The Connecticut labor news., 1923-09-15

Caville, who had been elected gen eral auditor of the Knights of Labor in 1884, spoke of the measure where ever they lectured.
 How Legal Status Was Established: On January 4, 1887, Senator Ed ward F. Reilly of New York City in troduced a bill in the New York sen ate to make the first Monday in Sep tember a legal holiday to be known as Labor Day.
 I happened to be in Albany about that time and arranged to have few hundred extra copies of the bill print ed and shipped to my home in Scran- ton. There was no graft Tn that transaction, for I paid for them: l mailed copies of that bill to members of organized labor throughout the United States and with each copy sent a letter of which the following , is part:
 , The passage of such law by your state legislature Is of importance to labor, organized and unorgan1zed Make copies of the accompanying bill, place one in the hands of your representative in the lower house and another in the hands of your state senator with the request that they work together to secure it's passage. Take both into your confidence so that each will know what the other lis doing. Then interview and have others interview senators and repre- sentatives from other districts in be- half of the measure.
 Enlist the support and co-opera-
 tion of every prominent man and , every association of citizens you can , reach so that success may crown your , effort
 | Hxyha a to do in your locality much better f than I can tell you If however, you +need any help that 1 can give don't
 hesitate to call on me-
 On January Y, 1887, Hon. J. J. Daley of Dallas, Polk county, Ore gon, introduced a bill before the leg
 islature of that state, and on Febru- . ary 2I of that year 1t received the : signature of the governor.
 Oregon First State to Enact Law. While the bill was introduced in the
 New York legislature on January A.
 1887, it did not receive the signature of Governor David B. Hill until May I 6, 1887, so that Oregon took the lead I in passing the measure into law.
 I wrote to Richard F. Travellick
 Detroit, Mich. :; Ralph Beaumont Elmira, N. Y.; John Mcbride, Massil on. Ohio; Dan Mclaughlin, Braid e wood, H.; Hugh Cavanaugh, Cincin natl, Ohio; Tom Neasham, Denver e Colo; ]. M Broughton, Raleigh, N r C.; John O'Keefe, Providence, K. 1,
 and many other Knights of Labor r asking each one to regard himself a: .- a committee of one to labor witt s what ability he possessed, in seaso1 l. and out of season> for the triumph O n this measure throughout the\ land. r They did.
 Q I have frequently heard it said tha r. a certain man here or there was tn a "father of Labor Day." Labor Da, r had many fathers but no partlcula l. father, yet 1t is perfectly legitimate
 All of us who moved on the stage o l. labor activities in that day did ou 'e duty. The result was that when n wrote "The History of Labor Day ;. Day laws,
 .s Recognized by Congress and President.
 II On June 28, 1894, the President c the United States signed the bi | which made Labor Day a legal hol day in the District of Columbia an ! the territorial possessions of tn United States. All members of oi ! ganized labor in the District of G ! lumbia interested themselves in bring ling the matter to the attention (
 Congress and in supplying argument 5 in favor of the bill which was intro
 duced at their request The Centr; lILabor Union and District Assembl Hoo of the Knights of Labor ot Wasf . ington left nothing undone to secu1 = the passage of the bill. To mak . honorable mention of each one Wh worked for the passage ot that mea ure would be to name every men
 Der of both organizations, but M1llar IF. Hobbs is the one outstanding hs
 ure in that good work. He devote
 time, thought, and effort to turthe Hing it's passage through Congress. M Hobbs was a member ot D1stTl' II Assembly 66 of the Knights ot Labe
 and is now on the staff ot the burea
 of labor statistics ot the Departmel
 of Labor.
 With the passage of national L; Dor Day law states that had not ac
 ed on the measure up to that tin s Ilbecame interested and in a few yea
 the first Monday in September W. Ilrecognized by statute under the nan
 given to it by Robert Price, the co s miner of Lonaconing, Md, on tn }, fifth day of September Al years ago - I am asked: "What has organize - labor done for the workmen of u Q United States?"
 answer: Everything.
 C Were it not for organized labor n t one of the ameliorative measur - found on the statute books of tl y various states and the nation wou l. now exist. To enumerate all the
 I,d,,,-+,oo. ,ocr1,inO to the men al