The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1886-04-16
THE EioHT-HouR MOVEMENT.

Monster Demonstration by the Trades Un-
ions of Chicago In Favor of the Eight
Hour Movement--An Immense Meeting
in the ArmOry and a Big Overflow Out
slde--An Anarchist Addenda That Was
Quietly Ignored.
CHICAGO, April II.-Fully eight thou
sand workingmen crowded into the great
armory of the Sixth Cavalry on the
lake front last night and probably
four thousand more gathered in front of
the building. The occasion had been ad-
vertised as an eight-hour demonstrate on
under the auspices of the Trades AS
sembly. A large proportion of the as
sembI. ge came in organized bodies, pre-
ceded by fife and drum, and carrying
huge transparencies. Few of the men
wore any regalia, and apparently no at
tempt at display was made except in point
of numbers. Neither was there anything
resembling a procession. The various un-
ions came trooping in from all directions
and first come first served was the rule as
TO seats. Nevertheless, eXcelle Mt order was
maintained.
curious feature Of the meeting was
the noticeable absence of youths and aged
men as well The audience was almost
wholly composed of men between twenty
five and forty, comfortably clad, and few,
if any, showing a sign of liquor. There
were not to exceed a dozen police to be
seen aboW the hall. Interest centered in
the transparencies md as union after
union, at irregular. intervals, marched into
the hall and the crowd caught sight of
notices. the speakers voices were lost
In rounds of cheers that were renewed
again and again. "Eight Hours and No
Drones," p" ''Work Eight Hours and Boom
the Labor Market" and "Oppose Child La
Dor" were fair samples. Among the trades
present the most num@ous were the car
penters, plasterers, clothing-cutters and
cigar-makers, but a long list of others
were not far behind in point of numbers.
George A. Schilling acted as chairman,
and ranged about him on the platform
were the leaders of the local unions, and
men prominent in the labor movement.
Among the latter sat Judge Richard
Prender9ast. of the State bench. Alex
ander Sullivan also occupied a seat on the
platform. The addresses of the evening
were delivered by Thomas E. Hill, who
spoke of the progress of the eight-hour
movement; w. K. Salter. who dwelt on
the economic bearing of the movement
on society, and L. Fl. Sawyer. on its ma
terial advantages to the wage-workers.
The crowds on the Outside were held to-
gether by speeches from Richard Powers
and several other prominent knights of
Labor
just as the overflow meeting was fully
under way burly individual in a long
coat, and wearing a shabby slouch hat,
mounted pile of lumber in front of a sa-
loon on the outskirts of the crowd and
began a sOcialistic harangue. About the
same time there emerged from the hall in
which the eight-hour demonstration was
being held file of men bearing a red
flag, having on it an inscription in Ger
man. This banner had been borne in the
hal while the meeting was in progress,
and being OF dingy hue and kept furled.
was not distinguished from the half
dozen other flags, all of which were
the regulation stars and stripes. About
FIVE hundred evidently earnest syrnpathiz-
ers drew close to the Socialist orator,
who proved to be an Anarchist named
Sam Fielding. At his feet sat his negro
wife. On the outskirts of the gather
ing of Fielding's supporters were an
equal number of curiositv-seekers, max
ing his audience a round thousand.
The first named class of listeners were
easily discerned by their hearty applause
of Fielding's sentiments and the fact
that their cries and convers alton were not
in English.
He was succeeded by A. R. Parsons,
who violently assailed the knights of La
Dor, after which his hearers formed in
line and marched to the hall of the Inter-
national Society The only demOnstra-
ton for or againp the anarchists by the
general crowd were few dersive cheers.
The other meetings, both in the hall and
on the outside, were prolonged much
later. But few references were made by
the speakers to the existing railway
strikes, and then principally to point
moral in arguments for the mass to or
ganize till strikes should be made prac-
ticallv impossible and steady work at rea-
sonable pay could be obtained by meas
ures such as a general adoption of the
eight-hour system.
Though the strikers were left untouched
by the speakers. an expression of the
feeling of the multitude was given in the
following, which was adopted by accla-
nation amid enthusiasm:
RpsolceH, That this mass meeting de-
nounces the perf1dv of Jay Gould in break
Ing his agreement with the Knights of Labor
to settle the causes Of the present strike In
the SOU invest oy m arbItT1Sl1h; n ~ IN MS ms lFItet
of Sunday. March %, TO T. V. PoWderiv, Gen
eral Master Workman of the Knights of La
bor, Could stated in substance that the
grievances Of the men now on a strike on the
Southwestern railroad system would he sub
mitted tn arbitration. This was written to
PowderIy after two interviews on that Suu-
day at GouId's house. and as a part of the
agreement between Gould and the Knights
of Labor In accordance with the same
agreement. General Master Workman Pow
Derry teiegraphed the men to return to york
at once. Gould. the next dav. by falsehood
and Misunderstanding, violated It. and he did
this plainly for the purpose of demoralizing
the Knights of Labor. We. therefore. de-
clare that the conduct OF Gould in this mat
ter is hase in the extreme, and we call uDon
the public evervwhera to familiar re them
selves with the facts in the case. and Judge
who Is to blame for the continuance of the
strike-Gould or the Knights of Labor.
Some of the city papers estimate that
the gathering numbered between fifteen
and twenty thousand Tt was, probably,
the largest labor demonstration ever held
in this city.