Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1888-11-22


reaching out with hand OF steel TO grasp and
control the Government itself, and IL Is indeed a
battle for the supremacy. II the masses re-
main idle and indifferent the classes will rule
through the power which comes TO them through
the banking, railway and land monopolies. 1t
Is, therefore, duty which we should not neg
lect, to select the sections which have pointed
out and place them prominently before our
members for discussion. IL we do our duty and
II the proper steps are taken, we can compel the
and we can so educate the people ON these
issues that they can discern for themselves the
difference between the real friend and the sham
when he presents hims Jh for the suffrage OF the
PEOPLE.
He recommends that special COMMITTEES OF
three be appointed to take up the matter. He
advocates concentration OF on rgies ON these
questions, and further recommends the forma-
tion OF junior assemblies for educating younger
working psople. Matters OF interest chiefly to
the order come in for good snare of attention,
and he then favors a change OF the time OF hold
ing the General Assembly, believing IL comes
too close to the election. He says: 1T might
happen that in the neat OF a particularly excit-
ing campaign members would differ as TO polti-
cal methods. and il-feeiing be engendered.
Should our annual session be held In the midst Of
such contest or soon after one, 10 could not be
productive OF as much good as one held at
time when every trace OF the excitement anger
He adyocates equal pay for equal work for wom-
en-. The provisional committee is referred TO as
follows: scarcely had the gayel fallen en- the
last act OF the Minneapolis session than traito
hands were raised TO destroy what it hal taken
years OF time and patient WORK to construct.
The majority OF the last convention were right ;
they legsla. cd as they saw the necessity for Ii ;
they refused TO pass resolutions with which
they were not in sympathy, and at the close OF
the General Assembly meeting vas held in
the city OF Chicago with the avowed purpose
OF disrupting the whole order. At that
meeting IL was resolved to organize what was
called Provisional Committee for tie purpose
OF purifying the order Decision No. 2i6, which
is herewith b presented for the action OF the Gen
eral Assembly. deals with the question Of the
right OF a membr OF the Provisional Commit
tee t. visit or otherwise NEEDLE with an q assem-
bly, Of this order. That decision should be ap-
proved and a law passed at this meeting which
would promptly and forever expel from the order
the member who would engage in such dastardly
work as was inaugurated Mt the meeting or the
Chicago Professionals. Reforms spring from noble
impulses, but the impulse which furthered the
assembling of ProviDionals' was born in hate
nursed in envy, and grew TO its present size IN
the hope that this great order would one day be
brought beneath the rule OF men who do not
possess the courage or manhood to properly rule
themselves. No esitancy and mawkfsh senti-
ment should sway us at this session. Let us
once and forever put it beyond the power Of any
man TO fight this order or its principles and re-
main member. IL they will tear down,
lot them tear from the outside. and let
every true honest man in the order take sides,
and either go with those misguided creatures
or stand firm and defend the order from
their vile attacks. These attacks upon the
knights of Labor come from the persistent op-
position which has been shown to the idea OF al
lowing other organizations to control the Knights
OF Labor. DO not misunderstood me, for do not
refer to trades unions / once referrel to this
matter at meeting Of this body, and my re-
marks were twisted and tortured to serve the
purpose OF designing knaves who attempted
TO play upon the feelings OF trade union-
lists. l do not mean trade unonsts.
Their cause and ours are one in the
main. The organiza ION of which your
General Master Workman speaks is the
International Workingmen's Association, which
passed resolutions three years ago to secure the
of the Order of the Knight OF the Labor, The
proofs are in my possess on The plans of these
men met with but little success and from that
tine to the present the members of that organi-
zation have secretly and untiringly worked for
the ruin of this order. There members of
that society who are members OF this who do
not favor the schemes OF the warning factions
of the International Workingmep's Association,
but they ara few and far hetween, for
those who are known are intent only
destru ,tion. We had the misfortune to
elect o man who was either a member
or o sympathizer, TO the General Executive
Board, and he has at all times shown prefer
ence for the principles OF that organization,
An honest man would go with the society which
claimed his allie lance, but men who viii deny
their connection with other societies will not
scruple to destroy the Knights OF Labor II the
opportunity presents ITSELF the opportunity
never presented itself and they sought to make
Master Workman OF entertaining O bitter feel
ing for this element, II So you are wrong /;
there is no bitterness but there is q determina-
lion on his part to DIR We from the order every
element of discord, If it lies in his power to
do So"