The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1917-09-04

xS~n the shadows Of war were
va~srless 10 cloud the pleasures Of
me thousands Of citizens who yester-
aav tourueyed To Forest nm park 10
umrttctpat~ in the festivities OF La
Dor aav. The chief celebration of this
anniversary In Richmond for years
has been the picnic held under tho
auspices ~ the Central Trades ana
Labor council. and yesterday 1t was
Just as happy an affair and fun OF as
much an1oyra ent as pleasure bent Rich
mnnaerx could crowd into the day. Els
Inmates as to the attendance could be
nothing but guess, but officials
stated that X did not fall below pre-
dgr.ion Of az 1000. made ny The enter
tAtnment committee
And there were all kinds and con-
assions of rienickers present From
s.x.uonths~ baby To bespectaeled
grandmother the attendance ranged.
ali intent on the good time that they
consider tnseparahle from Labor day
rt,stux The crowds came early and
saved tate. ate hot dogs. rod" the
Sfp~ visited the enchanted house.
1unehed and hathed In soda waters
and above all--danced. Yes how they
danced with crowds that made II
almost Impossible TO navigate over
,-ssv soor, the waitants ~ the highly
ts4iisnea trottei and stepped until the
pmrsrtrsticn flowed almost like Maya
sa And then the men shed their coats,
the girls dsubed clouds OF powder.
ana ;hev were ready fer the plunge
again
There was never more orderly
crowd at the park Major Louis Wer-
nar chief of Richmonds finest. was
IN the ground for the better part OF
xhe day. with large squad OF picked
rnen, They had little 70 do, for not q
single urtoward incident WAS reported
II mar the picnic. The thousands
were too husilY engaged on the seri-
Gus business of having the time OF
their lives TO permit unpieasantries TO
Green in the program. The order Of
the crowd is nne. declared Major Wsr-
nsr. and sweeping his arm around In
sths direction Of the throngs. he added
sTney are having a big time, too.
The Virginia Railway h Power COM
pany maintained a two~minute sched-
uia to and from the park all day,
which handled the crowds to the de-
e,arsn satisfaction Of the committees
In charge Of the picnic. Chairman
Jesse c. Duke and his eo-workers we're
on the grounds early, arranging for
the program of entertainment and
seeing that the "eats+' were in the
necessary profusaon. and the dispens-
inr booths were conveniently placed.
II was about 10 A. NJ. when the van
ruard of the crowds reached the
grounds. They camc In twos, and
fours. also In singles. and In families
that ranged In size from regular
eouple to a round dozen ana more,
A. o'clock It was estimated that 49,
600 people were at the park. with car
loads arriving constantly. BY o'clock
the throngs had increased to more
than e5,eoo, the majority remaining
AT the park for supper.
Many of the largo manufacturing
rlants OF the city operated for n part
Of the day. which made It impossible
for the crowds to reach the park until
late IN the afternoon. The fact that
no excursions were run, this being dis
continued on account of the war. may
have added considerably to the crowds.
The city and state took notice of the
Aay and all government offices were
cln-~s IS were also the banks and the
majority IF mercantile establishments.
Under the management of Chairman
Duke the programmed events were be-
gun early in the afternoon. and they
continued until II o'clock when the
crowds started to wend their way
hcmeward Prizes were given for A
wide variety OF things and the par
y,rirsnts entered the contests eagerly.
There were baby shows. races. ball
throwing contests, prise FOR the larg-
eat family. also for the handsomest
msn and wom.-n on the ground Tor
witch tirare ver~ innumerahie confess
tants. andths ugiiest man and worA n.
too. but ~ was necessary to get a
niosones % search for candidats for
tire prixs.
The program of events, and prize
winners. as officially announced. are
~ follows:
Eaby show: First prtsc-Frances
sSott Andrews. sos South Laurel