Fifteen minutes before 2 o'clock
By 1 o'clock people began to assemble . Workmen came from all parts of the city , till over fifty thousand laborers with their wives were on the ground . Most wore black crepe on their arm . Fifteen minutes before 2 o'clock solemn band music gave notice to the crowd of the approach of an imposing procession . Platoons of police led the column who were followed in carriages by the mayor , his cabinet , and the city council ; then another platoon of police , followed by a long line of hearses , the black plumes of which seemed to wave in unison with the solemn tread of over a thousand workmen , acting as pall-bearers , walking in double file on either side of their dead comrades . It was some moments before the speaking could begin . By concerted action all the clergy preached on the `` Brotherhood of Mankind , '' the text used being , John XV.-12 .