The Indianapolis journal., 1886-04-21

The System of Intimidation and Terrorism
Adopted by the Knights.
st. Louis Letter in New York Nation.
The public has been fairly we'll informed Of the
incipiency and progress of the strike on the
Gould lines; but the coloring given to it by the
press, and by associated and private dispatches,
in different sections of the country, has had a
tendency to hide from the outside public many
of the local features, to which attention must be
given in order to understand its origin, rise and
inevitable consequences.
TO begin with the country should understand
that this was not strike 1t was boycott,
pure and unadulterated. The public generally
accepts the term of boycott to be sort OF good
natured and not unlawful method Of applying
the screws to refractory employer. Such may
have been the intention of the originators of
this method, but as at present applied it fore
bodies incalculable mischief.
When boycott is decreed, it is directed
against every man, woman child. against ev-
cry Arm, corporation or individual. against ev.
erybody who-directly or indirectly, whether for
profit or love- whether his life or his health or
that of his wife and children depend on it,
whether he they were sick, suffering or starv-
ing, whether imDelied thereto by ties of friend
ship, gratitude, or humanity-helped, aided,
worked for, or In any way assisted the person,
corporation, or institution which had incurred
the displeasure of and been declared to be under
the ban by chartered lodge; and TO abide by
this order when given, all Knights Of Labor are
solemnly sworn.
Tracing the history of this strike it will be
seen that this was the course 1t took.
Ostensibly the laws were to be respected, but
in fact no law was to stand in the way Of pre-
venting the excommuncated road from being
operated; and violence, destruction and panic
were to, and did. follow in the wake of the
Knights secret order.
st. Louis being the key of the situation. and
the chief offices of the road as well as of the
knights being there, this city became the main
point of attack. 1t is needless to describe the
open acts Of violence that were committed-they
matters of history; but the secret and invisi-
ble acts of terrorism are not The thousands of
employees who were serving the company, directly
or Indirectly, from the best-paid artisan down to
the day aborer and the poor women who scrub
the cars, were waited upon by COMMITTEE
and requested" to stop work instanter Gener-
ally they were served with written notice, read
ing as follows:
Ycu requested not to . work in the shop
repair tracks take out engine. ETC.,
ETC., from and after - o clock this day. By order OF
the EXECUTIVE CoMMrrrEE
5Seal of Knights}
! of Labor. )
1t will be observed that the word requested"
only lS uSeu. ueSgneulV TOT the purpose or Serv-
ing a cloak TO the boast that the Knights new
er used violence; but there il terrible meaning
attached to the word request" which every la
boring aud workingman in the country now un-
derstands Il means that whoever does not heed
that request may consider himself outlawed;
that when going to or returning frSm his work
he will be hooted. hssed aud spat upon; that he
will be beaten, his wife and children insulted.
his traiesmen forbidden to sell HIM goods. his
landlord ordered to oust him from his home All
his social relations will be cut off, and he will be-
come the Ahasuerus of his tribe. No wonder
that the most loyal and the stoutest among them
give up their manhood rather than incur the con-
sequences of such demoniac prosecutions.
The Missouri Pacific boycott not producing the
desired result, it was extended over the St Louis
bridge, and later on, over East ST. Loais The
strikers there outvied the St Louis mob. Under
the guidance of the Knights all the avenues of
trade and industry were closed The st. Louis
Transfer Company, which owns several hundred
teams. had to suspend operations. It's teamsters
were requested" to quit. and quit they did.
They all loyal to their employers. were poor,
needy. hard working men. and they met after
ward among themselves. and published protest
in the papers against this unwarranted inter
florence. but they dared not to ignore the ''ro-