Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1886-06-26
LEGISLATION FOR LABOR.
KNIGHTS SEND LETTERS TO
DEMOCRATIC LEADERS.


A List of Ri Is Which the Order Looks
to the Nsjority in the House to Bring
Forward tor ActiOn-The Measures De-
cIared Prom d in the Platform.
WASHINGTON, June 25.-The Commit
teeEof the knights of Labor, appointed at
the meeting OF the General Assembly held
at Cleveland, o., have sent long letter to
Speaker Carlisle, copies of which have
also been sent to Representatives Randall
and Morrison. The letter says:
AT special session of the General Assembly
of the Knights OF Labor held at Cleveland, o..
May rs to June 4, 1885, a committee of three,
consisting of Ralph Beaumont, james Camp
bell ana John }. Mccartney were appointed TO
visit the capitol during the present session OF
Congress for the purpose OF asking That BODY
TO pass laws to carry out the principles us LAID
down in our pl atform of principles, II copy OF
which we encose to you. The committee have
selected lew measures and embodied them
In memorial looking to that end. ana nave
sent out several thousand TO their different
branches throughout the country for sigma
lures and Endorsements from the people, aud
we expect to be abe in a few days 70 present
your body these petitions with the indoTse-
ments of at least 5000 signatures. The fol-
lowing is a brief summary of the petitions:
Ihey ask the passage of, first, House Dill
No. 1867 repeating the timber culture, pre-
emptiOn, and desert land acts; second. House
bill No. 702l for the adjustment of railroad
and other land grants; tnird, bills FORGETTING
all railroad land grants the conditions OF
which have not strictly been complied
with; fourth, the House bill organ zinG
the Territory of oklahoma; nth, the
senate bill opening portion of the
great Sioux reservation TO settlement;
sixth, The bill prom, biting aliens from holding
land, in the United States: seventh. the bill
making Presidential and Cong ess onal cleo
ton Jays holidays and Furnishing bribery;
eighth, the bll directing the disbursement of
at least S20O00J000 OF the Treasury surplus
and substituting Treasury notes for bank
uotes retired. The party of which you are
member IS in the majority by some 40 votes,
and we, therefore, look to the majority party
10 enact the necessary legislation to make
these measures part of the law of the land.
PROMISED IN THE PLATFORM.
In making these requests we feel that we
are not enunciating any new doctrines, but
on the contrary, we find the groundwork of
nearly every one of them laid down In the
Democratic platform adopted at Chicago in
1884 on which the present majority of the
dominant party was elected. We find tina.
paragraph of our memorial is fully covered
by that document. as follows:
We believe that public lands ought, as far
as possible, to be kept as hom esteads for actual
settlers; that all unearned lands heretofore
improvidenuy granted 10 railroad corpora
tons by the action of the Republican party
should be restored to the public domain. and
that no more grants Of lands shall be made to
corporations or be allowed to fall into the
ownership of alien absentees.
We also hnd that the last paragraph IN orr
memorial ought 10 meet with your hearty APP
prevail from the following which we copy
from the Chicago platform:
THAT a change is necessary is proved by an
existing surplus of more than $780, 600
which has yearly been collected from a SUI
ferng people,"
Therefore, again we say In requesting the
passage of these measures we are not asking
anything from the dominant party only
to fulfill promises that it mad to
the people when it was seeking
their SURFACES by which it obtained
its present majority. We are informed that
at a caucus of members of the dominant party
in the House, held ON Tuesday evening, June
a, you were appointed one of the committee
of three, whose duty it is to shape the legisla-
ton that is to come before the House during
the balance of this session. Hence, we pre-
sent to you this letter conveying to you the
desires of our constituencies. We do not ask
your party to support them. We only look
to you and your party to see that the meas
ures are brought forward and submitted to
the House for its action, ana we are willing
to trust them to the good judgment of the
members, regardless of party. We remain,
yours respectfully.
RALPH BEAUMONT, Chairman.
JOHN MCCARTNEY, Secretary.