The weekly Floridian. [volume] (Tallahassee, Fla.) 1867-19??, 1888-07-26

Textile Operatives
breaking Away From Political
HOs~fsm

~ Sefcstapu 10 TIE herald
PHILADELPHIA, July l3, lsss.-There
is an element here IN the textile indus.
tries which the political bosses have not
counted upon. | refer to Knights Of
Labor organizations which have taken up
the tariff question in very earnest
manner.
Hitherto it has always happened that
the independence of a wage worker has
been overcome within sight OF the polling
place on election day. When the wire
pullers got hold of him the usual argu.
ments prevailed and the resolutions of
the year were thwarted, because he sim
ply voted the same old ticket. This
year it will be different. There has been
revolution quietly accomplished among
worklngmen. Assemblies 1884, 1907,
1866, and smaller local in Germantown
comprise membership of about forty
eight-hundred.
A member of 1884 said to your cor
respondent last night =" The locals are
composed of textile workers, and all are
assuredly for free wool. Their members
Will vote tor 1t no matter what Mr. Ran
dali, Mr.. Bingham, Mr.. O'Neil, Mr..
Harmer or Judge Kelly may say or do
L: is true that our people do not feel
sure of Mr.. Powderly's attitude on the
question. During the lockout, which
was threatened before, but was not in
tended until two days after the last Con-
gressonal action, it has been suspected
that Mr.. Powderly, in conjunction with
Colonel Mcclure, of the Times, and the
representatives of certain manufacturers,
fixed the matter up in way that was
not pleasing to majority Of the mem
bers of the textile locals. While no
direct charges are made against Mr..
Powderly, members intimated that he
was influenced to act against their best
interests, and cannot forget the rather
peremptory way in which he came out of
MIR. McClure's Office and said, Its no
use to indulge in further discussion The
thing is fixed. There will be no lockout
Had the proprietors of the mills princi-
pally Interested made their order of lock-
out SO that it should take effect two days
before the election instead of two days
afterwards, the result would have been
very different from what it was. The
Fifth district would have been reversed.
DID JARRETT DEFEAT MORRISON?
Again." continued my informant,
" our boys know that Mr.. Jarrett went to
Illinois about the time Mr. Morrison's
canvass was in the balance 1t is the
general opinion that Mr.. Jarrett threw
his influence with the parties who de-
feated Mr.. Morrison. Bearing all these
things in mind, our assemblies have de-
termined that when it comes to voting in
xx,,l oil
renee from Mr.. Powderly, Mr.. Jarrett or
any other individual"
Accepting this view, then, the knights
of Labor form the unknown quantity
which political bosses will find very hard
to overcome and manipulate this year
At every meeting, l am informed by two
members of different assemblies, this sub
iect of the wool tariff is discussed more
or less energetically, and there has been
no change in the sentiment favorable to
it's abrogation from the beginning. If
you add to the 4,8OO Knights of Labor
the $4,000 other mill hands who are in
hearty sympathy with the Workingmen's
Tariff Reform Association, you will have
a voting agglomeration which will prob
ably change the political complexion of
two Congressional districts. And the
members of these organizations intend to
have something to do with counting the
votes after they are cast. Boss McManes
once said he didn't care who cast the
votes if he had the honor of counting
them.
MILL OPERATIVES ARE WIDE AWAKE.
| made a canvass of leading mills in
company with Knight of Labor with
the view of adding to the information al
ready in possession Of the Herald con-
cerning the actual feelings of weavers and