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.”
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