Editing 1890s (section)

==Economics in the United States==
* 1892: The [[Homestead strike]] in [[Homestead, Pennsylvania]]. Labor dispute between the [[Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel Workers]] (the AA) and the [[Carnegie Steel Company]] starting in June 1892. The union negotiated national uniform wage scales on an annual basis; helped regularize working hours, workload levels and work speeds; and helped improve working conditions. It also acted as a [[hiring hall]], helping employers find scarce [[Puddling (metallurgy)|puddlers]] and rollers.<ref>Brody, David. Steelworkers in America: The Nonunion Era, p. 50 New York: Harper Torchbooks, 1969. {{ISBN|978-0-252-06713-6}}</ref> With the collective bargaining agreement due to expire on June 30, 1892, [[Henry Clay Frick]] (chairman of the company) and the leaders of the local AA union entered into negotiations in February. With the steel industry doing well and prices higher, the AA asked for a wage increase. Frick immediately countered with a 22% wage decrease that would affect nearly half the union's membership and remove a number of positions from the bargaining unit. [[Andrew Carnegie]] encouraged Frick to use the negotiations to break the union: "...the Firm has decided that the minority must give way to the majority. These works, therefore, will be necessarily non-union after the expiration of the present agreement."<ref>Letter from Carnegie to Frick dated April 4, 1892, quoted in Foner, Philip. ''History of the Labor Movement in the United States''. Vol. 2: From the Founding of the A.F. of L. to the Emergence of American Imperialism., p. 207. New York: International Publishers, 1955. {{ISBN|978-0-7178-0092-6}}</ref> Frick locked workers out of the plate mill and one of the [[open-hearth furnace]]s on the evening of June 28. When no collective bargaining agreement was reached on June 29, Frick locked the union out of the rest of the plant. A high fence topped with [[barbed wire]], begun in January, was completed and the plant sealed to the workers. Sniper towers with searchlights were constructed near each mill building, and high-pressure [[water cannon]]s (some capable of spraying boiling-hot liquid) were placed at each entrance. Various aspects of the plant were protected, reinforced or shielded.<ref>Foner, Philip. ''History of the Labor Movement in the United States''. Vol. 2: From the Founding of the A.F. of L. to the Emergence of American Imperialism., p. 207–208.</ref><ref>Krause, Paul. ''The Battle for Homestead, 1890–1892: Politics, Culture, and Steel'', p. 302, 310. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1992. {{ISBN|978-0-8229-5466-8}}</ref>
* 1892: [[Buffalo switchmen's strike]] in [[Buffalo, New York]], during August, 1892. In early 1892, the [[New York State Legislature]] passed a law mandating a 10-hour work-day and increases in the day- and night-time minimum wage. On August 12, switchmen in the Buffalo railyards struck the [[Lehigh Valley Railroad]], the [[Erie Railroad]] and the [[Buffalo Creek Railroad]] after the companies refused to obey the new law.<ref name="Foner, Philip S p. 253">Foner, Philip S. History of the Labor Movement in the United States: From the Founding of the A.F. of L. to the Emergence of American Imperialism, p. 253. 2nd ed. New York: International Publishers, Co., 1975. {{ISBN|978-0-7178-0388-0}}</ref><ref>Voorhees, Theodore. 'The Buffalo strike.' North American Review. 155(431): October 1892, pp. 407–418. Cornell University Library</ref> On August 15, [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] [[Governor#United States|Governor]] [[Roswell P. Flower]] called out the [[U.S. National Guard|New York State Guard]] to restore order and protect the railroads' property. However, State Guard [[Brigadier General]] [[Peter C. Doyle]], commanding the Fourth Brigade, held a full-time position as an agent of the Lehigh Valley Railroad and was determined to crush the strike.<ref name="Foner, Philip S p. 253"/>
* 1892: [[1892 New Orleans general strike|New Orleans general strike]] taking place in [[New Orleans, Louisiana]], during November, 1892. 49 [[labor union]]s affiliated through the [[American Federation of Labor]] (AFL) had established a central labor council known as the Workingmen's Amalgamated Council that represented more than 20,000 workers. Three racially integrated unions—the [[Teamsters]], the Scalesmen, and the Packers—made up what came to be called the "Triple Alliance." Many of the workers belonging to the unions of the Triple Alliance were [[African Americans|African American]].<ref name="Rosenberg">Rosenberg, ''New Orleans Dockworkers: Race, Labor, and Unionism, 1892–1923,'' 1988.</ref><ref>Brown and Allen, ''Strong In the Struggle: My Life As a Black Labor Activist,'' 2001.</ref> The Triple Alliance started negotiations with the New Orleans Board of Trade in October. Employers utilized race-based appeals to try to divide the workers and turn the public against the strikers. The board of trade announced it would sign contracts agreeing to the terms—but only with the white-dominated Scalesmen and Packers unions. The Board of Trade refused to sign any contract with the black-dominated Teamsters. The Board of Trade and the city's newspapers also began a campaign designed to create public hysteria. The newspapers ran lurid accounts of "mobs of brutal Negro strikers" rampaging through the streets, of African American unionists "beating up all who attempted to interfere with them," and repeated accounts of crowds of blacks assaulting lone white men and women.<ref>Quoted in Foner, ''History of the Labor Movement in the United States'', Vol. 2: From the Founding of the American Federation of Labor to the Emergence of American Imperialism, 1955, p. 202.</ref> The striking workers refused to break ranks along racial lines. Large majorities of the Scalesmen and Packers unions passed resolutions affirming their commitment to stay out until the employers had signed a contract with the Teamsters on the same terms offered to other unions.<ref name="Rosenberg" /> The Board of Trade's tactics essentially backfired when the Workingmen's Amalgamated Council called for a general strike, involving all of its unions. The city's supply of natural gas failed on November 8, as did the electrical grid, and the city was plunged into darkness. The delivery of food and beverages immediately ceased, generating alarm among city residents. Construction, printing, street cleaning, manufacturing and even fire-fighting services ground to a halt.<ref name="Foner">Foner, ''History of the Labor Movement in the United States, Vol. 2: From the Founding of the American Federation of Labor to the Emergence of American Imperialism,'' 1955.</ref><ref>"New Orleans' Big Strike," ''Washington Post,'' November 8, 1892.</ref>
* 1893: The [[Panic of 1893]] set off a widespread [[economic depression]] in the United States of America that lasts until 1897. One of the first signs of trouble was the [[bankruptcy]] of the [[Reading Company|Philadelphia and Reading Railroad]], which had greatly over-extended itself, on February 23, 1893,<ref>James L. Holton, ''The Reading Railroad: History of a Coal Age Empire'', Vol. I: The Nineteenth Century, pp. 323–325, citing Vincent Corasso, ''The Morgans''.</ref> ten days before [[Grover Cleveland]]'s second inauguration.<ref>The History Box, [http://thehistorybox.com/ny_city/panics/panics_article10a.htm The Panic of 1893 – Financial World] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150502162738/http://thehistorybox.com/ny_city/panics/panics_article10a.htm |date=2015-05-02 }}. Retrieved 2009.04.08.</ref> Some historians consider this bankruptcy to be the beginning of the Panic.<ref>''The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture'', [http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=4292 "The Panic of 1893"]. Retrieved 2009.04.08.</ref> As concern of the state of the economy worsened, people rushed to withdraw their money from banks and caused [[bank run]]s. The [[credit crunch]] rippled through the economy. A financial panic in the United Kingdom and a drop in trade in Europe caused foreign investors to sell American stocks to obtain American funds backed by [[gold]].<ref name="whitten">
 {{cite web
 |url=http://eh.net/encyclopedia/article/whitten.panic.1893
 |title=EH.Net Encyclopedia: Depression of 1893
 |publisher=eh.net
 |access-date=2009-04-20
 |last=Whitten
 |first=David O.
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090427161827/http://eh.net/encyclopedia/article/whitten.panic.1893
 |archive-date=27 April 2009
 |url-status=dead
}}</ref> People attempted to redeem [[Silver certificate (United States)|silver notes]] for gold; ultimately the statutory limit for the minimum amount of gold in federal reserves was reached and US notes could no longer be successfully redeemed for gold.<ref name="whitten"/> Investments during the time of the Panic were heavily financed through bond issues with high interest payments. The [[National Cordage Company]] (the most actively traded stock at the time) went into [[Bankruptcy|receivership]] as a result of its bankers calling their loans in response to rumors regarding the NCC's financial distress. As the demand for silver and silver notes fell, the price and value of [[silver]] dropped. Holders worried about a loss of face value of bonds, and many became worthless. A series of bank failures followed, and the [[Northern Pacific Railway]], the [[Union Pacific Railroad]] and the [[Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad]] failed. This was followed by the bankruptcy of many other companies; in total over 15,000 companies and 500 banks failed (many in the west). According to high estimates, about 17%–19% of the workforce was [[Unemployment|unemployed]] at the Panic's peak. The huge spike in unemployment, combined with the loss of life savings by failed banks, meant that a once-secure middle-class could not meet their [[mortgage]] obligations. As a result, many walked away from recently built homes. From this, the sight of the vacant [[Victorian era|Victorian]] ([[Haunted house|haunted]]) house entered the American mindset.<ref>Hoffman, Charles. ''The Depression of the Nineties: An Economic History''. Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing, 1970. Page 109.</ref>
* 1894: [[Cripple Creek miners' strike of 1894|Cripple Creek miners' strike]], a five-month strike by the [[Western Federation of Miners]] (WFM) in [[Cripple Creek, Colorado|Cripple Creek]], [[Colorado]], United States. In January 1894, Cripple Creek mine owners [[J. J. Hagerman]], [[David Moffat]] and [[Eben Smith]], who together employed one-third of the area's miners, announced a lengthening of the work-day to ten hours (from eight), with no change to the daily wage of $3.00 per day. When workers protested, the owners agreed to employ the miners for eight hours a day – but at a wage of only $2.50.<ref name="Holbrook, Stewart 1956. p.73–74">Holbrook, Stewart. The Rocky Mountain Revolution. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1956. p.73–74</ref><ref>Philpott, William. The Lessons of Leadville, Or, Why the Western Federation of Miners Turned Left, p. 73. Monograph 10. Denver: Colorado Historical Society, 1994. ISSN 1046-3100</ref><ref>Suggs, Jr., George G. Colorado's War on Militant Unionism: James H. Peabody and the Western Federation of Miners, p. 17. 2nd ed. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 1991. {{ISBN|978-0-8061-2396-7}}</ref> Not long before this dispute, miners at Cripple Creek had formed the Free Coinage Union. Once the new changes went into effect, they affiliated with the [[Western Federation of Miners]], and became Local 19. The union was based in [[Altman, Colorado|Altman]], and had chapters in [[Anaconda, Montana|Anaconda]], Cripple Creek and [[Victor, Colorado|Victor]].<ref name="Holbrook, Stewart 1956. p.73–74"/> On February 1, 1894, the mine owners began implementing the 10-hour day. Union president [[John Calderwood]] issued a notice a week later demanding that the mine owners reinstate the [[eight-hour day]] at the $3.00 wage. When the owners did not respond, the nascent union struck on February 7. Portland, Pikes Peak, Gold Dollar and a few smaller mines immediately agreed to the eight-hour day and remained open, but larger mines held out.<ref name="Holbrook, Stewart 1956. p.73–74"/>
* 1894: [[Coxey's Army]] a protest march by [[Unemployment|unemployed workers]] from the United States, led by the [[Populism|populist]] [[Jacob Coxey]]. The purpose of the march was to protest the unemployment caused by the [[Panic of 1893]] and to lobby for the government to create jobs which would involve building [[road]]s and other [[public works]] improvements. The march originated with 100 men in [[Massillon, Ohio]], on March 25, 1894,<ref>{{cite journal |title=In Dreams He Sees An Army |journal=New York Times |year=1894 |issue=March 25 |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1894/03/25/106900970.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1894/03/25/106900970.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live |access-date=2008-11-12 }}</ref> passing through [[Pittsburgh]], [[Becks Run]] and [[Homestead, Pennsylvania]], in April.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Coxey has a new commissary |journal=New York Times |year=1894 |issue=April 6 |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1894/04/06/106901442.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1894/04/06/106901442.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live|access-date=2008-11-12 }}</ref>
* 1894: The [[Bituminous Coal Miners' Strike of 1894|Bituminous Coal Miners' Strike]], an unsuccessful national eight-week strike by miners of [[bituminous coal|hard coal]] in the United States, which began on April 21, 1894.<ref>Gigantic Miners' Strike Ordered.; Over 200,000 Men in Eleven States May Quit Work April 21, [https://www.nytimes.com/1894/04/12/archives/gigantic-miners-strike-ordered-over-200000-men-in-eleven-states-may.html New York Times], Wednesday, April 12, 1894; page 8.</ref> Initially, the strike was a major success. More than 180,000 miners in [[Colorado]], [[Illinois]], [[Ohio]], [[Pennsylvania]], and [[West Virginia]] struck. In Illinois, 25,207 miners went on strike, while only 610 continued to work through the strike, with the average Illinois miner out of work for 72 days because of the strike.<ref>The Coal Miners Strike – 1894, [https://books.google.com/books?id=mhYAAAAAMAAJ&pg=RA1-PA5 Coal in Illinois], 13th Annual Report of the State Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1894, Springfield, 1895; Appendix pages 5–26, see particularly Table III.</ref> In some areas of the country, violence erupted between strikers and mine operators or between striking and non-striking miners. On May 23 near [[Uniontown, Pennsylvania]], 15 guards armed with [[carbine]]s and [[machine gun]]s held off an attack by 1500 strikers, killing 5 and wounding 8.<ref>W. T. Stead, "Incidents of Labor War in America", [https://books.google.com/books?id=jpHQAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA69 ''The Contemporary Review''], Vol. LXVI, No. 1, July 1894; pages 65–74.</ref>
* 1894: [[May Day riots of 1894|May Day Riots]], a series of violent demonstrations that occurred throughout [[Cleveland, Ohio]], on May 1, 1894 ([[May Day]]). Cleveland's unemployment rate increased dramatically during the [[Panic of 1893]]. Finally, riots broke out among the unemployed who condemned city leaders for their ineffective relief measures.<ref>''Cleveland: A Concise History, 1796–1996'' by Carol Poh Miller and Robert Anthony Wheeler {{ISBN|978-0-253-21147-7}}</ref>
* 1894: The [[Pullman Strike|workers of the Pullman Company went on strike]] in [[Illinois]]. During the economic [[panic of 1893]], the [[Pullman Company|Pullman Palace Car Company]] cut wages as demands for their train cars plummeted and the company's revenue dropped. A delegation of workers complained of the low wages and twelve-hour workdays, and that the corporation that operated the town of Pullman didn't decrease rents, but company owner [[George Pullman]] "loftily declined to talk with them."<ref name="Lukas1">Lukas, Anthony. ''Big Trouble'', 1997, page 310.</ref> The boycott was launched on June 26, 1894. Within four days, 125,000 workers on twenty-nine railroads had quit work rather than handle Pullman cars.<ref name="Lukas1" /> Adding fuel to the fire the railroad companies began hiring replacement workers (that is, [[strikebreaker]]s), which only increased hostilities. Many [[African Americans]], fearful that the racism expressed by the [[American Railway Union]] would lock them out of another labor market, crossed the picket line to break the strike; thus adding a racially charged tone to the conflict.<ref>Bernstein, David E. ''Only One Place of Redress'', 2001, page 54</ref>
* 1896: The [[1896 United States presidential election]] becomes a [[political realignment]]. The [[monetary policy]] standard supported by the candidates of the two major parties arguably dominated their electoral campaigns. [[William Jennings Bryan]], candidate of the ruling [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]] campaigned on a policy of [[Free Silver]]. His opponent [[William McKinley]] of the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]], which had lost elections in 1884 and 1892, campaigned on a policy of [[Hard currency|Sound Money]] and maintaining the [[gold standard]] in effect since the 1870s. The "shorthand [[slogan]]s" actually reflected "broader philosophies of finance and public policy, and opposing beliefs about justice, order, and '[[moral economy]].'",<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://projects.vassar.edu/1896/currency.html|title=1896: The Currency Question|website=projects.vassar.edu}}</ref><ref>[http://projects.vassar.edu/1896/gopplatform.html Rebecca Edwards, "Republican Party Platform. Adopted at St. Louis, June 16, 1896."] Reproducing primary text with minor editing</ref> The Republicans won the election and would win every election to 1912. Arguably ending the so-called [[Gilded Age]]. The McKinley administration would embrace [[American imperialism]], its involvement in the [[Spanish–American War]] (1896–1898) leading the United States in playing a more active role in the world scene.<ref>Michael Streich, "Election of 1896 Candidates and Issues: The Gold Standard, Protective Tariffs, and Law and Order"</ref> The term [[Progressive Era]] has been suggested for the period, though often covering the reforms lasting from the 1880s to the 1920s.<ref name="women">{{cite web|last=Muncy|first=Robin|title=Women in the Progressive Era|url=http://www.nps.gov/nr//travel/pwwmh/prog.htm|publisher=[[National Park Service]]|access-date=2008-02-06| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080215130058/http://www.nps.gov/nr//travel/pwwmh/prog.htm| archive-date= 15 February 2008 | url-status= live}}</ref>
[[File:Klondike mining camp.jpg|thumb|right|200px|A typical [[gold mining]] operation, on Bonanza Creek.]]
* 1896–1897: [[Leadville Colorado, Miners' Strike]]. The union local in the [[Leadville mining district]] was the Cloud City Miners' Union (CCMU), Local 33 of the [[Western Federation of Miners]].<ref name="William Philpott 1995, page 2">William Philpott, ''The Lessons of Leadville'', Colorado Historical Society, 1995, page 2.</ref> In 1896, representatives of the CCMU asked for a wage increase of fifty cents per day for all mine workers not already making three dollars per day.<ref>William Philpott, ''The Lessons of Leadville'', Colorado Historical Society, 1995, pages 2.</ref> The union felt justified, for fifty cents a day had been cut from the miners' wages during the depression of 1893.<ref>Anthony Lukas, Big Trouble, 1997, page 211.</ref> By 1895, Leadville mines posted their largest combined output since 1889, and Leadville was then [[Colorado]]'s most productive mine camp, producing almost 9.5&nbsp;million ounces of [[silver]] that year.<ref>William Philpott, ''The Lessons of Leadville'', Colorado Historical Society, 1995, pages 30,105.</ref> The mine owners "were doing a lot better than they wanted anyone to know."<ref>William Philpott, ''The Lessons of Leadville'', Colorado Historical Society, 1995, page 105 (quoting Blair, ''Leadville: Colorado's Magic City'', 189).</ref> Negotiations over an increase in pay for the lower-paid mineworkers broke down, and 1,200 miners voted unanimously to strike all mines that were still paying at the lower rate. The next day 968 miners walked out, and mine owners [[Lockout (industry)|locked out]] another 1,332 mine workers.<ref name="William Philpott 1995, page 2"/> The Leadville strike set the scene not only for the WFM's consideration of militant tactics and its embrace of radicalism,<ref>William Philpott, ''The Lessons of Leadville'', Colorado Historical Society, 1995, pages 6–7, 75–79.</ref> but also for the birth of the [[Western Labor Union]] (which became the [[American Labor Union]]), the WFM's participation in the founding of the [[Industrial Workers of the World]],<ref>''All That Glitters—Class, Conflict, and Community in Cripple Creek'', Elizabeth Jameson, 1998, page 7.</ref> and for events which culminated in the [[Colorado Labor Wars]].
* 1896–1899: The [[Klondike Gold Rush]]. In August, 1896, [[George Carmack]], [[Kate Carmack]], [[Keish]], [[Dawson Charlie]] and [[Patsy Henderson]], members of a [[Tagish]] [[First Nations in Canada|First Nations]] family group, discovered rich [[Placer mining|placer]] gold deposits in [[Bonanza Creek|Bonanza (Rabbit) Creek]], [[Yukon]], Canada.<ref>Julie Cruikshank. ''Reading Voices. Oral and Written Interpretations of the Yukon's Past''. Vancouver & Toronto: Douglas & McIntyre, 1991, p. 124.</ref> Soon a massive movement of people, goods and money started moving towards the [[Klondike, Yukon]] region and the nearby [[District of Alaska]]. Men from all walks of life headed for the Yukon from as far away as New York, South Africa,<ref name="scouting">{{cite book |last=Burnham |first=Frederick Russell |title=Scouting on Two Continents |publisher=Doubleday, Page & company |year=1926 |oclc=407686 |isbn=978-0-86920-126-8 |url=https://archive.org/details/scoutingontwocon00book }}</ref> the [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland]],<ref>[[Micí Mac Gabhann]] – ''Hard Road to Klodike'' {{ISBN|1-903464-35-8}} and other editions.</ref> and Australia. Surprisingly, a large proportion were professionals, such as teachers and doctors, even a mayor or two, who gave up respectable careers to make the journey. For instance, the residents of Camp Skagway Number One included: [[William Howard Taft]], who went on to become a U.S. president; [[Frederick Russell Burnham]], the celebrated American scout who arrived from Africa only to be called back to take part in the [[Second Boer War]]; and [[W. W. White]], author and explorer.<ref name="healthjuly1912">{{cite journal |last=Percival |first=C Gilbert |date=July 1912 |title=North of 62 Degrees by Automobile :A Story of a Trip in Alaska, British Columbia, Yukon Territory and the Klondike ALASKA HAS A GREAT AREA AND RESOURCES. AGRICULTURE IN ALASKA |journal=Health | page= 150 | volume= 62 |issue= 7}}</ref> Most were perfectly aware of their chance of finding significant amounts of gold were slim to none, and went for the adventure. As many as half of those who reached Dawson City kept right on going without doing any prospecting at all. Thus, by bringing large numbers of entrepreneurial adventurers to the region, the Gold Rush significantly contributed to the economic development of [[Western Canada]], Alaska, and the [[Pacific Northwest]].<ref>[[Pierre Berton]] – ''Klondike: The Last Great Gold Rush, 1896–1899'' Espn 0-385-65844-3 and other editions.</ref> New cities were created as a result of the Gold Rush, including among others [[Dawson City]], [[Fairbanks, Alaska]], and [[Anchorage, Alaska]]. The heyday of the individual prospector and the rush towards the north ended by 1899. Exploitation of the area by "big mining companies with their mechanical dredges" would last well into the 20th century.<ref>[http://www.historynet.com/klondike-gold-rush.htm/2 HistoryNet.com:Klondike Gold Rush].</ref>
* 1898: [[Welsh coal strike of 1898|Welsh coal strike]], involving the colliers of [[South Wales]] and [[Monmouthshire (historic)|Monmouthshire]]. The strike began as an attempt by the colliers to remove the [[Sliding scale fees|sliding scale]], which determined their wage based on the price of coal. The strike quickly turned into a disastrous lockout which would last for six months and result in a failure for the colliers as the sliding scale stayed in place.<ref name="Davies 2008">{{cite book |last=Davies |first=John |author2=Jenkins, Nigel |title=The Welsh Academy Encyclopaedia of Wales |year=2008 |publisher=University of Wales Press |location=Cardiff |isbn=978-0-7083-1953-6}}</ref> The strike officially ended on September 1, 1898.<ref>{{cite book |last=Western Mail |title=Cartoons of the Welsh Coal Strike, April 1st to September 1st, 1898 |year=1898 |publisher=Western Mail Ltd. |location=Cardiff }}</ref> The lack of organisation and vision apparent form the colliers' leaders was addressed by the foundation of the [[South Wales Miners' Federation]], or 'the Fed'.<ref name="Davies 2008"/>
* 1899: [[Newsboys' strike of 1899|Newsboys Strike]] in New York City, New York. The newsboys were not employees of the newspapers but rather purchased the papers from the publishers and sold them as independent agents. Not allowed to return unsold papers, the newsboys typically earned around 30 cents a day and often worked until very late at night.<ref>(nd) [http://www.historyplace.com/unitedstates/childlabor/ Child labor in America 1908–1912: Photographs of Lewis W. Hine]. Retrieved 6/17/07. – ''See "Newsies".''</ref> Cries of "Extra, extra!" were often heard into the morning hours as newsboys attempted to hawk every last paper.<ref>Nasau, D. (1999) "Ch. 3: Youse an' yer noble scrap: On strike with the Newsboy Legion in 1899." in ''Big Town, Big Time. New York: New York Daily News''. p. 9.</ref> In 1898, with the [[Spanish–American War]] increasing newspaper sales, several publishers raised the cost of a newsboy bundle of 100 newspapers from 50¢ to 60¢, a price increase that at the time was offset by the increased sales. After the war, many papers reduced the cost back to previous levels, with the notable exceptions of the ''[[New York World]]'' and the ''[[New York Morning Journal]]''. In July 1899, a large number of New York City newsboys refused to distribute the papers of [[Joseph Pulitzer]], publisher of the ''World'', and [[William Randolph Hearst]], publisher of the ''Journal''. The strikers demonstrated across the [[Brooklyn Bridge]] for several days, effectively bringing traffic to a standstill,<ref>Haw, R. (2005) ''The Brooklyn Bridge: A Cultural History.'' Rutgers University Press. p. 151.</ref> along with the news distribution for most [[New England]] cities. Several rallies drew more than 5,000 newsboys, complete with charismatic speeches by strike leader Kid Blink.<ref>Hoose, P. (2001) ''We were there, too! Young people in U.S. history.'' Douglas & McIntyre, Ltd. p. 177.</ref> Blink and his strikers were the subject of violence, as well. Hearst and Pulitzer hired men to break up rallies and protect the newspaper deliveries still underway.<ref>Brown, D. (nd) [http://www.booksbybrown.com/blinkpage.html Kid Blink Beats the World] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090705093718/http://www.booksbybrown.com/blinkpage.html |date=2009-07-05 }}. Retrieved 6/17/07.</ref>