St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1886-05-10
POWDERLY'S GREAT PLEA.
Sound Views Expressed to His Brother
Knights of Labor.
knights Everywhere Urged to For
sake the Boycott.
The Use of Guns and Dynamite Con-
demned.
A Letter from powderIv.


be read in the various assemblies during the
coming week:
Noble Order of the knights of Labor of
Amerlca-Philadelphia May 3, l886.-To the
| oruef everywhere, Greeting: The response
10 the secret circular issued May has been
| SO generous ana the Endorsement of the sem
timents contained in it has been SO unani-
| nous that feel encouraged and strength
ened III the work. Nearly 1000 assemblies
| have pledged themselves to act on the advice
| contained in the circular of the 18th ultimo
feel that it only requires the coming tn the
front of the real men of our order to SET MS
right before the world. We have been losing
ground so far as public 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 responsible /
ask OF our members to keep jealous eve
! upon the doings of the labor men who never
labor, and when they charge anything to our
order in your locality set the
| SEAL OF YOUR CONDEMNATION
| upon it at once by denying it. Ii a paper
criticises the Knights OF Labor or its officers
DO not boycott it, and if you have any such
boycotts on remove them. A journal not
| long since made some uncomplmentary allu-
| slons to the general master workman of the
knights of Labor and at the next meeting of
| the nearest assembly a motion 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
them that they remove the boycott
and it was done. We must bear in mind that
| our general master workman is only a man
| and is not above criticism. We demand for
ourselves the right of free speech. We can
| not consistently deny it to others. We must
tolerate fair open criticism. If q reply is
necessary make it IN a gentlemanly, dignified
manner. If we are criticised or abused by
Dlackguard sheet, treat it as you would the
blackguard himself-in silence. That our
aims and objects are good is no eason why
our members should be regarded as beings of
superior build or material, We are no more
the
SALT OF THE EARTH
that the millions of unknown toifers 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 in turn we must do equity to
| others. This is the aim of the Knights of
Labor and must not be lost sight of in the
future. Let me direct your attention to
few little abuses. 1 find that wherever
strike occurs appeals for aid are
scattered broadcast among the assemblies.
DO not pay one cent for such purposes in
future unless the appeal comes from your
own district assembly or the general assem-
bly,. If boycott notices are sent to you burn
them. have in my possession over 400 boy
colt notices which are sent to assemblies
with request that they be acted on. Let
me mention some of them. A member is
editing paper. He fears a rival and pro-
ceeds to get into an alteration with him
boycotts him and then asks the order to carry
1t out. A certain paper is influential in one
or the other of the political parties. Mem
bers of
THE OPPOSING PARTY
conceive the idea of getting rid of the paper
and they invoke the aid of the knights of
| Labor, first taking the precautioE to have the
paper in question say something uncompli-
mentarV KNIGHTS In onf
our order has been used as tail for hun
dred different kites, and in future it must
soar aloft, free from all of them. 1 hate the
word boycott. 1 was boycotted ten
years ago, and could not get
work at my trade for months
1t is a bad practice. 1t has been handed to
us by the capitalists. have use for it only
where everything else fails. Appeals for aid,
circulars, petitions, advertisements of every
kind are scattered every where through the
order. l copy 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 II o'clock.
We are led to believe the Knights of Labor to
be
AN EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION,
but this kind of education is not productive
of good. We have no time for Instruction
What do you advise US to do?'' l advised
them to either burn or table these matters
and now ask of the secretary of each assem-
boycotted by our members it could be made
the medium of communication between the
general officers and the order, but the Jour
nal is not read in one-quarter of the assem-
blies. Some assemblies send out documents
addressed to Secretary of Assembly No. -
In many places the secretaries have been dis
charged because of the practice. No member
has the right to address another in that way and
it it is ever practiced again the offender will
be punished. In future the general executive
hoo to, ,,@c,
Torrance of its duty. If you have confidence
in them, sustain them and obey them. If
not ask for their designations. While the
J board was endeavoring to settle the South
western trouble, assemblies in some places,
with the best of intentions, no
doubt, were passing and publishing
resolutions condemning Jay Gould.
These things did no good. On the contrary
they were injurious. In the settlement of
troubles it becomes the duty OF the executive
board to meet everybody and go everywhere.
While they are doing this they
MUST NOT BE HAMPERED
by the actions of those who do not know what
their task is. Keep quiet. Let your officers
do their best, and if you cannot find
a way to aid them do not retard
their progress. Resolutions do not
prevent land stealing, stock watering
or gambling in the necessaries of life If
had my mind made up to rob bank at mid
night, string of resolutions as long as the
moral law protesting against against
contemplated action would not influence me
a particle; but if some int crested party
would take the trouble to study up the cues
ton, and would inform himself as to nv
right to rob the bank, and would
staad guard at the door of the vault, would
not rob it at midnight if he had doEe his duty.
What we want from our members is not gush
or windy resolutions about our rights. We
know we have rights without passing resolu-
tions. The general assembly will meet in
SPECIAL SESSION
the 25th of May in the city of Cleveland From
the receipt of this letter you must not address
any communications to me, nor need you ex-
pect an answer if you do. / have thousands
of letters piled up round me now and they
never can be read, much less be answered
byone man. During 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 great movement, and our own
members are responsible for it. 1 asked
through the Journal that no one send letters
to me. ] 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 one-half of
the letters, and in the middle of my work am
waited on by some committee, who generally
misrepresent me when they leave, for every
member of the committee will tell different
story. From now until the general assembly
meets, will receive no committees, answer
no letters. must formulate plan for the
future, and will not be interfered with Let
me repeat, 1 will receive no committees,
answer no letters, nor will go anywhere at
the request of members of assemblies
THIS is IMPERATIVE.
/ must have chance to do something of
benefit for the order, and cannot do it if
am to sit for eighteen hours day reading
letters which have been answered and re-
answered in the journal and constitution
What L will say to the general assembly
will be said 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 If
the men who possess money enough to buy
guns and dynamite would invest it in the pur
chase of some well-selected work on labor
they would put the money to good use. They
will never need the gun or dynamite in this
country. 1t is my opinion that the man who
does not study the politics of the nation and
the wants of our people would
10 hut IF ,.id ~