September 4, 1875
Wall St. satirist is born
Pugnacious political cartoonist Kirby Rollin was born on September 4, 1875 in Galva, IL. The Pulitzer Prize winner wielded his pen and wit to lob pointed attacks on Wall Street and big business, as well as a host of other foes.
September 4, 1894
Tailors protest sweatshops
Fed up with the continued existence of sweatshops, some 12,000 tailors took to the streets of New York on September 4, 1894. Though the day's New York Herald gave the strike little notice, brushing it off as a mere "meeting", the walk off was part of an almost annual tradition of labor action by garment workers. Along with poor working conditions, the workers protested the industry standard of paying piece rates, a practice which tended to favor productivity over the well-being of workers. The strikers demanded weekly wages, as well as the guarantee that they would receive their pay in a "timely" fashion. The walk-off did effect some change, as the New York government passed legislation in 1896 that promised to improve the workplace. Despite these laws and subsequent amendments, sweatshop conditions and wage disputes continue to plague the garment industry.
September 4, 1951
President Truman makes first transcontinental television broadcast
On this day in 1951, President Harry S. Truman’s opening speech before a conference in San Francisco is broadcast across the nation, marking the first time a television program was broadcast from coast to coast. The speech focused on Truman’s acceptance of a treaty that officially ended America’s post-World War II occupation of Japan.
The broadcast, via then-state-of-the-art microwave technology, was picked up by 87 stations in 47 cities, according to CBS. In his remarks, Truman lauded the treaty as one that would help "build a world in which the children of all nations can live together in peace." As communism was threatening to spread throughout Pacific Rim nations such as Korea and Vietnam, the U.S. recognized the need to create an ally in a strong, democratic Japan.
Since the end of World War II in 1945, Japan had been occupied and closely monitored by the American military under the leadership of General Douglas MacArthur. By 1951, six years later, Truman considered the task of rebuilding Japan complete. Truman praised the Japanese people’s willingness to go along with the plan and expressed his pride in having helped to rebuild Japan as a democracy. Gone was the old militaristic police state; in its place was a country with a new constitution, unions for protecting the rights of laborers and voting rights for women, among many other positive changes.
The Multilateral Treaty of Peace with Japan, as it was ultimately called, was ratified by the U.S. Congress on March 20, 1952.
September 4, 1959
Congress regulates unions
On September 4, 1959, the Labor Reform Act was passed by Congress. The legislation moved to reign in the nation's unions.
Heidi ~ Have a Wonderful Day!
Now Posting Under Heidi B