The Colorado statesman., 1905-04-01
M OU NTAIN and PLAIN
BIG FESTIVAL ON G. A. r. WEEK.

Program Adopted in Connection With
Labor Day Celebration and Ma
tionaI Encampment Grand Army of
the Republic.
Denver, March 2S.-The first week
in September will witness the G. A. R.
national encampment at Denver and
the Mountain and Plain Festival. At
the same time will occur the big Labor
Day celebration and parade
Committees representing the Festi-
val of Mountain and Plain, the Denver
Trades Assembly and the Denver
Building Trades Council met at the
rooms of the festival committee last
night and arranged for a combined
celebration of capital and labor on Lar
Dor Day, the first day of the festival
The program for the entire ten days Of
the festival was also arranged.
The labor organizations of Denver
will enter heartily into joint celebra-
tion with employers On Labor Day,
September 4th. There will be a mon
ster parade as in former years. but the
parade this year will be composed of
the employed, merchants, manufactur-
ers, Indians, cowboys and numerous.
special features.
Organized labor is to name the
grand marshal of the day. and have
entire charge of the parade. Everyone
will combine to make it the most no.
table Labor Day celebration in the his
tory of Colorado.
The afternoon of Labor Day will be
given over to picnics. The evening
will be taken up with festival features,
of which there will be a goodly num-
ber.
Tuesday, the second day of the fes-
tival, has been rightly named Military
Day, for on that day there will be gi-
gantic celebration by naval veterans
from Washington, the national guard.
Spanish-American veterans, Sons of
Veterans High School cadets, the
Woman's Relief corps and Ladies of
the Grand Army of the Republic
There will be a great parade in
which members of all of these organi-
cations will participate. 1t will be the
largest parade of the kind heretofore
attempted in Denver; it might be said,
in the West.
The night will be given over to the
members of the Woman's Relief corps
and the Ladies of the G. A. R. the two
auxiliaries of the G. A. R. These Or
ganiZations will combine in giving a
ball that will eclipse all previous
efforts.
The great G. A. R. parade will be the
feature of the third day. The veterans
are slowly dropping away one by one
and heads of the G. A. R. are unit in
saying that there never will be another
national G. A. r. encampment like the
one to be in Denver this year. And
never another such parade of Grand
Army veterans.
The crowning feature of the day will
be the great reception at night to Gen.
Wilmon w. Blackmar, commander-in-
chief of the G. A. r. Every effort is
being made to make this reception all
that it should be. General Blackmar
has earned an enviable record as the
chief officer of the organization during
his reign.
The afternoon OF Thursday will be
given over to business sessions of the
G. A. R. At the coming of dusk, how
ever, the Slaves Of the Silver Serpent
will take possession of the city.
Their monster illuminated parade,
with hundreds of slaves in gorgeous
dress and beautiful and costly floats,
will make the king of the New Orleans
Mardi Gras weep with envy.
Friday will be day to be long re-
membered by young and old. 1t will
be the day of the masked carnival
Then, to round off the great day of
pleasure. in the evening will be held
the greatest of masked balls.
The railroads have generously agreed
to take the visitors to points of inter-
est over the state at trivial rate, and
Saturday has been set aside as an
open day" for excursions.
The sport will burst forth in re-
newed fury Monday. The best broncho
busters and riders in the world will be
here 10 compete in the broncho- busting
contests. tuesday will also be given
over 10 this sport, and that day the
champion broncho buster of the world
Will na publicly proclaimed.