The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1894-09-04
A GREAT LABOR DAY.
Eight Thousand People Attended
the Celebration
IN THE sHADE At GLRFIELD PLRK.

4 Of people to make success Of big eel
ebration. and there was certainly q suf-
fcient variety of people at the Labor
Day celebration At Garfield park yester-
day.
There was enough to amuse all Of
them.
Around the speakers stand was an i'm
/ mense crowd all the afternoon. Among
those were the older heads who wanted
to hear the arguments advanced and tbs
theories produced relative TO the pOliti-
cal welfare of the country and the state.
The seats were crowded and throHg
stood around the edges
The younger people roamed about the
grounds. to the speakers stand, to the
dancing platform, to the scene Of the
various contests on the north side Of the
park and to the boating wharf
There were refreshments stands on
these and there WAS e crowd around
them continually.
There must have beon over eight thou
sand people there. At least 1870 tan
cent tickets Of admission were disposed
of and there were several com pliment-
aries besides. There never was better
natureo, better behaved crowd anywhere
There was not the slightest distur bance
all day.
The young fellows and their girls
spent the day in roaming about the
grounds as they always do on occasions
OF the kluQy anu buO5C LAAL were
hardest found pleasant places on the
benches that were scattered back among
the trees
The woman with the pocket book was
there and as usual she carried it in her
hand, an open invitation TO any thief
that might happen in the crowd to take
il and be perfectly safe from detection;
but no cases of stealing we're reported.
The police were busy keeping the
children from being run over by the car
~. . D..
pie on the grounds were two boys who
bought an immense apple pie and were
taking il around behind a tree to eat It
where they could be entirely free from
the envionz gIances Of their friends from
the country who had not been fortunate
enough to secure pie.
Men who were not interested in poll
tics took their families and sat down
with the chiggers to eat watermelon
while the children kept the big swings
busy.
The attraction OF the day for the young
poople-those who desired to use it.
which wers<few and those humorOusly
inclined which wer6 many-was the
dancing platform where the boys danced
with their hats on and swung the girls
"by the waist" The dancing crowd was
small and it IS doubtful If the managers
Of the shop" made more than enough to
pay all incident expenses There was
trouble sometimes in getting enough
'-Podners for the cuddrille," but
those that did dance danced as
though they enjoyed it hugely. This
was where the girls stood around with
their alternating smiles and fr0wns and
wondered why the boys didn't have nerve
enough to "catch on" while the bows
stood around on each others feet, looked
lOngingly at the girls and wished they
had one. Oh, what amount of misery
might have been saved If they had only
known.
supper time, and the dancing platform
was not able to hold an evening session
The Speeches.
MarshalPs band occupied a place on
the speaking platform all the afternoon
and furnished the music at the intervals
between the speeches. ~. D. Mills acted
as master Of ceremonies and first intro
duced Mayor Harrison who delivered the
address of welcome.
The first speaker was David Overmyer,
the Democratic candidate for governor.
He cid not make a partisan speech. He
said that he considered partisan politics
out of harmony with the occasion. He
discussed the condition of the working
men and said that eight hours should
constitut~ days work. He held that
workingmen had a right to quit work
either Individually or collectively when
ever they might deem it best to secure
justice, but that others who work also
have the right to continue undisturbed
by violencs.
The closing portions OF his speech he
devoted to corporations. He said that
the law which created could also be made
to destroy and he believed in legislative
enactment aboliHhing corporations and
returning to the Industrial conditions
that existed before the great corporations
grew up.
ME. Overmysr's speech was well re-
coived.
The next speaker was Judge Frank
Doster, who spoke for the PopuIists, and
he at once broke the political ice and ad-
vocated the government ownership of
railroads and other public utilities. He
said that the courts had first held that
the legislatures could fix the
rates to be charged by the railroads.
Now" said he, 'the- courts have revers-
ed themselves, and the United States su-
preme court held in a case from Texas
that the legislature had no right to tx a
rate when it il unreas0nably low. I
want to predict that the courts viii next
hold that the question Of rates ia not a
question for jury, but the courts alone.
and 4 want to further predict that they
will hold that they have nothing TO do
with the question Of watsred stock. and
that the only question to be considered
is whether they are making a fair profit
on their capitalization. The railroads
are just as public in their nature as the
public schools, just As public as the con-
Btabulary and military. and can b8 con
trolled by the government just Az we'll"
Mr. Doster then spoke Of the indus
trial discontsnt which he said is world
wide ~Ths fact that this discontsnt
is world wide proves that no
political party Is responsible
for the present condition except