Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-12-16
SOMELABOR HISTORY.
The Evidence Against ]. N. Kelly
Before the Trades Council.
THE EDITOR WAS INDIFFERENT.
BE Says he Preferred to Make No Defense
Of bis Actions.
OUTGROWTH OF TIE JEANNETTE CASE

The expulsion of Editor John NJ. Kelly
from the Central Trades Council on Satur-
day night did not excite so much comment
In labor circles yesterday as might have been
expected. Several delegates who were met
with expressed themselves as satisfied that
Mr.. Kelly had been fairly dealt with and
the charges against him clearly proven.
The evidence in support of the charges
was sufficiently voluminous to fill three
columns of The DISPATCH. The charges
were entered against Mr.. Kelly at the in
stance of L. A. Gill, through its delegates,
and were as follows:
First-That in the official organ Of L. A. 300,
OF which he is the editor, he PerssIently mis-
represented the motives and action of the Cen
tral Trades Council ana slandered it and its
members in the most abusive manner.
SecOnd-That both verbally and in the of1-
cial organ of L A. 800. he made deliberate mis-
statements which he knew to be false, for the
purpose of misleading the Executive Board Of
the Central Trades Council which at the re-
quest of l. A gill, was investigating the man
ner in which As foreign glass workers were
brought TO Jeanette, Pa.
Thjrd-That when placed upon the witness
stand he took solemn oath to tell the truth.
the whole truth and nothing but the truth,
and contrary to the letter and spirit OF this
solemn obligation, he swore to statements
which were subsequently proven untrue, and
suppressed facts which he knew to be true, and
thus endeavored to shield those who were
guilty.
To these Mr.. Kelly made answer as fol-
lows:
In answer to the charges preferred by D A.
HAYES ct al VS.. ]. NJ. Kelly, before the EXecu-
tive Board of the Central Trades Council, the
defendant pleads not at ali, but says in answer
That charge one is a deliberate, malicious
and contemplate lie, and that all "misrepre-
sentations" complained of were not misrepre-
sentations at ali, but the truth as at that time
That charge two is the same, the allegations
being deliberate, malicious and contemplate
lies, which facts are known to those who
brought the charges.
That charge third is the same, deliberate ma
licious and contemplate lies, and the men who
utter them are deliberate, malicious and con-
femptible liars
1 desire to state III connection with these
charges that if they can be proven / am willing
TO make public acknowledgment of any error or
violation Of the truth have uttered. But
class them totally untrue and inspired by
people who are strangers to the truth. The
Board will not have my presence at its meeting,
but as 1t will make report to the meeting of the
Trades Council Saturday evening expect to
he there. my good health and the Lord permit
ting to tell the accusers TO their faces, as 1
have done before that, they miserably and con-
temptbly lie.
J. NJ. KELLY, L. A $3.50, K. of L.
EVIDENCE PER CHARGE.
The evidence in support of the first charge
produced before the Council on Saturday
night included clipping from Mr.. Kelly's
paper, in which he claimed that those who
f'were abusing" L. A. 800 were a lot of
scalswags and scoundrels who were a dis
grace to the cause of labor, and a further
claim, in the same issue, that the only
people who would be injured by the i'm
portarion Of window glass workers were
members of L. A. 300; that they were not
complaining, but instead were attacked by
q lot of ''idiotic scoundrels who were no
more interested in the law than was hitch
ing post" Mr.. Kelly refused to retract
anything that appeared in his paper, and
the delegates from L. A. Gill claimed that
ns they had brought the charge before
the c. T. c. that the slsnderous charges ap-
piled to them as well as TO any Others who
might have been active in the matter 1t
was shown that in a later issue Mr.. Kelly
attacked the council as body, alleging that
their usefulness was at an end, and that the
@. 7. G. would not amount to much until
President Evans, Vice President McGaw,
John Ehman, NJ. P. Carrick and few more
were left outside the sanctuary.
In support of the second charge, it was
claimed that Mr.. Kelly. on the 10th OF
April, had said that the men who
had arrived at Jeannette were En-
glishmen who had been out of work for
several years, and thas hearing Of large
factory being started over here, had come to
take their chance for work. Mr.. Kelly
strengthened this statement at a meeting Of
the Executive Board on the 1st of Nav, and
at which he voluntarily testified that he
proposed to say just how it came to pass
these men came over" He stated that
his paper had circulation wherever glass
was made on the face of the globe, and that
the advertisement of the Chambers & Nc
Kee Glass Company in his paper for work
men had come to the notice Of the English
workers, and that they had written for jobs.
THAT SECRET CIRCULAR.
To disprove these statements the delegates
from L. A. Gill quoted from the secret cir
cular of James Campbell, issued to MEM
bers of L. A. 300 on April 19. and in which
Mr.. Campbell stated that ''the President of
the Federation (W. H. Slicker) was in
formed that L. A. 300 was in need Of 25
blowers and % gatherers." The President
of the Federation notified L. A. 1904, Suth-
erland, England, that this number of men
was wanted bv the Chambers & Mckee
Company at Jeannette, Pa, and the Secre-
tary of 3504 wrote that ffthe men would
come 1t was held that the secret
circular of the 10Th day of April clearly
contrsdicted Mr.. Kelly's statement of Nav
/, and proved that the advertisement had
nothing to do with bringing the men over.
Further, 1t was shown that the claim that |
they had been victimized and black-listed |
men, who had been out of work for years
was untrue, BY an extract from the Potters' |
Gazette, of London, England, which showed |
that the men had been employed at the |
Hartley Glass Works, Sutherland, and that |
only a portion of those employed at those |
works had been subject to occasional periods |
of idleness.
In support of the third charge it was al |
legged that on the 18th of Nav Mr.. Kelly |
had testified under oath that the advertise
ment in the CoDamoner had induced men to
come over and that Secretary Cake had so 1
Informed him; that he had hesitated about |
inserting the advertisements because on two |
previous occasions L. A. 800 had COM
planned that all such advertisements tended |
% bring foreign wOrkmen to this country; |
that to provide against this possibility he |
had omitted to insert the zd. in the European |
edition.
THE DELEGATES ARGUMENT.
The delegates from L. A. 500 drew atten- |
ton to the fact on the first of May Mr.. |
Kelly had claimed that il was the big circu- |
lation of his paper in Europe which had in |
duced the men 10 come over, while on MAY |
10 he stated that he had sent no papers to |
Europe containing the ad. When asked to |
explain this, it is claimed that Mr.. Kelly |
said, 81 Cont know whether it is my belief /
or not; they might have come on the ad, or /
they might not"
The delegates from L. A. Gill then
charged that he had tried to make others
believe what he was not prepared to believe
himself, and that ii he possessed any in
formation which made him doubt whether it
was the ad. brought men here or not, he re-
enrred IL for himself: and that he did rnt