Omaha daily bee., 1896-11-12
NEW MISSION FOR KNIGHTS
General Master Workman Sovereign Would
Lead Them Into Politics.
DEMANDS DESTRUCTION OF MONEY POWER
Labor orGnuizntion Urged To Corc"n-
trntc lbs Efforts ON Obtaining
Free Coinage of silver, an
Income TnN, Etc.

secret session Immediately after convening
! today and remained behind closed doors un-
| til p. IN. General Master Workman Soy.
ereigns report was read and was followed
| by the report Of General Secretary Treasurer
! Hayes. Nothing of the other proceedings
| will be given out to the press until the dit-
ferent committees report, which will proba>
bly, be early tomorrow morning.
General Master Workman Sovereign in his
annual report said:
After struggle OF twonty-scvcn years
against the evils Of aggregated wealth by
our order we are confronted with more
serious problems affecting the rights and
liberties of the Industrial masses than ever
before, Not only have the Idle speculut-
ing classes demonstrated their ability TO
dominate productive enterprises and accu-
mulatc the wealth of tOiling millions, but
they have demonstrated their power TO
CoerCc wage carners and mortEaCel idrm-
ers with threats, of discharge and fore
closure into submission to their Will The
autoCratic holders of idle money have sub
verted the principles of free government
by forcing political service from the poor
as the tenure of employment. The lnboring
men can combat a falsehood and bid def
anCe to traitors from their own ranks, but
when a dcpravcd monster of corporate ra-
paCitY steals into their homes and threatens
them with discharge and persecution be-
cause of their political convictions they
sacrifice their liberties In consideration of
food and shelter for their helpless wives
nassed has demonstrated that poCuniary
dependence is political slavery. In the
struggle just passed the Knights of Labor
proved itself to be the only labor organ
ization that stood like an iron wall before
the organized money power of the two con-
tincnts Every general officer and every
district and local assembly of our order
spurned every offer of bribery and sCorned
every threat of the money king
Mr.. Sovereign added that ex-President Eu-
gene V. Debs and the heads of other labor
| organizations including the Federation OF
Labor. gave no material aid in the recent
struggle.
| SONEREIGN'S AGGRESSIVE PROGRAM.
The master workman says the knights
should abandon the Utopian plans and cen
ter their efforts as follows:
| would so change and abbrcviate our
| present test of membership as to center
| our immediate demands upon an equitable
! income tax. the free and unlimited coinage
| Of silver at the present legal ratio the pay
ment of all government bonds according
| to present contract and the issue of all
| money of the country by the government.
| | would make positive and unoquivocal
| declarations against government by in
| the payment of bonds in gold alone, the
| issue of bonds in time Of peace and the
| issue of circulating notes by banking cor
| | would then prepare an entirely new Sc
| crct work with stronger obligations than
| we now nave, establish decree known
! return to our former system OF working in
| absolute secrecy,
| would then appeal to the free silver
| and reform forces everywhere for member
! ship and support and throw this orsanza-
! tion into tho great broad field of agitation
| to fight the money power and the corpora
| tions to an everlAsting finish.
| would not recedC from our demands for
| land reform nor from any of the other great
! principles contained In the preamble of this
| order, but l. would designate them as bat
| tie grounds TO he fought over. after we
have throttlad the life out Of the money
| Dowcr that is undermining the foundations
| of American liberty.
1t may be said that by accepting the is
sue we would be charged with favorlng the
silver mine owner in the Rocky mountains.
| The charge is not true and IL II is | have
| only to say that | would thousand times
rather cast n thousand votes for a mine
owner in the Rocky mountains who en-
/ Dlovs labor and contributes to the wealth
| of my country than to cast one vote for n
| foreign shyloCk, who conspircs to rob the
| labor OF the world
| l appeal to the delegates here assembled
| to place n demand for the free coinage of
| silver at the present legal ratio in our pre-
| amblc and bar our ports and clear our
| decks for action against the plutocratic
| combine arrayed on the side of the single
| gold standard.
SECRETARY HAYES REPORT
| The report of Secretary-Treasure Hayes
opens with reference to what he
| terms attacks of most villainOus
| character" on the general officers OF the
\ order by reason OF the just stand taken
| by them in refusing to follow a small Clique
| of men who are Familiarity known as the
| New York Triangle" of the sociaistic labor
! party, to get control Of the machinery of
| the knights of Labor for the dissemination
| Of their doctrines.
The so-called triangle acc ccording to Mr..
Hayes, consists of Daniel de Leon. Lucien
| Sanial and Ernest Rom. Mr.. Hayes COM
| plains that although the laws of the order
prescribe that working cards, receipt books
and other supplies for the local and district
assemblies must be supplied through the gen
| eral assembly. the receipts from those
| sources amounted to only 81, ,437; printing
| for the national silver committee brought
| into the treasury $l,7OO; for the demo-
! cratic congressional committee, $1,000, and
| for the Illinois state democratic committee,
! $3.50.
Mr. Hayes says that the amendment
adopted at the last session of the general
| assembly, governing organizers and reduc
ing the price of charter fees for new locals
was a step in the right direction. and con
| tinueS: Il would recommend that all or
| ganizers be entitled to a regular commits
| sion of 20 per cent on all business secured
| through the order. This is to include char
ter ices and supplies, and that one-halt the
| regular initiation fee of all individual cards
| be allowed the organizers in lieu of a com
mission of those referred to-"
The report treats also of the action OF
| the American Federation of Labor, directing
! all organizations that were affiliated beth
| with the knights of Labor and with the
| Federation ttor trade purposes) to with
| draw from the knights of Labor This ac-
| tion, the report says is in direct violation
| of the arraL cement entered into with the
| general executive board by the representa-
| tiyes of the national previous to the
| formation of National Trade assembly
| No. 30, wherein jt was agreed that the in
terest of the order was to be the first con-
sideraton, that the entire trade should be
| organized under The jurisdiction of the
| knights of Labor and attach to National
| Trade assembly 3d. and that the general as
| sembly should render all possible assistance
! to the trade in protecting their members
from unjust and tyrannlcal employers.
Mr.. Hayes recommends that the brewing
| industry be thoroughly organized into the
order of the Knights of Labor by the dis
| trict assemblies in whose jurisdiction the
business is located; that all locals organized
| be attached to thh district assemblies or
| gani2lng them: that the general assembly
| render all possible assistance to districts
doing this work, and that all organizers be
| instructed not, TO admit 10 membership any
persons who oYe their first allegiance to
| the National BIeWers union.
HAD MUcH1PRoPERTY INVESTED.
| An important recommendation follows, In
reference to "local assembly 300"
| "Since the New Orleans session of the
general assembly local assembly 800
| though the delegates who repre-
sented the local assembly, were
continually threatening TO withdraw from
| the order. giving as their reason a feeling ~