Los Angeles herald., 1908-08-23
LONG BEACH HAS
10000 VISITORS
employees OF RETAIL STORES
HAVE BIG OUTING
ENTHUSIASM FOR CLOSING ON
SATURDAY EVENINGS
All Long Beach Amusements Free to
Many Visitors Who Spend Day
Enjoying Them and Hold
ing Sports

The Long Beach picnic, the first out
ing the employees of the Los An
geles retail stores held there, today,
proved a colossal success, 10000 per
sons attending. Everybody had a re-
markedly good time and, according to
a rising vote taken in the auditorium
this morning, each one of the thousands
gathered here today wants to return to
Long Beach for the next annual outing.
Five thousand of the clerks had left
Los Angeles for Long Beach before
o'clock this morning. By o'clock the
town was packed" The pier and the
beach were thronged. One of Willey's
bands stood near the Salt Lake depot
playing welcoming airs.
The employees IN the different stores
wore badges. The Bullock clerks are
wearing yellow badges, the Hamburger
folk carry yellow remnants on canes
Jacoby's clerks have neat red badges,
the Fifth street, Broadway, Hale's ana
other stores are also represented py
badges of various colors.
The program given in the auditorium
at 10 o'clock this morning was not to
be compared with the speaking"
which sometimes characterizes picnics
or small gatherings here. The great
hall was full, balcony and main floor
and on the platform, besides the Mu-
nicipal band the speakers of the day
and the officers of the executive COM
mittee were representatives Of a num-
her of Los Angeles stores which have
already adopted the Saturday night
closing.
This closing proposition was the basic
principle upon which the retail clerks
got together and to boost which the
picnic was planned. According to the
Officers, today's affair is but a fitting
beginning OF great campaign. The
Municipal band played patriotic airs
almost exclusively this morning and
the music was received with great ap-
plause, the people standing during sew
eral numbers.
Chairman Lewis Greeted
John Perry, secretary of the execu-
tive committee, introduced e. w.
Lewis, the chairman, who was greeted
with a Chautauqua salute. Mr.. Lewis
stated that 5000 Los Angeles clerks had
their Saturday nights off, but that TO-
600 did not He urged loyalty to the
stores for which the clerks work. He
was the one who called for vote on
whether Long Beach would be salts
factory as a meeting place next year.
Everybody stood up.
He thanked the papers and the Wo-
mems cluy for their interest, the mayor
and chamber of commerce of Long
Beach and the Pacific Electric for their
aid in making the picnic success
Wood Bros, he said, had consented to
close their store every Saturday night
the year around ana the Mammoth
Shoe Store company had closed today
in the clerks honor.
1--WE musn los eour loyalty to the
stores in which we are employed" he
said, saying that he had known OF one
or two cases where clerks in stores
which closed Saturday nights went
elsewhere and did shopping at that
time. After saying that today's picnic
is a forerunner of greater things to
come, the chairman introduced Mayor
Windham, who made neat speech OF
welcome.
Rev. Baker p. Lee, who was intro
duced as the "young peoples friend"
was received with great cheers when
Chairman Lewis introduced him. He
addressed the big audience as fellow
clerks" and created a laugh by saying
that he was clad he was on the pro-
gram before Frank @. Tyrrell, in
stead of after him.
''The only noblemen on the face of
the earth" said the popular rector of
Christ church, ARE the men who work.
The real American beauties and the
queens OF our homes are the women
who work, and workingmen are the
kings Of our citizenship. This closing