The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1900-09-24
In Labor's
Field.

President Gompers' address at Cleye
land, O., on Labor day:
President Samuel Gompers, Of the State
Federation Of Labor in his Labor day
things, said E
This day. Labor day, is one which has
sunk deepest IN the hearts of the Amer
lean people. 1t differs from all other
holidays in the year and it differs In its
demonstration. We have no battlefelds
to remember Or heroes to gIorify, but we
come together. declaring our rights. We
claim that 1t is unjust to say that those
who fall on the battlefield are heroes
ana those who fall on the field of indus
try are hoboes. We say that laborers
are not receiving their just reward and
as we come together, we declare that
stronger efforts shall be made to secure
justice for the toiling masses.
We shall not attempt to deny that there
has been great improvement among the
work ng people, but we deny that the i'm
proVement in their condition dates back
only one year or two years or six years,
or that 1t is due to any political party It
IS due to the working people themselves
who are organized. We have great cause
to feel gratified, at our progress if we
look back to the beginning of our coun~
try 1t is an erroneous idea that the
American people were always free and
independent American citizens. Only 120
years ago white laboring men were sold,
ana less than 100 years ago, when men
came together to discuss the wage ques-
ton, they were put into prison as con-
Sp1ratOfS. 1t is encouraging to find the
splendid manhood and Womanhood Of our
working people today.
Ii any che denies that there is a labor
question, ask him to go Into the South
ern states and see the miners working
from early morning until late at night
without a day of rest Let him go to the
textile factories of the South and New
ENGLAND and see men walking the streets
and women working in the mills Let
him &c. into the several shops of all the
large cities and see the children at work
Let him see the men in the highways
Valnly seeking work. Let him ask men
Is sucn a thing as labor question.
There Is no small individual employer of
TABOR. Individual firms are gone. Part
nerships are thing of the past Yet no
one can deny that there is Just as much
struggle for existence today as when
men men worked according to the most prlrn-
itlve methods. We. propose to go down
into the depth of misery and despair and
lift up our fellow workers.
notice with great pleasure that some
OF the ministers are recognizing that
they We're against us. Now they are
arguing with us. Next I think they will
be with us. If the Master were to make
a second visit to-, this mundane sphere
would he be with the Rocks 6llers, the
Huntingtons, the Astors, the Pullmans or
the Hannas. OF would he be with the
laborfng men? n We hear the saloons
blamed for the condition Of the laboring
men. Organized labor protests against
Sunday labor. II our friends, the min
listers. have any criticism to make let
them made it to the employers who are
in churches on Sunday, but who compel
us to work on that day. Drunkenness Is
the result and not the cause of poverty.
You find two classes Of persons who get
drunk, those who are very rich and those
who are very poor. You will find less
drunkenness among men who toll eight
hours q day than among those VINO work
fourteen to sixteen hours. II our min