1

35th year Coppell, Saturday, October 6, 1900 $1.00

In the United States, there were many people

that joined labor unions during the 1860s to 1900s.

Labor unions are meant to improve wages, reduce the

amount of hours people work and improve the labor

conditions for people working in factories. There were

many groups that supported the rise of labor unions

and the fair treatment of all workers in America.

The knights of labor were one of these groups

that supported labor unions. They not only tried to

increase the conditions and pay of male workers, they

also tried to make women equal to man in the work-

place. They were formed by skilled and unskilled

workers, which meant that they accepted everyone into

their ranks. The downfall of the knights of labor came

when in 1980 during a labor strike, the group used ex-

plosives to kill civilians and police. After this bombing

the group lost its “fi re” because people didn’t want to

join a group associated with anarchy. The knights of

labor were a secret organization until 1877 when the

group came to help the dyeing labor unions in Chi-

cago.

The Haymarket riot was the greatest downfall

of the Knights of labor. The Chicago police came

upon a riot that was against police brutality in the city.

During the riot, a bomb was thrown that killed many

people and police in the Haymarket square. People

were arrested for the bombs but none of the people

were charged because there wasn’t enough evidence to

charge them. In 1892, John P. Altgeld pardoned the

people that were accused because he thought the ac-

cused were innocent. This event caused the end of the

Knights of Labor because many people thought the

knights of labor threw the bomb.

The American Federation of labor was a

group that took participants from the dyeing Knights

of Labor. The group was founded in 1986 by a busi-

nessman named Samuel Gompers. The federation was

formed by a bunch of individual labor unions coming

together for a common goal. One of the main differ-

ences between these two groups was that unlike the

knights of labor, AFL only accepted skilled workers.

This was a bad thing because the group couldn’t get as

many members as the Knights had during their prime.

Labor Day came about because of this group.

The main reason labor unions came around

during the gilded age was because factory owners

treated their people unfairly and the workers were sick

and tired of it. The point of the unions were for the

workers to stop working if they wanted something

and because the factory owners needed the workers to

keep the factory going, the owners would give in to the

union demands. Unions lasted throughout the gilded

age and helped to improve many of the conditions in

the factories.

Labor Unions Strike BackBy Trevor Ramsey

FEATURE

2OPINION

As a cotton farmer dur-

ing the Guilded Age, I fi nd many

problems with the crop lien

system many farmers use. The

system causes farmers to be in

cons tan t

debt be-

cause the

merchants

overprice

their food

and sup-

plies while

the crops

sell for lit-

tle amount

because of

the over-

production of crops. Some-

times cotton sells for a fair price

and farmers, like me, are able to

cover the debt that we owe to

the merchants but when cotton

sells for a low price we have to

start the next year in debt which

means that we will never have

money of our own. The mer-

chants not only charged a high

price for their merchandise,

they also charged interest which

means that we have to pay more

money than we actually spent.

The system had few ad-

vantages with many disadvan-

tages. One of the good things

about this system was that it

helped many southern farmers

get seeds, farming supplies and

food for their families after the

civil war. The bad things were

that the farmers were in the

hands of greedy merchants and

because they needed supplies af-

ter their crops were destroyed,

they had to pay high money for

the supplies and the things they

bought on

credit also

had high in-

terest rates

attached to

them. An-

other bad

thing about

this system

is that when

crops were

anticipated

to sell for

more money than they actually

sold for, the farmers had to go

into debt to the merchants in

which many farmers couldn’t get

out of when they got into the

debt with the merchants.

The system started in

1860 when southern farmers had

low money because the north de-

stroyed all of their land and took

away their slaves. The system

lasted for a good sixty years until

the 1920’s when the value of cot-

ton rose because of the invention

of the automobile. Farmers also

became more modernized in the

south because of the invention

of machines that helped farmers

grow more effi cient crops.

The Crop-Lien System Corrupt?By Trevor Ramsey

Rows of the cash crop cotton, the very same

corrupt cotton that has put men in debt.

As a father that has family mem-

bers working in factories, teaching the

American people about what happens

in factories is crucial to the well being

of this nation. For too long, the factory

owners have kept most of the money

for themselves and paid workers little

amounts of money for long hours just

because the can. Children and woman

are put in the most dangerous potions

while they are also paid less money than

men in the factory environment.

I believe that this is an unfair

system because women should have

equal rights as men in factories. I also

think that children should be taken out

of the factories because they are given

jobs that are too sophisticated for them

and many of them die in the factories.

There should be laws in place that take

children out of the dangerous position

as well as raise the pay of women so

that it would be equal to that of men.

If women do the same jobs as men,

shouldn’t they get equal pay and hours?

~Anonymous

Letter to the Editor(Trevor Ramsey)

The picture to the right depicts a group

petitioning for equal pay for women.

These women feel that they deserve the

same payment as men who do the smae

jobs

3OPINION

Over the last few years, scandal has rocked the

foundations of our economy, notably in three main

events. The events known as the Crédit Mobilier, whis-

key ring, and Tweed ring all took advantage of citizens

to turn a profi t. This extreme abuse should never have

been allowed to happen, but we can just be glad that is

all over now.

In 1872, Union Pa-

cifi c Railroad founded a

front construction company,

the Crédit Mobilier. Next,

they hired themselves for

high wages, and kept the

extra money after complet-

ing the railroad lines. The

company earned upwards of

300% profi ts from this gov-

ernment exploit, and eventu-

ally tried to bribe offi cials to

keep their operation going.

Luckily, several of the parties

involved were punished for

their horrendous acts against

the people of the United

States.

Between 1874 and 1875 a group of distillers

and public offi cials collaborated to defraud taxpayers

out of millions. The governments raised taxes up to

eight times the price, and distillers bribed the offi cials

to let them keep the returns, taking money away from

the federal treasury. This not only hurt individuals, but

the country as a whole, when it took away for the trea-

sury of the American people.

The Tweed ring, led by Burly “Boss” Tweed,

was yet another example of corruption, which cheated

taxpayers out of yet more money. He used underhand-

ed tactics such as bribery and fraud to

get about $200 million from citizens,

and when these citizens complained,

they found their tax assessments raised

by those in Tweed’s ring of corrupt

government offi cials.

Fraud and scandal resulted in public

outrage, and when they fi nally came to

an end, the economy was changed for-

ever by the greed and lack of ethics of

private individuals and the government.

During Grant’s presidency, some of the

people closest to him exploited their

high-up position to gain millions from

the American people. We have to work

inside the government to stop history

from repeating itself; we must reform

the way we do business, and the way that civil service

employees are chosen. We need to introduce a merit

based system that will keep these hooligans from run-

ning our government.

Scandals Under GrantBy Mason Leach

Famous depiction of Boss Tweed of the

Tweed Ring.

Letter to the Editor(Mason Leach)

I am writing this letter to

you in regards to an article you pub-

lished earlier this year. I am refer-

ring to the article in which you talked

about Charles Darwin’s “theories.”

You may believe whatever

you want, but personally, I am a

God-fearin’ woman, and I don’t be-

lieve any of the garbage in this fools

“On the Origin of Species.”

To think that we all came

from monkeys or some oth-

er wild animal is disgraceful,

and clearly contradictory to the

facts in the bible. God created

the heavens and the earth and,

right after, Adam and Eve, the

fi rst humans.

I must also demand that

you cease and desist further

postings of articles referring to

such bestial hypotheses. Since your last

article, our church has lost valuable sup-

port, and I fear for their mortal souls

when the time comes to be judged.

In conclusion, I would like to

say that this man is not only wrong in

his facts, but also morally and religiously

wrong. His offensive writings should

have no place in such a fi ne newspaper

as yours.

With a closed mind, but an open heart,

Amelia C. Buttersquash

4

The African Americans in the Gilded Age, as Mark Twain put it are still mistreated and still face racial abuse by

the democratic south although they won it during the civil war. Numerous groups formed in the south to get

revenge or practiced extricable abuse or violence to show African Americans that they are less superior. The

longevity of an African American is still mostly spent on a farm and they still work hard. The south was restored

during the reconstruction and to restore agriculture, the government gave jobs to the now independent slaves us-

ing the sharecropping method. The government forced sharecropping and tenant farming upon the free slaves.

This benefi t whites as they still get rent money or crops from parts of the land they loaned to the African Ameri-

cans. The African Americans African Americans got freedom and have equivalent rights to that of a white man.

The blacks, all over the country, are being forced to work under the crop linen system as they owe debts and thus

are being forced to work on the rented land. With the Jim Crow Laws, there is a “separate but equal” segregation

that divide public places such as: restaurants, schools bathrooms, military, transportation, organizations and even

in public parks from

those of whites. This

raised many more ra-

cial dislikes toward

blacks and it still con-

tinues to rise. The

Supreme Court has

also ruled for south-

ern segregation of

blacks in the case of

Plessey vs. Ferguson.

A new party, called

the People’s party, was

farmed in favor of

farmers and others which required skilled work. The law is not rightfully enforced and thus it should be changed.

Many groups have protested against discrimination of blacks. This is the era of struggle for the Africans as they

want to be known as common people in today’s world.

Seperate, But Not Equal By Varun Shivakumar

An example of a sign leading to the seperate, but not equal facilities.

OPINION

The Economy is Crumbling, But Who is to Blame By Derek Pugh

The very fact that our

economic status is declining is a

refl ection of our country.

We are allowing foreign-

ers to live here while we can’t

even support ourselves. The

foreigners are taking up jobs

right and left, to the point of

us not being able to support

our natural Americans. Then

add to the equation the fact that

soon natural Americans will be

outnumbered by foreign immi-

grants. The very idea of prices

increasing for the simple reason

of immigrants buying nonstop

is sickening. We as Americans

shouldn’t get punished for their

being here. We shouldn’t stand

for this at all.

5

Letter to the Editor(Derek Pugh)

I am writing this letter to express my displeasure in the aspect of the immigrants. They don’t have any idea how

to do our jobs yet they get them anyway for the sole reason that they are cheap workers. For the most part they

don’t speak our language, and they also don’t know what they are doing. They come from all over Europe. We

can’t even keep our jobs because the immigrants are so cheap. The very idea of being put out of the job due to

people just moving in that will work for nothing is frightening. We went on strike to earn better rights. Now not

only don’t I get better rights but I am out of the job as well. I have my family to think about and if I can’t even

keep my job because of them how will I feed my family. These recessions are their entire fault. They are com-

ing into our country and taking away our jobs and making America look bad. If things were going well without

them, why do we need them? The answer is we don’t. Thank you for reading this. I am sorry I had to write this

other than out of utter disgust. I wish I had written this under better circumstances.

Discrimination or Not? By Varun ShivakumarThe Native Americans were spread throughout the

western America. As the Americans advanced, we

needed more resources, land and our view hunger for

Manifest Destiny had to be fulfi lled. They have been

here before the colonists and they have had their

land taken from us throughout history. The wrong

doings done to the Natives are preposterous and we

have taken their land in Americas and looked down at

them as though they were out casts. The tribes of the

Indians fought but we outnumbered them. In the be-

ginning we invaded their land ever since we colonized

America as we quaffed down land constantly. In the

taking of Texas, we kicked out the natives there and

the natives in Georgia At Sand Creek, Colorado in

1864, Colonel J. M. Chivington’s militia massacred

400 Indians who apparently posed no threat. Our

spreads diseases have hurt them, our intentions and

our natural want to own everything. We killed their

food, the bison, and we are slowly destroying the an-

cient cultures. Only by the 1880s, did we begin to re-

alize the horrors committed upon the Indians. Helen

Hunt Jackson published “A Century of Dishonor”

which recorded the governments’ ruthlessness in

dealing with the Indians. She wrote Ramona which

told of injustice to the California Indians. The reason

to kill was because we wanted glory and resources to

make ourselves a better nation.

A depiction of the Native Americans, and some

of the great Americans

This picture shows immigrants moving towards the

“land of oppertunity.”

OPINION

6BUY NOW

Women! These offers apply especially to you. Become a part of the

women’s work REVOLUTION. These two inventions have changed the

way women are viewed, and it allows you to put yourself out there (into

the workforce that is).~Mason Leach

Made by Derek Pugh AdvertisingMade by Derek Pugh Advertising

Made by Derek Pugh Advertising

Have you lost money because

of mismanagment? Do you

want a simpler way to manage

your businees? Then the Cash

Register is for you. No more

mistakes, no more worry, just

SALES, SALES, SALES!~Mason Leach

7IN THE NEWS

Discrimination or Not? By Trevor Ramsey During the 1860’s, many

American women decided it was

the right time to fi nd a job for their

families. This change from staying

at home as the mother, to working

the same jobs as men was propelled

by new inventions, such as the type-

writer and telephone. The Gibson

women, which released in the early

1890s, set a new standard for the

way that middle aged women should

look and it inspired a new standard

for fashion. Women were hired be-

cause the factory owners could pay

them less money than men and be-

cause they could fi t into small places

that men wouldn’t be able to fi t in.

Woman started going to

work, not because of the need for independence

or glamour, but because of the struggling economy

of the time. In 1990, a fact was released saying that

one-tenth of the nation’s people owned nine-tenths

of the nation’s wealth. This was because the fac-

tor owners could hire women and

children to do a man’s job but they

could pay the women and children

less money. Women were also dis-

criminated against because men did

not think that women deserved the

same rights that they had.

Because of the lower wages and

harsh conditions that women work-

ers went through, many social

movements came around during

the gilded age. In 1890, militant

suffrage workers formed the na-

tional American Woman Suffrage

Association. Its founders included

many women rights pioneers such

as Elizabeth Cady Stanton, who

helped organize the fi rst women

rights convention in 1948, and Susan B. Anthony,

who went to jail in 1872 after trying to cast a vote

in the presidential election. Groups such as this one

helped to change city life during the early 1900s.

Picture showing the new role of women

Life and Times of a Steel GiantBy Mason Leach

Obituary

Andrew Carnegie, the steel giant and philanthropist, died yesterday of bronchial pneumonia at the age of 83.

After dominating the steel industry for years and selling his company to James P. Morgan, Carnegie devoted the

rest of his life to giving back money to the world in the form philanthropic donations.

When Carnegie was thirteen, he was brought to America by his parents and started working as soon as he ar-

rived. After lots of hard work, Carnegie fi nally assembled some money and put it towards his own steel com-

pany in Pittsburgh. As a man who disliked trusts and monopolies, he succeeded at fi rst by surrounding himself

with high up people so that he could not fail. When Carnegie and James Piermont Morgan fi nally clashed,

Carnegie was ready to get out of the industry, and made Morgan an offer he couldn’t refuse. He sold his steel

company for over $400 million.

After his retirement, Carnegie devoted his life to giving money to causes he believed in, so that he would not die

“disgraced” with all of the wealth he had collected. He gave money for libraries to be built, and donated to pen-

sions for college professors. In the end, he had given away about $350 million to such philanthropic ventures.

8IN THE NEWS

Best of: Gilded AgeBy Mason Leach

Police Blotter

Shooting Charles Guiteau alleg-

edly shot President Garfi eld yes-

terday at 9:30 in the morning at

the Baltimore and Potomac Rail-

road station. Guiteau was appre-

hended shortly after the shot was

fi red, and is believed to be a dis-

gruntled job seeker. Garfi eld was

taken back to the white house to

recover after being treated.

Vandalism Someone wrote

profane remarks to Jay Gould on

the street outside his house. It is

believed that the person who did

this lost some money in the “Black

Friday” scandal earlier this year.

Anyone who has information is

directed to contact their nearest

police offi cial.

Burglary Someone stole person-

al effects from a Native American

settlement in Oklahoma late last

night. This is the 7th in a string

of connected burglaries of Native

American burglaries. The police

believe that whoever is behind this

crime spree is an activist trying

to protect the buffalo population

from extinction. Again, anyone

with information should contact

their nearest police offi cial.

Theft An unidentifi ed man came

into one of the dressing rooms at

the “Greatest Show on Earth” cir-

cus while it was in town last week

and took a few hundred dollars

worth of props form the show.

Any person with a lead on who

may have taken the props should

contact their nearest police offi -

cial.

Assault Two men are now in

custody, and another is still on the

loose after the assault of several

immigrants. The three men al-

legedly attacked with no warning

or cause. It appears that the men

were motivated by anti-immigrant

sentiments. If you have any infor-

mation on where this third man

could be, you are encouraged to

visit your local police station.

A depiction of when the president was

shot (as explained above).

One of the tepees that was robbed

(as explained above).

9

African Americans: The Freedom EraBy Varun Shivakumar

The African Americans of the Americas during the renowned gilded age were new to the world of indepen-

dency and freedom. They had just come to a free land and were independent but society still discriminated

them as per the Jim Crow Laws. They were excluded from many activities and were segregated from the white

people following the case of Plessy Vs Furguson. Their life during the gilded age was the struggles and free-

dom that they slowly gained. The common beliefs between the two races were still separated by a racist belief.

African Americans still worked on land and farms to pay off debt and make a living off of the “sharecrop-

ping” method. Many individuals rose up during the industrial age and education for African Americans hit

a high point. For African Americans to be able to vote, they needed to have knowledge of literacy and must

have showed some knowledge of education. Booker T Washington led the educational system of the African

Americans and created the industrial school at Alabama. He tended to solve the nation’s racial problems but

many Americans thought it to be a challenge to determine the supreme race of the two. George Washington

Carver taught at the Alabama institute

and became an internationally famous

agricultural chemist. Dr. W.E.B Du fought

for total equality for African Americans

whereas Booker T Washington was fi ne

with some equality. Du Bios held to form

the National Association for the Advance-

ment of Colored People. Black writer Paul

Dunbar used black dialect and folklore

to capture the richness of southern black

culture. The national American Women

suffrage association excluded black women

but Ida B Wells helped to launch black

women’s suffrage club called the National

Association of Colored Women. Farmer’s

Alliance excluded African Americans from

their association and the blacks formed the

Colored Farmers National Alliance. Black

workers formed the Colored National

Labor Union after they had been excluded

from the national labor union. Working in

factories, industries and railroads were also

a factor for African Americans. In conclu-

sion, the gilded age explained the African

Americans and their views, place in society and capability. These examples show their struggle and determina-

tion but it shows that they have a fi ghting heart to fi t in on be compatible with today.

A so-called “Buffalo Soldier” with his family

IN THE NEWS

10FUNNIES

11+PLUS+

Taking our Country: Act Now Against ImmigrantsBy Mason Leach

Immigrants are entering our country every day now. They are taking our jobs, they are destroying our

families, and they are fattening the wallets of those who are in power.

I write this article not just to tell you of the imminent danger that our country is facing, but also to convince

you of the only possible solution I see. If we do not take action now, I believe that America will be taken over

by the foreign menace. Nothing good has come from these immigrations, except for fattening the wallets of

the “Industrial Few”.

Americans can no longer make a fair living in their own country

due to the strikebreakers from abroad. I charge that we have become

immigrants in our own country: second class citizens. This is especially

alarming, because we are citizens, while some immigrants who are tak-

ing our jobs are not. By taking away our jobs, these foreigners are tak-

ing away our livelihood, our food, and our families.

Add to this the alarming rate at which the Irish, Chinese, etc.

are coming to America, and you get a huge amount of expansion in the

anarchist groups. These hostile groups are trying to overthrow our gov-

ernment and get rid of us after we have worked to earn this land with

our blood, sweat, and tears.

I wish at this point to tell you a story. The following is the story

of a family much like yours, and I fell it illustrates the dire consequences

we all face if we continue to do nothing about the foreign menace:

Don and Sally Austin were your typical American family. They had it

all. They were living the American dream. They had 2 kids, and Don

had a steady job at the local factory in town. All was going well until

one day when the workers decided to go on strike. This fateful deci-

sion would rock the Austin’s for the rest of their lives.

Don’s Boss, rather than trying to come to a compromise, decided to

bring in the infernal strike breakers to fi nish the jobs left undone. With this action, the workers were left with-

out any source of income. All of the workers were hard hit, but the Austins especially struggled.

After the loss of Don’s job, the family soon could not pay their rent and were sent out into the streets. Don

and Sally’s youngest daughter Sherrie got sick and died in the cold streets and their other daughter was eventu-

ally kidnapped after a few weeks of living on the streets. Don and Sally had to change their way of life, eating

out of the trash, and even resorting to theft to keep alive.

Meanwhile, the strike breakers are living well in our old houses, and eating well in our cafes and res-

taurants. They are healthy and happy, while we are struggling to stay alive. And the bosses sit back and don’t

know any different. In fact, they are glad because they are paying these laborers much less.

Now is the time for action. Before we end up like the Austins, we must take steps to not only stop the

in pouring of immigrants, but –perhaps even more important – we must make regulations against strike break-

ers to protect our industry in this country. The bosses may try to convince you of their goals, but they are

purely propagandists, playing with your emotion, rather than giving you the facts. And the facts are that every

day they hire people to come into our country and belittle our economy and our citizens.

John D. Rockefeller, one of the “Indus-

trial few.”