Show The Knights of Labor NEW YORK July 1tThe Commercial Advertiser in a long article on the Knights of Labor says From figures given out lately by Powderly not to reporters however how-ever tile ascertained membership of the order of Knights of Labor has fallen from 1000000 to less than 600000 within the last fourteen months The loss has been steady and on the increase while the accessions to the order grow fewer each month The cause of this is attributed to its failure to carry its point in the strikes in two great struggles that on the Missouri Pacific and the coal handlers here The article continues as follows The losses have been greatest in New York District Assembly No 04 It has lost half of its members within fourteen months The first defalcation was that of the International Cigarmakers Union which left the assembly in a body on account of interference with its affairs during the strike The Knights of Labor lost 26000 men by this move alone Afterwards there were similar sim-ilar troubles with the bakers bricklayers and almost every other class of artisans resulting re-sulting in the withdrawal from the order of various unions and individual members Reports from all sections of the country show the same condition of things Nearly every dav there are dispatches in the papers announcing the retirement of some assembly assem-bly branch of Knights of Labor |