The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-05-03
LOCAL LABOR AGITATION.
The Mass Meeting of Workingmen at
Mozart Hall Yesterday Afternoon.
The Addresses Delivered by the Speakers
The Intentions Of the Striking Employees
of the Central Chair Factory.
yesterdays MASS MEETING.
A Large Gathering of Workingmen Addressed
by Lefingwen and TrevelIick.

Large Gathering of Workingmen Addressed
by Lefangwell and TrevelIick.
large meeting of work;ngrnen was held at
Mozart Hall, yesterday afternoon, under the
auspices of the Knights of Labor. A crowd
numbering about 500 was present. number of
women were present L. FL. Mcclellan acted as
chairman.
The first speaker was Samuel Leffngwell.
His address. which was the principal one of the
meeting was temperate, and it called
forth great deal of enthusiasm. He made ar
gumenss in behalf of tho organization of labor,
and the sharing of profits with employees. He
touched incidentally private property in
land, to which he objected. He wanted eight
hours to constitute days labor. He said the
coal-oil men. the anthracite coal men, the law
yers, the doctors, the grain gamblers. the bank
thieves the rent thieves, were all organized, and
woe to the cutter of rates, the shyster, the
quack the bucket-shop which attempted to
'scab." These were organized for wealth merely,
while at the first whisper of organization by
the workingmen for food or education, they
were called Nihilists, Socialists disturbers Of
the peace. He counseled the Knights that they
must not go too far or their cause would receive
back set; that they respect capital, which also
had rights, and that the object Of their order
was to build up, not to tear down.
Richard F. Trevellick, the labor agitator, was
the next speaker He is blueeyed English
built after the bulldog pattern He com
plimented Leffngwel's speech, and said he
hoped 10000 copies would be printed and
circulated. His own speech, in view, perhaps,
of the day on which he spoke was founded
largely on texts from Scripture, though he paid
n in wa
would not consider complimentary IF America
Is cursed with anything to-day" said he 'it is
with too much religion We've got too much
religion and too little Christianity" Speaking
dennis usury. 1t don't The church says 'Usury
consists in taking more than the law allows ;
But the law in New York allows per cent.
while in Nebraska it allows TO- They will have
to have funny kind of book keeping in heaven
to keep up with that"
Mr.. Trevellick made, also. few references to
the newspapers. II saw an editorial in the
Journal, this morning" said ne, (which held that
newspapers were sold cheap enough 1 agree
with the writer. You have excellent newspapers
in this city Buy them and read them. But
don't read the editorials. No man of common
sense believes what they say. The editors don't
believe them, themselves. You can't find a Re-
publican newspaper that will give line of credit
to Democrat or a Democratic paper that will
give a line Of credit to Republican. They call
they are pretty well acquainted, they probably
tell the truth" He said that if Congress had
loaned money to the people as it had loaned it
to the banks, at per cent, if it had not given
away the public land to corporations, and if it
had made a law against the watering of stock by
corporations, there would now be nobody unem-
ployed, the United States would have
been worth twice what it is,
and there would be no poverty. He
spoke of the eight hour law. saying he had once
called on General Grant. when President TO see
about enforcing the law in the departments.
The General had said nothing to him, but, puff
ing the smoke of his cigar up the larboard side
of his nose, wrote the following note to the
proper man. Enforce the eieht-hour law, or
will U. S. Grant" The speaker had gone to
President Hayes on the same mission, and the
latter said I'm not much in favor of it." He
did not wonder that Hayes stole the presidency.
The address was enthusiastically cheered,
Col. j. B. Maynard then spoke briefly, after
which the general meeting adjourned and the
Knights of Labor held q secret session for q
drill on their signs,