Time to put away your white shoes

Labor Day. End of summer. Start of school. Time to put away your white shoes until Easter (or is it Memorial Day?). Actually that last one is outdated. I did some research on this a few years ago - about the white shoes - and really, it's OK to wear white shoes 365 days a year. Not that anyone would want to wear white shoes 365 days... back to Labor Day.

Labor Day, according to Wikipedia, which I believe, originated in Pullman, Ill., in 1894. Railroad workers for the Pullman company near Chicago went on strike after their wages were reduced. The strike halted traffic going west out of Chicago. So Pres. Cleveland sends federal troops to Illinois to control the workers. This action worked, but also it set off a nationwide effort to unionize railroad workers, led by Eugene Debs. To appease the many people angered by his forceful actions, Pres. Cleveland then was forced to rush through Congress legislation for a National Labor Day.

Interesting Labor Day facts:

• Pres. Cleveland argued he had the right to send troops because the strike prevented the U.S. mail from being delivered.
• Both criminal and civil charges were filed against leaders of the strike. Eugene Debs was represented by Clarence Darrow.
• 13 strikers were killed by federal troops.
• Here's a Wiki icky: Railroad tycoon George Pullman remained unpopular even after his death in 1897. His burial site had to be steel reinforced to prevent haters from desecrating the site, including digging him up.