The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-07-11
HISTORY OF THE STRIKE.
Said to Have Been Carefully Planned
BIZ Labor Leaders.

Their Organizations Together.
From the Philadelphia Press.
a prominent Knight of Labor, formerly
standing high in the councils of T. V.
Powderly, and while a secret opponent of
John ". Hayes and the new executive
board of the knights, enjoying their con-
fdence, yesterday told the story of the
carefully planned uprising, its inception
and growth; which led up to the present
great railroad strike.
'The present strike" he said, had its
inception last january and has been
spreading ever since.
After the defeat of T Y. Powderly in
the knights of Labor convention last fall
and the election of. r. Sovereign general
mister workman, month sufficed to
show the new executive board that the
order was in critical condition and that
dissatisfaction was rampant IN its ranks.
They realized that something must be
done to allay this dissatisfaction or the
| utter disruption of the remnant of the
order which still hung together was al
most unavoida bic. Danger also threat
ened the order from other sources.
The more modern labor organizations
which had grown up about IL were
| planned upon lines of organization hos
! tile to the very existence of the knights.
! But one of the young and vigorous labor
! orders of the country was built upon the
| lines of the knights and massed men earn
/ ing 81 per day with those earning 50, and
| demanded that they support each other
! by sympathetic strikes.
THAT one order was the American Rail
way Union with Eugene " Debs at its
! head. rom Debs alone could the new
| officials of the new knights expect assist
| ance in their battle with their rivals.
| Faced by these two dangers, either of
! which threatened the utter destruction of
| the order, the members of the executive
! board decided upon line of action gen
| eral, similar to that adopted by Napoleon
the Third. Threatened by the unrest and
dissatisfaction of his subjects he turned
! their muskets upon the Germans. Men
aced by enemies in their own and other
labor camps these new leaders concluded
/ that their only salvation lay in a general
uprising of labor's forces against capital.
AN UPRISING DECIDED UPON.
AT a secret meeting of the majority of
the general executive board of the
| knights last January this action was,
! am informed, decided upon. No stated
time, place or occasion for the uprising
was fixed upon. it simply being deter
| mined that within six months at the first
| favorable opportunity such an uprising
should be brought about and in the mean
time that funds should be raised and
preparations made for the occasion.
! "lf the uprising was successful it would
| forever silence the enemies of the new
! Executive Board in the Knights and
moreover would establish the form of
organization of the Knights as the sue
cessful one and eventuate in the absorp-
ton by those orders of all of labors
| forces.
In furtherance of this plan secret or
ders were sent to the master workmen of
all the local and district assem- blies
throughout the country appealing to them
to urge their members to contribute 5
cents per capita per week to fund to be
used to meet tremendous emergency Of
1 national Importance
! This appeal was most successful, es-
pecially in the west, and the fund grew
| apaCe. The scheme was aided by the
fact that the country was financially de-
pressed, factories were closed and work
ingmen hungry and in distress. More
! over the circulars sent out had about
them that air of secrecy and mystery
which is so catching with the unthink-
ing.
Shortly after the sending of these or
ders the Coxey movement began to take
| form. The leaders held a conference and
finally decided that the arrival of Coxey'
army in Washington would be the proper
time for the consummation of their plans,
|. ANOTHER CIRCULAR ISSUED.
Accordingly fresh circulars were sent
! out to the master workmen of the order
| urging them to push matters and instruct
| ing them to hold themselves in readiness
TO act promptly upon telegraphIc advice
Ali this worked upon the Imagination
! of the rank and file Of the order to an ex-
fbnf 10 ftn Dc al
The funds were left in the hands of the
various master workmen, so that they
would be ready to obey commands at any
! moment.
The idea was to land 5000 men in
! Washington upon the day of the arrival
of CoXeys army. But when that organi-
cation, which had promised to come 10000
strong arrived in speaking distance of
| Washington with a shabby 200 'hoboes'
| the leaders of the knights, who were not
! fools, postponed the uprising and waited
for more favorable opportunity.
ST. LOUIS CONFERENCE.
EThis they believed had come when
the call was issued for the labor confer
ence in St. Louis on June II. They ex-
! pected that the smaller orders would Join
with the knights and American Railway
! Union in any scheme to down the Fedora
ton of Labor and similar organiza tions.
! Inc miners were IN revolt ana IL was be-
/ lieved that the big uprising could be
brought about on the ground that it was
in their behalf.
With this idea in mind the represen-
tatives of the knights went to the COL
| ference armed with resolution which,
! if put into effect, would have brought
about the present uprising month ear
/ lier This resolution recommended that
! the executive board of all labor organiza-
tions of America issue an order within
/ the next three days to all their members
| from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and
/ from the gulf to the lakes. to refuse
/ unitedly to do any more labor until the
miners strike is settled. The resolution
| went on to state that it meant that the
! locomotive engineer, the shoemaker, the
blacksmith car driver, brakeman. train
man, skilled mechanic, the carpenter,
! skilled and unskilled laborer of every kind,
1 shall cease to work uUtil their brothersin
! distress have been accorded justice, or
/ until the United States government takes
( such steps as will bring about the nation
/ alization Of the coal mines of America
! AT the conference were three repre-
| sentatives each from the knights of La
/ Dor, Brotherhood of Locomotive Engi-
/ neers, Brotherhood Of Locomotive Fire
men Brotherhood Of Railway Trainmen,
} aF oil