proper share Of increased prosperity
While we understood that we could not inlure
the employer without in uring ourselves, we
wanted to convince the en-. plovers that it was
equally his interest not to injure the worker
by reducing his wages. Such a reduction
meant a curtailing of the power to consume,
hence killing the goose that lal thu golden ,
egg to compel the giving to laborer. of its
Just share of returning prosperity. Orgsniz-
alton was of vital necessity. The chamber
OF commerce and board IF trade were cited
rs the trades union of the capitalists If
organization good for capital it also
good for labor; but this organization must
not be OF any one branch of industry. 1t
must be grand confederation of labor binl- /
ing together all branches of honorable toll
Such was the organization known AZ the
noble and holy order of the Knights of La
Dor. Its aims AMI objects were briefly set
forth in the preamble 10 it1 constitution.
II believed in education As the basis of in
telligent cooperation, one of the most power
full factors being the newspapers He here
gave sharp rap to those members of the order
who complained of their unfair treatm mt
given BY the daily press, while they refused
10 sustain papers HuuiIsiieh ~ tltlt w " Ut
ests ,orn friendly sympathy with them He al
so alluded to the important part played by ma
chinery in this problem, as in manv lines of
industry man was no longer mechanic; he |
WAS only part OF machine. Bye ani bye, |
when under cooperation labor owns the ma
chine mankind will be more directly bene-
fitted than al present Toiay its primary
affect WAS to degrade by sub-dividing labor. !
The Knights of Labor believed that mans la .
Dor should be done bv man, and enough paid
for il so that the husband could support the !
family without being compelled 70 use the ,
labor of his wife and child. The pscr for
the woman WAS the home, ami child I
the public schools Human lite
must be held more sacred; i:
must be made more safe than it il in mills +
and factories and Stacking cars on riilro IDS. d
SO long As is cheap t. Kill brakcmen than
to put on self acting coupers the railroad
will continue to kill brakemen. In the
language of the Massachusetts railroad ,
commissioners 'whiie the railroad hesitates
the brakemen perish The order demands /
that human life shall be held more sacred !
than dollars and cents. II demands less /
hours for labor as means to tighten the eX-
hsustiveness of toll. Ii also demands weekly .
PAYMENTS not only because labor has a right /
70 what il has earned, but in order that its