The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1902-09-05
Big Parade, Flow of 0ratory, Refresh.
ments, a Lot of Sports Fill
Out the Time.

the members of the different organize
| tions and the banners carried at tn,
head of each division, attracted goot
sized crowds all along their route
The Stonecutters in aprons, the car
penters in overalls and the painters il
white suits and armed with yard
sticks made the most pretentious dis
play. The Kasota stonecutters were il
the line and showed up almost al
strong in point of numbers as die
their Mankato brethren.
The line of march was as follows:
Platoon of mounted police.
City officials.
Orators of the day.
Concordia Band.
Mankato Clerks Union No. 621.
Cigar Makers Union.
Tailors' Union.
Kasota Stonecutters' Union.
Mankato Stonecutters' union.
Carpenters Union No. 999.
Laborers' Union No. 10, 215.
Painters Union No. 6SS.
Transfers Union, with teams.
The parade arrived at Sibley park
about IL 80, and Henry Roebel, OF the
Clerks Union, who was in charge of
the exercises, announced the opening
number in the days program. an
overature by the band. This was fol-
lowed by a selection by quartette COM
posed of Messrs. Eberhart, Hughes,
Williams and Griffith.
Mayor Petersen then welcomed the
gathering on behalf of the city gov
eminent. He remarked upon the
fact that this was the first time that
organized labor in Mankato had been
gathered together to observe Labor
Day. He spoke of the labor organiza-
tion as the direct result of combina-
tions of capital, and congratulated the
local unions on the rapid strides they
have made in perfecting their organi-
cation here.
Attorney Evan Hughes was the next
speaker. He described in detail the
principles and the workings of the
American Federation of Labor devel-
oping many points hitherto misunder-
stood by many of Ills hearers. He
spoke of the federation's efforts to do
away with child labor and to obtain
reasonable hours and comfortable and
healthy working quarters for the
laboring man and woman. Mr..
Hughes raised the point that in the
division of profits, the brains of the
are paid more in proportion
to their worth than IS the labor of the
workingman, and called upon organized
labor to make stronger it's demand for
a larger share of these earnings.
After another selection by the
quartette, A. E. Clark was introduced.
Mr.. Clark was heartily applauded in
his statement that while we have our
self-styled aristocrats, our moneyed
class and others, yet the laboring man
is the respected citizen of every COM
monwealth in the land. He comment
ed upon the laborer of today being
better hoased, better clothed, better
fed and better educated than in any
other land or in any other time. He
spoke of the trust as the natural result
of our commercial evolution, and that
the strength of organized capital
should serve as an object lesson TO or
ganized labor and incite them to per-
feet an organization which when per-
fected can dictate the policies of the
country.
A. o. Eberhart then addressed the
gathering in lighter vein and with
q number of references to the other
speakers. He also dwelt briefly upon
the Workingmen's Protective associa-
tion and the good it had done. After
"Auld Lang Syne by the quartette and
q selection by the band, the crowd
adjourned for dinner.
The program for this afternoon in
cluded foot races and number of
kindred sports and ball game be-
tween the clerks and the painters. The
festivities will conclude this evening
with a dance in Schiller hall.