Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-12-29
BIRTHDAY OF K. OIL. SAVING THE b|RDS|
District Assembly Meets to FftySeven Preserves Gre
Celebrate Anniversary. aed by Proclamation.
LOAN SHARKS DENOUNCED VAL LIABLE TO FARMERS
Restriction of immigration Favored Damage Caused by Kngfsh
by Committee. Mnks and Muskrats
HEAD TAX AND EXAMINATION BOUNTIEs GIVEN FOR SKINS
of
Tells of Organization by Public sentment-1s
of Knights Breeding Grounds
Restriction of immigration Favored
by Committee.
HEAD TAX AND EXAMINATION
Secretary Treasurer Chamberlain
Tells of Organization and Tri-
umphs Of Knights of Labor.

| The fortieth birthday of the knights
OK Labor was celebrated last night by
District Assembly No. 66, in its hall, 225
Pennsylvania avenue. A feature of the
gathering was an address by Secretary
Treasurer Chamberlain.
! The committee on organization report
ed that an assembly Of carpenters is in
course OF formation at Hyattsville Md,
and that steps are being taken to organ
tze the moving picture operators IL this
city. The assembly of chauffeurs has
been reorganized and is being placed on
a substantial basis.
Restriction Of immigration.
There are at the present time about
a dozen bills introduced in Congress. all
tending toward the restriction of immi-
grafton the committee on legislation re-
ported.
Your committee is in favor of and is
diligently working for the passage Of
H. r. 1876, since it provides for the re-
strlction and the prohibition OF a greater
number of aliens than any of the other
bills. as well as prohibiting most COM
| pletely all traffic in the white-slave
trade. Its chances for passing the House
are good
dollar head tax on all admitted aliens, is
| still in committee and will be considered
shortly after the reconvening of Con
gress. This lie a most important bill,
since it not only provides for a just head
tax, but also for an educational test of
all immigrants coming into the country.
Your committee is of the opinion that
every effort poss BILE should be put forth
! to assist in the passage of this bill.
| Senate bill 4514 for the restriction of
| immigration is also a good bill. Its eff
| feet and standing in Congress was largely
lost by being introduced by Senator Over
tached to 1t, the senator not caring to
father the provisions OF the bill.
This bill has many good points in 1t
and some that your committee is inclined
to think are premature. 1t. like the
Gardner bill. provides for a ten-dollar
head tax. together with most of the good
! provisions found in III. r. 1876 and some
that were overlooked by the House COM
mittee."
Postal Savings and Loan Sharks.
The committee favors the act for the
creation of postal savings banks, and
says:
I'VE are strongly of opinion that such
a bill will reach the President for his ap-
fproval before the close of the present ses-
sion of Congress.
The loan shark bill has received our
| attention." continues the report, but the
bill itself or the principal of loaning
| money have not had the consideration of
the District Assembly. For that reason
| your committee was slow in committing
| the District Assembly in favor of the
loan bill Senate 1903 until it had an ex-
| preston Of opinion from you on 1t.
! The committee is strongly of'opinion
that the bin should become a law and
| that all those who live by swfndling the
| 10 se~1~
District Assembly put itself on record
| in resolution as utterly opposed to the
| methods used by the loan sharks for
| fleeing the poor OF the city of Wash
| ington, declaring that persons engaged
| in such methods are swindlers and should
| be severely punished. and directing the
| legislative committee to do all in its
| power to pass the bill and in that way
drive these parasites out of our city
Mr.. Chamberlain Speech.
In the course OF his address Secretary
Treasurer Chamberlain said In part:
'The echoes Of the civil war had
scarcely died away when few patriotic,
thoughtful men saw that great combina-
| tons of capital were already attempting
to concentrate the industries of this ma
ton into the hands of the few. that they
| might exploit labor, gamble in the sweat
of the half paid toiler and coin the blood
| Of the nations workers into what they
would call wealth.
"Organized labor had been plodding
| along for centuries. growing and COM
planning. and quarreling. and voting be-
times That it was able to help itself. but
really having made no material advance
since the guilds that comprised the yeo-
! many OF England stamped the money
| of the realm dictated its value. acted as
bankers for the crown. and the trade
| union or its officers was court to pun
| ish crime within its membership, and a
| new king, before ascending the throne,
asked the trade unions what they expect
ed Of him, and. having thus obtained per-
mission, he joined with labor in mutual
| government
| What kind of a government would we
| have today il the unioniSt could leave
| the beer schooner and the cigarette long
enough to attempt to straighten himself
| by a, state law, obey the mandate of
| the federal courts to say nothing of be-
| ing an honest spoke in the great wheel
| of government-an honest, industrious
| American citizen?
| "On the evening Of December IS 1869.
| seven men met according to agreement, at
| the house Of Joseph s. Kennedy. In Phia-
| delphia. received the reports of the COM
| mittees. adopted the platform of princi-
pies. took the pledge of honor to main
| tain the work secret. to obey the prin-
| ciples of ne organization. to be loyal to
the membership, and to extend the help
.,
for a ritual and named the new society:
The Garment Cutters Assembly, knights
| OF Labor. That was the birth and found
ing of the Knights of Labor.
| 1.-THE seven who organized the first as
sembly were: Uriah S. Stephens the first
| master workman; James L. Wright. r.
| w. Keen, James NJ. Hilsea, Joseph s.
Kennedy. William Cook and Robert Nc
Cauley. all garment cutters
Triumphs of Knights of Labor.
Some of the victories OF the knights of
Labor are given as follows: The act of
Congress providing for the eight-hour
day on government work: the creation
of the Department of Commerce and La
Dor; the o'clock closing Of stores in
most of the cities: the eight-hour day,
| with decent wages. in so many Of the
| city works: the ballot reform that allows
| the voter to be isolated and unmatched
while marking his ballot; the forty year
| education toward arbitration In the trou-
| bles between labor and the business Office
| that is now taking the field by acclama-
| ton: the various forms OF direct legtsla-
| tion that is demanding recognition on all
sides; the bureaus of labor statistics in
| every state and by the national govern
ment: the fight to save the public lands
and timber and mineral resources; the
| incorporation of labor organizations: the
weekly pay day; the fight on foreign
| contract labor and convict labor: the con-
| tract system on public works. and a wider
| field Of information that has forced the