The sun., 1897-11-25
NEW RULEIN TIE KNIGHTS.
HfoKs rs FOR HOME RULE IN THE
ORDER AND NO CRAZH STRIKES.

On by Hta Friends Giving the Order =
Chance ts Grow stronE AFTER LOnE Decay.
The friends Of Henry A. Hicks of this city.
newly elected General Master Workman OF the
Knights of Labor OF tha United States, say
that his election Is the sequel of n revolution in
the order. and 10 evidence Of the final over
throw OF tho reign OF reckless tyranny which
began under Terence v Powderly and resulted
in putting the whole country In a turmoil, un-
I'll the Knights OF Labor, beaten and broken.
foil from power and into contempt in the indus
trial world.
About eleven years ago tho Knights stood at
the height of their power, and local assemblies
spraLg up like mushrooms in q night hundreds
OF men Joined the order daily, and It's strength
was measured by hundreds of thousands. Tho
desire Of workmen to Join it swept over tho
country. North, South. East, and West, like
whirlwind, and left q wake OF demands strikes,
lockouts, boycotts, and blacklists, with a leg
acy Of want and misery for men and women
and enormous losses for business and capital.
The spirit Of the order at that dag seemed to
bo that no man had any rights except tho
employed. Strikes were ordered upon the slight
est occasion and for the most arbitrary reasons,
and tho motto IAN injury to one is the concern
OF all' was so construed that an era Of sympa-
thetic strikes was inaugurated. calling out
thousands Of men. frequently to support the
inequitable demand Of n single workman.
1t was during the great strike on tho South
western railroads at this time. where every rail
road south Of st. Louis was involved, that Mr..
Hicks first began TO oppose the methods of
General Master Workman Powderly and of tho
radicals among the Knights. and to sec that IL
success was sttainable 1t must be among other
lines than those Of the day. Mr.. Hicks was then
living at st. Louis. Born in this city and
brought up hero as stairbuider. he had
been advanced until he was a superin.
tendent OF building construction. In this
capacity business took him to many parts of this
country and Of Canada. He lived in st. Louis
OF the Knights at tho time. he was a member
and q committeeman for his local assembly.
the wabash. tho Iron Mountain % and % a dozen en-
other roads south OF st. Louis, and demands for
oSep oSP Se ssGr the Knights all
Powderly's methods. what matters It," he
cried one night at a meeting, "if Mr.. Powderly
can get a thousand men day to join the order,
his methodist When Powderly tried to make II
stance Of Marin Irons. the local % Master @ Work.
man. and hid himself behind the ruin of Irons
had become a ,stoadfast opponent Of Powderiy
and the men who aided him In directing tho tur-
Mr. Hicks came back to this city in 1887
while the coal handlers strike was In progress
same disastrous policy. for. directed BY leaders
OF District Assembly 40. one lot Of men after
sSs ssksr. sf out Ii ns
structure fell Of its own weight and the men
Mr.: Hicks was an active member Of the con.
vontion at Philadelphia in 1898 when Powderly
was deposea in the middle OF two;year term Of
much toward disintegratine tho mixed trades
men who work at building construction into tho
Isa IBsgaildinE II, construcsoTs District Assembly
from 40 in this city and all the
country around for twenty-five miles
voice in every general convention after, 1890
against the Capitalization of power In the hands
the logical candidate to replace General Genera Master Master
Workman sovereign at louisville this month,
found tnn in OF
sesSnd 91,d regular , i.nl term OF office. , =. -,
knights OF Labor and the methods of the work
which he believes viii accomplish this. he set
ss he sat in his homo
,"Powderly was always aggressive" he de-
clarcd, seeking; for, domincerIng. 9utocratic
district assem- bles the territories, and d even Of
lhs locals was Ill nappsd, opt S ioS them By tie
another in support Of the original strikers ,ntil
tain the idle members, and by the time he was
overthrown the Knie ehts had lost half their
with Wild p am6tions & striRc. was "fis The Htp cry
everywhere. remember one night in st: Louis
OrPanIZlng q lOcfl assembly. ana taxing In 4OU
member was bent on going out on strike the
1T Snd nf
OF their own to redress. and was kept on the
SEs al hod 9 fsm @ eBeof GF before
when Sovereign was elected it was intended
that this policy. should be changed. Men were
to be educated by oratory rather than by strikes
But the general officers sill maintained that II
wasa part Of their duty to interfere with the
DisorganiZation, weakness. and dissatisfac
tlon were the result. Why. even ii, mar
could from h Sn to e n
and from the district to the general officers. Z
around an and enjoy itsef in hotels, and hnalIy
perhaps, it would decide against the lower bodiel
there was an instance of this Our District As
sembly suspended one OF its locals and withou
i.i nhsinriDg even we got notice one day that thu
Hereafter there shall be more home govern
ment and fewer strikes. There shall be more o
Homogeneous bodies instead of mixed Assem-
hlies. i has always been great disadvanteR
to u.s. when there was trouble for instance be
tween a builder and some of his men, to have Il
explain that the shoemaker, or cigarmaker. o
Bile on our behalf was good man. The EN-
ployer was naturally 10th 10 deal with maj
tions OF the trade in which the dispute arose.
Many employers have tho impression tha
have scaiplrR expedition out for every EN-
ployer, whether he be fair or otherwise; On tn
contrary, IL 1e our purpose TO Try ana protec
fair employers by compelling the unfair CON
petitor 10 liyo up to tn" same requirements. n
employer who pays he proper wages gives tn
union hours, and keeps the union rules has any
thing to fear.
at was for the purpose OF restoring hom
rule to the districts, territ res and locals that
was elected. Each one shall have full contro
of its own affairs j shall urge that whe
troubles arise more persistent attempts b
made to come to understanding before
strike is resortcd to. II a strike seems unavoiC
able our policy hereafter will not be to call ou
every man in shop factory an
thus weaken ourselves by having to Ia
ourselves with many strike benefits. Instead
we shall begin by taking out the men who la
out work for others. Four or five men in sho
often lay out th' work for hundreds Emba
raised thus by the temporary loss Of these fe'
men, the employer will see tho extent OF ou
power, and while he suffers for the lack OF thes
men we shall endeavor still to como to term
with him. II we fail we shall have the fewt
idle men to provide for
"But arbitration or adjudication will be ou
main effort. have advocated that tho board