The San Francisco call., 1897-07-22
KELLEY
CONFESSES
Defeat
Remarkable Story Of the
Late Leader Of the
InduStrials.
LABOR AGITATION A FAILURE
The Man Who Took an Army
East Makes Many Inter-
esting Disclosures.
HONEST TOLL THE ONLY PANACEA
Forced to Believe That the Policy of
Republicanism Will Lead to
Better Times.
HONEST TOLL THE ONLY PANACEA
Forced to Believe That the Policy of
Republicanism Will Lead to
Better Times.
OAKLAND OFFICE SAN FRANCISCO CALL,
9O8 Broadway, JQly 2l.

OAKLAND OFFICE SAN FRANCISCO CALL,
908 Broadway. Jaly u. J
Charles T. Kelley, who is better known
as the general of the Industrial Army
that left California three years ago, and
who has since been a National labor sgi-
tator, made public = startling statement
to-day.
He announced that he had forever
severed his connection with labor reforms.
This will be startling news to the millions
of people who during the past three years
have heard as much OF General Kelley as
of his fellow-workers, Debs, Harvey,
Browne and Coxey.
After three years of hard work. during
which time 1 have sacrificed what little l
had in q conscientious effort to benefit
thousands Of my fellow-men, have been
forced into the conclusion that nothing
can be accomplished by the present
methods of labor agitation. Strikes have
proved useless as a means OF relief, mainly
because of the increase of labor-saving
machinery; industrial armies and kindred
movements, while they draw toward them
temporary public sympathy and passing
relief, are only one way OF making men
paupers and teaching them to lose their
self-reliance.
in my experience l have been in close
relationship with Eugene Debs and Coin
Harvsy and others as well known, and
when l was East with my industrial army
l discussed ways and means with them,
and l believe they are sincere, but their
methods are entirely wrong and so far
have produced nothing but grief and lis
content.
"AlI the failures have been brought
bout because the movements hitherto
undertaken have led to nowhere. They
have been engineered with no definite OBJ
iect in view, and when certain point has
been reached failure was the natural re-
suit. To a great extent there Is a great
lack of honesty IN the leaders of these So
called laboT.reiorm movements. This is
not apparent to the public, but it exists
behind the scenes, and only those who are
at the head of the movements know to
what a great extent this dishonest work is
carried on.
Vast mum bers of men are got together
and led onward, and in many instances
this is done with the connivance and at
the instigation OF the very interests
against whom these labor agitators are
supposed to be fighting.
1T is very humiliating to have to ac-
knowledge defeat after all these years, but
it is the only honest course to take.
have sacrificed my little home and my
L
my fellow men, but this agitation is only
superficial, and no matter how long it is
kept up, ii can end in nothing.
''lf it means anything at all, 1t simply
means revolution, and | know that such
nationally suicidal policy is not contem-
plated by any but perhaps few fools.
There are other means to produce an i'm
pr0vement of the laboring mans condi-
tiCn, and these l propose TO follow. l in
tend TO apply myself steadily to work and
to try and make up for what | have lost. l
have my family, who demand my best ef-
forts, and my bitter experience has proved
that II every man OF the tens of thousands
who have been allied in so-calIed labor
agitation during the past few years
would make his home his altar, there
would soon be an improvement of the
workingman's condition.
This continual agitation is driving
away capital at time when the country
needs all the investments possible. and
until this is realized hard times will be
with US.
MY career as an agitator started at the
tabernacle, in this city, in April, 1894. I
saw many hundreds of starving, idle men
and / made speech to them. While on
the platform couple of them came upon
the platform with a coat on which were
some epaulettes.
Il was persuaded TO accept an offer to
lead the host to Washington. l did so.
We rode when we could; we built boats to
carry US across the great rivers, and we be.
haved as orderly as we could, lut there
were dissensions all the time, and even on
that trying journey saw that thore was q