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PART II.
CHAPTER 1.
MR. PARSONS' WESTERN TRIP CORRESPONDENCE
SPEECH DELIVERED JULY 4, 1885, IN OTTAWA, KAN., BEFORE AN AUDIENCE OF THREE THOUSAND PEOPLE—REASON FOR HIS IDEAS—SOCIAL SCIENCE, THE EXPLANATION OF FACTS—PRODUCTION AND DISTRIBUTION THE BASIS OF ALL PROGRESS—PROCESS OF CRUSHING OUT OF THE MIDDLE CLASSES—BOURGEOISE FOLLOWED THE FEUDAL SYSTEM AND IN ITS TURN MUST GIVE WAY—VALUABLE STATISTICS—INCREASE OF CRIME AND INSANITY.
Ottawa, Kan. located 60 miles west of Kansas City, on the Mise de Sine river, in one of the loveliest valleys, and amid the richest agricultural regions of the west, is a town of some 7,000 inhabitants, where the round-house and machine shops of the Southern Kansas railroad are located, as well as a few embryonic manufacturing establishments.
The place is popular as a general resort for gatherings of a public and social character throughout the state, and among the most active and intelligent of its population are the workingmen, the foremost of whom are organized into Franklin Assembly 2557, Knights of Labor.
Under the auspices of these men, it was decided prior to July 4 that they day should be consecrated anew to the cause of human liberty and the freedom of labor. Accordingly preparations were made on an extensive scale, and invitations to labor organizations were issued and sent all over the states of Kansas and Missouri.
The following was the heading of their programme:
"The days we celebrate, 1776-1885. Grand anniversary labor day! In Forest Park, Ottawa, Kan., on July 4, under the auspices of Franklin Assembly 2557. Admission free.
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