Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-10-07
A GROWING SOCIETY.
District Assembly No. lis Increasing
in Membership Every Day.
QUARTERLY MEETING NEXT WEEK.
Local Reports Will Show About $500 Men
in Good Standing.
MOLDERS WILL SOON MAKE DEMANDS

Secretary Treasurer Miss Laura Powell
on Saturday sent out notices for the regular
quarterly convention of District Assembly
No, 8. knights of Labor, to be held at Labor
Hall next week. The meeting will be called
to order Wednesday morning, October 10,
by Master Workman Ross, and will con-
tinue in session three days.
Master Workman Ross stated yesterday
that the resports from the local assemblies
would show large increase in the member
ship of the district since the last meeting In
July. The convention will. be entitled to
between 65 and 20 delegates. One delegate
is allowed each local assembly. When
there are more than 100 members in the as
sembly it is entitled to two delegates, and
one for fraction of majority OF 100. A
local having 151 members would be allowed
three delegates.
1t is estimated that there will be about
2, 500 knights in the district when the con-
vention is called to order. Nearly every
local assembly is initiating new members at
every meeting. L. A. 2126, Penn avenue
traction employees, has almost doubled within
the past ten weeks. The theatrical en-
ployes, L. A. 1864, met yesterday and took
in about half dozen. Skaters Assembly
491 at its last meeting took in about dozen,
some Of whom had been members OF the
Marble and Slateworkers' and Illelayers'
Union, which is attached to the Federation
of Labor. Other assemblies receiving new
members almost every meeting are Sales
mems 1907, Teamsters' 1877 and o34 mixed.
In speaking of the change taking place in
the order, Master Workman Ross said,
yesterday:
AN UPWARD TENDENCY.
"We have now turned the corner" and
despite the reports that the knights OF
Labor is going to pieces we are growing
stronger each week. There is scarcely
meeting of local assembly that new MEM
bers are not initiated. At the last meeting
of the skaters, 1 had to turn my Office over to
the crowd of men who were waiting to be
initiated. The growth of the order is steady
and there is no boom about it. At the last
quarterly meeting we had to throw over
a lot of dead timber. These re-
tarded the work of building up the
organic .tion to what it was three years ago.
We are now rid of them, and the increased
membership is the result The kind of men
we are getting in now are not enthusiasts.
Some of them are former members OF the
order who dropped out on account of a lack OF
interest They now find that it is good
thing to maintain their organizations even
if they have received all they want.
"a great many men dropped out of the
order when they obtained what they wanted.
A STRIKING INSTANCE.
'sThe most striking instance of this kind
is the street car men. They organized them
selves in good shape, and then by reason of
being organized they got their hours of
work reduced from 15 and 16 to IL per day.
After they got their wishes they thought
there was no more need of an organization,
and many of them dropped out by nom
payment Of dues. These men are now com
ing back again"
At the last quarterly meeting ten local
assemblies were dropped for non-psyment Of
dues. At the coming meeting one local
will be expelled. This is the Timers
assembly, which has lapsed. At the meet
ing Master Workman Ross, who is the
Pittsburg delegate to the General Assembly
next month, will be instructed in regard to
the business to come before that body. In
the fight between L. A. 1888, musicians, and
the NJ. NJ. P. U, he will will request that
the former be allowed to retain their char
ter, if the General Executive Board does
not settle the matter in the meantime.