Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1886-10-31
A KNIGHT OF LABOR
Has Something to Say About the Printers
Strike.

Has Something to Say About the Printers
Strike.
To the Editor ofMc Register:
SIR: l noticed in your issue of yester-
day communication from an eX-UmOn
printer and wish to make few remarks
in regard TO the present strike and boy
colt, and also give my experience of the
printers strike in Cleveland, which took
place on the l1th day of last August.
First-The members of the TypOgraph-
ical Union in this city were promised s.
per week as long rs they were on the
strike. Let us look into the matter and
see where the officers of the union get the
authority to promise 81 per week. The
international Typographical Union OF
America have fund which is
known rs the International Strike Fund,
and which is made up by assessing each
member of the International Topographic
cal Union whenever it becomes necessary
20 replenish it, and from this fund the in
stigators of the strike thought they would
get money enough to supply every member
with his 81 week as long as the strike
lasted
Second-The members of the Union who
generally push strike are placed on the
executive committee and paid good sal
ary. They are drawing their Sl5 and SIS
week, and can very well afford to stand
around on the corner and preach to the
BOYS "to stand firm and we will soon down
them with our boycott
Now let us look at the strike fund and
see what it is for: The fund, known as
the International Strike Fund, is for fight
ing against the reduction of wages, and in
no case can any union receive any money
from it where an advance is asked and q
strike follows, and in no case can the inter
national Typographical Union sanction a
strike where it is strike for an increase. y
As said before, the fund is supplied
with money by an assessment being levied
upon each member of the subordinate
unions Some time this year or the latter
part of last year, New York Union No. q
was called upon for an assess,
ment, along with the other
unions of the country, and they held a
meeting and resolved as their union was
much larger in number than any three
unions put together and that they could
never get back the money they had paid
into the fund if strike should ever occur
in that city, that they would not pay the
assessment, and they stuck to their resolu'
ton. and do to the plesent day, and con-
seduently the strike fund at the present
time is 81, 800 in debt and has not the large
amount of money On hand that was repres
ented by the officers of Wheel
ing union. Now, then, ash
of the public this question
''If the officers of the Union represented
things as they did, and knew that they
were entirely wrong, and led a number o
Union printers into quagmire blindfold
ed, are they proper men TO represent la
ber union? And, on the other hand, i
they led the Union men into the estrike and
did not know what the strike fund was for
| are they men that have brains enough tC
represent the offices of any union? In my
opinion an officer who drags the men intt
a strike and misrepreSents things TO them,
| while at the same time he knew ht
was telling falsehOod, is n:
bad rs q man who would secure money
| under false pretenses. Andif the officer
did not know the condition Of the strike
fund they most certainly are not capable
of holding an Office and do not know thu
| first rudiments of UniOnism.
I also understand that Wheeling unior
has'engaged an ''official boycotter" to TAKE
charge of the boycott being waged agains
the two papers. / am also informed tha
this same boycotter is Knight of Labor
II wish the public to know | alsG
am a Knight Of Labor, and have il
nv pocket at the present time Knight o
Labor travelling card which will not ex
piye until the first Of January, 1887.
am very we'll yersed iD the workings o
the X. of l.. and can truthfully say tha
there is no Office in any X. OIL. Assembly
any where in the world known as an ''of
ficial boycotter, " and can also say the sam
of the /. T. T., and if Mr.. Askew repre-
sents himself as a bOyeotter from the X
of L. or |. T. L., / would be pleased Z
meet him and argue the point with him
While do not write 10 ex
pose the workings of the X
OF L., ask every member OF the orde
to look back for few months and careful
~ ptTuSc tnc ScCitt CICuldE hutcu M
Powderly sent out from headquarters an
give especial notice TO what he says Of boy
colts. The K. of l. isalso pledged to tax
no political action in a meet
ing Of the order. i ask Of the brothers
they are living up to their obligation i
waging political boycott against the r.
publican and Democratic candidate
towards the settlement Of strike.
Now viii relate my experience in th
I Cleveland strike. We went out o
Wednesday night, August II, 1856, an
were promised faithfully 10 get 81 pt
week from the unicn. they expecting
get the money from the strike fund 2 Fl
| two weeks before the strike we wrote
The crzanizsr Of the /. 7. Q. at Columbs