The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1878-05-26
ST. LOUIS NEWS.
the PARADE AND PICNIC or THE ST.
LOUIS SOCIALISTS.
The Reception of Gen. shields-strike OF
the Belleville Miners-DecOrRtlOn
Day In st. Louis.
Special Correspondence of the Democrat
Mn, 1919

ST. LOUIS, May 23, 1873.
THE socIALIsTTC DEMONSTRATION
last Sunday passed of without single dis
turbance. A heavy rainstorm, accompanied
by tornado, passed over the city the DAY De-
fore, leaving the already muddy streets IN an
almost impossible condition Inc Sociallsts
procession was not, therefore, as large rs the
people expected to gee Some OF their socle-
ties did not turn out at all and others were
not half represented This, at least Is what
I have been told and am ready to believe 1t.
The procession, as 1t was, consisted
of about 1000 men, fully 800
of whom were from Belleville, small
city In Illinois, fifteen miles from St Louis.
There were some seven or eight Socalistic
organizations represented, u society Of Tur-
ners, q Tailors' Union, u Bakers Union, u
Cabinetmakers' Union, Cigarmakers' Union,
a German Printers Union and several sing
ing clubs. Fully three-fourths OF the men In
the procession were either Germans or Bo-
hemians, and half Of the balance were Eng
Iishmcn. The grand marshal Of the process
sion was one of Tony Niederwieser's bar
keepers and the next in command was q
newspaper reporter on the Votks-stimme, the
organ Of the German Socialists here. The
guns, which 1t was generally expected the
men would have, we're not there.
THE "LABoRERs' PROTECTIVE UNION
which received charter rights a few weeks
ago to organize and drill as military com
tany, and the members OF which have
been drilling regularly since then, had
but twenty-four men In the procession
and not one of them carried gun. Nobody
was in uniform, and hardly dress sword
was to be seen. The marshals and mounted
aids wore red sashes, however, and every
man In the parade had piece OF red tape
PINNED to his coat. 4 few also wore red ro-
settles and committee badges, and the mem
bers Of one organization carried red feathers
in their hats. Red colors were conspicuous
everywhere from the head to the foot of the
column. Five large red flags were carried In
the procession one German flag, one Bohe-
milan flag, five American flags, and several
society flags. The colors Of the Commune
seemed to be the most conspicuous OF all. At
any rate they attracted more attention and
created more talk among the people who
viewed the procession than all the other flags
p Themselves s9efstd did, d' -Four our ''' ''' 'N' '''
WAGONS FILLED WITH Girls
formed part of the procession The wagons
were handsomely decorated, and were drawn,
were all dressed in white and wore red sashes,
and most Of them carried little red flags in
their hands. A dozen or more transparencies
were carried In the procession, bearing notices
in English and In German. The principal
English notices were peace. liberty and
rights we want" "No slaves nor tyrants in
this land" Liberty, eqality and fraternity"
"Workingmen OF ell countries, stand to.
to live like brothers and like friends, Unity,
strength Justice to all alike; majority
rule," EQUAL duties. equal rights, neither
The procession was formed on Lucas NJ arket
and In it's march to Lindell Park passed in
front Of all the daily newspaper offices In the
city. The New Orleans band headed the
column, and several other bands accompanied
it. Arriving at
THE PARK,
the paraders returned home, many of them,
for their families. Women and children were
admitted to the ground free OF charge, and
the price of admission for the men was only
Twenty-Five cents By the middle of the after
noon fully 10000 people had gathered in the
park, and the numbers did not begin to dmin-
ish until late at night. 1t was regular Ger
man picnic. followed by dance Mt night
There Is always an address or two to be de-
livered at German picnic, and the leaders OF
the Socialists could not, OF course, let yester-
day pass without airing their peculiar views.
SPEECHES
were made in German by DR.. Otto Walster
and Mr. Albert Curtin, editors Of the Votks-
stimme; In English by DR.. II. +. Allen, editor
of weekly Communistic sheet called the
Voice of Labor, and VIM. Halter, the Cincin-
natl agitator whom I have told you about
before, and in Bohemian by Mr.. r. j. Vorel.
The speeches were much more moderate In
tone than the same speakers have been in the
habit of making at the private meetings of
the Socialistc societies. In fact. there was
very little In any of them that the best and
most law-abiding of citizens might not in
4 ~.
were to be accomplished through the ballot
box, and when wild fanatic In the
crowd raised the cry Of revolution"
the men on the platform replied with
Kisses. Precautions against an outbreak
had been taken by the city authorities. Sew
eral companies of police reserves tcity militia
organized after the strike last summer) were
kept under arms at their armories all the
afternoon and evening, and an extra force
OF metropolitans were kept at the nearest
police stations for an emergency. Their ser
vices were not required, however, and even
the small squad of police on the grounds
found almost nothing to do. Over four hun
dred kegs OF beer were poured down the
throats of the Socialists and their friends
during the afternoon and evening, but the
only apparent effect the beer had on them
was to put them to sleep or to make them
sing and dance Their real and imaginary
wrongs were all forgotten in the festivities
The net proceeds Of the picnic amounted to
about $1,000, and the money Is to be placed, |
am informed oy Mr.. Curtin, in the Socialists
campaign fund for the election next fall.
GEN. JAMES SHIELDS
was given quite an ovation in St Louis last
Saturday night. He arrived in the city Thurs
day night and was welcomed at the Union
depot by company Of State militia and a
delegation of prominent citizens. The recep-
ton Saturday night was given at the resi-
dence of Judge John M. krum, on Washing
ton Avenue. Speeches We're made by Hon
Peter 7. L. Foy, Col J. L. ID. Morrison, Col
Ferris Forman. of Illinois, and several other
gentlemen. With the exception of several
militia companies the attendance at the re-
ception was made up principally of Mexican
general In Gen Shields reply to one of the
speeches he referred in feeling terms to Robert
E. Lee and Wade Hampton. Monday night
the general was rendered banquet at the