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VOL, I, NUMBER 1, TROT. N. Y. MAY 8. 1886. PRICE 3 CENTS. LABOR NOTES. All m^n are pqual; it is not birth, but virtue alone, that makes the difference.— Voltaire. An organization or Koeiet; that np- bolde Gi>uld, Husie t Cu. is an outrage on civilizatii'n. GapiUl IS dead laiior, wbiob lives, vampire-like, by sacking labor, and tUe more it sucks in the better it lives. The Knights of lAabor have a ^ e v a n c e against the miesouri Pacific, which they wish to discuss. The Missouri Pacific has which itreiust Post-Dispatch. Leas hours of labor v ment to the nnemploye the demand for all kinds of goods,will n dnoe co-npetifion iu the \labor market, and as a logical resnlt will increai wages all around. ? per cent, on wagi eight hours work, promising five per cent more on July 1. The workmen decided t the terms. dvanci to accept less of the benefit or injury of the million in need of money. For proof of this sei Warwick Martin’s book entitled “Mone; of Nations.” No employer is jastiSed in refusing toto recognizeecognize thehe representativesepresentatives off or-r- r t r o o I upon enr political horizon a cloud not ganiBed labor. The engine might as j no bigger than a man’s hand, which, i well refuse to recognize the steam or the it be not dissipated, will spread over the u—a -------- — Organized I whole flrmanent.manent. This bodesis noodes good to the futnre prosperity of the Union, and the stabitity of its democratic iustl- bead to recognize (1 labor is here to stay. You cannot, tbe.v say, tench an old dog new tricks, snd an old man (Gonld) wb<<ee milk bus been mistrusted and bis own dearest wennon. perfidy, cannot be w-zpectej to keep simple faith when treachery would serve his pocket or bis purpose. When labor keeps on voting year after year for the parties that only forge an extra chain to their misery, it should ask neither pity nor sympathy. Yet Ood sbooM be merciful to wives and children, and tUe.v should not suffer for the crimes and sins cf tlifir husbands and fathers. Jast before the French revolution Fonlon suid the working people could eat gra<“». Not long afterward liis head was carried throngb the streets of Paris on a pike with a taft of grass stuck m bis mouth. It may be just as well fi r the aristocrats of to-day not to forget this little circumstance. •‘Wbat does labor prodcce ?” asks a politician. From now until October labor will produc perspiration. Try it and see. The politteinns seem to be 'ore aKectrd by the power demonstrated • organized isbor than any other class the communitr. What does polities Oduce ? 0 0 0 0 0 0 0—New Jersey /D ionlst. The gavel which Geneial Master Workman Powderly uses at meetings of the General Assembly of the Knights of Labor was maife of wood taken from the building in which Patrick Henry made his famous oration when be made use of the cxpre*' 'on “Give me liberty or give No matter what concessions Gould may make to labor in the future, it will never ersse from the minds of the people the impression that he violated his agreement to the committee that waited on him in order to settle the strike. By his own falseness he has placed bunseif on record as one of tbe most notable tricksters of the day. isague, has made a d e ^ r a te effort to crush labor organizations in that city, bnt their efforts were futile. Men were arrested on tmmped-np charges and taken twenty miles away tor trial; armed niflianfi roamed tbe streets insultiag and 'ntimidating peaceable citizens, and a -egiment of soldiers wers quartered on he town to awe the workingmeii into '’-mintoo. t Pittsburg the contractors for tbe county bnildiiigs volnntarily made •dnetion of wording honrs from ten tne a day. Tb ree bnndred workmen 'ffected.—A general meeting of jour- nao bakers was held. A redaction 2 working boars a day was demand- ' Already 50., bakers have assented, velve anion contractors have decided Wy $3.25 a day for nine hours work ODdition that their stonile Vork fr non-nnien firmi masons do IDS existing between tbe mplovees of tbeWashing- ^towD street railroad in I in sharp contrast with 3VOD some of the lines in soeie Washington companv aborily rednoed tbs hours of ploya day’s work. Tbs em- gold-'i President Hurt with a a new and Supt. Sailer with done teas. Not to be out- 50 to of the road presented lefit ee to be used for tbe That was a telling remark of Mr. Pow derly belure tbe cungressional iuveaii- gating committee. When aaked bis opinion sboat tbe United States ap> pointing a receiver to run a railroad after it has been wrecked. “There sre s great many persons,” he said, “ who express tbe opinion that if the United States government can cun a railroad after it has been wrecked, it certainly ongbt to be able to ran a good railroad. Let congress pass Weaver’s bill pro viding for a department of labor instead of stowing away tbe indnslrial qaestion nnder a table in tbo burean of statistics. Give the necessary powers of arbritra- tion in tbe department and tbns pave tbe way for a repnblio where all the great interests receive their due recog- Let Qs determine to have it go into history that the men of 1886 struck ss grand a blow tor liberty as tbe men of 1776.—Q. JL W. Powderly. It needs no extraordinary foresight to to discern that tbe coming political straggle in this country will be between tbe organiZ'^d forces of cupital banded together in allied corporations and tba organized labor banded together in a federation of labor anions. Success will perch upon the bannersOf tbe party which has the best organisation, makes tbe fewest mistakes, and commits the fewest aggressions npon tbe rights of that large class ef citizens who are n ' directly affiliated either with capital with labor. There is slowly bnt surely forming ditical horizon a cloud now •. POWOEBI.V. ^ ill spread whole fir Th b i :o tbe Intnre prosperity tnd the stability of its di ;utioDs. Already it is tasing a sectional shape; this lime not lu the soutu, but iu tbe e a s t; ont from this cloud a voi crying, ‘Money is king.” The n( ID b u s bu ilt Us shrill in a single corner o organization of the latter tor its own protection. No class, no more than an individual, ever reforms itself. Labor may reason, peti- tloi:. pray, uibihu a s rage and its su^ fering.ring, andnd reason,eason, petitions,etitions. prayers a r p id pain will be as nnvailiug as rain upon a rock. O u tlet capital once feel the underlying strength of that vast power under which it rests, and capital is at once open to conviction. The veteran reformer, Robert Blissert. speaking of tbe bloodshed in Kast St. Lonis says: “Jast as John Brown's was the first death in tbe rebellion, so the death of those innocent people in St. Louis are the first iu the new rebellion that is sore to come. Negro slavery had to go afti-r John Brown died ; white slavery has to go und go it will. Wu won’t hum down Gould’s house for labor b r “ ' “ must builduild ratherather b r tlinn destrov. But more effective than fire, and we if Gonld can withstand it. The stril going to be well-supported by jctnal way to stop a :li railroarls by striker interferference with Let the natioual government take session of all tbe railroads of the coun try and :un them in the lolerest of tbe whole people, as tbo postal depaitment is now run, instead of letting them be run for the benefit of a few capitalistic rogues. It should seize them, then, not as a war necessity, but as a peace neces sity, masiug rates reasonable and uni form, and paying liberal salaries to all imployss, who shonld work only a rea- lonable number of boars. Let us delay 18 long as we may, to this complexion it certainly must come at last. Th- one great problem of to-day seems ' me, IB tbe cry of the poor against tbe icroachmeots of tbe rich' and the one great marvel of to-dav is tbe bltndm-ss the senseless blindness, of tbe strong, who fall to see and to recognize that the outrages they perpetrate upon the de fenceless, the crimes they commit against the weak, the grinding of the poor in the mill of the oppressor, are simply seeds which will ere long burst grew and flonnsb to proportiona so lendons that tbe strongest wespons t quail in their presence, and tbe moat sabetautial defenses will be swept before them as leaves by the autumn Worth, Kt derman elected was a Knight while Mr Broiles, who was eleci mayor is looked npon as a sympathi: with the Knights, and received their vote. The city election in East St. Louis last Tuesday, for members of the City Connci^ resulted in tbe Knights of Labor carrying two wards, and what is known as tbe Administration party : tbe other two. The Labor municipal election in Fort nsas, last Tuesday, everv al- eleotcd was a Knight of Laboi State of Missouri. Where were the “citizens” and “merchants\ and the “public” of these, who Jay Gould's wires have been telling us for the ' month were a unit against the E. of L t To use a mild phri Tying tbe other two. rty have carried several places in the tre were the unit against the terrible seems te be a liai STRIKES AND ARBITRATION, wmee the whole system of petty tyrannies _____ iiat had been practiced on them for years. Nut being drilled in orgauizaliun, and feel ing that the employer would not treat ;.v!th them, the only remeilv su^esting The prospect for the futnre of the la- u .l f the strike. And, on the other boring man in America is brighter to-day I ;and, the eiuplojor who felt that every than it ever has'.been notwithstanding the -aove of his workmen m organization seemingly “strained relations” at present' ezistng between employer and employe. That we are passing through an epi demic of strikes, lockouts and boycotts is true, but the fact must not be lost sight ofi that were it not for the growing power of organization we should have a great many more strikes to contend with than wc have had for the first three months of the p r^ ent year. The growth of organization or the past ten years has been steady and healthy. It is only where organization I* in its infancy that serious troubles, such as strikes and lockouts exist. 'The causes from which strikes and lockouts spring are to be found in all parts of the country, liut the methods of dealing with the troubles us they arise are different. In places wliere no organizations of labor exist, of where the secils of organization have just been planted, dispnting parties are apt to become involved in strikes. The reasons advanced in support of that prop osition are as follows : until recently very few workingmen dared to express their opinion in pablic on tbe subject of labor, for the reason that they were almost cer tain of an immediate dismissal from the service nf the man or company they worked for, if it became known that they in any way favored the associution of workingmen for mutual protection. Witli such a sentiment existing in tbe breasts of workingmen they could not be expected to feel very kindly toward tne employer who so jealously watched their every move ment, snd who, by bis actions, made them feel that they were regarded rather as serfs than freemen. While the real bone and sinew of the land remained in enforced silence, except where it could be heard throngh the medium of tbe press and trum through chosen leaders, another class of men who seldom worked would insist on “representing labor,” and in making glowing speeches on the rights and wrongs of man wonld urge the “abolition of property,” or the “equal division of w e a l t h s u c h speakers very often sug gesting that a good thing to do would be to “hang capitalists to lamp posts.” The employer of labor who listened to such speeches felt that in suppressing organi zation among bis workmen he was per forming a laudable act. Yet he was by that means proving himself to be the most powerful ally the anarchist could wish for. He causi-d his employees to feel that he took no interest in them other than to get as many hours of toil ont of them for ihillings as poss hie. Tlie com qnence was that the employer, who was himself responsible for tbe smothering of the honest expression of opinion part of labor, became possessed of the idea that the raw head and bloody bones curb-stone orator was the real representa tive of labor, and determined to exercise 3 vigilance and precaution than ever in keeping his “help” out of the labor so ciety. The speaker who hinted at or ad vocated tbe destruction of propierty or the banging of capitalists to lamp-posts, was shrewd enough to speak very kindly, and knowing manner, of labor associa tions, giving out the impression that he held membership in one or more of them. Workingmen who were denied tbe right to organize, veiy frequently went to hear Mr. Scientific lecture on the best means of handling dynamite. And when the speaker portrayed tbe wrongs of labor, the thoughtful workman could readily trace a resemblance between the employer painted by the lecturer and the man be himself worked for. Workmen employed by those who frowned on laoor organizations became snllen and morose; they saw in every action of the Superintendent another innovation on their rights, and they finally determined to throw off the yoke of op pression, organize and assert their man hood. The actions of the superintendent boss very often tended to widen the breach between employer and employe. When tbe organization did come it found very bitter feeling existing on both sides and before studying the laws of the so ciety they joined, or becoming conversant with its rules or regulations regarding the settlement of disputes or grievances, the workmen determined to wipe out of exis- [wonld be directed sgmnst his interests, letermined to take time b y the forelock i^id turn them all out in the street. Thus *e find tbe organization in its infancy tee to face with s strike or lockout. This conditinn of affeirs existed in a geat many places thronghout the United Sates in the beginning of the present y-AT. Absorbed in the task of getting lirge dividends, the employer seldom in- c-iired of his superintendent how he uMsged the business intrusted to his keping, or how he treated bis employes. Ii thousands of places throughout tbe UUted States, as many superintendents, fo-emen, or petty bosses are interested in stires, corner groceries or saloens. In my places the employe is told plainly tint he must deal at tbe store, or get his liqior from the saloon in which his boss ha- an interest; in others be is given to uclerstand that he -most deal in these )T saloons, or forfeit his situation. Lava have been paseed in some states against the keeping of company stores,but the stures are kept nevertheless, and work- mch are made to feel that they must pat ronize them. In many cases the owners of mill?, fac tories or mines are not aware of the exis tence of such institutions as the “pluck me”—the name applied to the company store—but they stand so far away from theii employes that they cannot bear the murmur of complaint, and i f a whisper of it ever does reach their ears it comes throi.gb the boes who is not only inter ested^ in the store, but in keeping its exis- tcnc- i secret from his employer. The ,tV' sf .I.* .03 ie auoiiier source of injustice to workmen, for their existence tends to widen the breseh between em ployer and employe. It may seem that I am dealing with insignificant things in this paper, but when the statement is made, that seven out of every ten super intendents or bosses are interested in the management, and derive profits from the operation of stores which employes are forced to patronize, I make an assertion which can be provcil. In a country where every man. no matter liow humble, taught from his infancy that he stands tbo equal of all other men, it is but natu. ral for a citizen who is given to under stand that he must patronize a certain store, or that he cannot joii' a certain so ciety, to feel restive and, where so much is promised and as little obtained, are apt to lose faith in a law-making sys tem whicn obliges the workman himself to become complainant and prosecutor in cases where the laws are violated to his detriment. If he prosecutes, he is dis charged. If he does not prt^ecute f->r in fractions of law but simply compims, he is told to invoke the majesty of tbe law in bebalt. In this way law is disre garded; it becomes a dead letter; men lose hope in law and law-makers. Tbe constant itching and irritation caused by tbe indifference of the employer to their welfare, and the injustices prac ticed on them by petty bosses, go on until the men feel that the only remedy is through tbo strike. In this way men who belong to no organization are launched into strikea. Workingmen are not, as a rule, edu cated men. When the strike docs come, while they fee! that they have been 'Oged, yet they are lacking in the com mand of lan g u id necessary to state their properly to the world, and, hence, set forth their clums in sneh a way as to arouse prejudices or create false impres sions. Tbe other side having the advan tage of education, either personally or by right of purchase, can and does mould public opinion in a great many cases. | I have pointed ont one or two of the ' little things which caase a great deal o f : uneasiness and vexation to workingmen ; i others have pointed out the root of the eviL The workingman of tbe United States will soon realize that he possesses the power which kings once held—that he has the right to manage bis own affairs. The power of the king has passed away. The evening shadows are closing in upon the day when immense private fortunes be acquired. The new power dawn ing upon the world is that c f the working man to rule hie own destinies. Thaow cr can no longer l>e kept from him How will he wield it r This question is of great concern only to tne workingman but to every citizen who loves his country should be extended to assist the new ruler. 1 have no fears because of tbe present apparently distarbed condition »f tbe labor world ; on the contrary, the signs are very hope- fol. Wendell Phillips once said, “Never look for an age when the people ca qniet and safe. At such times despotism like a shronding mist steals over the mir r oof freedom.” The people are not quiet to-day, but they are safe. It is the power of mono poly that is not safe. Tbe men wno pile up large tortunes must compensate for that privilege in the payment of a grad uated income tax. The bieerings which they derive from wealth must be shared by the nation from which they extract that wealth. The hours of labor must be reduced throughout the nation, so that tbe toilers msy havs more time in which to learn the science of sclf-govcmment. Labor- saving machinery instead of making s slave of man must become his servant. How will the workingman wield t.hia power ? Organized labor says the powi will be wisely handled, but we must have the co-operation of the vast middle classes. Tbe employer and employed must longer stand apart The barriers o f pride caste, greed, hatred and bitterness must be tom down. The workiogman and his employer must meet face to face, they ronst discuss every detail in the manage ment of the concerns they are jointly op erating. No sacrifice of principle on the one hand or of manhood the other need attend such a transaction. Iu the agement of great or small concerns each grievance, each troulile '\r <liffercnce. whetuur iQ relation to discipline or wages should be talked over in a conciliatory spirit and arbitrated. Joint boards of ar bitration should be formed between manufacturer and workmen all ovei country. Each party should devote aiderable time to the perfecting of the plans best suited to their interests or sur roundings, for rules governing one case or locality might not work well in another. Having after careful deliberation ^recd upon tbe rules, each party should ugn tbe articles of agreement, binding itself to abide by them until changed by consent of both. Agreements of this kind will be the means of settling differences as they arise, and with their inaugaration, strikes, lockouts, and boycotts will not be entered upon BO readily, and, if ever called into play, then only as the very last resort. BOYCOTTIIfO PRISON-MADE GOODS. been made cut by the Canadian govern ment to the provincial oflicers, with in structions not to allow dealers there to import articles made by American prison labor, and to rieze any such goods found in the country hereafter. This order was brought about by importation into Canada of a large ni ber of hay-fwks made in the Michi„. state prison, and which were entered as having bees made by free labor. A dis patch from Cincinnati says : “The S tew ard Wagon Company has received notice that two car loads of b u ^ e e recently shipped by them to Canada would have t be brought back to the states, owing to law recently enacted forbidding the in portation of goods manufactured by con vict labor. The aries of the bugles in question were made a t tbe penitentiary iu A u b u ^ N. Y., but were remodeled after arriving at the Standard factory.”— Montgomery (N.Y.) Standard. WHAT IS A BILLION ? Tbe English billion (a million millions) has set Sir Henry Bessemer to calculating- E e reckons that a billion seconds have not elapsed since the world began, as they would reckon 31,678 years, 17 d a ^ 22 hours, 45 minutes, and 5 seconds. A chain of a billion sovereigns would pass 736 times round tbe globe, sr laying ade by side, each in contact with its neighbor, would form about the earth a golden zone 26 feet 6 inches wide. This same chain it stretched out straight,would make a line a fraction over 18.328,465 miles in extent. For measuring height, Sir Henry chose for a u nit a single sheet of paper about one three hundred and thirty-third of an inch in thickness. A billion of these thin sheets pressed out flat and would LET THERE BE HARMONY. CALL FOR THB C0S80LIDATI0N OF LABOR MOVnUBUTS. The Pittsburg Commercial Gazette is sued a call for a meeting of representa tives of all tbe trades nnioos in tlis country. The circular reads as foUowo j <8incur conodentiai.) To all whom it may concern : Dear ir—We, the nnUersigned officers of the Btiou nfi— ■* ’ ' .................. date of the chief exeontive Ouicere or each and every national and intornational trade union in America. It is suggested ‘“vt the said conference be an informal e and be held in Philadelphia on one and be held in Philadelphia on Tuesday, May 18, 1886, meeiing place to be anuouDced later. Tbe object of tbe conference is to devise ways and I means to protect our respective organ- I izatioDS from tbe nialicioasoeas of an ' element who openly boast that trades unions must be destroyed. This element urges our local uuio.’js to disband and it is diong incalculable mischief by arousing antagonisn and dissension in tne labor movement under cover of tbe Knights of Labor, sud as far as we can learn without authority from that body. This element pursues ils evil work. “Rats,” ‘ISwbs” and un fair employers are backed by tnis ele ment. Suspended sud eznelled members of trades-unions are welooued into their work and these elements use the Knights of Labor as an instrument through wbiob to vent tbeirspiteagainat trades-unions. That thia has been tbe case can be amply demonstrated by tbs cigarmskers and typographical unions. Other trades-imions have been th e r trades-unio* a ooDcernicg anionsnions andnd Kninights tradcs-n a K of Labor re quire tbsr the above conference be held as speedily as possible that wemay agree upon some plan to submit to fbe general officers nf tbe Knights of Labor to cease this hostility and antagonism toward trades nnioua. In view of the urgency o! tbe case, we call npon you to person ally attend the conference or appoint a ’ substitute. If you will atten'i sign tW» -I'cila? «ud teturu lu enveloiie. Then you will be iiifcrmed as to place of meeting. Consider this circular strictly confidential. It is mailed to all n ation^ and international uuions, Ycors fra- ternallj. P. J ' McGuire, general secretary Brotherhood of Carpeuteis’ ; A. Strasser, . president Cigormakere’ International nuiun ; Josiah Deyer, general secretary Granite makers’ iDternUionnl union ; F. J. Fitzpatrick, president Iron Molders’ union of North America; W. H. Foster, ' secretary Federation of Trades of North : America. ' J be followiDS is a list of tbe persons ivited to the conteteuce : £. S- Mclu- ary Typograpuicai luteri p ^ e e ld e n t lo c a m o r iv r V n g r n e e r s r W m Wiebe, presidonl Amaigamatert Asso mation Iron and Steel Workers ; Thomas ODea, secretary Bricklayers Interna tional union ; J. Philip, secretary Hat ters’ national union ; G. Gesener. seen Glasi Workers’ union; 8. Ekmai president Telegraphers’ anion; ; Emicli, secretary Cibmetmakers' Inh luternati-maj union; Tom O'Brien, sphers’ anio n ; H. Emich, secretary c';Sm;.makers“ I national union ; C. H. Sharp, seen Tailors’ National union; Chris E- secretory Miners’ Amalga i.ated ; George Hams, President Amalgamated miners; W. M. McClelland, Amalgamated engi- neers; W. M. Sobnlz, eeoreUry Metal workers’ International union, and the locomotive firemen. THE CHALLENGE. Let every Lnight of Labor remembe that the following order is in force in Jay Gould’s dominions, and it moans war to the bitter e nd: L bxibgton , M o ., April 16. ird Masters;—On and after 1 not employ as section fore men or foremen of extra gangs any man who is a Knight of Labor. All foremen withdrawal cards or be discharged, will not employ as foreman any man that belongs to the Knights of Labor. See that .hese instructious are carried out to the letter. YoawiU be personally respouu- ble for a violation of the above. Tke above does not refer to foreman or labor ers who have in any way interfered w i^ the bosinesB of or destroyed the com pany’s proyerty. Such men vriU not be re-employ^ under any circumstances. P. R ookwru ^ Gen’l Roadmaster. N otwithstanding the strenuous opposi- tion by the great capitalists of the coun- try, aided by a servile and subsidized press, for itself s portion of that recognition to which its impmtance in the affairs of the world entitles it. The recent recogniUon 'teneral Manager Taimage, of the bts of Labor, is a long step forward e direction of the ultimate emancipa tion of Labor.—Burlington Justice.
