Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1886-03-31
PowDERLY TELLS OF HIS LIFE.
How the Great Organizer Became Iden-
tilted With the Knights of Labor.

AOACACC v AuOClb bhC PANoSAN
head of the Knights of Labor, was sitting
yesterday afternoon with friends in the
parlOr OF the Astor house. An inquiry
was made casually as to Mr.. Powderly's
experience with organized labor, and,
thus prompted, he related the origin Of
his efforts for labor and told of his ideas
and his theories.
81 was born in Carbondale, Pa, in
January, lS49, OF Irish parents" said
Mr.. POwderly. my parents were Cath
Olics. l was their eleventh child, there
being four tour girls and eight boys in the
family. Ny father was day laborer.
WAS sent to school at 7 years Of age in
this country, my parents having come
| over in 1926, and / continued at
school until | was about 10, when |
went to work for the Delaware and Hud-
son Canal Company, having the care Of
switch on one of their railroad branches.
| worked at this for several years, when
| was employed in the machine shops of
the company. Mr.. James Dickson was
the superintendent in the shop. Mr..
Dickson was the father of the late Thomas
DicksOn, president OF the Delaware and
Hudson Canal Company. | was the only
man who ever worked for him to whom
he ever gave letter Of recommendation.
| would not part with that scrap OF paper,
l assure you.
'In 1870 | was invited by a friend to
walk with him, and he took me to a meet
ing OF the Knights of Labor. Joined that
night 1t was Assembly No. SS. found
there all crafts, anu thought l mad found
just what | mad been looking for. No. SO
was then the only assembly in northeast
ern Pennsylvania, all of it's meetings were
very secret, and nothing was ever said
about its existence outside of the meet
ings. Our idea was that we should Sc
cretly add to our strength until we were
strong enough to Keep out politicians and
other seli-seekeTs.
During this time had worked in the
surrounding towns, so tb at when the Car
bondale Union joined the Knights there
were several assent ies in the neighbor-
hood. l had thus worked to win them to
the Knights of Labor because L saw that
in the union all of their legislation about
apprentices and shOprules would amount
to nothing. With the introduction of
labor saving machinery the trade was all
cut up, so that man who had served an
apprenticeship of five years might be
brought in competition with machine
run by boy, and the boy weuld do the
most and the best work. l saw that
labor saving machinery was bring
ing the machinist down to
the level OF a day la0orer, and
soon they would be on a level. My aim
was to dignity the labOrer. In the Knights
of Labor saw a good field for operation
In 1876 we organized a district assembly
of five or six assemblies in Lackawanna
county, and l was elected district secre-
tary, an Office which / have held ever
since from choice. In 1877, when the
strikes on the railroads swept over the
country, many of our men, with others
not knights of Labor, numbering in all
about 5000, were discharged ard went
West, settling in the Western States and
Territories. Wherever our knights went
new assemblies spTsng up. Up to
that time there had been no ma
tional head to the knights of
Labor. So Frederick Turner Of Phila-
delphia, Richard GFiffiths of Chicago,
Charles Litchman OF Marblehead, Mass,
Thomas King of Reading, Pa, and l, met
and held the first general assembly Of the
Knights OF Labor at Reading, Pa, in
January, 1875, We had then seven dis
tricts, representing Philadelphia, Read
ing, Pittsburg, Charleston, W. Va,
Scranton snd Shawnee, o., and several
local associations which / cannot now
recall. Mr.. Bailey was then delegate
from Shawnee, o., but he did not attend
the eonVentiOn at Reading.
'sMr. Uriah hsephens, of Philadelphia,
was elected the fret Grand Master Work
man, and was elected TO the next Office,
which was called the Grand Worthy
Foreman. We then changed the date of
meeting from, January TO September. We
next met IN st. Louis. Mr.. stephens did
not attend this conFention, but wrote a
letter, recommending me for Grand Mas
ter Workman. IN April, 1873, / was
elected Mayor of Scranton. After that 1
gave my entire time to the work of my
office, this beng the first time that had
worked at any business other than my
trade.
''Fhe strikes of l5z7 were caused by the
men not unde Fstanding one another. At
that time began to study the cause OF
that strike and the distress OF the work.
men. l concluded that an organization
should be perfected, which should be n
grand industrial school. had no bobby.
Otherssai th at gFeeRbacks, the tariff, ana
a dozen other things would remedy the
troubles OF the wOrkmen, put L thought
that the proposed organization should
combine them all. l had not read the
writings Of any theorist- J was Te-elect-
ed Mayor two or three times. When first
elected l was not known outside OF the
laboring classes. 1t was said by my
opponents that all sorts Of trouble
would come il l was elected.
However, l was elected, and among
other acts ] discharged the entire police
force OF the city, because l found that L
must have men on whom l could rely.
Then, during nv inistration, the debt
of the city was reduced ABOUT $2O,OOO.
Previously the debt had annually IN
creased. In 1884 the Knights Of la
Dor had grown so large that the business
OF the order took all of my time, so had
to decline the denomination for Mayor.
have never written a book. but have
written hundreds Of circulars, similar in
tenor to the circular which was inted
day or two ago. l have Travelled all
over this country and Canada, and have
spoken on 500 platforms. There are as
mblies in England and Belgium. Our
Journal, the ,joaynelOf United LdbOrispub-
lished at Philadelphia by the General Sec
rotary. IL has been circulated only in To e
order but we now propose TO enlarge it
and send 1t out TO tue public. have read
Henry Georges Progress and Poverty,
spencer's Social Statistics and Thorn
! ton on labor. l have read great deal OF
history and biography.
II am not sure what my plans VIII be
for the future. A syndicate OF newspa-
pers has offered TO send me TO Europe TO
write up the labor question as 1t Is there.
"Ies; / was connected with the Land
League, being a vice president in the
first league organized IN this country.
"No; do not believe IN strikes, because
1 do not think there is any necessity for
them. | believe that these troubles can
be settled without strikes. The order has
materially changed in a few years, is
broader and more liberal than at first