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

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Cral Master Workman r. V. Powderly,
which, in brief, was as follows:
TO the off GERS and members of the General As
sembly:
| Labor has maintained an existence In the face
! of circumstances the most discourag II and dis
heartening Struggling forward in is infancy
bensatn ven oL secre;y I! "a met Win oPpos1iom
on IL faced the world as the advocate OF justice
for the poor, and found all who were enemies OF
the oppres sed arrayed against it, In ali OF these
years Il has had to brave the taunts and insults
| Of many whose interests IL serv, d. Since the
adoption OF the declaration OF principles, ten
years ago, this order has had the opposition of
all who despised their principles, but the year
| whose ending we witness at this season has been
the most trying and diseouragirg - those whose
I wish was TO see the harmonious blending of all
classes of workers beneath the shield OF knight
hood. Many causes combined to reduce the
number of those who swore allegiance TO the
| principles of the knights OF Labor. Their CIR
| culation OF false statements concerning the
strength Of tie order drove away thousands who
i regarded quantity rs being superior to quality
| in the makeup OF the membership OF n labor
| organization. When the rumor went forth from
the enemies quarters that the numbers were
| dropping down, those members, who looked 10
| others Tor what they should do themselves,
dropped out also. When the divergence Of opin-
! ion between the general officers became her
! aided broadcast by those who always magnihed,
| those members who locked for unity among the
officers, instead Of doing their duty by waiting
I'll they could replace those officers with others,
story, so often circulated and so wonderfully
| magnihed of the extravaganza of the general
| officers frightened others, and they too stood
| still until this session would assemble. In the
| ranks were men whose love of self predominant
| ed whose selfish desires could not be suppress
| ed for the common veal, and ON no occasion
would they consent to sink self for the good Of
all. The oft-told story Of their grievances
sickened and drove many from the order With
| an executive board whose members were not in
| harmony with each other, Who travelled from
| place to place denounoipg their fellow
! officers and condemning actions that they
were not responsible for, it could not he
wondered at that we have lost in numbers
! The unwise strikes which were entered upon
| against the laws and principles of the Knights
of Labor swept thousands OF our members into
poverty and forced them from the order, Add
! TO all OF those causes the campaign which has
| just closed in the United States. in which men,
| bcrs and aR semblies were pitted against each
other ON question which mover was made
part OF the declaration o principles. and on
| which they could very well afford to differ with
out dividing on any point in the laws or rules of
| the order, and We wonder not that there has
been falling off, but that we have passed
through the crucial test with the ranks unbro-
| ken as we find them TO-DAY.
He states that these trials have resulted in
good for the order, and denies anything like ofii-
cial dishonesty, inviting thorough examina.
! tltn of all books and accounts. Many changes
are desired IN the constitution, so as TO avoid
! the frequent changes which are recommended at
each session. He recommends the total aboli-
tion Of sections which provide for ths appoint
| ment and governing OF examining organizers.
The law as at present framed ia dead letter.
| An examination of sections 70 and % will show
| that in addition to his other duties the General
Master Workman Is required to examine the
statement OF expenssa as reported by the Gen.
eral Secretary. The treasury department
ehould be held responsible for oil money passing
through its channels; ana the Senerai Treasurer
| delaying payment on bills OF which he Is in
doubt is concerned. At present he thinks the
financial affairs are intrusted in too many hands.
The responsible party should be in;rus ed with
| the management of the finances
After speaking of the high estimation in which
! the order is held by many outside OF IL, and
showing the multiplicity Of details he must look
! after, he continues: "We have been treate to
many discourse during the past year on the
| subject OF one-man power. Tho chief trouble
| with our order is because OF the lack OF one-man
power. Our power has been divided in the past,
and II has worked injury to us. The will OF this
order crystallized into law and imprinted upon
the pages of our constitution by the representa-
tives here assembled should be carried out to
the lotter. To do this tho duty is assigned to
one man 10 execute these laws. Where the many
execute the laws themselves they always fail
whsre each man interprets the law for himself
there is sure 10 be babel OF sound and confusion.
Vest in one man the power to execute the laws
which the many favor ana pass upon allow no
interference with that man in the performance
OF his duties ana you may expect results. Al
low every self seeker every knave, every dis
turber and fault to interpret the laws, and
we have anarchy pure and simple. "A panderlng
TO ignorance by some has given r.so to the inn
preston that the man who rallied against the
one man power friend TO the masses. No
greater mistake was ever made. The man who
tells the people that they can all act inde-
pendent OF each other OH every issue that
arises, and do it intelligently, is a demsgogue
they naSS mnst meet TO determine not what one
man wants, but what Ia best for all men.
When they meet many cherished theories must
give way to practical IDEAS, and when these are
enacted into law and intrustel to the hands OF
one man for enforcement, every hand should be
stretched forth to aid that one man TO carry out
the will Of all men rather than 70 have, as have
had, so many hands stretched forth to stay the
work that your predecessors assigned to me.
One man power is an absolute necessity In order
to insure success, but those who confer that
power should first know what power to give, and
when the end OF that mans term OF ofiioe ar
rives they should know whether he has welded
his power IN such way as best 70
serve his constituents. II he has, accord
to him the merit OF having done soi II
MIN MIN for" for not aeeomi Iishins results when
the authority to do 80 not placed in his
hands, and when the power to thwart his every
move was delegated to others, who were sup
posed 10 act in unison with him. Men have
been paced IN Office with me with whom
would not for moment associate In private
. business enterprise with any hope OF success.
vet for the sake Of the good that might follow
silence, forbearance under such circumstance
has been observed by me- Fancy the condition
which the united colonies would have found
themselves In had the first ten years of the
government OF the United States Deen delegated
TO such men as i have described; and the
interest OF the 100000 of that day were
no greater than thcs1 which were placed
in the keeping of the General Executive Board
Of the Knights OF abOr. Your General Master
Workman realized full well his own incapacity
to deal with the great questions which faced him,
but IL was not necessary TO retard the progress
OF the order by placing an equal power in the
hands Of each member of the General Executive
Board, and then expect the General Master
Workman to achieve the success so much do
; sired by all true knights
After rem marking the influence OF the order on
public opinion, he takes M pending questions
, saying:
The most important questions that csn come
before this body for consideration are those o,
finance, land, and transportation. These great
questions are mp before the people for discusaior