St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1892-11-17
MUST CLOSE The DOOR
Powderly Delivers His Ad-
dress to the K. Of L. Gen.
eral Assembly.
Labor Must Be Ruled by One
Body to Command Its
Rights.
Ballot Reform One Of the
Triumphs Of the Knights
Of Labor.
Restriction of immigration
the Only Protection for
the Workingmen.


session this forenoon, with General
Master Workman Powderly in the chair
After consuming about all hour in I'm
ishing preliminary work, Mr.. Powderly
delivered his annual address, in which
occurred the following:
las | review the past history of the
labor movement, | am inclined to the
belief that there has been great waste
Of force and means. 1t is a fact tina
there are 200 many labor organizations
struggling for supremacy. The tendency
of the labor movement seems to be II
divide up, while that of the OppOs
ing force-capital-l to consolidate
and thereby to gain strength. Every
prominent member of a labor organiza
ton who. for some reason or other, ha!
taken offenSe at something done, sets
about organizing a new society of labor
The only result is division of strength
cutting off of communication, isolation
and final death. These may not bt
palatable truths, but that
They Are True
no one can deny who has eyes to see
and ears to hear. 1t is not by remaining
silent on these things that we can re-
move the evil.
Something must be oone to remedy
this error; that it is an error both OF
Judgment and policy l am morally Ger
tain. There exists no reason why every
branch Of toll should not be enrolled
under the shield of this order. There is
no reason why every interest cannot be
more carefully guarded in this order
than in separate and isolated camps,
where we too OFTEN find them more bit
terly opposed to each other than to the
concentrated forces by which all of us
are opposed. The one crying need OF
tie hour is an organization i'll which all
may meet on common ground, i'll which
unity of thought may be effected, in
which a thorough knowledge OF what
important steps each division of labor
intends taking may be Impaired to all
others. No one man or no mans inter
est should stand in the way of this re-
form. The members of the order are
to be congratulated on the gratifying
result OF the agitation for
Ballot Reform
which was inaugnrated by the general
assembly a few short years ago. When
the question was first presented to the
general assembly no state in the United
States held elections under laws which
would secure the voter in the right to
cast his ballot without intimidation.
scrutiny, or without subjecting himself
TO the espionage of those who might
have it in their power TO injuLe him for
voting contrary to their wishes. Now
there are some thirty states i'll which
the secret ballot law is in force. In
some of these states the laws are not up
to the standard established by this
order; but these laws may be amended
none of them should be repealed.
There must be no backward steps taken
on this great question.
''It is the opinion of your general
master workman that we Sh0uld,go still
further in advocating the passage of
election laws which will render it i'm.
possible for any person TO vote unless he
can read his ballot. We have no guar
antee under any of the ballot reform
laws that the uneducated voter may not
dispose of his vote in such manner as
to work injustice to the community.
The Illiterate Voter
is certainly at the mercy of some other
person when casting his ballot, aud, if
it is proper for ME to calm another to
prepare for me my ballot, it is just as
equitable for me to send that other per-
son in to vote 1t IN my stead.
There are those who would estab-
liSh property qualification for the cti-
zen, but we should oppose such an in
novation with all the strength we pos
SeSs. This nation must depend for its
life on the intelligence of its citizens,
and it is very essential that an eduea-
tional qualification take the place of the
system now practiced. Once the citizen
learns to read his ballot, he will take
more interest in it and will be anxious
to study the principles Of the parties
which appeal to him for support. No
matter how intelligantly the illiterate
citizen may dispose OF his ballot, he
does it Oh the strength of what he is
told, and not on what he knows. His
illiteracy gives some other man the
privilege of voting twice. recommend
that the assembly take action on this
matter"
Much space was devoted to the quie-
ton OF immigration, saying thereon, MS
part:
Restriction Of Immigration.
"Some six years ago your general.maS-
ter workman declared that he was in
favor of the restriction of immigration.
The views then expressed were not re.
ceived with favor by the order, but,
Notwithstanding that fact. his senti,
ments have not changed since then, un-
less it be in the direction of more rigid
exclusion of immigrants than he then
favored. We may adopt shOrt-hOur laws
in ever state; we may fix wage scales
throughout the land; we may enact pro-
tective tariffs until the articles of for
elgn manufacture are prohibited, but
while the tide of immigration flows on
in uninterrupted streams there will be
no dependence on short-h0ur laws, no
reliance on wage scales, and there can
be no protection to American labor that
will keep the status of the American
workingman higher than his brother
who lives under the weight of centuries
of monarchjcal msrule.
Your general master workman has nc
hesitation in saying that he fagOrs the
total exclusion of all immigrants who
are not self-sustaining on landing in
this country. He would fix term OF
years-ten would be long enough-dur-
ing which time no immigrant should be
permitted to land, with a view to re-
naming, unless he could prove that lie
had
Sufficient Means
to sustain himself and those depending
on him for one year. Unworthy motives
may be attributed to me because OF
these sentiments, but they are honestly
entertained, and such construction as
may be placed on them will not change
my mind, for l foresee great danger, not
alone to labor. but to the whole coun.
try, if the immigration question is not
carefully and heroically handled in the
near future.
sit may sound exceedingly we'll tc
assert that we have room for all the
world; that it would be un-American,
that it would be un-Christian. to bal
others from the benefits we enjoy
There is less danger of debarring them
from these benefits than there is that
they will take the enjoyment of these
benefits from all of us. l have re-
peatedly said that it is not TO the inter
est of immigrant or those who preceded
him to land him here without money,
without friends and without knowledge
of the conditions which he must face in
his struggle for bread. 1t is not be-
cause he cannot earn a living in his
own land that the foreigner comes here
lit is because the institutions of greed
are of Older growth over there and have
taken deeDPr root The ranacitV Of en-