Dances, parades, concerts, lectures, dinners, and protests–A full menu of events for a very busy May Day, 1909 in Greater New York City.

‘Hosts of Workers Celebrate May Day’ from The New York Call. Vol. 2 No. 104. May 1, 1909.

International Holiday of Labor Observed Everywhere–Parades, Festivals and Meetings in This City–Capitalists of All Countries Terror-Stricken To-day.

To-day is Labor’s real holiday.

On May Day millions of the class conscious proletarians of the world march in Imposing parades, singing the “International,” the “Workers Marseillaise,” the Red Flag.” and other revolutionary songs, and thus show their sense of international solidarity, their defiance of the capitalist class and their intention of overthrowing the present system of industrial and political despotism and establishing the Co-operative Commonwealth.

Besides the parades, mighty mass meetings are held in every town and city of the world where the working class has either an economic or political organisation, and able speakers explain the real meaning of this great International celebration.

As the tide of revolution rises the ruling class of every country tries to minimize these May Day demonstrations, either by forbidding the workers to parade on May 1, as in done in some European cities, or by craftily trying to induce the awakening workers to accept some other day as their holiday as has been done in America.

All these efforts of the exploiting class have proved in vain, however, is shown to-day by the enthusiasm with which the proletarian hosts march proudly through the streets of the chief cities of Europe and America and fill thousands of halls to applaud the men who are capable of absorbing the hopes of the revolutionary workers and translating them into words of fire that furnish inspiration to the wage slaves and strike terror to the hearts of the masters of the means of life.

That to-day’s celebration of May Day will be practically universal in this country is evident from the hundreds of messages received here telling of the preparations for this event made by the Socialists and union men in every nook and corner of the United States.

The Manhattan Demonstration.

In Manhattan the great feature of the day will be the parade arranged by the First Agitation District of the Socialist Party, and the United Hebrew Trades, which will be participated in by at least 25,000 marchers, and will be a striking demonstration of the revolutionary sentiment of the East Side.

The parade will start at 3:30 P.M. sharp, and organizations must have their banners in line not later than 3 P.M. Each organization is requested to elect two captains to handle its part of the parade.

The Grand Marshal will be T. Lelbovitz, of the Seltzer Makers’ Union; the assistant is L. Shafer, of the 1st Agitation District, S.P. The parade will be divided into three divisions, and the organizations are requested to take their places as they are scheduled.

First Division.

The following organizations which constitute the first division, will gather on East Broadway, facing Rutgers street, in the following order:

Marshal–M. Kasimirsky.
Band.
First Agitation District, S.P.
United Hebrew Trades. Workmen’s Circle.
Forward Association.
8th Assembly District, S.P.
6th Assembly District, S.P.
4th Assembly District, S. P.
2d Assembly District, S.P. (Jewish Branch).
2d Assembly District, S.P. (Italian).
10th Assembly District, S.P.(Italian).
Band.
Paper Cigarette Makers’ Union.
Ladies’ Waist Makers’ Union.
Children’s Jacket Makers Union, Local 10.
Band.
Seltzer Makers’ Union.
Waiters’ Union, Br. “A.” Local 5.
Children’s Cloak and Reefer Makers Union.
Young Friends Social Literary Circle.
Human Hair Workers’ Union.
Socialist Youths of Russia.

Second Division.

The second division will form Henry and Rutgers streets, facing Madison street, with Mr. Solovin is marshal, and Mr. Tromer as assistant.

The division will be composed of the following branches of the Workmen’s Circle:

Band.
Branches 20, 25, 42, 43, 64, 68, 75, 82, 88, 132, 133, 136, 141, 144, 194. 195, 203, 206, 210, 215, 221.
Band.
Branches 225, 230, 245, 255, 260, 270, 271, 275, 277, 285 and the New York branch of the “Bund.
Polish (Socialist party of Poland and Lithuania).
Polish Socialist Party, P.P.S.
Russian Labor Union.
Group “Bread and Liberty.”
Socialist Territorialists.

Third Division.

The third division will gather on Henry and Clinton streets, fronting Madison street, with Mr. Miller as Marshal and Mr. Freshwasser as assistant.

The division will be made up of the following unions and
organizations:

Double band.
Locals 100, 104, 169, 305 of the Bakers’ Union.
Tinsmiths’ Union, with a band.
Persian Makers’ Union.
Manhattan Musical Club, with A band.
Progressive Workingmen’s Benevolent Association.
Poltava Socialist Society.
Kiev Progressive Benevolent Association.
Dvinsk Organization of the Bund.
Wolkovishk Rayon Benevolent Association.

The Line of March.

The first division will march out from East Broadway to Pike street, from Pike to Madison, where the second division will join them on Madison and Rutgers streets. From Madison to Clinton street, where the third division will join, and all three divisions will start through Montgomery street to Broadway to Canal street; Canal to Eldridge, Eldridge to Broome, Broome to Ludlow, Ludlow to Riving- ton, Rivington to Suffolk, Suffolk to Houston, Houston to Avenue B. Avenue B to 4th street. 4th street to Second avenue, Second avenue to Union Square, where an open-air meeting will be held.

Meyer London, Alexander Irvine, Jacob Ranken, Max Pine and others will be the principal speakers: William Karlin will preside.

All the members of the 2d A.D. S.P., both branches, will gather at the headquarters, 130 Henry street, at noon, where Mr. Meltzer will take a picture of the members, who then will march out and join in the parade. The members of the 4th A.D., S.P. will march from their headquarters with a band. Branch 25, of the Workmen’s Circle, and the Tinsmiths’ Union will march out together with the 4th A.D.

The members of the 1st Agitation District, 8th A.D., 10th A.D., Italian branches, and the Young Friends Socialist Literary Circle, will march with a band of music from 313 Grand street.

All the members of the Bund are requested to come to 199 Division street, where they will join in the parade.

The Paper Cigarettes and Tobacco Workers’ Union will hold a mass meeting at 1 P.M. at 414 Grand street and after the meeting will join the parade.

The Young Friends Socialist Literary Circle, of 313 Grand street, invites all young people who realize the importance of this demonstration, and who would like to take part in it, but who are not affiliated with any of the organizations participating in it, to march under the banner of the Y.F.S.L.C.

The local organization of the I.W.W. will celebrate May Day and agitate for the extension of the principle of the eight-hour work day with a big mass meeting in Union Square, beginning at noon.

The speakers will be Frank Bohn, Wm. E. Trautman, James Connolly, J.J. Ettor, S.A. Stodel, D. Ferguson, D. Breen, J.T. Vaughan, George Vaughan, and John Walsh.

At 3 P.M. the May Day festival of the Socialist Sunday Schools of Greater New York will be held in Cooper Union, and the meeting will be a notable event, as showing to what an extent the spirit of the international solidarity of labor has taken possession of the minds of the rising generation.

Many Evening Meetings.

This evening scores of meetings will be held in all parts of the city, the principal ones being:

A great demonstration in the Labor Temple, 243 East 84th street, under the auspices of the German-American Agitation Committee, the Socialistenbund and the Workingmen’s Educational Association. Able speakers will address the audience and an excellent musical program will be rendered by an orchestra and the “Egalite” and “Teutonia” singing societies. All progressive unions are expected to be there with their banners.

In Harlem there will be an open-air meeting, beginning at 8 o’clock, at the corner of 125th street and Seventh avenue, with the Rev. John D. Long and Solomon Fieldman as the principal speakers.

After leaving Union Square the members of the Italian Branch of the 10th A.D., S.P. will go to Dattory’s restaurant on 17th street, between Broadway and Fifth avenue, and have a popular dinner. They ask all the Italian Socialists of Greater New York to gather at their headquarters at 266 East 10th street at 2 p.m. so as to join in the parade and dinner. The Cap Makers’ Union have their conventions every two years, and they always hold them on the 1st of May. Their convention was opened last night with a concert, vaudeville and ball at the Manhattan Lyceum, 66 East 4th street. This morning the convention opened with a mass meeting. Addresses were made by M. Hillquit, A. C. Cohan. Yonovsky. Weinberg and Herman Robinson. Tonight the delegates will take part in the different May Day meetings.

May Day in Brooklyn.

That the workers on the east side of the river are equally desirous of celebrating labor’s great day is shown by the fact that, besides the big meeting held in the Labor Lyceum by Local Kings County last night, a number of demonstrations will be held this afternoon and evening. The biggest Brooklyn affair will be the mighty parade arranged by the Brownsville Socialists and a number of progressive labor unions, which will start from Pitkin and Thatford avenues at 3 o’clock and, after marching through the principal streets of Brownsville, terminate at a mass meeting at Metropolitan Saenger Hall, Pitkin avenue, corner Watkins street, at which Mr. B. Wolf will preside, and the following speakers will deliver addresses: Robert Hunter, Alexander Irvine, Thomas J. Lewis, and G.R. Kirkpatrick in English, and Vlodick, alias Young La Salle, and Meyer London in Yiddish.

The members of Branch 2 of the 23d A.D. S.P. request all workingmen willing to co-operate, to come at 1 p.m. sharp to Washington Hall, 93 Thatford avenue. The members of the 23d A.D. also urge all other branches of the Socialist party in the district to join in the parade and help make it a great success.

In the evening the Workingmen’s Educational Club, of 477 Atlantic avenue, will give a wind up entertainment and reception of the season and will also hear Eugene Wood. the author and lecturer, deliver a May Day address on “Religion of the Twentieth Century.”

Dancing will follow the entertainment, and some of the talent procured is as follows: Frank Kelly, comedian; Miss Majorie Hughan, Socialist songs; Harold Cook and wife, cornet and piano; Miss Lillian Herbst, serio comic songs; William Hass, comedian; Cook Brothers, duet; Miss Florie Bindler, infant soprano.

The Dutch Socialists of Brooklyn will hold their May Day celebration in Tietjen’s Hall, 16th street and Fifth avenue, in the evening, and a big demonstration is assured. Among the features of the meeting will be an address by Charles Vanderporten.

Hoboken Celebrates.

The Socialist party of Hoboken has arranged a May Day Festival, which will be held this evening in the Labor Lyceum. 110 Grand street. James M. Reilly will make an address in English and B. Wagner of New York in German on the meaning of the international May Day celebrations. After that there will be music and dancing, singing, recitations and many other diversions. Readers of The Call and all sympathizers in Hoboken and vicinity are expected to be present.

Passaic in Line.

The Socialist party, radical organizations and labor unions will hold a big torchlight parade in Passaic, N.J. tonight. There will be one thousand people in line, including a number of women and children.

The marshal-in-chief of the parade will be D.H. Webster. He will be assisted by marshals from the different organizations. The organizations in line will consist of five branches of the Socialist party, two branches of the Workingmen’s Circle, the Carpenters’ Union, the Bakers Union and various Jewish, German, Polish and Italian societies. They will carry transparencies with appropriate and interesting inscriptions. A distinctive feature of the parade will be a line of men in front drawn from all nationalities, each carrying the flag of his nation. This is intended to emphasize the international character of the Socialist movement. The red flag will also be carried.

The parade will start at 7 o’clock in front of Macher’s Hall, corner of President street and Dayton avenue, pass through the main streets and return to the starting point. At the hall there will be speeches in five languages followed by a ball. Dr. Morris Korshet will be chairman of the meeting, and the following will be the speakers: In English, Henry Kearns; in German, Frederick Kraff: in Jewish, Sol Menaker; in Polish, J. Slosky, and in Italian, T.F. Tilloti. The line of march will be as follows: From President and Dayton to Parker, to Sherman, to Columbia, to Monroe, to Lexington, to West Main, to Passaic, to Second, to Dayton and President.

In Yonkers To-night.

The members of Local Yonkers have arranged a great May Day celebration and protest meeting to be held in Teutonia Hall, Buena Vista avenue, tonight.

The following program will be carried out:

1. Overture “The Poet and Peasant” F. Suppe Orchestra.
2. “Ase’s Death,” Suit from “Peer Gynt” E. Grieg Orchestra.
3. Address of Chairman, L. A. Malkiel
4. “The Socialist Party and the Woman,” Mrs. Carrie W. Allen.
5. “Apple Blossoms Reverie”, Kathleen Roberts Orchestra.
6. “The Significance of May 1^st,” Frank Bohn.
7. “Down in the Deep Cellar”, F. Kroepset Cornet solo by Mr. Styles. (With Orchestral Accompaniment.)
8. Greetings from the Workers of Russia to the Workingmen of Yonkers. Jan Janoff Pouren.

The man whom the Russian hangman wanted to extradite, but who was saved by the mighty protest of the Socialist party and organized labor.

9. “The Marseillaise.” Orchestra.
10. “The Message of Socialism to the Women Workers,” Address by Mrs. Rose Pastor Stokes.
11. “Jacinta,” selection from “The Tobani Lyon’s Bride” Orchestra.
12. “The Message of Socialism to the Workers of America.” Address by Mr. J.G. Phelps Stokes.

Resolutions will be adopted demanding the repeal of the Russian-American Extradition Treaty and protesting against the sentence imposed by Judge Wright upon Messrs. Gompers, Mitchell and Morrison, officers of the American Federation of Labor.

More Jersey Celebrations.

The Paterson Socialists will hold a big May Day meeting in the Labor Lyceum, 98 Sheridan street to-night. In Elizabeth the Socialists will attend a big mass meeting in Saenger Hall, Elizabeth avenue and 4th street at 4 P.M. Henry Carless of Newark will address a May Day meeting to be held under the auspices of Local Bergen County at the Music School, Main and Mercer streets, Hackensack, tonight.

The New York Call was the first English-language Socialist daily paper in New York City and the second in the US after the Chicago Daily Socialist. The paper was the center of the Socialist Party and under the influence of Morris Hillquit, Charles Ervin, Julius Gerber, and William Butscher. The paper was opposed to World War One, and, unsurprising given the era’s fluidity, ambivalent on the Russian Revolution even after the expulsion of the SP’s Left Wing. The paper is an invaluable resource for information on the city’s workers movement and history and one of the most important papers in the history of US socialism. The paper ran from 1908 until 1923.

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