322 HISTORICAL AND POLITICAL. 



they otherwise could do. These men, few as they were in number, set 

 out to form an organization that would counteract the work of the capi- 

 talistic class in that line. They noticed that special privileges had been 

 obtained by these capitalists to issue money, which enabled them to 

 control its volume ; that, while it was a good thing to have labor rely 

 upon the natural law of supply and demand, in their opinion it was bad 

 for money to do the same thing. Besides that, these men saw that the 

 capitalistic class were also using the government law-makers to obtain 

 large blocks of land that, in the near future, would be very valuable, on 

 account of the increase in population in the country. 



The preliminary steps taken at Louisville resulted in the calling of a 

 convention in the city of Baltimore, in 1866. Among some of the men 

 who were at that convention were Captain Richard F. Trevellick of 

 Michigan ; Thomas A. Armstrong of Pennsylvania, the founder of 

 the Labor Tribune, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania ; A. C. Cameron, who 

 at that time edited the Workman 1 s Advocate, of Chicago, then about 

 the only distinct labor paper in the country ; John Oberly, who after- 

 wards became Indian Commissioner and Civil Service Commissioner 

 under President Cleveland. This convention appointed a committee to 

 draw up a platform of principles, and then adjourned. But before it 

 adjourned, it adopted the name of "The National Labor Union," and 

 prepared to form subordinate unions throughout the country. The 

 committee appointed to draw up tl\e platform consisted of A. C. Cam- 

 eron, Chairman, Thomas A. Armstrong, and several others. This com- 

 mittee met at Ionia, Michigan, on December 18, 1886, drew up a plat- 

 form, and published it to the world. It may be said that the beginning 

 of labor taking a hand in politics in the United States dates from the 

 publishing of that platform. 



The next time that the National Labor Union met was at Chicago, 

 in 1867, at which meeting William H. Sylvis, of the Iron Moulders' 

 Union, was elected president of the bdy. The next meeting was 

 at New York, in 1868. The publishing of this platform to the world 

 caused others besides workingmen to interest themselves in its pro- 

 ceedings. Among those who came asking admission to the New York 

 meeting were General A. M. West, who at that time was President of 

 the Ohio and Mississippi Railroad ; Britton A. Hill of St. Louis, one of 

 the ablest legal minds of that city at that time ; and General Samuel F. 

 Gary, who afterwards represented the city of Cincinnati in Congress. 



There were local tickets nominated upon this platform, in several 

 different sections of the country, during the next four years. In Massa- 

 chusetts there were several members elected to the legislature in both. 



