The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-10-16
A scathing Review of the Work.


Scathing Review of the Work.
Special to the Indanseoiis journal.
RICHMOND, Va, Oct. 15.-This mornings
Wing devotes column and half to q review of
the proceedings of the Knights of Labor General
Assembly, and closes with a most severe and
scathing reproach. The article is largely com
posed of an interview with displeased delegate,
and is headlined thus:
"AUToCRACY AND ARIsToCRACY.
'REMARKABLE REMARKS OF A KNIGHT OF COOP
STANDING.
He Says that the General Assembly Has
Sounded the Death Knell of the Order"
The Wing says that but half day out of the
ten days of the con vention has been devoted to
actual business. the rest of the time going to
chickering's, jockeying, electioneering and schem-
ing for the Offices, aud that the remainder of the
session will be consumed in this work; that
delegates who had the good of their continents
at heart would not do as they have done here;
that there are intrigues to control the Offices
which will eventually ruin the organization. etc.
The delegate interviewed, the Wing says, has
been member of trades unions for nearly forty
years, member of the Knights of Labor for
eight years, and has three times been sent to the
general conventions. He read some extracts
from his declarations, as follows:
''This convention will finger long in the minds
OF all who have attended it for the acrimony,
selfshness and political scheming which has
characterized its proceedings. l will give the
organization just three more years. by the
watch, in which to live, and will tell you why
l say three years more The proceedings here
leading to and growing from the election of
officers have convinced me, and have convinced
a majority of the honest delegates that it will
not take more than a year to dissolve the
organization after the next general cleo
ton of officers. That will occur two
years hence. In all the officers elected up to
noon to day there is not single man who has
worked lick as laborer within ten years, and
all of them are professional organizers for what
money there is in it. The organization of KNIGHTS
Of Labor grew out of trades unions. It began
by amalgamating them and it grew
strong enough commenced to strangle them.
Although owing its strength to trades unions it
is a more violent enemy to them at this moment
than combined capital and the oppression of mo-
nopoly. Whenever it fails to force trad union
into its organization, it sets about to break it
down. 1t is pirate on the great sea of labor
and individual rights"
The indignant Knight reviews, in this vein,
the work for the offices, the politics and politi-
clans in the order beginning two years ago, and
concludes:
1.-THE great bulk of the delegates are sincere
men. They came here to honestly represent
their constituents, but there enough plotters
to defeat their purpose and wreck the organiza-
yGn spo politics om religion ssn and s self s
will lead the fight The dead
beats must go; and mind you, when the leeches
are withdrawn, there will be such gaping
wound exposed that the order will bleed to death
FiguratIvely speaking, three-fourths of the dele
gates have knives in their sleeves and chips
their shoulders. Unless there is wonderful
reformation the Richmond convention will prove
the death knell to the Knights of Labor"
Nha %tnla alf %ha1 Jo01 e
attention among the Knights and is the subject
of general comment.
Powderly and the Trades Union Element.
Richmond Special in Philadelphia Press
1t is impossible for any one to have a higher
appreciation of Mr. Powderly's many excellent
qualities of mind and heart than have His at
titude on tine drink question, on the question of
race and his general good sense as leader of
this organization has won for him the respect of
thousands who are opposed to many of the meth
DDS of the Knights of Labor.
This just recognition of his good qualities,
however, ought not to exempt him from fair
criticism account of the mismanagement of
this convention. To a very large extent he will
be held responsible, not only by the public and
those who watch his movements from the out
side, but by q very respectable minority within
the order, which he has undertaken to govern
with rod of iron At the Cleveland convention
the trades unions pleaded their cases from the
outside. They assembled in Philadelphia, and
submitted propositions to the Knights of Labor.
What was the result? Practically this:
Let us meet tremendously" said Mr..
Powderly. land reason together" The
trades union element had a right to suppose this
meant fair dealing, and hence the representa-
tives came to Richmond expecting fair treatment
within the order Did they get it, The trades
unionists claim not. They have been ignored
entirely, and in the makeup ofcommi ttees their
leaders have been left out in the cold Foster,
Mcneil, Carleton, Barrett, Barry. Mayer, Blu
chanan are practically left without an important
committee, while such men Litchman, Tur-
ner, Mcclure, Beaumont. Hayes and Bailey are
running the organization.
1t was in Mr. Powderly's hands to lnete out
justice to the trades-union element but for
reasons best known to himself he has refused to
do it. That they will calmly submit to this
treatment is not likely. The two first named in