Lexington weekly intelligencer. (Lexington, Mo.) 1871-1887, 1886-05-15

81 W oAS
and since my illness the mail delivered
at my house has exceeded 400 letters a
day. They come from everybody and
everywhere. l must play the part OF
wheel horse instead OF leader of q great
movement, and own members are
responsible for it.. l ask, through the
l am told by some to get help. If l
had fifty assistants it would do no good,
for it takes my whole time to read hall
of the letters, and i'll the middle of my
work l AM waited on by some commit
tee who generally misrepresent me
after they leave, for every member OF
the committee will tell a different
story.
From now until the general assem-
bly, meets l will receive no committees,
answer no letters. 1 must formulate a
plan for the future, aud will not be in
terfered with.
Let me repeat, l will receive no COM
mittees, answer no letters, nor will l
go anywhere al the request of
members OF assemblies. This is
imperative. l must have a chance
TO do something OF benefit tor
the order, and l cannot do it it l
am to sit for eighteen hours a day
reading letters which have been
answered and re-ans wered in the
Journal and constitution. What | will
say to the general assembly will be to
the entire order, and you must give me
time to prepare it.
We have had some trouble from
drinking members and from men who
talk about buying guns and dynamite.
Ii the men who possess money enough
to buy guns aud dynamite would in
vest it Ill the purchase of some well
selected work or labor, they would put
The money to good use. We will new
country. 1t is my opinion mat the
nan who does not study the politics of
the nation and the wants of the people
would make but little use of a rifle.
Che men who cannot vote i%ntelligently
and who will not watch the man he
votes for after he is elected, cannot be
depended on to use gun or dynamite.
If the head, the brain of man, cannot
work out the problem now confronting
us, his hand will never solve it. If I
kill my enemy | silence him, it is true,
but l don't convince him. l would
make a convert rather than a corpse OF
my enemy,
Men who own capital are not our
enemies. Ii that theory held good, the
workingmen OF to day would be the
enemy of his fellow tOiler Oh the NOR
row, for after all it is how to acquire
capital and how to use it properly that
| we are endeavOring to learn. No; the
"a OF capital is not necessarily the
enemy Of The labOrer. On the contrary
they must be brought closer together.
L am well aware that ONE enthusiasts
will say L am advocating a weak plan,
and will say that blOOdshed and de-
struction of property alone will solve
the problem.
TO our drinking members l extend
the hand of kindness. l hate the uses
to which rum has been put, but it is
my duty to reach down and lift up the
man who has fallen a victim to the use
OF liquor. II there Is such o man with
in the sound of the secretary's voice
when this is read 1 ask him to stand
erect on the floor of his assembly, raise
his hand to heaven and repeat with me
these words: Il am a knight of Labor
l believe that every man should be free
from the curse OF slavery, whether the
slavery appears in the shape ofmonopo'
ly, usury or ~lntemperance. The firm
est link in the chain OF oppression is the
one forge when drown manhood anG
reason Ill drink. No man can rob mt
Of the brain my God has given me un.
less l am party to the theft. If on,
moments to%rgetfulness or inattention t.
duty while drunk brings defeat to the
least of labOr's plans, a lifetime of at
tention alone can repair the loss. l
promise again to put myself in
such position
We have through some unfortunate
misunderstanding incurred the enmi-
ty of several trades unions. While
can find no excuse for the unmanly
attack made upon us by some OF these
people at a time when we stood face to
face with a most perplexing question:
neither a L see any good reason VIII,
there should be any cause for a quarrel
We must have no clashlng between thu
men OF labor's army. If l AN tn.
cause of the trouble, | stand ready a
a moments notice to make way for an,
of my rivals the general assembly ma,
select. Break the power OF tn
3 knights OF Labor and you hand laboI
7 bound hand and foot over to tn,
enemies.
Years ago extended an invitation
to men of all trades to become a par
and parcel of the Knights of Labor
and to-day stand ready to max
every honorable concession, to d,
! everything i'll honor, to bring about
, better feeling between trades union
: and the Knights of Labor. At tn
special session OF the general ASSEMBLE
the entire trouble can and must b
! settled, and if mistakes have bee
a made they must be rectified. ]
. wrongs have been inflicted they mus
, be righted, but there is one thing tina
will not be done while l stand at tn
y head of this organization. 1t will no
i be used to further the schemes of indi
I ~vidnals, cliques Or parties, and it wi
= be subordinate to no other organiza
. ton on earth. Il. V. PowDERLY,