The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1886-05-15
POWDERLY AGAIN.
The General Master Workman Is
sues Another Secret Circular,
In Which He Talks Pointedly and Plainly
of Abuses Which Have Crept Into
the Order, and Which Must BE
at Once Corrected

received by the Knights of Labor of Chi
cago, and will be read in the various as
semblies during the coming week:
NOBLE ORDER OF THE KNIGHTS OF LAD
Dor OF AMERICA
PHILADELPHIA, May 8, 1885 }
To THE ORDER, EVERYWHERE, GREETGNG.
The response to the secret circular Issued
on March IL, has been so generous and the
Endorsement of the sentiments contained in
It has been so unanimous, that feel en-
couraged and strengthened in the W DIRK.
Nearly four Thousand assemblies have
pledged themselves to act on the advice
contained in the circular OF the 18th ut l
feel that 1t only requires the coming to the
front of the real men of our order
TO set us right before the world.
We have been losing ground so far as pub
lie opinion Is concerned for some time. One
of the causes is that we have allowed things
to be done under the name of the knights of
Labor for which the organization was in no
way respons BILE. ask OF our members to
Keep 1e0l' us eye upon the doings OF the
labor men who never labor, and when they
charge anything to our order in your To-
cality, set the seal of your condemnation
upon 1t at once by denying It,
If a paper criticises the Knights of Labor
or its officers do not boycott 1t, and II you
| have any such boNcotts on remove them.
| journal not long since made some uncom-
| pHmentary illusions TO the General Master
Workman of the Knights of Labor and at the
| next meeting of the nearest assembly a mo-
tion was cast to boycott the paper; not that
| alone, but every person who advertised in
| the columns of the paper | wrote to the
| assembly asking that they remove the boy.
| colt and 1t was done. Wemust bear in mind
| that our General Master Workman is only
man and is not above criticism. We demand
! forOurselvesthe right oftree speech. We'can
| not consistently deny 1t to others. We must
! tolerate fair, open criticism. If reply is
| necessary, make 1t in gentemanly digni.
! fed manner. If we are criticised or abused
| hlnnFNTrfnTl Qhnnf a wnnln
the blackguarti himself-n silence.
That our aims and objects are good is no
| reason why oar members should be re-
| garled rs being of superior build or ma
terial We are no more the salt of the earth
| than the millions of unknown toiler5 who
do the work OF the world. In our dealings
with laborers and capitalists we must deal
| Justly and fairly by them If we would have
| equity done to us we in turn must do
equity to others. That is the aim of the
| knights of Labor and must not be lost
| sight of In future.
| Let me direct your attention to q few lit.
tie abuses; l find that wherever n strike
occurs appeals for aid are scattered broad
cast among the assemblies DO not pay one
cent for such purposes in future unless the
| appeal comes from your own district assem-
| bly, or the General Assembly.
II boycott notices are sent to you burn
them. have in in my possession over four
hundred boycott notices which were sent to
assemblies with q request that they be acted
on. Let me mention some of them. mem.
Der Is editing paper He fears rival, and
| proceeds to get into an altercation with him.
| boycott him, then asks the order to carry It
out. certain paper is influential in one or
the other political parties Members OF the
opposing party conceive the Idea OF getting
ril of the paper, and they invoke the ala OF
the knights of Labor, first taking the pre-
caution to have the paper in question say
something uncomplimentnry of the knights
OF Labor. In fact, our order has been used
as a tail for hundred different kites, and In
| N,,N oil a.ll
hate the word boycott. l was boycotted
ten years ago and could not get work at my
trade for months. 1t Is bad practice 1t has
been handed to us by the capitalists. have
no use for 1t only when everything else
fails
Appeals for aid, circulars, petitions. ad.
yertIsements OF every kind are scattered
everywhere Throughout the order. copy q
letter which comes to me on the subject: "A
large part of our time has been spent In
reading boycott notices and appeals for aid,
keeping us until twelve o'clock. We were
led to believe the Knights OF Labor to be an
educational institution, but this kind OF ed
ucation Is not productive OF good. we have
no time for instruction What do you ad'
wise MS to dOY
/ advised them to either burn or table
these matters. and now ask OF the secretary OF
each assembly to do the same. IL your jour.
nal were not boycotted by our members II
could be made the medium OF communlca-
ton between the general Officers and the or.
der but the Journal Is not read by one quar-.
ter OF the assemblies. Some assemblies send
out documents IN envelopes addressed to
"Secretary OF Assembly No, -" In many
places tue secretaries nave been discharged
because OF this practice. No member has
tho right to address another in that way, and
4 It Is ever practiced again the offender will
be punished.
In future the general executive board
must not be lnterfered with in the perform
Rnce OF Its duty. IL you have confidence In
them, sustNIn and obey them; II not, ask for
their designations While the board was en-.
deuvorng to settle the Southwest trouble
assemblies In some places with the best OF
intentions, no doubt, were passing and pub
fishing resolutions condemnOtory OF Jay
Gould. These things did no good; on the
contrary they were injurious. In the settle.
ment Of troubles 1t becomes the duty OF the
executive board to meet everybody and &c
everywhere. While they are doing this
they must not be hampered by the ac
tons OF those who do not know what theil
task Is.
Keep quiet; let your officers do their best
and If you can not find way to aid them, dc
not retard their progress Resolutions dc
not prevent land stealing, stock watering Of
gambling in the necessares of life. IL haC
my mind made up to rob bank at midnigh
a string of resolutions as long as the mora
law protesting against my contemplated &C
ton would not influence me particle, but !
some interested party W ould take the trouble
60 study up the questions and would inform
himself as TO my right TO rob the bank, ant
would stand guard at tile door of the vault
| would not rob IL at midnight II he did hi
duty, What we want from every member /
not gush or windy resolutions about GU
rights. We know we have rights withou
passing resolutions Men who think, stud
and act are REQUIRED.
The General Assembly will meet in specla
session on the 18th of May, in the city O
I Cleveland From tn" receipt of this lrttc
. you must not address any cOmmuniCal 10
TO me, nor need You expect an answer Il yo
l do. | have thousands Of letters piled N
around me now, and they never can b
read, much less answered, by one man
During and since my Illness the mail de
livered at my house has exceeded four hun
dred letters a day. They come from every
body and everywhere. must play the par
OF wheel horse instead of leader of grea
movement and our members are 70
. sponsible for IL. asked through the Jour
nal that no one send letters to me. an
told by some to get help, II l had nifty as
a sistants 1t would do no good, for !
takes my whole time to read one hal
OF the letters and In the middle OF my worl
I am waited on by some committee
who generally misrepresent me after the.
leave-for every member OF the committee
a | will tell different story. From now unit
the General Assembly meets | Will receive
no committees, answer no letters. / mus
formulate a plan for the future and will
? not be interfered with. Let me repeat
/ | will receive no committees, answer no let
ters nor will go anywhere at the reques