Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-09-03
LABOR DAY

IN 1913 Sir Charles James Napier. the
celebrated British general. who later
q Hyderabad with a little army Of 5000
men overwhelmed shir Muhammed and
his $4,000. was assigned to service under
Admiral Cockburn. then engaged in
dssultory operations on the coast Of the
United States. This assignment was par.
ticularly distasteful to Napier. relates
biographer, because he could see no hope
Vt glory or honor in "a mere peasant
war"
There were people, plenty Of them, in
America Of as good blood and ancestors
- Napier. There were people here just
~ cultivated as any in England. What
Napier meant by the word peasant" was
that virtually everybody in America at
that time worked for living. All were
3Aborers. as he viewed them, and the con.
0ict was with people, not with the
armies of kings and queens. Therefore
there was no glory to be got. The incident
- important only as showing that so
hte as century ago. in so liberal a
country as England, there was prejudice
among the so-called higher classes against
manual labor and against trade. A labor.
Ing man was simply one Of the masses, a
pawn to be kicked about and used. His
interests were Of no great Importance
and his place in the world entitled to lit
Tie, II any. consideration.
Today most of the younger male MEM
bsrs Of the English aristocracy are dead.
They fought bravely and died bravely, as
aristocrats usually do. But the company
'smcsrs Of the new British army now are
for the most part men who went to
France in the ranks. AID the persons
who have provided the munitions of war
tor that army are the peasant" work.
Ing men and women Of Great Britain.
The dignity Of labor in Europe has risen
That dignity existed in the United States
from the beginning. Can we ee far wrong
e asserting that because Of It our coun-
Iry IL today the supreme financial reser-
Fotr Of the world and the tower Of
(ltrsngth that will determine the destiny
'of humanity? Europe century ago
boxed down on a man IL he labored for
. living; America has always looked down
on . man If he did not. The efficiency of
democracy is not accidental.
The setting aside Of one day in the year
- Labor Day is fitting. 1t gives official
recognition to the important place oc-
cupied in the American syst en- by labor. |
But It is not by holidays or celebrations
that labor has proved itself. We look for |
ths proof to our great cities, our vast in. |
Gustries, our recovered farming lands and |
shs general prosperity Of the whole coun.
ny. There are no statistics that state |
properly what the wealth.producins |
eapacity per capita Of the several ma.
tions Is. but the record seems to show !
that moro human energy is utilized in the |
United States for the creation of wealth |
and the securing, therefore. Of the com.
forts which it brings. than in any other
country under the sun. Mr.. Gerard re-
pcrts that workingmen in Berlin seemed
% him to drink beer in the beer gardens
~ night because they were too tired and
"a not have enough money to do any
thing else. There are few lsboring men
IA Philadelphia today who cannot take
their families to the Shore If they want
-, but many prefer to go automobiling