Show A startling correspondence i sl st paul pioneer press the strangest thing thin that mr powderly baa over ever done inal the tile years be he baa has been before the public IAsi jk a leader aleader of organized labor is isto to ii submit subi nit to the kew new york state board of arbitration copies of certain lettera letters f w which passed between and i mr lee le the I 1 cal labor leader who 1 conducts 1 t the ho on the new york uen central tra 1 for th those 0 be who have I 1 moat most sympathy with the men and least yih the officials of the road i must admit after they have read this correspondence that thia this z sympathy y was m sp solaced laced there has bif scarcely been anat fling in the hilory t the knights of labor certainly nothing in the history atory I 1 of mr Po powderly as discreditable as this for it put the organization in be the position not of an aider which was intent upon securing justice tice and fair play to its ii bat it in that of a conspiracy conn piracy aiming by any means an and d atall at all hazards to elcore c or 0 for or itself a practical control cf of th the e railroads affairs if as mont mot people now believe public opinion is the most potent factor in determining the luccese of failure of a it strike there need be no wonder that this movement i failed the reader can caa judge for himself what manner of mf men n were at the bottom of the trouble on the new york central wo have apace space only tor for bome some brief extracts from there letters but that willbe will be enough the first of them is dated as lonz ago as the ad of last february showing bow how carefully care carefully full premeditated I 1 was thin this movement yin in it mr i powderly advises lee that be he is in deal lag with ith one of tha greatest and most I 1 powerful railroad corporations in the country and urges him to feel bis his ivay way carefully before venturing on a strike As an instance of when not i to strike the following excerpt from the letter is in given the men man on the reading road art full mill controlled the entire manage zent aad bad had everything their own I 1 I 1 way Z y they got restive rei tive and all iwed f incendiary coun ciu nels els to prevail it was no uncommon thins thing for them to atop stop 1 a train on oa tho the main track and talk to an up train I 1 in a order to bettle battle some little matter that sort of thing could not last and when they finally struck it was at the wrong time for tor the men and just the time to suit the company it would appear from rom this that control hy by the men may go too far even I 1 for or mr powderly but one wonders why the re reiding wing employees should have struck when toey they were apparently patently ly in command of its entire op operation ration mr powderly however censures not the but the inopportune moment chosen for it in all IF 1 the cor correspondence nce there is n no intimation that mr air powderly wished wished to avoid a strike there is no word 0 of I 1 caution or counsel against it all is to be done to bring a strike about but at a moment when the company will be found beliles bel ples lse re reports r that lysy ara goin going ahead nicely organizing gan izing the force of the road with men on whom the knights could depend to obay obey them rather tha than n their em loyers boyers powderly comme commends ads alter after this fashion I 1 this is plain go on with the work of organic do it as quietly as possible work hereafter under secret order and divulge nothing to the outside world as to movements or work done put organizers to work on the west ivest shore road and all along the entire vanderbilt system wh n u you can induce a young man to quit the service of the ydo do so have as many ai as thick think of going goin else ise where this erring spring do BO so in a b body 0 it if they can be relied on do it tha t way have them give as a reason if asked that they are offered better wages and inducements else here this letter was written last april and is a fine instance of the course of the man who pleads that be ii en an educate the workingman and inculcate in him sentiments of truthfulness and fidelity the advice which it contains was given ivea four months before there was any strike or any suspicion of one three months later alter atter the fine bu iness bud been foitag ui n 9 on merrily lee reports trouble lo the r he men who bad had been promoting the best beat inter interests eFto of the organization organic stion bat that is tollo follo aint inic the plan elated stated above bavo have been discharged and be he himself has ba suffered dismissal of course be he wanted to strike but butro powderly knew enough to bee see clearly hat fiat a strike at this time would bi fatal as it proved 81 83 he cautions cautious against it not these discharges 1 had been provoked and rendered necessary UL became the coin company was too well prepared here is the way mr powderly Puw derly puta puts thal the case to a brother knight caution your men to continue an before make no noise no stir no show of strength and if it possible act on the following suggestion you have in the onar a number of young men who would juat just as lieve have take horace 0 Gref re leyB eleya advice and go west as not select a number of these who who would be willing to lake take positions elsewhere have them correspond wi with thour our brothers and in the west and escure positions there have them then go one by one to their superintendent t and a ask sk lr fur bibber higher wages shorter hours better conditions or in fact anything that may be required by the employees of the road their demands bill ill be refused of course and then let them state that they are unwilling to work for such a corporation when they can car better themselves when a number of good men quit in this manner it will ill cause the company to think that ww it t will ill not do to trine trifle with them and prevent the discharge of other men this you must do secretly and anday by all means mean postpone and keep back all indications of trouble until the return of mr depew from europe remember that he is a possible candidate for the presidency and will go to a any 11 lengths where bis his own personality is concerned rather than have a strike on the road for that would injure bis his chance irreparably and a little later in a letter written justa afore the strike came mr air powderly again suggests that 1802 1892 will be presidential year and that 1893 I 1 the year of the worlds far and if the tile men will only keep still and stud go on with their preparations preparations until that time they will 1 have the roads and tile country at their mercy we do not think extended comment on th these se disclosures will be no ces cessare ce osary sary what they reveal is nota not a conspiracy cone piracy of the ma managers manai cers of the hew new york central to break breakup up tho the knights of labor but a coni cow piracy deep laid and dating ion long ago on the part of the knights to obtain poses eion sion of the road and for this end tho the workingman was to be taught that duplicity faithlessness to bis his ere and utter disregard ar d of in deresta committed to his hill C charge harge are proper and laudable weapons it aho avows ws bow how of this kind can blunt tho moral sense when mr powderly himself makes such documents as these their r heir contents will do him and the causa cause he lie represents more daniago than the failure of all the strikes of the last ten Y ye irs those who hava have felt that the auth authorities earsrie ties of the new central were harsh and arbitrary in their conduct toward the strikers will change their opinion cow now they know what sort of mea men and what kind of a plot the management bad had to t deal with |