Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1896-09-07
GENESIS OF LABOR DAY
1t Was Christened in New York CITY Four
teen Years Ago.
How the Movement Spread i'm the
Different States-Its Observance
In the District.

A little over two years ago-June os Is.l
President Cleveland approved an act of
congress making the first Monday in SEN
TENDER OF every year a legal holiday I'm
the District of Columbia.
Previous to this time the ,lay had ta.n
celebratei here with much ceremony by
the laboring men. and had already become
known by the now familiar term of Labor
day. 1t needed only national recognition
TO make il one of the most important holt
days of the year.
To-Day the third celebration Of the day
as a legal holiday took place and the
demonstration on the part of the members
OF the Central Labor Union was Of such a
character as To be highly credirable to all
| interested.
The observance of the day BY those who
are affiliated with theslocal Federation of
Labor and District Assembly No &C. X
or L.. who went to Marshall Hall and that
| by the members and friends of Carpenters
assembly. who spent the holiday at River
View, was equally commendable
The origin of Labor DAY is Interesting
'o"pttffiDeL >. lSS2, the various labor organi-
| zations OF New York city and vicinity pa-
| raded through the streets of Gotham and
| alter~ard held picnic at which addresses
were MADE. Al that time the knights of
| Labor was a secret order and no work
connected with IL was conducted openly
| Pupllf expressions of the members went
out TO the world in an Indirect but none
| the less influential way, and the local as
sembles belonging to the order were repre-
scented under different names in the Cen
trail Labor Union. ON the day IN question
the general assembly was convened i'm the
city and its members were invited to re-
view the parade.
| Labor Day Christened.
| While the procession was passing the re-
Viewing stand, r pbcrt Price Of Iona coming.
| Nd. remarked TO Richard Griffiths. then
| general worthy foreman of the knights of
| Labor, This is labor day in earnest,
| Uncle Dick" From this the first Monday
| in September was perpetuallv christenea as
Labor day. In 1883 the New York labor or
| CARNATIONS paraded that day of thu
| Week ana the month. and i'm lSS4 when the
| central Labor Union of New York was dis
| cusslnG the question of parad ng George h
| Lloyd, a Knight OF Labor moved thar the
tiat Monday in September be formally Dies
! ignated as Labor day. The resolution was
unanimously adopted, and steps were i'm
| tledidteiy taken fer the purpose of getting
the legislature 10 enact d law making Labor
day legal holiday forever
| me movement was quickly successful in
Ne" York state. ard from there il extend
| Ell TO other states. with gratifying results
| ard At last received national recognition
| by It's adoption in the District OF Columbia
as above deS rribed.
The first Monday in Septernhcr is ais,
| celebrated as Labor day in Alabama. Colo
| iT-do. Connecticut. Delaware, Georgia Ini-
no-s Indiana, Iowa. Kansas. Maine, Mary-
and. NasSaC huSetts. Michigan, Missouri
Montana. Nebraska, New Hsmpshir,. New
| Jersey. New York. Ohio. Oregon. P.nnsyl-
wanna. Rhode Island. Tennessee. Texas and
| Washington. The first Monday in October
| is Labor day in California and in Louis
| lana: the 23th of November is the date on
| which cities with population OF I"!s" Or
| more observe the holiday. In Wisconsin the
day is designated by the governor of the
state.
| II Will be seen that more than twenty five
| of the states of the Union have designated
| Labor day by legislative enactment or 9th
/ erwse as legal holiday. In New York a
| measure was first introduced which recog-
| rized and designated Labor day as legal
holiday. while oregon Was the first TO make
| such a measure a law.
| In Europe the LIST of May is universally
| adopted as day on which to discuss the
| Questions that confront labor and so Il
may he regarded as Labor day there There
are also many trades unions parades IN
the cities ard towns of the United States
4 On the LIST of May. but this habit does not
in ally way intel fere with the labor OBJ
| servanc. of the legal Labor day holiday.
The Day I'm the District.
The first parade in honor of Labor day
as a legal holiday took place two years
since. and was a great success. Al a rea-
! sonable estimate, there were 5000 men in
1 line. and many of them We're in some
| thing like uniform and carried profusion
| Of flags. and were attended 10y numerous
| a
| As it was desired to avoid all danger OF
! discord il was decided in advance that no
| flag but the stars and stripes should he al
| lowed in the parade.
| The grand marshal of the parade
( Mr.. Willard f. Hobbs of the National Blu
\ reau OF Labor. who prepared the bill which
| President Cleveland signed on June -
, making Labor day a legal holiday. MIR.
/ Hobbs was very active in urging the pas
| sage of the act, he was chairman of the
/ committee on legislation OF the Federation
4 of Labor for the year ending July, 1884.
| His calls upon the various associations
4 We're promptly answered. and many Of the
| larger ORGANIZATIONS went 10 considerable
| trouble and expense to make their appear
| ance attractive one.
| The pleasant exercises of the day were
| sadly married for time at the corner OF
9Th street and Pennsylvania avenue mort h
! west by the action OF President dunlop OF
| the Capital Traction Company. who. IL was
said ordered Two of the gripmen the 9Th
| street line 10 run their cars through the
| great crowd of persons who had gathered
at that point, and riot was nearly pre-
| cipitated.
| Lieut.. Kelly of the sixth precinct. who
was notified OF the occurrence, directed the
arrest of the two men. which was DONE
| ard then. ii is said, President Dunlop of
| the company jumped on one OF the cars to
run it through. when he, too. was arrested
| and taken to the Police Court where he
! was released on his personal bonds for a
hearing next day, at which time he was
| fired $40.
| nose composing the procession. ana
! many Of the spectators, were very indig-
nant at the course of the railroad company
/ and IL Vas said that but for the police the
| cars would have been overturned.
Last Years Parade.
| The parade of last year was a more mag
| nificent success than that OF the year be-
| fore, and far exceeded the expectations OF
| these who were in charge.
According to the estimate of President
James +. McHugh of the Federation Of
| Labor, who was chief marshal tor he
occasion, there were not less than lo,pD
| men in line. From the time the parade
started until three hours later, when the
| last organization passed by the review ing
stal d, there was entire harmony every
| where.
| Many Of the business houses along Penn
| sylvania avenue and T. street were gaily
| decorated with bunting and flags, and The
streets along the line of march were lined
| with thousands of spectators.
| Despite the immense number of men IN
| line there was not the slightest disorder
| of any kind, and not a single arrest was
| made nor was any one even threatened.
| This spirit of order was not confined TO the
| paraders but was characteristic of the
great concourse of people who watched the
paraders from the sidewalks. The crowd