The Santa Rosa Republican was the working man’s newspaper, and while many local merchants ran advertisements in both the Press Democrat and Republican, readers in the latter were more likely to see ads for men’s work boots or heavy flannel underwear than the latest fashions in ladies’ hats.
These ads appeared paired together the week before Labor Day in the Republican, but not once in the Press Democrat. Note that these aren’t ads for Labor Day sales, but simply tributes to American unions and workers. “Put on your best bib and tucker in honor of the day,” reads the Keegan Brothers ad below. “[W]hen you spend your money here, you are patronizing a Union House with Union principles, Union goods, Union help, Union hours, and a place where you should feel at home. There’s always a glad hand here for the Laboring Man.”
