Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-08-26
A DAY FOR GERMANS.
October 8 Will be Selected for a
National Annual Celebration
In REMEMBRANCE OF PIONEERS.
The Local Organizations of Turner's and
Singers Favor 1t.
A MOVEMENT STARTED IN THE EAST

| German-Americans are contemplating
the establishment of national holiday
which is to be celebrated on October 8.
The population of German origin in Phila-
delphia have started the idea, and they have
been sending circulars all over the Union
to every society of Germans for the purpose
of awakening their interest in and getting
them to indorse the plan. At the next
| meetings of most of the Turner'S and singing
societies of Pittsburg and Allegheny the
subject is to receive full discussion.
A reporter of this paper, who made some
| inquiries among the most prominent local
| Germans yesterday, heard that the idea will
| find general favor here. On that account it
is highly probable that a celebration will
take place here on October 8 next.
HOW IT oRIGINATED.
A gentleman, whose heart and soul is in
the scheme, explained the objects of the
festivity yesterday in this manner: The
Philadelphia Germans celebrated six years
ago the two-hundredth anniversary Of the
first arrival of large number of Germans
in this country. Those pioneers were the
founders of Germantown. In all the larger
celebration was held on the same
day. In Philadelphia the festival lasted
for three days, including splendid parade
and other entertainments. After that the
Philadelphians proposed to make the cele-
bration an annual affair. A special organi-
cation called the German-American Society
was started. 1t was composed of delegates
from a number of German associations from
all over the land. This society was in
trusted with making the arrangements for
the affair every year, and the day was to be
known as the pioneer day OF German emil
grafton.
But for three years only the celebration
took place regularly all over the country,
then the German-American Association
broke up. However, the movement has
now been started airesh and with new vigor,
and from the information obtained about 1t,
it NAV be judged that the Sd of October
will, in the future, become fixed holiday
for all the Germans in America.
NOTHING MORE APPROPRIATE.
"Why should we not have national
holiday as we'll as representatives of other
nations, Z" said ore of the Germans yester-
day. 1.-THE Irlsbmen have their st. Pat
rick's day, the Orangemen have holiday,
the Englishmen St. Georges day, the French
their 14th of July, and why shouldn't we
have a day of celebration? There could
not be anything more appropriate than the
Sd of October, the commemoration of the
day when our ancestors first arrived in this
country.
The President of the Frohsinn Singing
Society, Mr.. F. w. Neubert, when spoken
TO on the subject, said: SIT is very good
idea, and our society will certainly take
part in such celebration. 1t would afford
the greatest opportunity of bringing all the
Germans together, at least, once a year.
have not received any official communica-
tian in regard to the matter, but 1t is possi-
BILE that somebody in our society may have
heard of the fact"
Mr.. G. II. Hess, one of the Oldest men,
bers of the Central Turn Verein, was also
entirely in harmony with the idea, but he
had not been at the last meeting of the So
ciety, and did not know whether it had been
brought up.
THE TURNER'S AT THE HEAD.
Another gentleman, who is an officer of
the Pittsburg district of the National
Turnerbund, however, said: 'The move
ment for the celebration of the Sd of October
as national holiday for German Americans
is now very strongly agitated in the
West, and it will also come up at our next
meeting. / have not the least doubt that
committee will at once be appointed for the
purpose of making the arrangements for the
celebration here, because a number of us
have already quietly talked the matter
over, and all of us are thoroughly in har-
mony with the spirit of the plan."
"Do you think that you will observe the
day every year for the future?"
Eyes, that is the idea. The Turner's will
invite all the other German organizations
from Pittsburg and vicinity to form a COM
mittee which will be charged with the duty
of arranging for the kind of entertainments
that will be held. That committee is to be
permanently organized, and it will again be
known as the German-American Society for
the Pioneer Day of German Immigration
Into America. The meeting will be held
next Sunday"