The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1886-04-09
THE LEADER OF THE KNIGHTS
A Man Who AbhOrs Strikes and Looks
Ahead a Long Way.

tion with the organization of labor, MI
"T was born in Carbondale, Pa, in '
January, 1S49, of Irish parents, Who
came TO this country in 1926. Ihey |
were Catholics. I was their eleventh {
child there being four girls and eight
bows in the family. My father was a
day laborer. l was sent TO school at Z
wears of age, and continued at school {
until | was about Is, when l went 10
work for the Delaware and Hudson "a Z
nal Company, having the care o. {
switch on one of their railroad branches;
I worked at this for several years anu
then was employed in the machine shops
of the company. l left Carbonate II
1869 and went to Scranton, where L
found work in the shops of the DeIa-
ware Iackawauna and Western Rail
road Company. At night l STUDIED
drawing and mechanical engineering,
my ambition then being TO become
/ ma gter mechanic, / was married III
/ 1872. l ioined the Machinlsts, ana
/ RIacksmiths' Union in 1870, and was
! soon elected president.
/ INV interest in trade Unions began
! in 1870. Ny idea was that men VINO
/ worked at the machinist trade should
understand each other throughout the
/ country, so that they might De OF assist
/ ance to each other One of the aims .
was to make the subordinate unions
schools in which should be taught the .
I sarts ard mysteries of the craft Ou /
NAV know that in the papers Whlch
bound me as an apprentice thoSe "oIuS |
were used I discovered, after oelng .
member of the union for some time, thaC !
it did not fill my ideal Of what such an
organization ought to be, and as TGm-
I edv for grievances it would not do much
| for the members 1t was very narrow
in view. too narrow, only recognizing
and enrolling machinists and black
smiths. l saw the poor laborers, car
penteTs, painters and other trades IN Vhe
employ of the company, without any
T organization. | felt that the union
: should include all. 1 tried to induce
a the union to open its arms TO all WoTh-
: ingmen, but was defeated.
TsIn 1870 [ was invited by friend to
L walk out with him, and he took me 20
# meeting of the Knights of Labor. l
/ ioined that night. It was Assembly
- No. So. l found there all crafts, and
. thought had found just what L was
Is looking for. No. SS was then the only
n assembly in northeastern Pennsylvania
3, all of its meetings were very secret auu
- nothing was ever said of its existence
Outside of the meetings. Our idea was
le that we should secretly add to our
lt strength and keep out politicians and
le other self seekers.
of "When the panic of 1873 came on l
= was laid off with many others. went
west through Ohio aud Western Penn
at sylyanis. l settled in Oil City, Pa,
and became member of the Machlnsts
as and Bltcksmiths' Union there, and a
month later was sent to the national
convention of the Union at Louisville
! XIV. in Septe ember, 1874. Shortly Dftel
I returned TO Scranton aud was EN-
hg pIoyed at my trade by the Dickson Man
X, ufacturing Company. 1 did not worl
il very long fOI them. because / was sen
80 out to do many outdoor jobs, and as
VI have always been troubled with quins,
er- sore throat l could not bear the expo
M SUE.
yer | went back to Carbondale and work
,od ell at my trade l tried to induce tn
Machinists' and Blacksmiths' Union t
lCo ioin tie K.,of l., but for long tim
lId was unsuccessful. OF course, | wOIKe
cir secretly. having to take each man alOn
ate and sound him and convince him. Th
t;u great obstacle was, as l have said, tn
contempt with which the machinist
lug and SIacksmiths looked upon Othe
fl workers. At last my efforts were sue
led cessful, and the union was disbande
-as and the members became Assembly NJ
222 of the Knights of Labor. DuTin
L
The rounding towns, so that when the Car
Ong bondale Union joined the knights theI
the were several assemblies in tho neighbO
l. hood I had thus worked to win thel
Los to the Knights of Labor, because 1 sa
Inc that in the union all oe their legislatiC
the about apprentices and shop rules wOul
fore amount to nothing.
Ybo with the introduction OF labor sa'
ing machinery the trade was all cut u
,ulS 80 NH haH caru.,1 q
inst premiership of five years might |
hey brought into competition with a m
the chine run by boy, and the boy wOu
do the most and the best. ! saw tht
'soi labor-saving machinery was bringir
ling the machinist down to the level of
on day laboreT, and soon they would be {
led. a level. My aim was to dignity the !
Les borer. In the X. of L. l saw a goo
field for operation. 10 1876 we orga
ay IS ized District Assembly of five OF S
Ft. assemblies in Lackawanna county, al
heir l was elected District Secretary, an c
,vsr fee which have held ever since fro
=. choice. In 1877. when the strikes
the railroads swept over the COuntT
DOLL many of our men, with many who we
JUS not of the X. of L., numbering in
yery about 5000, we're discharged and we
,oan West, settling in the Western Stat
. and Territories. Wherever our Knigt
IL went new assemblies sprang up. Up
the this time there was no general head
ami the X. of L. So Frederick Turner.
nm Philadelphia, Richard Grifiths, of Cl
a.. cagO, Chas. Litchman, of Marblehea
Mass, Thomas King of Reading, p
aud l met and held the first general ;
sembly of the 4. of L., at Readir
She T., in January. 1873. We had tn
few seven districts, representing Philad
g TO phia, Reading, Pittsburg, ChaIlestC
navt w. Va, Scranton, and Shawnee,
and several other local associatio,
nary which l cannot not recall. Mr.. Urf
Jon- Stephens, of Philadelphia. was elect
burg the first General Master Workman. a
han l was elected TO the next O6ce, whi
,Lo was called Grand Worthy Forems
'no We there changed the date of meet
one from January to September. We ne
G re- met in st. Louis. Mr.. Stephens {
will not attend this convention, but wrote
80, letter recommending me for Gene
Master Workman. After that | gs
u, II my entire time and attention to /
and work Of my Office, this being the f
II be time that l had worked at any busin
Tho other than my trade
The strikes of 1877 were caused
10 vi men not understanding one another.
been that time l began to study the causes
ch is that strike and of the distress of
1ght workmen. l concluded that an org;
I'll iZation should be perfected that w0,
wiz be grand industrial school. had
one hobby. Others were for greenbac
farm tariff revision, and dozen other thin
good L had not read the writings of anv h