St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1894-07-13
soVEREIGN,., BLUNDERs.


Sovereign sought the pains and
honors of martyrdom. Following the
indictment of Debs. Howard and Kel-
leher, he issued mandate calling upon
all Knights of Labor to join in the COM
mission of hari-kari. At noon Thursday
every member of the order was com
manded to cease his customary
labor and lay his manhood upon
the altar of lawlessness. a Sacri-
fee to the Bsal of unbridled lust
of power. There was DO alternative
presented. The edict was m nda-
tory and imperative. From it there was
no appeal. Men were not permitted to
exercise their individual judgments.
They must bow humbly and obsequious-
ly. 10 doubt the wisdom of the dictator
would be dlsloyalty; to palter would be
sin.
BY this order Mr.. Sovereign de-
liDerately placed himself in contempt OF
the authority of the United States and
challenged the fate of Dsbs and his
associates. The charge of Judge Gross
cup i'll the federal court at Chicago Oh
Monday very clearly Indicated the line
where Legitimate trade agitation ends
and conspiracy begins. 1t is not an in
definite boundary which men may UNI
Willingly cross. but marked by warn.
ings which even the most heed
less cannot disregard. 1t is forbidden
ground, which can be trodden only by
the criminal and the trait0rous-those
who utterly disregard the law of the
land and deliberately assail the rights
OF their fell ow men.
The Knights of Labor form power
full organization, but Of late years have
been OH the decline. Frequent betray-
ais of the trust repoSed in them by the
officers have alienated tens of thousands
of the rank and file. Today it's men,
bership is less than One-Quarter of the
number that were on its roster ten years
ago, and it is losing ground every day.
1t was organized for worthy purpose,
but unfortunately fell under the infiu-
ence of bad men who used its power to
crafty their own petty revenges aud
advance their own mercenary ends.
Sovereign has chiefly distinguished him
self since his incumbency OF the chief
Office of the order by his bloyiancy and
vacillation. As modern Bombastes
Furioso he has been conspicuous sue
cess; as leader Of men and a wise
counselor of worthy cause he has
been an ignominiOus failure. This. his
latest exploit, is likely to prove his last,
for he may be seized upon by the strong
arm of the law and taught that civil
order is yet supreme and that conspir-
acy to defeat the officials of the govern
ment in the legitimate discharge of
their duty is crime against law and
society.
The order of Sovereign was sensibly
treated with the contempt it deserved.
The evils of mob rule are too manifest
at the present time. and men thought
twice before aggravating conditions
which they find hardly endura BILE.
The Knights of Labor are not like
'dumb driven cattle" They have the
intelligence to think for themselves and
the independence to act in accordance
with their convictions Of duty and self
interest. No one man can use them to
demonstrate the autocratic power he
assumes to WELD no one man can take
the food from the mouths of their
babes and the clothing FROM the backs
of their wives. All true working men
are willing to endure much and to
sacrifice much for the general good of
their class, but it is asking too much to
expect them to immediate themselves
and their families upon the altar of
mad ambition--a thirst for dominion
that will not better their condition in
any event, but is rather calculated to
bring added woes upon them.
Mr.. Soyereign's desire for martyrdom
may be gratitied, but he will present but
sorry spectacle. Debs may figure in
history as the leader of revolution, but
Sovereign can never be regarded as
more than follower feeble imitator,
whose antics in pursuit Of notoriety eX-
cite contempt and derision rather than
admiration. Knave he may be, and uu-
doubleday is, but his Knavery is 100
pusillanimous to inspire enthusiasm on
the part of his followers or fear among
those against whom his conspiracy is
directed. He had as good cause for as
Stunning leadership as had Debs, but he
was too cOwardly to take the risk
He might have been the dog that wag-
ged the tail; he has chosen to be the
tail that is being wagged. He cannot
even figure as the leader OF the forlorn
hope of the strikers, for the strike is al
ready practically dead. 1t is in articulo
morris.
The ends of the strikers cannot be as
sisted by Sovereign. Ii he ever had an
opportunity Of being useful ne has let it
slip through his hands. He has never
been visible quantity in the contro-
versy, and is now nonentity-the butt
of ridicule for strikers and law-abiding
cit liens combined, and all advices in
dictate that his order has been treated
with the contempt it deserves.