St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1889-10-05
LABOR'S BEST FRIEND.
Powderly Publicly Disproves
the Charges Made Against
Him by Enemies.
No Less Than Ten Forgeries
Unearthed at a Mass
Meeting.
Jay Gould's Treaeherous Re-
pudiation Of a Solemn
Promise to Strikers.
An Appeal to Knights to Close
Up and Perfect Organ
iZation.

OI. LOUIS. Mo, OCt. 4.-EVer SlDCo
the announcement that the general ex.
ecutive board of the Knights of Labor
would meet this week in ST. Louis. pub.
lie attention has been kept fixed on
Grand Master Workman Powderly and
his board by constant series of at
tacks which have been made upon
them and their organization by disaf.
fected members and ex-members.
POwderlv's opposition to the ap.
pointment of Detective Furlong to the
United States secret service and
his exposure of alleged crookedness
in the attempts to obtain the appoint
ment afforded the diSaffected elements
and Furlong's friends an opportunity
to join forces in an attack which they
have been boaStiug would compel POWs
derly's retirement and destroy the
Knights of Labor. Since his arrival on
Tuesday. POwderly and the board have
spoken only at private meetings Of
knights, but tonight it was announced
that POwderly would meet and disprove
all charges which enemies have been
HURLING AT HIS HEAD.
On Wednesday, Detwiler. of Chicago,
and Blake and NJ. D. Shaw, of st,
Louis, spoke at public meeting, max.
ing charges ad lib. against the Knights
and their officers, and to-day Furlong
addressed an open letter to POWderly
through the press in which he chal-
lenged his truthfulDess and made q
number of serious charges against him.
The expectation that POwderly would
answer all these drew an immense
crowd at to-night's meeting, Central
Turner hall being crowded to its ut
most capacity, and every inch of stand,
ing room being occupied. Mas.
ter Workman O. r. Lake,
OF D. A. II, occupied the chair.
Mayor NoOnan opened the meeting with
a neat address. 1t was labor. moi
wealth, he said, on which cOuntry's
welfare must depend, and he was grati-
fed to see the greatest of American
labor organizations presided over by
one who commanded the respect and
confidence of the best classes in the
community. Powderiy was received
with perfect storm of applause. Il
had been announced in the press that
POwderly's enemies would be allowed a
chance to speak, but they
DID NOT VENTURE TO ACCEPT.
He said lie would speak in the inter.
estS not only of tbs knights of Labor,
but of organized labor. He could not
speak of all the objects of the order, but
would touch Oh few. One of these ob.
jects was to create healthy public
opinion OH the subject of labor and cap
ital. The money power had persist
emily and Systematically sought to
destroy the Knights, nor were they
scrupulous as to the means and
ness the attacks with which
the columns of the local press had been
filled during the past week. Turning to
a child in the audience, he spoke of the
efforts of the Knights to put an end to
child labor. From this he turned to the
demand of the Knights for equal pay for
equal work to both sexes. The Knight
of Labor who denied to woman her
rights was no Knight. Outside the
Christian church women were treated
nowhere with such consideration as
in the order. He said that he
regretted that it would not be possible
for him to devote the whole evening to
eXpOunding the platform. as other mat
ters must be touched upon. 1t was
asked why he did not advocate prohi-
bition. Simply because the order had
not declared for it. Why did he not
advocate single tax? Though person.
ally
again because the order had not yet in
general assembly announced in favor of
1t. He told of the educational work
done by the general lecturers: wolk,
which he believed the order would ap-
prove of, but the fruits of the work
done could not be expected to be imme-
diately reaped. He then addressed
himself a refutation Of the charges
made against him. He would refute
every charge, and his audience should be
his jury, whose verdict he would accept.
He then detailed the circumstances
connected with his protest against the
appointment of FurlOng. He first pro-
duced batch of letters which had been
carried to him by Shaw, most of which
bore OH the envelope the ''recalln Of
the reporters present committee, he
submitted all the documents to them.
He then read ShaW's etter, and
then turning to other documents
he showed how Shaw had garbled
and falsified the evidence he
pretended to submit. Furlong's letter
in the morning papers was next over
hauled, and from the records of the
courts sworn at the time. he proceeded
to demonstrate that FurlOng had con-
spired with one McKeagan and others
to entice Martin Irons and other to at
tempt to tap the wires so that he could
make a criminal case against the Strik-
ers. The letters carried to Powderly by
Blake were then taken up, and one
after the other the men whose names
were appended came forward and pro-
nOunced them forgerieS. No less than
ten
FORGERIES WE'RE THUS PROVEN.
Powderly then repelled the charge
that he had made public the private let
terS Of Russell Harrison. His letter to
Harrison had been peddled around St.
Louis. 1t was the duty of all good citi-
Zens to prevent the appointment Of
to positions such as the one
FurlOng sought, and in lodging his
protest he but performed his duty.
The story told by Blake and Mac
Donald. that PoWderly was in Kan
sas City last Sunday, was disproved
by kilograms from the Forest City
house, Cleveland. and Mabley & CareW,
of Cincinnati, stating that Powderly
was in those cities Sunday and Monday.
From the published official reports he
his position on the stock
yards strike in Chicago and the great
Southwest strike. Referring to Martin
Irons. he declared that he had ever
found him square and honest. At
Irons invitation and that of Mr.
Neasbaum, of Denver, he attended
the convention at Kansas City. He then
and there frankly told the men of the
danger and probable results of strike.
None of the men who bore the brunt
aver blamed him and until thav did ha