St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1889-12-20
Powderly Presents a State
ment Of His Trouble With
Callaghan.
Causes Which Led to the
Present Prosecution for
Conspiracy.
Past Utterances Of a Man
Prominent Among Organ
lied TOilerS.
Powderly Expects to Be Ar
rested and Has Prepared
for It.

derly to- day furnished the local papers
with lengthy statement of his diff
Guilty with Hon. Edward Callahan, of
Seottdale, which lead to the present
prosecution for conspiracy. Mr.. Pow
derly says that the commencement of
this trouble dates back to the appoint
ment of a committee of Knights of
Labor, in the spring of 1887, to watch
legislation IN the interests of working
men as it came before the general as
sembly of Pennsylvania. This commit
called by Mr.. Powderly. He heard no
more of the matter until March 2, 1888.
when he received letter from Edward
Callahan, stating that the committee
neglected its duty, and that the writer
was reliably informed that members
VINO stood high in the order did not
want the committees reports published.
In reply to this. Mr.. POwderly wrote
that he had not been before appriSed
that the committee
HAD NEGLECTED ITS DUTY,
and at any rate, the matter was not IN
his hands. In conclusion Mr.. Powderly
requested that Mr. Callaghan give his
authority for stating that members
VINO stand high in the order do not want
their reports published" asking this
under the seal of the general master
workman. On March Z, Mr.. Caliaghan
wrote his reply, telling MIR. Powderly
that ''he would see him in hell and the
order on top of him' before he would
give him under the seal of secresy what
is already public property. He had also
hot Inr i've Hnreliat i'm
his duty in not having the committee
report TO him, and that at best the COM
mittee was sham. On June
IA, 1883, Mr.. Callaghan published
in the Pennsylvania Argus, at Green's
burgh, communication stating that he
went to the committee appointed to
watch the Harrisburg legislature TO OBJ
tain the record of Il. T. Hoff then
prospective candidate for the legisla-
ture. whom Mr.. Callaghan accused of
treachery to WOrkingmen, and to the
bill known as the "Beymer Check
Weighman'' bill. Chairman 'MagraW,
of the committee, stated that it had
published no reports. and that members
high in the order were seeking to have
them suppressed. Mr.. Callaghan then
gave the history Of his correspondence
with Mr.. Powderly and said that after
Ills l2Sb itbL6f, MI. IONucIly CllCuldtCu
AN INFAMOUS LIE
about his letter to him. and thus he in
jured his political chances badly. Il
fell by the hands of supposed friends"
said Mr.. Gallaghan, "but rise again to
expose the villainy of labor organiZa-
tiOns, when the interests of their pets
are assailed." Some time in June
convention was held for the purpose of
nominating a candidate for assembly,
man in the Scottdale district. A short
time before the convention Mr.. Gala
CHAN wrote Mr.. Powderly saying that
Injurious stories had been circulated
about him by Hon. John r. Byrne, of
Fayatte county, and others, which
bore upon their previous correspond
ence. To correct these impressions,
Mr.. Callaghan requested Mr.. PoNderly
to publish his letters. One of these let
ters was dated June 8. On June IA MIR.
POwderly received another letter, in
which Callaghan informed him that he
was 1.-THE most contemplate. the most
bateful and the most designing villain
who ever escaped a halter" He ac-
cused Mr.. Powderly of villifying him
by circulating the stories which led to
his defeat. ''Had you published my
letter. be declared. lyon would have
saved me; but if you had published it,
you would haye exposed your own
treachery to the Knights of Labor. and
you sacrificed me to save yourself"
MIR. Powderly published full state
ment of the difficulty, together with sew
eral of Callaghan's letters, in the Jour
nal of United Labor on Aug. 2, 1855, in
which he asserted his
INNOCENT OF THE CHARGE
brought by Callaghan, and his surprise
at the rash utterances of the man. Mr..
Powderly told reporter to-day that he
knows nothing of the present case. eX-
cept what he has seen in the newspa-
pers, but suppOseS that it is a renewal
of the charge of conspiracy. He does
not know Callaghan, though that gem
tleman claims to have met him in the
Bingham house, Philadelphia, OH April
z, 1887. Mr.. Powderly then states that
there is no doubt that his name has
been used by Callaghan's opponents,
but he says he is not responsible for
that. The libel is not against Gala
CHAN, but against himself, for, although
he is thoroughly innocent in the matter.
he has been subjected to persecution
and damaging allegations. Callaghan
has even gone so far as to write MIR.
Powderly that he made fool Of Cardi-
nal Gibbons by lying to him and every
one else. Mr.. Powderly has not yet
been arrested. but to-day he placed all
of his papers bearing upon the case in
the hands of his attorneys.