Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1886-04-26
KNIGHTS OF CAPITAL.
How the battle with the WOrkmen
Has Been Prepared For.

N Special to the Philadelphia Press. April IS.
Just as the troubles between the northern and
southern states led, year by year, through
a number of decades to the struggle OF twenty
five years ago, so have the differences between
capital and labor been gradually approaching
the final struggle 1t has been said OF late that
the strikes all over the country are Indicative
that the period Is at hand when the millionaire
and corporations on one side and the working
men on the other must come to a satisfactory
and final understanding, which Is TO be the
supremacy of the one or the other.
strikers in a majority of instances have met
with success in times past simply because they
were organized, but recent information shows
that the miliOnaires and corporations have
also Organized and that to this fact is due the
virtual defeat of the Knights OF Labor on the
Gould southwestern system in Chicago, on the
Sd avenue road in this city and of the sugar
strikers in Brooklyn. 1t is learned that from
the day last summer when Gould was forced to
bow the knee to the knights and grant their
demands for an adjustment of grievances on
the Wabash system that the capitalists and
large corporations, seeing the handwriting on
the wall, have been preparing for a final struggle
Practically speaking, a great union OF the
moneyed interests has been in course of forma-
ton for many months. At first the surface
railroad corporations OF this city did not be-
long To ths union, and they were forced to
grant the demands of their men in January
Since then it can be positively stated that the
presidents of the roads have Joined the big
union, subscribed anywhere from S1,OOO,OOO
and upward and are now prepared To give
To this union of capital more than anything
else Is due the defeat OF the Third avenue
strikers. To this big union is due the defeat OF
the strikers on the southwestern system, the
defiant attitude of Hoxie and the surrender OF
the strikers at Chicago. When Hoxfe turned
his back upon the members OF the general
executive committee of the Knights OF Labor
he knew that all the roads leading into east 81.
Louis had subscribed S2o0,0O as a fund to de-
feat the strikers. He knew that all the other
roads of the country had subscribed or were
willing to subscribe hundreds of thousands to
crush the knights of Labor and the labor
unions of the country.
The last to come into the union are the sugar
refiners OF Brooklyn. They also have sub
seribed to the big fund and are prepared To
fight to the bitter end. They are even more
defiant than HOxie. They refuse absolutely to
take the strikers back at anything like former
wages. They will shut down entirely, they
say, knowing full well that as the knights have
fund from which to draw support. they also
have a fund running up into tue millions from
which to draw sustenance.
A certain president of one of the trunk lines
said to-day that his company stood ready to
subscribe half a million to the big fund at the
first indication of trouble from its employees.
Whether Gould is the general master workman
OF the Knights OF Capital can not be learned,
but such is tine report. This big fund has
enabled the corporations to scour the country
for non-union men, and it can be stated posi-
lively that in the event of general tie-up of
the railroads in this any OF the large cities
these men stand ready to lake the places OF the
strikers.