Waterbury evening Democrat., 1888-10-11

hnlgQtS or lIdOOr Knew the true state or aI fairs they would rather the society dis banded than continue to be the mere cats paw of any body of professional tricksters."
 For the last two year, l" he continued, "all the privilege that the Knights of Labor have had was to bear the taxes and assessments and pay our salaries, It costs to meet the expenses of the general office from $66, 900 t1 S!2, 900 year There are nine members oi the executive board, of which am member and during the year that has just closed oul salaries and expenses amounted to $32, 900 Now, l ask what ill the name of goodness have we given you in return for that large amount: To what purpose do you expend this large sum annually: Simply to support a lot of industrial lords at hotels at poverty, expense. (Cheersl
 Il have seen men kept running around the general office in Philadelphia for two or three weeks with nothing to do, and living all the time in the finest style at the hotels Some of these men had come there from long distances; they travelled in a Pullman pal ace car, and spared no expense to secure the utmost comfort and enjoyment, and fire quently the errands on which they are brought are of the most trivial nature
 Again we have q lot of inspectors going about who are paid salary of $1, 900 and legitimate expenses. 1 have had occasion to notice the practices of some of these gentle men. 1 have found many instances where they go about extorting money from the local organizations in whatever towns they happen to visit, notwithstanding the fact that they are the regularly hired servants of the executive board
 '1n The Journal of United Labor you. often read of the great sacrifices your general off cers are making, the hardships they endure, and the abuses they have sometimes to sub init to. I don't think there is man in this audience who is not willing to sacrifice him self on the altar of humanity in the same manner as these gentlemen are required to do Let see how it affects them Take Brother Hayes, for example. As a brakeman Brother Hayes probably made from S45 to $50 month. For the last three years he and his wife have had royalty good living at first class hotels, and he has drawn S2S week salary besides In the convention I made reference to this practice. 1 said I was not aware of the fact that my wife was a mem- Der of the general executive board or that was privileged to keep her with me, but said had known it 1 could have enioyed basking in the sunshine of her loving presence just as we'll as any of my colleagues u.augh- ter) The only possibility of hardship can see in the life of Brother Hayes is that he may die of dyspepsia or the gout daughter,
 "Then there is Brother Bailey, a coal miner by trade. He has been recognized as a CO., l kicker of mine. As a coal miner he would make $2 day, or about SIP a week. As a member of the general executive board he also draws S2S week and has the free hotel living. The same may be shown of Brother Aylesworth and the other members of the board, even including Brother T. Y. Pow dery. (Hisses and applausel As mechanic | be made the princely sum of $2 50 day | Had he continued a mechanic he would have lived and died, and the world would never have known he was born. We took him from the wise and the bench and placed him ill position from which he received $l 200 year the first year and kept raising the amount each year until now it has reached the height of 5000 year
 IT. B. McGuire went courting three months and three months on a wedding tour, at the expense of the order. He went to | Saratoga, and spent most of his time at his summer residence in Amsterdam, getting S4 a day and expenses These men talk of their sacrifices for labor
 "ln one year $495, 900 of your money was spent-we don'G know how. When the audit ing committee of the last general assembly saw the accounts they were appalled, They included wine bills The committee sum- moned the executive board to explain The former said it would never do to go before the general assembly with such accounts I oNN AoSSA b&tS lS DSIOTS CDo Q6lB- gates and tell the truth. The report was rushed through by Powderlys gavel and every delegate who protested was rapped down.
 | Ut is one of the fundamental principles of ourorganization that we shall not become aff ated with any political party. We have taken the charters from some local assemblies for intermingling in politics, yet at the time the executive board were annulling these charters we had two bosses wire pulling in Maine. We sent them there to have the Greenback Labor ticket taken out of the field, in order that we might be enabled to defeat Tom Reed for congress, and am proud to say the labor men would not con sent to do what we required If we had had the power at that time to excommunicate them from the order, there is not the slight est douht it would have been done,
 "You have heard a good deal about the lecturers in the order, and education. and of the $14 900 subscribed for that purpose. But the lecturers were not appointed until re- csntly. Itwill take $10 900 to hold the gen eral assembly in Indianapolis but the order to-day is S17,0 900 in debt, and the lecture fund may be required to help to hold the con ventionn
 In conclusion, Barry advised the audience to join in a crusade for reform inside, as well as outside, of the order. r.-Ui