New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1888-02-12
TO SUPPLANr THE KNIGHTS OF LABOR
A NEW oRGANIZArIoN WITH CHANGE OF NAME
TO BE FORMED.

A NEW DEVASTATION WITH A CHANGE OF NAME
TO BE FORMED.
PHILADELPHIA Feb Liver since the beginning or
the strike among the Reading ralroaders and miners
which Justly regarded tho life and death struggi,
of the knights OF Labor, the revolt OF the rank ma
file from their allegiance to MI PCwdcry and the Execu
tive Board has been relegatcd to the background.
Nevertheless the revolt has made decided progress.
II IS estimated that more than 100000 knights
alce ance to the General Executive Board
AS many Knights exists now, 1t may be explained now
ever as at any previous time, bnt they are noe
paid Ip nem bers Of the organization and are not sub
feet to It's laws and regulations. do they pay money
into tts treasury In hundreds Of local assemblies,
the membership has been allowed t" decrease to only
ten members eachus enough under the constitution 10
hold charter the least possible expense The revolt
is only rhrec old, dating from October 22 1851
when tbs first Provisional cnmittee' OF the oppss
ton met I'm Chicago and drew up It's manifesto to the
~,oria Yet In that space OF witness how It
has spread In this city all the big district assemblies
have gone down rapidly within that period. Mixed
District Assembly / has shrunk from Q total men,
bershlp OF $4,000 In 21 local assemblies few mont rs
ago, to 5000 in fifty local assemblies now District
Assembly Q, In Camden and Gloucester, has shrunk
from 1000 members good standing to 800 members,
and IS called the administration stronghold
OF Ncw-Jcrsey. ShOewOrkers' District Assembly 20,
which before the Minneapolis convention I'm October,
had 5000 members, Is the point of dlsbandii ut
and tottering and Carpeworkers' District Assembly
1875 is completely demolished. Textileworkers Dis
trct Assembly 100 has become nero shadow Of its
former strength Machinery Constructors District
Assembly 1913 is painfully anguishng and pennsylvania
Railroad Employees District Assembly 212 Is retro
grading instead of growing, and Reading Railroad EN-
ploycs' District Assembly 224 IS making show OF
loyalty the general officers while at heart It's an
tipathy to the regnng administration Is undSputed
The I}as ket makers Assembly $40, which withdrew
from the order this week, declared the reason in
huencing its action to BIO the mismanagement OF tho
order by the General Executive Board and particularly
the refusal of that body to render an itemized account
OF its receipts and XpenGitnrcs.
In the southern States, according TO the reports or
the labor who recently visited that section
the revolt from the authority Of the general officers
has left the ranks equally weak condition Down
East" to use the words of George H. McNeIl, the
Boston leader PCwderly's rival, alludng to New
England the order is practically OF no account or
Influence whatever" Authentic reports from various
industrial centres in the Western states show much the
same state of affairs exists within the order there
Yet I'm tho falB of these facts ord figures, both
HAYES and Iitchman, the most unpopular members OF
the present administration, have male bold to assert
HAT the order in Increasing rapidly In membership ana
is gaining in power and influence But In the latter
part of February there Will probably be concerted
movement all over the country toward new ana In
,Ieucndent Organization, to DO called probably The
rotherhOod OF Labor The Pre- vsit nal Committee
of Phlade hla VIII lake tho Initiative within the next
fen DAYS and issue a manifesto calling convention
to meet in Chicago and set new form OF government
In the order