Durango semi-weekly herald., 1902-09-04
TELEGRAPHic NEWS.

| 'hN N'i'bi VI istbii udA IfiiE
year possesses more than ordinary sig.
niticance to the ranks Of Gle organ.
ized toilers. as it is just twenty years
ago since the observance was begun.
The United States is the only country
in the world which has Set aside a
legal holiday devoted to celebrations
by the wage earners Labor day Is
lnow almost national holiday. the
laws of nearly every state and terri.
tory of the Union recognizing 1t.
The origin of Labor day Is found in
York in 1882. All the great labor or.
ganizations of the country participated
in the effort to secure this recognition
of labor's cause the initiative in the
movement being taken by p, j. Nc.
CURE. Then national secretary of the
| journeymen carpenters. But it was
not until five years later that the ef
| forts bore fruit in legislation. Then IL
was that the far western state of Ore
gon, which passed law setting aside
the first Saturday in June for this oh
servanee. The law was passed Feb.
ruary o. 1887. Six years later to the
day this law was amended. and the
present date the first Monday in Sep
tember was selected New Jersey
was the second state to legalize this
holiday. an act being passed in the
legislature of that state April S. 1897.
New York followed in MAY of the same
year Colorado and Massachusetts
followed in line in the same year. hut
it was not until after 1890 that the
other states took similar action. Ohio
pasesd Labor day law April 2S 1890.
Illinois passed it's law June II, 1891
Indiana, March 8, 1891; and Minnesota.
April Is. 1898 West Virginia and
North Caroline did not Iegalize Labor
day until 1893, -.
Recognition of the rights and dignity
Of labor-thls is the spirit which
moves in the event. It began in a pa.
rade and is usually so celebrated. In
1882 a great labor demonstration was
held in New York. The Central La
Dor union of that city. consisting of
numerous affiliated labor organiza-
tons. arranged a great parade. Thous-
ands Of men were in line with floats,
banners. transparencies. badges and
carriages. 1t chanced that the Knights
of Labor were holding their conven,
ton in that city at the same time.
and they were invited to witness the
turnout from Union Square. This was
.Sepember 5, 1882. The invitation was
accepted and the parade was great
success. The parade from that time
was referred to as the Labor Day
Parade"
Remembering the success Of ~ pre-
vious year the New York labor organ
izations turned out again in 1888 only
the date was changed to the first Mon
day in September. In 1884, when the
Central Labor union met to discuss a
third performance, George B. Lloyd,
a Knight of Labor, arose and offered n
resolution that the first Monday in
September be declared Labor day.
This was adopted and steps We're at
once take to secure enactment by the
state legislature making it a legal hol-
iday A bill was introduced in the
legislature-the first one for this pur-
pose-but 1t did not receive favorable
consideration until 1887, by which time
two other states had passed such a
law
Labor organizations in other states
made common cause with the Central
Labor union and the movement be
came general among labor unionists to
get state legislatures to take action.
In less than five years majority OF
the states have fallen into line, and
by 1900 nearly all of the states had
declared the first Monday in Septem-
ber a legal holiday. In addition to
making display Of numbers by its an
nual parade, union labor intends this
day for discussion and public meet
ings. Its purpose is said to be large
ly educational.
In it's call for this years obser-
vance the executive council of the
American Federation of Labor recon-
mends to all organized laborers in ma
tional state, central and local unions
that they concentrate their attention
to a discussion of the abolition of in
functions in labor disputes and the pas
sage of resolutions demanding at the
hands-of congress and the legislatures
of their respective states the enact
iltHA VI laws 'phAOl lAiht " thut Pun
pose
KANSAS CITY. Sept. 1.-sixty
seven unions. in six divisions. com
posed of 1900 men marched In to.
days Labor day parade. This ai-
ternoon Senator Fairbanks of Indiana
addressed large assembly at Electric
park The senator devoted his time
exclusively to labor unions in their
various aspects. He said compulsory
arbitration is an unnecessary lImlta-
tion upon the freedom of both labor
and capital He believed the solution
of the difficulties between labor and
capital lies in an awakened public con
science, he said.
TOPEKA. Kans., Sept. AL of
the stores have been closed here today
at the request OF the unions, whose pa
rade this morning was followed by
speech by Governor Stanley and an
athletic program.
CLEVELAND, o.. Sept. There
were eighteen thousand men in labor's
procession today. A mammoth picnic
was held this afternoon.
THURMOND. w. Va, Sept LA