| Show FOR LABORING MEN owderlys Address to Them on the Force Bill USE IN THE PRICE OF SILVER low It Affects the Jewelry Trade Silverware Has Advanced 15 per Centum The Cause Special to THE HERALD Examiner Dispatch PITTSBCRG July 31General Master Workman Powderly has addressed a letter to the Knights of Labor in which ho arraigns ar-raigns tho federal election or force bill in the most vigorous manner saying therein more intimidation in four lines of that law than in all the southern outrages that havo occurred since the war He says Shorn of the verbiage the bill is intended to perpetuate per-petuate the existence of the party in power and besides intended to encourage fraud Section 9 is in direct violation of tile contract by which the several states arc bound to tho Uwited States and is a most unwarrantable interferenco in the legislation of the sisterhood of states It is claimed this law will enable tho colored citizens to vote free from intimidation and influence That may be true outside of polling places but it simply transfers tho intimidation ana influence to the inside of the polling booth Why not act the part of men and say that colored men are not fit to have a vote for that is what they mean If there is a body of men in this land who do not know enough to defend their ballots with their lives at the polls then that body of men are not the kind to be privileged to > vote for those who make laws for others The Democratic party does its best to intimidate the colored citizens of the south and they give as a reason that if they did not do so they would bo subject to negro rule down there or as they put it ignorant ignor-ant rule The workmen of the north have never imposed ignorant rule where they elected their own representatives The letter goes on to say Our laws should not bo framed in such a way as tov recognize ignorance or illiteracy for to recognize illiteracy is to perpetuate it Every law should aim at the abolition of illiteracy and instead of making laws to guard uneducated men at the polls wo should make laws to guard the republic against illiteracy by obliging all voters to know bow to read and write before rot log Powderly calls on the knights to voice their sentiment and suggests thai the name of every Congressman who voted for the bill be published to the world and citizens citi-zens who are opposed to such highhanded methods should scratch them on the next election day |
