Kansas City daily journal. [volume] (Kansas City, Mo.) 1892-1897, 1896-11-12
BLATANT Mr.. SOVEREIGN.
Grand Master Workman of the X. of
l.. Runs the Whole Gamut
of Rryanism.

Rochester. N. V, Nov. 11.-General Mas
ter Workman Sovereign. in the course of
his annual report to the general assembly
of the knights of Labor, In session here.
said:
After struggle of twenty-seven 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. Not only have the idle, specializing
classes demonstrated their ability to DOM
mate productive enterprises and accumu-
late the wealth of toiling millions, but they
have demonstrated their power to coerce
wage-earners and mortgaged farmers with
threats Of discharge and foreclosure into
submission to their will. The autocratic
holders of idle money have subverted the
principle of free government by forcing
political victory from the poorest in their
employment. Laboring men can combat a
fa!sehood and bid defiance to traitors from
their own ranks, but when a depraved
monster of corporate rapacity steals into
their homes and threatens them with dis
charge and persecution because of their
political convictions, they sacrifice their
liberties in consideration of food and shell
ter for their helpless wives and innocent
children. The struggle just passed has
demonstrated that pecnniary dependence is
political slavery. In the struggle just past,
the Knights of Labor proved itself to be
the only labor organization that stood like
an iron wall before the fire of the organ
lzed money power Of two continents. 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, except Eugene
V. Debs, the heads of the labor organiZa-
Hinor NOD 1f
gave no material aid in the recent strug
gle.
Inc master workman says the Knights
should abandon Utopian plans and center
their efforts upon equitable income tax,
the free and unlimited coinage of silver at
the present legal ratio, the payment of all
government bonds according to present
contract, and the issue of all the money of
the country, positive and unequivocal dec
laratons against government by injunc-
ton, increase of the standing army, the
payment of the bonded debt in gold alone,
the issue of bonds in time of peace and the
issue OF circulating notes by banking cor
porations. and should prepare an entirely
new secret work, with stronger obligations
than now, establish a degree known as the
minutemen and, as far as possible return
to the former system of working in abso-
lutte secrecy.
Il would then," Sovereign goes on. zap
peal to the free silver and reform forces
everywhere for membership and support
and throw this organization into the great.
broad field of agitation to fight the money
power and the corporations to an ever
lasting finish. I would not recede from
our demands for land reform nor from any
of the other great principles contained in
the preamble of this order, but 1 would
designate them as backgrounds to be
fought over after We have throttled the life
out Of the money power that is undermin-
ing the foundations of American liberty I
appeal to the delegates here assembled to
place demand for the free coinage of
silver at the present legal ratio in our
preamble and bar our ports and clear our
decks for action against the plutocratic
combine arrayed on the side of the single
gold standard"