Labor Week's Sneak Peek

 I'd like to give a quick shout-out to Mike Peterson at Daily Cartoonist for citing Saturday's post of cartoons from Labor Day, 1926. He's got a bunch of Labor Day, 2026 cartoons at today's Comic Strip of the Day.

There's a lot of worry there about AI stealing everybody's jobs, so here's an even older cartoon imagining the fully automated 21st Century:

Labor Day Toons

It's Labor Day weekend, so today's Graphical History Tour checks out what editorial cartoons were on the newsstands 100 Labor Days ago:

"Labor Day" by Fred O. Seibel in Richmond [VA] Times Dispatch, Sept. 6, 1926

Per Fred Seibel, it was a day for the working man to hang up his workday duds and step out in his best suit, pressed pants, and bow tie. Even his little dingbat (named either Jim Crow or Moses, depending whom you ask) gets all duded up for the holiday.

You might spy somebody sporting that kind of fashion sense this Labor Day, but I think novelty t-shirts and Bermuda shorts are as spiffy as most working guys get for their day off.

"His Day — Their Future" by Joe Tung (?) in Cleveland Press, Sept. 6, 1926

I had a little difficulty making out the signature on "His Day — Their Future." Joe Tung does not seem to be a regular cartoonist for the Cleveland Press editorial page.

These 1926 cartoons all overlook the women in the workforce. They were limited to certain professions: seamstresses, teachers, secretaries, nurses, and sales counter service, to name a few. In this cartoon, I suppose this lady is a housewife, but I doubt that the cartoonist or his editors thought of that as the sort of "labor" the holiday was about.

 The $700 million worth of labor-owned stocks in 1926 promised this idyllic cartoon family a bright future —for about three years.

"His Day of Rest" by William C. Morris for George Matthew Adams Service, ca. Sept. 6, 1926

Now, I realize that Gloria Steinem would not be born for another eight years, but did it not occur to anyone to suggest to William Morris that having twice as many Father's Days in a year as Mother's Days was grossly unequal?

"The Support of the Nation" by Orville P. Williams in New York Evening Graphic, ca. Sept. 6, 1926

Orville Williams enlists Uncle Sam in his tribute to the American Working Man.

"Straight Ahead" by Gustavo Bronstrup in San Francisco Chronicle, Sept. 6, 1926

While Gustavo Bronstrup channels Thomas the Tank Engine decades ahead of his time. 

"A Goodly Share" by Ed LeCocq in Des Moines Tribune, Sept. 6, 1926

Quite a few of the Labor Day cartoons in the Roaring '20's credited the Working Man for the nation's prosperity, and promised him a slice of the pie — or, in LeCocq's case, the watermelon — for his efforts.

"Labor Day" by Bill Donahey in Cleveland Plain Dealer, Sept. 6, 1926 

Bill Donahey makes much the same point, with the same setting, but without needing to label the food or the blanket. Or even to bring Uncle Sam along.

"Labor Day" by John T. McCutcheon in Chicago Tribune, Sept. 6, 1926

I have not been able to find anything about that four-armed labor symbol in John McCutcheon's depiction of a Labor Day parade. Assuming McCutcheon didn't create the tetraskelion himself, whatever labor organization it may have represented most certainly replaced it once the swastika became inextricably linked to Nazi Germany.

In Google AI's opinion of this specific cartoon, "this political cartoon parodies the growing militarism, aggressive rhetoric, and intimidation tactics of the early Nazi movement in Weimar-era Germany by converting the geometric arms of the swastika into literal flexing muscles and punch-ready fists." 

I believe Google AI is way, way off, as evidenced by the gentleman in the foreground of the cartoon saying, "I can remember back before the days of unions, when I used to work for a dollar and a quarter a day. Now American labor is the envy of the world." Nothing at all points to a parody of the Nazi movement in Weimar-era Germany, and you can tell Google AI I said so.

Detail from "A Week in Cartoons" by Marvin P. "Hay" Bales in Daily Worker, Chicago, Sept. 4, 1926

Turning to the opposite end of the political spectrum: a Hay Bales cartoon in the Daily Worker, the only one of today's papers that did not publish on Labor Day, notes an explosion in a mine owned by the Clearfield Bituminous Coal Corporation the previous week. Of the 48 miners trapped by the collapse of the mine walls, only four survived.

It was just one of at least three fatal mining accidents in the United States that September. Sixteen men perished in an explosion near Tahona, Oklahoma one day after the Pennsylvania tragedy. Three miners were killed in a mine collapse outside Ironwood, Michigan three weeks later; 43 others survived after having been trapped for six days.

"Seven Years Old—and Growing Stronger" by O. "Zim" Zimmerman in Daily Worker, Chicago, Sept. 1, 1926 

The Daily Worker celebrated the seventh anniversary of the founding of the U.S. Communist Labor Party and Communist Party of America, which merged in 1920 to form the United Communist Party of America. Continued factionalism, plus federal prosecution of the party's criminal agitators, led to the creation in December of 1921 of the Workers Party of America as a parallel, legal communist organization (later the "Workers (Communist) Party.")

"Right—For Once" by Grover Page in Louisville Courier-Journal, Sept. 6, 1926

Grover Page's mainstream response to Zimmerman twists the words of Leon Trotsky, who had been shoved out of power by Communist Party General Secretary Josef Stalin but was still more familiar in the West than Stalin had yet become. 

There is a hasty, slapdash feeling to Page's cartoon — scribbled at the last moment on a paper napkin, perhaps? — but it's a wry, witty observation on the relationship of Americans and our cars.

With that, have a happy Labor Day weekend!

Labor Daze

In honor of the last holiday weekend of the summer, today's Graphical History Tour celebrates Labor Day, 1925.

"His Day" by Ed LeCocq in Des Moines Register, Sept. 7, 1925

The holiday fell on September 7 that year, so most of today's cartoons were published on that date. We start with this cartoon by the young man filling in for Jay Norwood Darling during Ding's illness. Old Man Work here graciously permits Organized Labor to join The Public on their way to some picnic grounds.

"Labor Day" by John T. McCutcheon in Chicago Tribune, Sept. 7, 1925

John McCutcheon's Uncle Sam wishes American Labor a sixteen hour day of rest and recreation.

Come those other eight hours, I presume, American Labor was expected to get right back to work.

These first two cartoons do point out that Labor Day was finally a chance for Dad to get out and enjoy some time with his family. Paid vacation was not a thing for most workers a century ago; the "family summer vacation" typically was just for Mom and the kids. Dad stayed behind to keep punching the clock at work every day.

"The Spirit of Confidence" by Dean O'Dell in Dayton Daily News, Sept. 7, 1925

Dean O'Dell's Uncle Sam and American Labor engage in some discreet petting while the heady fumes of prosperity and peace waft from picturesque smokestacks.

"The Giant of Progress" by Tom Foley in Minneapolis Star, Sept. 7, 1925

I'm wondering at what point Tom Foley or his editorial page editor decided that his cartoon needed to be printed as a mirror image of the original drawing. Foley did not customarily sign his cartoons backward; the "LABOR" stone looks to me like something scratched onto the cartoon at the last minute.

"Rare Consistency" by John M. Baer for Labor, ca. Sept. 4, 1925

John Baer has appeared before in these Graphical History Tours in his connection to the Nonpartisan League movement of the 1910's, which had sent him to Congress from North Dakota from 1917 to 1921. After his defeat for reelection in 1920, he literally returned to the drawing board, cartooning for Labor, the newspaper of the National Railroad Union.

In "Rare Consistency" (a title possibly added by the editors of Oklahoma Leader, who routinely pasted text onto the cartoons they printed), Baer highlights the hypocrisy of industrial associations and trusts warning farmers, laborers, and soldiers against collectively organizing. 

"Well, Here's Hoping" by Bill Hanny in Philadelphia Inquirer, Aug. 31, 1925

As Labor Day approached, the threat of a strike by anthracite coal miners loomed. Most homes and businesses were heated by coal in those days, so an interruption of the coal supply in the fall and winter was liable to have serious consequences for much of the country.

"Modest Demands" by O. "Zim" Zimmerman for Daily Worker, Chicago, Sept. 9, 1925

Drawing for the communist Daily Worker, Zimmerman laid out the United Mine Workers' demands: a nationwide contract with higher wages for fewer hours, and unemployment pay to come out of corporate profits. 

"It Does Look Like It" by Winsor McCay for Star Company, ca. Sept. 1, 1925

By Labor Day, negotiations between the UMW, led by John Lewis, and management, headed by operators' scale negotiating committee chair W.W. Inglis, had been dragging on for weeks, with no apparent progress to report.

"Hard Hard-Boiled" by Harry Westerman in Ohio State Journal, ca. Sept. 1, 1925

Harry Westerman's Uncle Sam displays a sterner attitude toward hard coal miners (and their mine operators) than Dean O'Dell's did toward American Labor in general. 

"We're With You" by Bill Sykes in Philadelphia Public Ledger, ca Sep. 5, 1925

Most editorial cartoonists placed blame for the possible strike on both labor and management; I'm sure nearly everybody was aware of what a dirty and dangerous job coal mining was and is. Bill Sykes's cartoon , however, comes as close as any I've seen to blaming the union workers.

It is difficult to read the animals' labels in Sykes's cartoon: the bird is labeled "Waste," and the wolf is labeled "Want."

"The Man Who Used to March on Labor Day" by Daniel Fitzpatrick in St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Sept. 7, 1925

Returning to the holiday, Daniel Fitzpatrick's Labor Day cartoon raises more questions than it answers. Is the man who used to march on Labor Day driving alone or in a parade? Is he a really big guy, or is he driving the first subcompact vehicle?

"No One Has a Good Word to Say for Work" by Manuel Rosenberg in Cincinnati Post, Sept. 7, 1925

And finally, Manuel Rosenberg leaves us with some deep thoughts about justification through work.

I hope you are able to enjoy an escape from work this weekend, yet, where applicable, still have a good word to say about getting back to the job on Tuesday.

Keep the Labor in Labor Day!

100 Labor Days ago (yeah I know it's not Saturday, but it's a holiday, which is just as good a time for a history lesson) coal miners were on strike in West Virginia.

And then the government decided to bomb them.

Cartoon by Ryan Walker in New York Call, NYC, September 3, 1921

General Billy Mitchell told reporters, “We wouldn’t try to kill these people at first. We’d drop tear gas all over the place. If they refuse to disburse, then we’d open up with artillery and everything.”

"September Morn" by Clifford Berryman in Washington (DC) Evening Star, September 1, 1921

Upon their arrival to West Virginia, the chance of aerial bombardment by the Air Service was quickly snuffed out. Fully loaded with bombs and machine guns when they left their home base of Langley, VA, the 88th Squadron’s planes were stripped of all weaponry before flying over Blair Mountain. [Commander of federal forces during the Battle of Blair Mountain, General Harry H.] Bandholdtz’s orders were clear. “You will under no circumstances drop any bombs or fire any machine guns or do anything to unnecessarily excite the invaders,” he wrote in a dispatch. While the 88th Squadron was used to assess the situation on Blair Mountain from above, there would be no demonstration of the Air Service’s armed abilities in West Virginia.

There were, however, a trio of private biplanes rented by Sheriff Chafin that were not under the strict orders of restraint from General Bandholtz. On September 2—the same day as the Squadron’s arrival in West Virginia—Chafin ordered his own small air force to drop gas and makeshift bombs on the miners’ positions on Blair Mountain. Though none of these aerial assaults struck their intended targets, Mitchell’s braggadocious comments to the Charleston press the week before led many to believe that the Army had conducted the bombing runs, a myth that remains today.

(Shades of Tulsa, Oklahoma over the Memorial Day holiday three months earlier!)

You might have thought that Americans would have recoiled in horror at the news of the Americans bombing Americans. But apparently the Chicago Tribune was all in favor of it.

"Show 'Em They Are Not Above the Law" by John McCutcheon in Chicago Tribune, September 2, 1921

As luck would have it, no miners were killed in the bombing, although three airmen died in a storm-related crash while returning to Maryland. Which may be why this remains the only time that the U.S. proposed bombing striking American workers into submission.

Now, go on and enjoy your holiday.

This Week's Sneak Peek

Happy Labor Day to all of my American readers!

To everyone else, I understand that it's confusing that the United States celebrates May Day in September.

But we compensate for it by celebrating Mexican independence in May.

Labor Day, 1916

Strikeback Saturday makes up for last week's quickie glance at 1916 to celebrate Labor Day Weekend by taking a long, hard look at U.S. labor relations 100 years ago.

"Capital, Labor, and War Prosperity" by John McCutcheon for Chicago Tribune, August 18, 1916

The two issues in the doorway of this first Winsor McCay cartoon are the Workman's Compensation Act and the Keating Owen Child Labor Bill.

"Save the Children First, Senators!" by Winsor McCay in New York American, July, 1916

Congress went on its vacation anyway, so both issues were still waiting for them when they got back.

"Training Our Next Generation!" by Winsor McCay in New York American, July, 1916

The Child Labor Bill sponsored by Congressman Edward Keating (D-CO) and Senator Robert L. Owen (D-OK) sought to prohibit the sale in interstate commerce of goods produced by factories that employed children under 14, mines that employed children younger than 16, and any facility where children under 14 worked after 7:00 p.m., before 6:00 a.m., or more than eight hours per day. The bill had almost unanimous support from Republican senators, as well as the strong backing of the Democratic President, Woodrow Wilson.

"Getting Admission, but No Welcome" by John Knott in Dallas News, 1916

It faced strong opposition, however, from advocates of "states' rights," particularly southern senators. With slave labor a thing of the past and migrant labor a thing of the future (at least in the American Southeast), southern textile mills relied more heavily than other regions and industries on cheap, poorly educated child labor. Democrat Lee Slater Overman was Senator from North Carolina from 1903 to 1930, and literally made this argument in defense of child labor:

"See, It Keeps Them Out of Mischief" by Rollin Kirby in New York World, 1916

The only two Republican Senators opposing the bill were Boies Penrose and George T. Oliver, both of Pennsylvania, which may have endeared them to the coal mining interests, but earned them plenty of condemnation from home state newspapers. "Is it any wonder," editorialized the Philadelphia Public Ledger, "that hundreds and thousands of Pennsylvanians hang their heads in shame when Pennsylvania's representation in the Senate of the United States is brought to their attention?"

"Their Parting Shot" by Frederick T. Richards in Philadelphia North American, 1916

After an initial defeat prompted some changes to the bill, Congress, including 11 of the Southern Democratic Senators, passed the Keating Owen Child Labor Act on September 1, 1916 with a provision that it go into effect a year later. Siding with a North Carolina textile mill owner, however, the Supreme Court would rule it an unconstitutional regulation of interstate commerce in Hammer v. Dagenhart in 1918.

Labor conditions for adults were at issue in 1916 as well. The Kern-McGillicuddy Federal Employees' Compensation Act mentioned in the first McCay cartoon above passed Congress on September 7, creating compensation for federal employees who lost income due to on-the-job injury.

"The Goat" by Clarence Batchelor in Topeka State Journal, August, 1916

New York street railway workers began an extended strike in August seeking the right to unionize and a five-cent increase in pay. Streetcar management refused to deal with the union, insisting that they would only deal with workers as individuals — certainly not with some "alien organization" with offices out of town. The dispute continued throughout August and September, with management trying to scuttle agreements hammered out through arbitration with Mayor J.P. Mitchel, and New York trade unions nearly instituting a general strike.

"If They All Strike It Will Be Like This," by Sidney J. Greene for New York Telegram, August 4, 1916

Meanwhile, a national railroad strike by the 360,000 engineers, brakemen, firemen, conductors and other workers on the nation's 225 railways threatened to grind America's economy to a standstill.

"The Big Fellow Pays the Freight" by Billy Ireland in Columbus Evening Dispatch, August, 1916

The central issue was the unions' demand for an eight-hour day, with overtime pay beyond that.

"The Millstone" by Alford in Baltimore Star, September, 1916

Wilson called unions and railroad management to a White House summit in August for two days of arbitration. Failing to bring the parties to an agreement, Wilson pressured the Congress to take up the "Adamson Bill," named for Congressman William C. Adamson (D-GA), promising a 16% pay raise for railroad workers and, on a trial basis, the 8-hour day.

"Making the Straw Fly" by Ole May in Cleveland Leader, August/September, 1916

Over Republican objections, including those voiced by presidential candidate Charles Evans Hughes, the Adamson Bill was introduced and passed by the House on September 1, passed by the Senate on September 2, signed into law on September 3, and went into effect on September 5. If ever a bill was "railroaded" through Congress, this was it.

"Mediation" by T.E. Powers in Hearst Newspapers, September, 1916

At any rate, the strike was thus averted, leaving implementation of the details up to the rail barons. Federal regulation of private companies' working hours was unprecedented; but in this instance, the Supreme Court would uphold the Adamson Act (Wilson v. New,1917).

This Week's Sneak Peek

I want to be mindful of everyone who is cleaning up after Irene or Lee, or out of work, or shouldering the nation's military burden far from home; but to all of you, as far as it may be possible, I hope you're able to enjoy this Labor Day Weekend.