Thursday, October 31, 2024

Today in Labor History October 31st

 


Seattle’s Hooverville


George Henry Evans published the first issue of the Working Man’s Advocate, “edited by a Mechanic” for the “useful and industrious classes” in New York City. He focused on the inequities between the “portion of society living in luxury and idleness” and those “groaning under the oppression and miseries imposed on them”. – 1829
Convict laborers sent to break coal mine strike, Occupy Seattle was inaugurated (in 1931), 400 stone masons finish Mt. Rushmore after 14 years, and more.
Tennessee sent in leased convict laborers to break a coal miners strike in Anderson County. The miners revolted, burned the stockades, and sent the captured convicts by train back to Knoxville. – 1891
Occupy Seattle was inaugurated. Led by unemployed lumberjack Jesse Jackson, the first Hooverville was built on vacant land owned by the Port of Seattle near Pioneer Square. Within two days over 50 shacks were erected and by 1934, 600-1000 people were living in them. By 1941, Seattle’s “Hooverville” covered 25 blocks. Hoovervilles eventually spread throughout the country. – 1931
After 14 years of labor by 400 stone masons, the Mt. Rushmore sculpture was completed in Keystone, South Dakota. – 1941
The Upholsterers International Union merged into the United Steelworkers Union. – 1949
The International Alliance of Bill Posters, Billers & Distributors of the United States & Canada surrendered its AFL-CIO charter and was disbanded. – 1971

Happy Halloween


 

Wednesday, October 30, 2024

Wednesday Afternoon in the Blogosphere


 






Who is mailing the 'Catholic Tribune' to voters in Wisconsin and other states? - PBS

Why local newspapers hold trust while national media slips - America's Newspapers

Today in Labor History October 30th

 


Ed Meese


In an escalation of their attempts to intimidate and run the Industrial Workers of World out of Everett, Washington, Sheriff Donald McRae and his deputies rounded up 41 Wobblies who had come to town to support striking shingle workers, beat them, and forced them to run through a gauntlet of “law and order” officials armed with clubs and whips.  The IWW would return, however, with greater numbers on November 5. – 1916
Ed Meese, Attorney General in the Ronald Reagan administration, urged employers to begin spying on workers in locker rooms, parking lots, shipping and mailroom areas and even the nearby taverns to try to catch them using drugs. – 1986

Important Events From This day in History October 30th

 

 


30 Oct, 1922 - Italy Mussolini
1922 : Mussolini, leader of the Fascist, demands that complete control of the government be handed over to his organization or he was prepared to fight his way to power with his army of 800,000 supporters. The King of Italy Victor Emanuel agrees to his demands and allows him to form a cabinet.
 

30 Oct, 1936 - England Record
1936 : Two new records were broken today when British Airman Capt. James A Mollison made the crossing from Harbor Grace, Newfoundland to Croydon, England in a record 13 hours 17 minutes averaging 160 MPH in his Bellanca Monoplane. He also broke the record from New York to London with a time of 19 hours and 59 minutes.
 

30 Oct, 1938 - U.S.A. "The War of the Worlds"
1938 : Orson Welles and members of his company touch off mass panic with a CBS dramatic radio adaptation of the 1898 novel "The War of the Worlds" by H.G. Wells. The play was so well performed that newspapers reported listeners believed the broadcast to be real and had incited mass panic. While there is little proof that actual panic ensued, many listeners were disturbed by the realistic broadcast.

 

 

http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/october31st.html

30 Oct, 1951 - U.S.A. Tony Bennett
1951 : Tony Bennett hits the top of the Billboard Pop charts with his #1 hit – “Cold, Cold Heart.” More than five decades later, he continues entertain audiences with his unmistakable crooning voice.
 

30 Oct, 1961 - World's Largest Nuclear Bomb
1961 : The Soviet Union has exploded the world's biggest bomb so far nearly 4,000 times more powerful than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima in 1945. This is the latest in a series of larger and larger bombs the Soviets have been exploding over the last few years. The United Nations is appealing to both the US and the Soviet Union to end the arms race or risk destroying the planet.
 

30 Oct, 1964 - U.S.A. Star of India
October 30th, 1964 : The Star of India, a 563-carat sapphire, and 21 other rare gems, were discovered missing from the American Museum of Natural History in New York, the thieves are arrested the next day.
 

30 Oct, 1969 - U.S.A. Chappaquiddick
1969 : The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has ruled that an inquest into the death of Mary Jo Kopechne found in Senator Kennedy's car in a pond on Chappaquiddick Island on July 19th, 1969. will be held in secret, as requested by Sen. Edward M. Kennedy.
 

30 Oct, 1973 - Turkey Bosporus Bridge
October 30th, 1973 : The Bosporus Bridge joining Istanbul, Turkey over the Bosphorus strait is completed joining the two sides of Istanbul. Ortaköy on the European side and Beylerbeyi on the Asian side making it the first bridge to connect the continents of Europe and Asia.
 

30 Oct, 1974 - Zaire Muhammad Ali
1974 : Muhammad Ali regains The Heavyweight Title by knocking out George Foreman in the eighth round during the fight billed as "Rumble In The Jungle."

 

30 Oct, 1975 - Spain Prince Juan Carlos
October 30th, 1975 : Prince Juan Carlos becomes Spain's acting head of state, taking over from the ill Gen. Francisco Franco.
 

30 Oct, 1977 - China Purge
1977 : The Communist party leader of China Hua Kuo-feng is continuing his purge of opponents with many thousands of dissidents executed this year.
 

30 Oct, 1981 - England Euthanasia
October 30th, 1981 : The secretary of the UK's pro-euthanasia group Exit Nicholas Reed is found guilty and jailed for two and a half years for aiding and abetting suicide.
 

30 Oct, 1983 - England Freddy Laker
1983 : Sir Freddy Laker's latest venture is going the same way as his first venture in Airline Travel Laker Airways which went bankrupt in February 1982. His latest venture Skytrain Holidays is to be wound up later today.
 

30 Oct, 1984 - Poland Roman Catholic Priest Murdered
October 30th, 1984 : Father Jerzy Popieluszko a Roman Catholic Priest and an outspoken supporter of the banned trade union Solidarity has been found murdered at the side of a road. The Priest was kidnapped 11 days earlier by three secret police and has never been seen since. Many fear that the murder could spark unrest but the leader of Solidarity, Lech Walesa has asked the Polish people to stay calm.
 

30 Oct, 1991 - Middle East Peace Conference
1991 : The Middle East peace conference begins in Madrid, and is the first time Israel has sat down with all its Arab neighbours including Palastinians to discuss a peace plan for the Middle East.
 



30 Oct, 1995 - Quebec Independence Referendum
October 30th, 1995 : A referendum for a mandate to negotiate independence of Quebec from Canada is narrowly defeated by (vote was 50.6% to 49.4%).
 

30 Oct, 2008 - Italy Education Reform Protests
2008 : Protesters to the Education Reform proposed by Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi have taken to the streets, protesters include teachers, students and parents over the proposed multi-billion-euro education cuts.
 

30 Oct, 2011 - US East Coast Faces Early Snowstorm
October 30th, 2011 : The Eastern coast of the United States dealt with the aftermath of an early snowstorm. The storm left millions without power and at least nine people died in snow related accidents.
 

30 Oct, 2012 - Hurricane Sandy Devastates US East Coast
2012 : The "super-storm" Sandy hit the US East Coast creating a major disaster area in heavily populated areas like New York City and the coast of New Jersey. President Obama declared a major disaster in the state of New York. Even much of Lower Manhattan lost power.
 

30 Oct, 2013 - Norway Sunlight Brought to Town by Mirrors
October 30th, 2013 : The Norwegian town of Rjukan experienced a winter sun for the first time after giant mirrors were installed around the town. Rjukan, enveloped by mountains, does not get any direct sunlight for about seven months out of the year, and the idea to use mirrors to bring sun to the town center was proposed around one-hundred years previously. Citizens celebrated by wearing their sunglasses and gathering in the town center.

Tuesday, October 29, 2024

Tuesday Afternoon in the Blogosphere


 





CNMI's only daily newspaper to cease operations amid digital media shifts - RNZ

The AI Community Engagement Lab - Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism

Over 200,000 subscribers flee The Washington Post after Bezos blocks Harris endorsement - NPR

Service for Gary Burchfield

 



Gary E Burchfield
December 10, 1937 – October 23, 2024
Gary E Burchfield, age 86, of Los Angeles, California passed away on Wednesday, October 23, 2024. Gary was born in CA.
A funeral service for Gary will be held Saturday, November 9, 2024 from 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM at Rose Hills Memorial Park - Hillside Chapel, 3888 Workman Mill Rd, Whittier, California 90601.
Gary will be laid to rest in Rose Hills Memorial Park, 3888 Workman Mill Rd, Whittier, California 90601; Santa Maria Crypts; Gate: 1, Section: 1, Tier: 107, Crypt: C.





Today in Labor History October 29th, 2024

 


Katsu Goto


Japanese immigrant and labor advocate Katsu Goto was strangled to death, his body then strung from an electric pole, on the Big Island of Hawaii by thugs hired by plantation owners. They were outraged over Goto’s work on behalf of agricultural workers and because he opened a general store that competed with the owners’ own company store. – 1889

The Wall Street Crash, also known as Black Tuesday, the Great Crash, or the Stock Market Crash of 1929 was the most devastating stock market crash in U.S. history when taking into consideration the full extent and duration of its aftereffects. The crash signaled the beginning of the 10-year Great Depression that affected all Western industrialized countries. – 1929
The National Organization for Women (NOW) was founded in Chicago. – 1966

Important Events From This day in History October 29th

 

29 Oct, 1929 U.S.A. Stock Market Crash

1929 : The Stock Market Crash on Black Tuesday on the New York Stock Exchange. Billions of dollars were lost, wiping out thousands of investors, and stock tickers ran hours behind because the machinery could not handle the tremendous volume of trading. Partly due to the crash America and the rest of the industrialized world spiraled downward into the Great Depression of the 1930's. Some of the closing prices from that day are listed below:

US Steel 175

Westinghouse Electric 125

American Telephone 220

American Can 119

29 Oct, 1921 U.S.A. Tuberculosis

1921 : Clinics are being opened in many cities across the country in an attempt to discover the number of cases of incipient tuberculosis, from the results so far the numbers are much higher than first thought and in some areas as many as 80% of those going for tests are infected.

29 Oct, 1923 Republic of Turkey Created

1923 : The Treaty of Lausanne of July 24th leads to the creation of the "Republic of Turkey" and Mustafa Kemal Atatürk becomes it's first President.

29 Oct, 1927 Italian Liner Mafalda Sinks

1927 : As more of the passengers rescued from the Italian Liner Mafalda are being bought to Rio De Janeiro tales of steerage passengers and stewards looting passengers and a wild scramble to the lifeboats with fights occurring on the lifeboats . As the ship was sinking a call was made for women and children from first class to board the lifeboats but steerage immigrants and the ships stokers rushed the lifeboats leaving the ship in chaos and 3 of the lifeboats overturned. Charges that the lifeboats on board could only carry 500 of the total 1286 on board led to the panic. Currently 331 are still missing presumed dead as the waters where the ship went down is heavily infested with sharks who were taking people as they entered the water. Shortly before the ships departure engineers at Genoa had declared the ship unsafe.

29 Oct, 1942 World War II Rommel

1942 : The push against Rommel forces by the 8th Army in North Africa continues to gain ground as heavy losses are inflicted on Rommels Tank's by the British army and American Fighter Pilots are pounding the supply lines to stop the enemy from getting much needed reinforcements.

29 Oct, 1948 U.S.A. Deadly Smog

1948 : A poison cloud of deadly smog settles on Donora Pennsylvania causing the deaths of 19 and hospitalization of 50, the poison in the cloud was caused by a local company which was smelting Zinc causing it to combine with the smog.

29 Oct, 1956 Middle East Israel Invades Egypt

1956 : After Egypt nationalizes the Suez Canal Israel invades Egypt causing the start of the Suez Crisis.

29 Oct, 1964 Star of India and the Eagle Diamond stolen

1964 : The Star of India (563.35 carat (112.67 g) star sapphire) and the Eagle Diamond (16.25 carat discovered in Eagle, Wisconsin) are stolen from the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. The Star of India is later recovered but the Eagle Diamond is never found.

29 Oct, 1967 U.S.A. Hair Opens

1967 : Hair Opens at The Shakespeare Public Theater in New York City and runs from October 29, 1967 - December 10, 1967. Hair was the first musical based on long-haired, peace-loving, freewheeling hippy era. The show struggled to find a longer term home but in 1968 The show opened on Broadway at the Biltmore Theater on April 29th, 1968. and ran for 4 yrs with 1,742 performances.

29 Oct, 1967 UK Jack McVitie

1967 : Jack McVitie the notorious London drug dealer and hitman is murdered by Reggie Kray. Reggie Kray was found guilty of the murder in 1969 and received life imprisonment.

29 Oct, 1969 U.S.A. ARPANET

October 29th, 1969 : The first host-to-host connection over the ARPANET (predecessor of the Internet) is made when the first message is sent between two computers at University of California, Los Angeles.

29 Oct, 1975 Spain Franco Resigns

1975 : Following a long term illness Franco resigns as head of state after ruling the country for 36 years, Prince Juan Carlos will become the first King of Spain for 44 years since the Spanish Civil War.

29 Oct, 1982 Australia Dingo Baby Case

October 29th, 1982 : Lindy Chamberlain found guilty of the murder of her 9 week old daughter after a jury dismissed her claim that a dingo took the baby.

29 Oct, 1983 Netherlands Cruise Missile Demonstrations

1983 : The largest mass demonstration in Dutch history when 500,000 people demonstrate against against the deployment of cruise missiles on Netherlands soil.

29 Oct, 1986 UK M25 Completed

October 29th, 1986 : The final stretch of the M25 motorway is opened by British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. The M25 circles Greater London from Dartford Crossing A282 to Dartford Crossing A282 (which provides the link across the River Thames).

29 Oct, 1998 Honduras Hurricane Mitch

1998 : Hurricane Mitch strikes Honduras, although by the time is struck Honduras it had decreased significantly from a Category 5 hurricane, it is one of the most deadly hurricanes on record due to it's slow speed across the country and severe rainfalls. Because of the rainfall (with reports of 3 to 6ft of rain) flooding and landslides never seen before make it the second deadliest Atlantic hurricane in history when over 11,000 people are killed in Honduras and Nicaragua.

29 Oct, 1998 South Africa Truth and Reconciliation Commission

October 29th, 1998 : The Truth and Reconciliation Commission which was to "was to uncover the truth about past abuse, using amnesty as a means of allowing perpetrators of crimes relating to human rights violations, to apologize rather than to be punished past crimes". The commission presented its report on this day in history which condemned both sides for committing atrocities.

29 Oct, 1999 India Cyclone

1999 : A cyclone with winds up to 160 MPH sweeps through the state of Orissa in eastern India leaving thousands more homeless after a tidal wave runs across the low lying plains along the coast.

29 Oct, 2002 Vietnam Deadly Fire

October 29th, 2002 : A deadly fire at the International Trade Centre in Ho Chi Minh City a modern state of the art Mall containing 400 stores and restaurants in the southern commercial center of the country claims the lives of 60 and injured a further 100.

29 Oct, 2004 Italy European Constitution

2004 : The European Constitution is established when 25 European heads of state sign the Treaty in Rome. The treaty required each member state to ratify before becoming law but French and Dutch voters rejected the treaty in referendums and the treaty is not implemented.

29 Oct, 2005 India Terrorist Bombs

October 29th, 2005 : Three terrorist bombs explode in crowded marketplace bazaars within minutes of each other, killing at least 61 people.

29 Oct, 2007 Argentina Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner

2007 : Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner (Justicialist Party) becomes the first elected female President of Argentina. Isabel Perón was the first female President of Argentina (after the death of her husband Juan Perón) but not through election.

29 Oct, 2008 United States Federal Reserve reduced to 1%

October 29th, 2008 : The Federal Reserve has cut its key interest rate for the second time in the last month from 2.0% to 1.5% and now to 1.0% in a widely expected move, as it aims to avoid a possible US recession. It is expected other central banks around the world will follow.

29 Oct, 2011 China Blast Kills Miners

2011 : An explosion at a the Xialiuchong coal mine killed twenty-nine miners and injured another six. The mine was located in Southern China's Hunan province.

29 Oct, 2012 Egyptian Coptic Pope

October 29th, 2012 : A council of Egyptian Copts have chosen their candidates to succeed Pope Shenouda III who had died earlier in the year. The three candidates, two bishops and monk, will have their names placed in a box on an alter where a blindfolded child will choose one of the names to become the new Coptic Christian Pope on November 4th.

29 Oct, 2013 Tunnel Links Europe and Asia

2013 : The Marmaray sub-sea tunnel was officially opened in Turkey. The tunnel was built to link Europe and Asia through the Bosphorus Strait. It is the first tunnel to connect two continents together and it was built with the intention to withstand damage from earthquakes.


Monday, October 28, 2024

Monday Morning in the Blogosphere


 




AI-generated news is harder to understand - Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München


As The Players’ Tribune marks first decade, publisher Minute Media plots future - Digiday

Fallout from WaPo’s controversial decision to not make an endorsement for president - Poynter

Today in Labor History October 28th, 2024

 


Union organizer and anarchist Luisa Capetillo was born in Ariecibo, Puerto Rico. She organized tobacco and other agricultural workers in Puerto Rico and later in New York and Florida. In 1916 she led a successful sugar cane strike of more than 40,000 workers on the island. She demanded that her union endorse voting rights for women. In 1919, three years before her death, she was arrested for wearing pants in public, the first woman in Puerto Rico to do so. The charges were dropped. – 1879

Two mine workers were killed in Virden, Illinois. – 1898
The Gateway Arch, a 630 ft high parabola of stainless steel marking the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial on the waterfront of St. Louis, Missouri was completed after two and a half years. Although it was predicted 13 lives would be lost in construction, not a single Ironworker died. – 1965

Important Events From This day in History October 28

  

28 Oct, 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis Ends

1962 : Cuban Missile Crisis

1. 22nd October: President Kennedy, tells Americans that missiles have been discovered in Cuba which had the potential to attack the United States with nuclear warheads.

2. 23rd - 24th October: Strategic Air Command goes to DEFCON 2, for the only time in history. The Naval Blockade of Cuba by United States begins.

3. 27th October: The U.S. informs its NATO allies that the United States may find it necessary within a very short time in its interest and that of its fellow nations in the Western Hemisphere to take whatever military action may be necessary including invasion of Cuba.

4. October 28th : Nikita Khrushchev informed the United States that he had ordered the dismantling of Soviet missile bases in Cuba. The US informs the Soviet Union that they will not invade Cuba.

28 Oct, 1936 Spain Civil War

1936 : As the Nationalist forces approach Madrid fears that the defense forces will quickly crumble may lead to mass slaughter by the rebel fascist forces with much bloodshed. The cause of the current government may well be lost and they will be forced to move their base to Catalonia where the loyalist support is much stronger.

28 Oct, 1826 The Statue of Liberty

1826 : The Statue of Liberty is dedicated by Grover Cleveland on October 28th, 1886. The Statue was built in France and and funded by the French people and was shipped in 1885 to New York and placed onto Liberty Island in New York Harbor.

1919 Volstead Act (National Prohibition Act)

Congress passes the Volstead Act (National Prohibition Act) which establishes the definition of illegal liquor and the punishments for making it 18th Amendment / Prohibition Timeline

28 Oct, 1922 Italy Mussolini

1922 : King Victor Emmanuel III hands over power to Mussolini who was supported by the military.

28 Oct, 1927 U.S.A. Smugglers

1927 : 150 kegs of the genuine scotch whisky described as 140% proof bearing the label of Perth Scotland has been captured in New Haven, Connecticut after being landed at smugglers cove.

28 Oct, 1929 Wall Street Crash Black Monday

1929 : The Monday starting the two days of the Wall Street Crash often referred to as Black Monday. Following the crash on the 24th (Black Thursday) over the weekend a number of investors decided to pull out of the market (Monday 13% drop) and by the the next day (Tuesday another 12% drop) as word spread the number of investors attempting to sell shares sent the market into a downward spiral. Although the Wall Street Crash was not the only factor in the following decade of the Great Depression, the decisions made by government over the crash are considered to have had a major impact on how bad and how long the depression was.

28 Oct, 1933 Diphtheria, Tuberculosis and Scarlet Fever

1933 : As the number affected by poverty through the lack of work increases, the corresponding increase in disease continue with Diphtheria, Tuberculosis and scarlet fever all on the increase.

28 Oct, 1942 U.S.A. Coffee Rationing

1942 : The government has announced that the nationwide rationing of Coffee will begin on November 28th.

28 Oct, 1942 Canada Alaska Highway

1942 : The Alaska Highway (Alcan Highway) connecting the contiguous U.S. to Alaska through Canada is completed through Canada to Richardson Highway in Delta Junction, Alaska. The highway is approx 1,680 miles long starting in Dawson Creek, British Columbia to Delta Junction.

28 Oct, 1948 Germany War Crimes

1948 : Nine more Germans convicted of war crimes were hanged today as the US Army continued with executions of those convicted of war crimes. The total now is 29 hanged at Landsberg prison since October 15th.

28 Oct, 1965 U.S.A. Gateway Arch

October 28th, 1965 : The Gateway Arch, a 630 ft high parabola of stainless steel marking the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial on the waterfront of St. Louis, Missouri is completed.


Saturday, October 26, 2024

Saturday Night in the Blogosphere


 









Harris, Trump turn away from legacy media to spread their messages - Jefferson City News Tribune

Catholic leaders say Wisconsin Catholic Tribune is political mail not authorized by the church - WPR







Today in Labor History October 26th, 2024

 


Six days into a cotton field strike by 18,000 Mexican and Mexican-American workers in Pixley, Calif., four strikers are killed and six wounded; eight growers were indicted and charged with murder - 1933 
 
The largest agricultural strike in California history, involving more than 18,000 workers, occurred over the course of the 1933 harvest in the California agricultural industry. Strike actions moved across the state through the harvests of cherries, pears, peaches, sugar beets and grapes, culminating in the cotton fields of the San Joaquin Valley in October.

Organized in large part by the Cannery and Agricultural Workers’ International Union among workers protesting pay cuts at the height of the Great Depression, labor actions grew throughout the summer. The Cotton Strike saw 12,000 workers walk off the job. Striking workers were evicted from company housing, and growers were deputized. A violent attack left two workers dead and eight wounded in the town of Pixley, California.

CAWIU organizers Pat Chambers and Caroline Decker were arrested and charged under the California Criminal Syndicalism Act for their labor organizing activities. When the National Labor Relations Act was passed in 1935 by the Roosevelt administration, agricultural workers were excluded from protection.

Raymond P. Barry noted that: “Ninety-five percent of the cotton pickers in the San Joaquin in 1933, it has been estimated, were Mexican.” This union wanted change, and according to Raymond P. Barry: "At the opening of the 1933 cotton picking season we find the Cannery and Agricultural Workers' Industrial Union providing militant leadership for the Mexican pickers, drawing up and presenting their demands to the growers, and threatening a valleywide strike if these demands were not met. The demands of the union were three-fold: 1. - A wage rate of $1.00 per hundred pounds of cotton picked. 2. - Recognition of the union. 3. - Abolition of contract labor.

It only took a matter of days for the events of the strike to go from bad to worse.
On October 9, 1933, the New York Times posted: “Violence flamed in the cotton strike areas covering four California counties today, with Tulare growers running agitators out of the county, following a free-for-all right, and farmers in other counties ousting pickers and arming themselves for further trouble […] In Kern county alone today it was estimated that 200 strikers and their families had been ousted from their cottages. Their belongings were dumped on the road and they were told to ‘get.’” Tensions reached there ultimate peak on October 10, 1933 in Pixley when a gathering of protestors and ranchers led to the deaths of a few strikers. An article in the New York Times states that " Ranchers who heard of the proposed meeting [between strikers] organized a caravan of about thirty automobiles, drove into Pixley and surrounded the meeting. Suddenly there was a shot from the caravan, then a volley. Three men fell dead and many were wounded [...] but bloodshed at Pixley did not break the strike."

Oct 26, 1933 The strikes closing results: “The state of California, cooperating with the Federal Government, tonight ordered the cotton strike officially ended. The order was issued with the mailed fist of authority behind it. Cotton picking is to be resumed under armed protection of State authorities. Agitators must leave the area. All strike unemployment relief work is to be discontinued and violence must cease. Eighty percent of the growers have acceded to the suggested wage of 75 cents per 100 pounds.”

Although the ultimate goal of the unionized cotton pickers was not reached, they still gained more pay, and although this was a gain for the workers, the striking process led to many evicted families and many Mexicans were led back to Mexico.

The Erie Canal - known as "Clinton's Big Ditch" - opened on this date. Construction had begun on July 4, 1817 and utilized shovels, horses, and thousands of laborers. The canal connects Lake Erie and points west to New York harbor by way of the Hudson River. Shipping and travel costs and times were greatly reduced upon its completion.

"The sound of cannon shot rings through the town. Boom! There it goes again! The music of marching bands floats on the crisp fall air. It's Wednesday, October 26, 1825, and you are in Buffalo, New York. Buffalo is celebrating; in fact, all of New York is celebrating, because today marks the official opening of the Erie Canal." - from http://www.archives.nysed.gov/projects/eriecanal/ec_1825.shtml
...

"The Erie Canal is famous in song and story. Proposed in 1808 and completed in 1825, the canal links the waters of Lake Erie in the west to the Hudson River in the east. An engineering marvel when it was built, some called it the Eighth Wonder of the World." - from http://www.eriecanal.org/

"The canal consisted of 85 locks to manage a 500 foot (150 meter) rise in elevation from the Hudson River to Buffalo. The canal was 363 miles (584 kilometers) long, 40 feet (12m) wide, and 4 feet deep (1.2m). Overhead aqueducts were used to allow streams to cross the canal." - from http://geography.about.com/od/urbaneconomicgeography/a/eriecanal.htm