Indian chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1882-1902, 1886-04-22
POWDERLY AND GOULD.
A Correspondence Caustic and
Pointed.


Pacific railroad. Dear Sir; The events pi the
past forty-eight hours must have demon.
stratcd 90 you the absolute necessity OF
bringing this terrible struggle in the south
west 10 y speedy termination. You have the
power, the authority and the means to bring
the strike to an end. have done everything
in my power to end the strike. The gentle
men associated with me or the general g,,ll
the same. Everything consistent with honor
aud manhood has been done in the interest
Of peace. No false notions of pride or r.
nifty have swayed us in our dealings with you
or the gentlemen assoc atod W th YOU.
THE CONFERENCE REC tLLED.
In tho conference with YOU on sunday,
March ~ / understood YOU TO moan that ar.
bltraton would be agreed to. Tho only
method OF arbitration that was discussed YVES
IN line with that suggested in the loitcr which
cent you in the name OF our boarG the day
previous. There was nothing particulnr
agreed upon rs you well know. You said
that In arhitrnting the matter the damage
Busta nod by the company during the strike
ought to receive consideration. said 10 you
shat It would not be the part OF sdom 20
Drinn that question up IN the settlement OF the
strike. when I called upon you again that
evening, you had prepared. as result OF your
understanding OF the morning intctvlcw,
pttcr VIII ch you intended to x We TO me. That
rttcr included telegram TO be sent to Mr.
Hoxic, and ia that telegram you said that the
damages sustained by the company would
be q proper subject for the arbitration board
to scuss The latter part of the letter or
telegram you agreed 10 strike OF after we
had talked the matter over for some time
and left you as vou were about TO 90 to
your room to- rcwrito the letter which
you aftcrward placed In the hands OF
Mr.. Mcdowell 10 be given TO me, for had
to leave At that time In order to keep an
appointment at the hotel where | stopped
The statement which you have since made TO
the effect tnut you had prepared that letiof
before called iS not quite correct, or II you
did have IL prepared, you changed i after
wo talked the matter over THIS, | believe,
you VIII admit to be true. In the conference
ilsfHFa fNN nrf
board and the directors OF the Missouri Pa
cinc Company az ii5 Brordway, on March 30,
you said 70 me that you understood me go
say thut the men along your limos would be
ordered back to work at once. they having
violated the rules of our organization.
THE FEELING Is the WEST.
] then roitCruted the statement which
made TO you and nOwrcpcat "thc men along
the lines Of your railways can be ordered
back to work, but II they, are giten TO un.
derstand that they are deserted, that we
don't take any interest In them IL will not in
any way mend matters. on the contrary u
will make things worse. There are along
the roads out there great many men who
have no regard Tor organ n,t'ou dr law-mct
of hardy spirit, energy ami daring. such
men 40 have left the East and have taken up
their homes in n wild country such rs that
will not submit as quietly rs the men they
have left behind in the East. They
are apt IA do rashcr things than they would
do elsewhere. and have no doubt we have
some Of them IN our order. In fact my CN-
pcrienco with the men OF that section leads
inc 10 tllnk AuNl lnf men ON Nnlu slNtH OMl
there are more darc-dcvlish than they are IN
the East. Even the bus ness men IN that
country are OF that stamp of Character Both
you and Mr. Hopkins heard me make that
statement. and / believe the latter agreed
that that was his experience. The danger OF
the strike spreading was also discussed and
that an effort had been mado TO have
the men of the Union Pacific take up a
part OF 10. but that the knights Of Labor ON
that road had "a standing agreement with the
mumuuWFmuWt of tho Tnnl fUff There TO lu
no trouble or strike until the last effort tu
effect a settlement had failed. and not then
until the court OF last resort had been
reached. whcn made that statement Mr..
Hopkins remarked that they had better
strike then, for II they did not the linton Pa
cihc would not much longer have sufficient
money to pay their employees. The impress
= on made on me was that you would be
pleased 10 see strike take place on the
Union Pacific.
PowpERLY's RELIEF
This, believe covers the chef points OF
discussion. did not hear ether you or Mr..
Hopkins say that the present trouble on your
road would not be arbitratcd with the men
who were not az work. II was my firm belief
When 1 left you that night that on meant TO
have the entire affair suhmitttd 10 nrbitra-
ton at the first possible moment. That
belief Is shared by Mr.. Mcdowell who was
present during the entire interview. when
you sent the telegram 20 Mr. HoNic
you sent II as President OF the Mis-
souri, Pacific Railroad Company, you
sent II rs the ch cf sends his message
much 20 u sensible man as the most impcrG-
tive Order could possibly mean. when |. as
the chief officer OF the Knights Of Labor. send
message such as that, u is understood to be
my Alshcs aud those wishes are respected by
the subOrdinat officers to whom they arc
sent. II is not his place 10 nut ifcrcnt
construction on them and give them his c'Fu
Interpretation. His duty to obey the spirit
OF the instructions The man in power
need not be an nutocrot IN order 20
nave his wishes respected. 81 would
like 10 sec it DONE" comes with rs great
a force from the man In authority as Il must
have u done That was the idea that en-
tcrtaincd when left your house that night.
! also cHplniued 20 you ~ YOUR house that
night. that the men who had entered upon the
strike had not violated nuy law Of the order
in so doing; that while / thought IL would
have been better 10 they had laid their grew
Gnccs before the general executive board
before striking, that there was nothing
in our laws 10 command them 10 do 20. 1
sad that district assembly Of Knights OF
Labor bore the same relation To the gcnerai
assembly OF which ! WAS the chief Oihcer
that ono OF the states Of the Union bore
20 the General Govcrumout OF the United
States. and that while / could interfere, 70
was under the law which gave me lurisdic.
ton over the entire order and not under any
THE ORGASIzArIoS ExPLAISEp.
! furthermore explained to you that the
spirit OF our organization was opposed TO
strikes, and that was the reason why our
general convention never enacted any par.
t.culnr icgisis'' on for the government Of
. 4
never before called for any Interference
from the genera officers but this strike
would show the Iieccss " for the passage at
our ncXt convent on of laws thai would place
the subject Of strikes under thg control Of
the general executive board Of the or
der. when on NOnchY, March ~, you
sent me the letter mari ed personal" you vi
the same time told Il Tewspaper correspond
cnt that you had d0nG so. what your motive
was IN marking your letter personal and al
the same time inform ng a representative Of
the press that you had done 30, | % not know,
nor DO quest on your motive. felt u % bo
my duty 10 let the publ sec the lcttrr.which
contained nothing of a personal nature what
ever. There are people who might la unchnr-
itnhic enough 20 saY that your intention was
10 give the impression that there was some.
thing between you and me which would not
bear thc light OF public sHrutny. ! have had
no such dealings with any man since this trOu-
bic began nor previous 20 that time. am
willing To allow the fullest light possible 10
shine on my every transaction. have moth
ing % conceal. You can sotti1 this strike.
It's longer continuance rrtts with you, aud
you alone. Every act Of violence. every drop
OF blood that may be- shcd from this time
forth must bo la d at your door. Tic kn ghts
Of Labor wcrg not founded 10 promote or
shield wrong do nH. aud to-day the order Of
the Kn ghts Of Labor stands between your
property and ruin. We are willing 10 absOlye
the men along your railways from their al
legiancc 10 our order We leave thnt 10 them
selves. We VIII not allow amy ella ms which
the order may have on them 90 stand be-
tween them and their restoration % their
former places.
WHO - TIN CONsPfHkTOnY
The order Of the Knights Of Labor asks no
man 10 remain a mcmher ~ u b. NOT to IA =
interest tu do so. You NAV deal with them
hs citizens if yOu will We Will surrender our
right 10 claim those men as nSmhers1f they
wish, but we " D not surrender our rights to
see this nliair thoroughly invest gated. Ou
have said that the order OF knghts Of Labor
was consp rncy, "a secret menace, cto. am
willing. as the chief officer 20 lay every th nH
connected with our order bare 10 the world
10 a tho "a thor lHufrI Hhn
] public the means and methods whereby you
! have q Jed mp the wealth which you control
/ aud allow the Or bunul Of public Op n on %
| pass IN Judgment on the two nud sgy which
! j. the conspiracy. Do you accept the chal-
] lcngcf You have Instructed your legal ad-
wiser 20 proceed against every man connected
] WIN the knights Uf Labor for the damages
! sustained since the strike began. Two weeks
ago said do not DO THE" 10 dny say: he.