The Marietta journal. [volume] (Marietta, Ga.) 1866-1909, 1886-05-20
A SENSIBLE LETTER.


order, from which we make the fol-
lowing extracts:
We have been losing ground, so
tar as public opinion is concerned,
Tor some time; one reason Of course
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 eye
upon the doings of labor men who
never labor, and when they charge
anything to our order in your locali-
ty, set the seal of your condemna-
ton upon 1t at once by denying it,
Ii paper criticlses the knights Of
Labor or its officers, do not sanction
it; and il you have any such boy
colts on, remove them A journal
not long since made some uncompli-
mentary illusions to the general mas
ter-workman Of the Knights Of La
Dor, and at the next meeting of the
nearest assembly motion was cast
to boycott the paper; not that alone,
but every person who advertised in
the columns of the paper. wrote
the assembly asking that they remove
the boycott, and it was done. We
must bear in mind that the general
master workman is only a man and
not above criticism. We demand
Tor ourselves the right of tree
speech. We cannot consistently
deny it to others. We must tolerate
fair, open criticism. Ii reply is nee
essary, make it in Il gentlemanly and
dlgnified manner. If we are critics.
ed or abused by a BLACKBOARD sheet,
treat it as you would the BLACKBOARD
himself, in silence.
That our aims and objects are good
is no reason why our members should
be regarded as beings of superior
build or material. We are no more
the salt Of the earth than millions of
unknown toilers who DO the work of
the world. In our dealings with la
borers and capitalists, we must deal
justly and fairly by them. If we
would have it equally done to US, we
must do equally by them. This is
the aim OF the Knights of Labor, and
must not be lost sight of in future.
In fact our order has been used as
a tail for hundred different kites,
and in future it must scar aloft, free
from all Of them.
| hate the word boycott.
| was boycotted ten years ago, and
could not get work at my trade for
II il bad practice. It'll
has been handed to US by capitalists
| have no use Tor it, only when eve
rything else fails.
We have some trouble from drink |
ing members, and from men who |
talk about buying guns and dyna-
mite. If the men who possess money |
enough to buy guns and dynamite, |
would invest it in the purchase Of !
some woil-seleoted work on labor, I
they would put money to good use. |
They will never need the guns 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 the people would make |
but little use u rifle The man |
who cannot vote intelligently, and |
who will not watch the man he votes
for after he is elected, cannot be de-
pended on to use either gun or dyna-
mite.
II the brain of man cannot work
out the problem now confronting us,
his hand alone will never solve it. |
II | kill my enemy, | silence him, it |
IS true, but l do not convince him, |
| would make convert rather than |
corpse Of my enemy, Men who own
capital are not our enemies. If that |
theory held good the workman Of to-
day would be the enemy of his fellow
toiler on the morrow, for, after all, |
it is how 10 acquire capital and how
to use it properly that we are endeav-
oring to learn. No men of capital
are necessarily enemies of laborers |
on the contrary, they must be
brought closer together. | am we'll
aware that extremists will say | am
advocating a weak plan, and will say |
that bloodshed and destruction of
property alone will solve the prob
lem. ii man speaks such Senu- |
ments in an assembly, read for him
the charge which the master work
man repeats to the newly initiated
who joins our army of peace" III
he repeats his nonsense, put him out.
In the hands Of men entirely great,
"the pen is mightier than the sword"
70 that | add: In the hands of men
entirely mouth the gun is as harm
less as his word. To our thinking
members | extend the hand Of kind
ness. | hate the uses to which rum
has been put, but i, is my duty to
reach down and lift up the man who
has fallen a victim to the use Of IL