Labor Day.
The first Monday in September has been set apart by the State of Massachusetts as a holiday, in honor of labor, in answer to the demands of laboring men. They did not ask it simply as an exemption from a day’s toil, that they might enjoy a period of leisure and sport, but they asked it in recognition of the triumph of labor, over long ages of oppression and degradation, and its advancement to its true position as the most important factor in the social and industrial life of the world.
Long regarded as the penalty of Adam’s sin, and the curse of God upon mankind, it was treated as a drudgery, and an inheritance of dishonor and shame. All who by might and cunning could escape it, did so, forcing -weaker men to bear a double share of the burden of toil. Slavery was thus born, placing might in the seats of power and authority, weakness and submission in the ranks of servitude and hardship.
Government and religion sanctioned the division, declaring kings and usurpers divine, and laborers, serfs and slaves. This was the order of society for thousands of years. No one dreamed, or dared hoped, that it could be otherwise.
But in these later days, a change has occurred. The slave has thrown oh his fetters, his degradation, and become a man. After centuries of struggle and contention, labor lias won a respectable recognition, and the worker is risen to a position co-equal with that occupied by any portion of the community. It is he that has made the world what it is, that has subdued, cultivated, enriched and adorned it with the products of his hand and brain. The palace, the cathedral, the temple, the mansion, the steamship, the railroad train, the mower, the ocean cable, the electric motor, are all the work of his thought and construction. Well may labor have a day set apart in its honor, and in recognition of its triumph over long ages of oppression and contempt.
Especially in this country can the forces of labor pause to rejoice. Here the Sovereignty of this class is acknowledged They have their rights, as men. They own themselves, the got eminent under which they live, the products of their toil, the homes they have built, the institutions they have founded. The path to riches and honor is open before them. They can rise to wealth. They can have education, they can control legislation, vote to their class prosperity, thrift and comfort, or they can vote down prosperity and endure the discomforts of idleness. Their position and possessions here are superior to those of any other nation. They control their own fortunes and destiny. If they make mistakes in listening to the demagogues, they can correct them. The intelligent laborer has the opportunity to care for himself. Let him rejoice, and celebrate his gains in liberty, position and comfort on the day set apart as labor day. Let all classes of workers join in the procession. Labor is honorable.