Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1886-04-22
WASHINGTON NEWS.
SECOND Session of the Labor Inyestisat.
ing Committee.
WASHINGTON, April 81.

W. IL was nearly an hour later when the com.
nitlee was called to order. VIM O. Nc
Dohaid was sworn. He stated that he was a
uauuiacturer of machinery. lie was iav
member OF the Knights OF Labor, but held uo
othclai position.
ohalrman Without divulging any Of your
0screts viii VIII you please state what are the
ooJr Gus OF your organ,zation?
"llness.-To elevate the members nv
them TO educate themselves, by help
i"g theM to save that which the average
"orkineman has wasted through bad habits.
~ iid' hlm from the position ioto which he
mas fallen through such habits and mako
'iiih thereafter an employer instead of an en-
Pioye' to So educate him by comparison O;
ideas ana by discussing questions that help
" euneate, that he is able TO deal with and
grasp subjects which not only affects himself
ou' DIS employer. that he may become bet
'er workman, command better wages, and bv
cooperating with his employer help him TO
such profits that he will be able to pav better
wages.
IN response to question by Mr.. Grain, the
witness read statement covering all the
uetal!s OF the attempt to arbitrate between
tne hnlghts OF Labor, represented by Mr.
fowGerly, and the Missouri Pacific, repre-
sented by Jay Gould He read the letters
whlch passed between these gentleman on
March 9th, which have been published
lhe witness then proceeded with his state
ment After delivering Powderly's second let
ter to Gould, he saw Gould personally and
that gentleman expressed a desire to meet
Powderly and himself on the following day.
Ihey met Gould on the following day at IL
and were received in the parlor. MIR. Hop
klns joined in the interview. Gould expressed
himself 50 strongly In favor of arbitrating
the difficulties that it seemed to the witness
that an agreement was sure to be reached
Ihey met again in the evening and Gould
produced and read to Powderly, as a result
OF the morning conversation, a telegram he
proposed to send to Hoxe. Gould read the
telegram down to the words, "we see no OBJ
Jection TO arbtrating any difficulties betw cen
employees and the company, past and future -
and then asked Powderly if it was satisfac.
tory so far Powderly answered in the affirm.
alive, Gould said, "then let it rest there"
Witness suggested that Gould should put
the telegram into the form of letter to Pow.
derby. and PowderIy agreed that if the gen.
eral executive board approved of the rest of
the letter the men would be ordered back to
work.
After Powderly left Gould placed the letter
in witness hand, with the understanding that
if the order to go to work was issued the
order and letter were to be given TO the press.
That night the order was issued, and it and
the letter were given to the press. He after
wards saw Gould and told him that Chairman
O'Nell of the House labor committee had
seen the executive committee and the com
mittee had copy of the proposed arbitration
bill. They discussed the bill together, the
idea being that if the bill passed, arbitration
could be had under the law, and if passed the
bill would be made the basis of arbitration.
Towards the end of the interview Gould
received a telegram which seemed to disturb
him, and he said there was something wrong
in St. Louis. Witness said, Don't at this
stage split hairs; tell Hoxie in taking the
men back to work to be blind" Gould
wished to see Powderly, but that gentleman
could not be got. Witness and Mr.. Turner
went to see Gould with question from Pow
derly: "Do understand from your personal
letter of this date that your company refuses
arbitration, and must | so telegraph Martin
Irons?" Gould was not in, and Mr.. Hopkins
answered by saying, ''No, we do not; he is
not to so understand that letter"
At this point there was good deal of noise
and confusion in the committee room, and
chairman Barnes cautioned the audience that
any exhibition of feeling would result in hav-
ing the room cleared and the doors closed.
Witness proceeded with the history of the
negotiations for settlement and read tele-
grams already published. Buchanan in
quired whether in tact the order for men to
90 to work had been issued by the executive
board as the result of negotiations and cor
respondence.
Witness replied that such an order had
been issued on the evening of March Sth. The
order was predicted he said, on correspond
ence and an understanding that the actual
solution lad been arrived at. 1t WAS not un-
ul noon of the next day that any suggestion
of misunderstanding had reached him. The
ultimate result was that three of the mem
bers of the executive board went to St.
Louis.
Mr.. Hayes couldn't tell the committee what
took place there. The witness was not pres
ent.
Mr.. Grain asked, "what was the original
cause of the striker
The witness in reply made a long state
ment involving the difference between
the principle of payment by day work
and piece work and quoted Gould as saying
that by making change of that sort in the
Western Union Telegraph Co he had effected
a 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 the
success sful strike on the horse car lines in
Ne1 York last February that enlisted such
univ, rsai public sympathy that workmen
whenever they had a grievance or wrong
Joined together and.made applications to form
assemblies of Knights of Labor. This was so
general that the order was increased more in
the Month of February last than it had been
in the prior eight years.
Mr. Powderly was recalled to the stand
and in reply to question by the chairman
stated that he was machinest by trade and
81 wears of age and that the Knights of Labor
had frs, been instituted in 1869. He thought
it very important from the direction which
the examination has taken that the committee
should know the origin of the Knights Of
Labor.
Powderly stated that about eight months
after the close of the war garment cutters of
Philadelphia organized a Garment Cutters
Society of Philadelphia. 1t was a benevo-
lent organization. and was in existence some
four or five years, when some one one night
.upgested that what was needed in addition
to the society was an organization that would
90 into workshops and effect reform there.
On this proposition the society finally dis
banded. The founder of the Knights of
J.abor was a member of it--he was Uriah S.
stevens As the men were leaving the room
the night the society disbanded, he asked
those present to remain and hear what he had
to saw. He said if they would form such an
association as had been suggested-one that
would endeavor to effect reform in the man.
apement of workshops, mines and founderies