The morning times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1897, 1895-10-06

On Tuesday morning. November 12,
1895, delegates from all parts of the world
Will assemble in this ,..y for the purpose
Of taking part in the ,5ineteenth annual
session of the General Assembly OF the
Order of the Knights of Labor.
1t is not known definitely the number OF
delegates that WILDE present but it can be
safely estimated that thu General Assembly
will consist of from Gp5 to $50 repre-
sentatives.
The knights do not make any pretentious
claim that the holding of the annual
assembly in this city will bring any
large number of visitors, but outside OF a
few ex-delegates ed perhaps a few OF
the wives of delegates, the holding OF
workingmen's conventions does not, as q
general thing, attract many visitors.
Thebusiness of the coming convention Will
It is predicted detain the delegates about
two weeks. During their stay in this
city, when off duty, the delegates will be
taken charge of by committees from Dis.
trict assembly No. &C. A series of open
meetings VIII be arranged, so that not only
organized labor but the general public
Will be given au opportunity to hear the
principles of the order of Knights of Labor
clearly and convincingly expounded by
able orators.
CHANGES III BE NJ AIDE
Some interesting changes will no doubt
be made in the general constitution at the
coming session, as al the general assembly
the general executive board was instructed
to codify the amendments to the constitu-
ton Itself, and also TO cut out unnecessary
or conflicting paragraphs and submit the
came to the coming general assembly for
ratification.
Other Important work directly con-
nected with the welfare and working of the
order will come before the assembly. but the
principles OF labor reform will be ever
before the delegates.
ORIGIN OF THE ORDER.
The order of the Knights OF Labor was
founded by Uriah S. Stephens twenty-slx
years ago.
This first local assembly was organized
in january, 1870. The name adopted for
the organization was Noble and Holy
Order of the Knights OF Labor" This name
was never to be uttered outside of the as
semblies and was never to be set on paper.
Letter heads and other documents were
furnished with five stars in
lieu of the orders name.
Stephens was an exceptional figure
among the leaders of labor in America.
He did not covet office; he hated the
adulation SO much fished for by others;
his one aim was the founding OF an Or
ganization to free the wage-slaves from
the yoke of capitalism 1t was his
belief that this object could be best OBJ
tanned behind the thick veil OF secrecy,
and it broke his heart when, under the
leadership Of his successor, Powderly,
Ihe order was made public.
Stephens clearly saw that the trade
union. in the form it was'imported from
England, was utterly unfit to successfully
cope with capitalism. His keen eye de-
tected quickly the two fatal defects of
the old style, or pure and Simple Trade
Unionism."
He cav, in the first place, that the "pure
and simple" trade union was an attempt:o
establish way of living for the workers
within the framework of capitalism and
that that was an Utopian impossibility-
seeing that the capitalist system steadily
and irreststibly knocked the bottom from
under the union through the large displace-
ments of labor by machinery and by the
concentration of industry In the hands of
ever fewer capitalists.
HIS PRACTICAL PLAN.
In sight of this, all attempts on the part
of the W orkers to even keep W hat they have,
let alone emancipate themselves, W bile the
capitalist system lasted, he quickly felt
to be preposterous, and he realized that
nothing short of the overthrow of the CAPT
I1Alet anu ksNttil NOulu
fill the bill. The organization which he
proceeded to set up, declared, accordingly,
that it aimed at the abolition of wage slav-
cry and at the establishmentof the co-opera-
tive comm onwealth.
In the second place, Stephens perceived
that the 'pure and simple" trade union. Or
ganized to fight the capitalist in the shop
alone, was natural enough in England,
where the workers were DISTINGUISHED
originally. and where the franchise given
later was not, effectually, much freer. To
establish similar labor organization here
in America, where universal manhood
suffrage did exist, was self-evident not only
not natural but positively an unnatural
aping of England, and stupid hamstring-
ing of the organization of labor here, Ac-
cordingly, the organization which he con-
templatcd was intended to unite the politi
cal with the economic movement for the
purpose of capturing the public powers, and
with the aid of that powerful lever to place
upon the statute books the laws that should
overthrow capitalism and free the toiling
class.
Proceeding from these two fundamental
principles. and attaching to them third,
that of secrecy, Stephens drew up the Sc
cret work and constitution of the Order of
the Knights of Labor.
THE FIRST ANNUAL MESSAGE.
1t was on January 1 2, 1871, that Stephens
issued to the order his ~first annual mes
sage 1t was a master work. 1t con-
tains in rough outlines the socialist
criticism OF existing conditions, and the |
socialist solution of the cooperative COM |
and the practical methods to |
reach that goal, to wit: unceasing agitation |
to the end of unifying the proletarians of all |
countries. Stephens In this message de- |
clares the necessity of workers OF all trades |
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