PROLOGUEPrologue narrator in the spring andsummer of 1898, the Spanish-American War was raging betweenthe United States and Spain. Millionsof Americans eagerly sought outnewspapers each day to read aboutthe war. In big cities such as NewYork, papers like Tfw Evening Journaland The Evening World were sold onthe streets, mostly by boys aged 8 to15. "Newsies," everybody called them.

It was a hard life. Some of thenewsies were orphans. Others werefrom immigrant families. Many werehomeless. All of them were poor andhad to hustle to survive. As for theJournal's and World's millionairepublishers—William RandolphHearst and Joseph Pulitzer—theirworld and the newsies' couldn't havebeen farther apart.

Then in late 1898, as the war withSpain wound down, the newsies'rough life was about to get rougher.

SCENE INarrator A: It is July 19, 1899. Asusual, the newsies gather outside thenewspaper offices to buy stacks ofpapers to sell. For months, a feeling ofdiscontent has been growing. Some ofthe more experienced newsies explainit to a newcomer.Rookie newsie: How much do youget paid?Newsie 1: Paid? Look, here's how itworks. The publisher sells us a stackof 100 newspapers. Then we selleach copy for a penny and keep thedifference.Newsie 2: Except two things havehappened. Last year it cost us 50cents for a stack. Then Hearst andPulitzer got greedy and raised ourprice to 60 cents!Newsie 3: Not only that, but assoon as the war ended, peoplestopped buying papers. We can't

keep payingthis 60 cents.Every day I losemoney because 1can't sell all of my stack.Newsie 4: I don't have a family tosupport me. If the prices don't goback to what they were before thewar, 1 won't be able to survive.Narrator B: Three older newsies-Racetrack Higgins, Dave Simons,and Kid Blink—decide to fight thehigher prices.Racetrack Higglns: We have to getthe publishers' attention. I vote thatwe strike! If we don't sell any news-papers, then the publishers won'tmake money. They'll have to lowerthe prices we pay!Dave Simons: I agree. If we strike,Hearst and Pulitzer will be forced tolisten. Let's round up ali the newsiesfrom New York and New Jersey.Kid Blink fío the newsies): Don't letanyone sell The Evening World orThe Evening Journal] If anyone triesto sell the papers, they're against us.Rip up their papers and overturn thedelivery carts. We are going to forceprices down!

Narrator C: The newsies cheer asthey topple carts of papers in frontof the World and Journal offices.

SCEiSiE 2Narrator D: On July 22, the strikingnewsies gather outside Hearst's officeand wait for him to arrive. When thepublisher comes around the corner.Kid Blink introduces himself and theother newsies.Kid Blink: Mr. Hearst, we will not sellyour papers unless you agree to lowerthe price to 50 cents for 100 papers.Wiiiiam Randolph Hearst: Hmmm.Why don't we go talk in my office?Narrator E: Kid Blink. Racetrack, and

Continued on next page ^

JUNIOR SCHOLASTIC / FEBRUARY 16, 2009 1 1

yXmei'ican History PUiy

Move: publisher JosephPulitzer. Right: William

Randolph Hearst.

Dave follow Hearstinside. After sev-eral minutes, thethree newsies returnto the street.Kid Blink (to (hecrowd of newsies): Mr. Hearst saysthat he's going to think about whatwe said. He'll give us an answer intwo days. Meanwhile, we've got tocontinue our strike!

SCIENIE 3Narrator A: Two days later, the boysget word that Hearst and Pulitzerwill not lower their prices. Then thenews gets worse.Rookie newsie: Did you hear? Thenewspapers are getting older boysand paying them two dollars a dayto sell our papers. Hundreds of themhave signed up.Newsie 1: Strikebreakers! They'retrying to ruin our strike.Newsie 2: Scabs is what we calltliem. They're scoundrels—them andthe scab sheets they sell.Narrator B: One day. Kid Blink,Dave, and other newsies find scabs

selling papers on a street corner.Scab 1 (calling out): Extra! Extra!Read all about it!Dave: Hey! What do you thinkyou're doing? Nobody should beselling the World or the Journal.Join the strike or leave!Scab 2: Why should we care aboutyour strike? I can earn good moneyselling papers, and there isn't a thing

you can do about it.Kid Blink: That's whatyou think. Even thoughyou are older and stron-ger, there are more of us,

V and we will stop you!Narrator C: Newsies: .ib the scabs' papers.\ light breaks out.¡ liree police officersarrive and chase thestrikers off. Hearstand Pulitzer havegotten the police towork against the

strike. The newsies regroup aroundthe corner.

Kid Blink: We need to keep going. Ifwe intimidate the scabs, they'll stopselling. If we stop newspaper deliv-eries, nothing can be sold!Dave: Fan out across the city andtell tbe other fellows what to do.Raid newspaper stands and deliverycarts. Attack any and all scabs!Kid Blink: We'll have a meetingtonight to rally the newsies.Narrator D: The police make somearrests, but the newsies continuetheir raids.

i

SCIEMIE 4Narrator E: That night, 5,000 news-ies from across New York City andnorthern New Jersey gather at IrvingHall, a downtown auditorium, tosupport the strike. Only 2,000 can fitin the ball, so the rest gather outsidein the street.

Racetrack (onstage): Thank you forcoming. The strike is growing.Everyone is sticking together, andwe are going to win!Narrator A: Boys in the hall and onthe street cheer loudly. Kid Blinkspeaks next.Kid Blink: We really need to staytogether. Hearst and Pulitzer thinkthat they can break us by hiringmore scabs. They are wrong! Wefight for what we believe in, Mostof us are poor. If 10 cents meansso much to the rich publishers, thenimagine what it means to us!Narrator B: Another big cheer rocksthe building and the street.Kid Blink: I recommend only onechange. 1 think we need to endviolent attacks. 1 don't believein violence anymore. I knowthat I led some of the

AnewsbojilnNewYork City in the

late 1800s.

raids, but we can win by simply refus-ing to sell. Stick together, and we willbe victorious!Narrator C: The crowd erupts withcheers. The 5,000 newsies flood thestreets, eager to continue the strike.However, some boys question whythey should stop attacking scabs andripping up tbeir newspapers.

SCIENIE 5Narrator D: Four days later, thestrike is still on, but attacks on scabsand delivery carts are less frequent.Narrator E: Kid Blink and DaveSimons have been noticeably absentfrom newsie gatherings. There arerumors that the strike is weakeningand that the two leaders may

1 2 JUNIOR SCHOLASTIC/FEBRUARY 16, 2009

have been paid off by the Journaland World. The newsies gather out-side the newspaper offices.Racetrack: it looks like Hearst andPulitzer are doing everything theycan to beat the strike. I've neverseen so many scabs on the streets.Newsie 3: I hear they're getting paidan extra 40 cents for every 100papers they sell. Maybe we shouldback off for now.Narrator A: The newsies begin towalk down the street but stop whenthey see Dave Simons leading a

group of scabs to sell papers.

Newsie 4: That's Dave! He'sa traitor!Racetrack: Get him,boys! Forget what KidBlink said about stop-ping the violence.

Nobody sells scabsheets—especiallynot a traitor!Narrator B: The

newsies mob Daveand the other scabs.

They tear up thepapers and knock Dave

to the ground. Policerush in to break up thefight. Suddenly, thenewsies see anotherfamiliar face.Newsie 1: Look! It's KidBlink! He was bought offtoo! He even has brand-new clothes!

Racetrack: No wonder heasked us to stop the attacks.1 knew something was fishy.Get him!Narrator C: The newsieschase their former leadersoff. Despite this loss, thestrikers stick together.After another week, Hearstand Pulitzer realize thatthe strike cannot be bro-

rwhatareijour• rights in the Ç

rkplace?won

ken. Sales have declined by twothirds. In the end, the publishersdon't lower the price of their papers.But they do agree to buy back anypapers the newsies cannot sell. Thenewsies' courage has been rewarded.

lEPILOGUIEEpilogue narrator: The newsboys'strike was crucial in the fight for fairlabor practices across the U.S. Overthe next 20 years, kids who workedin coal mines and textile mills alsowent on strike. The strikes high-lighted the poor conditions thatworking kids often faced. In 1938, theU.S. Gongress passed the Fair LaborStandards Act (see sidebar). It set aminimum age and work-hour limitsfor kids across the country. JS

5Î Think About It1. in what ways did the publishers

of The Evening World and TheEvening Journai try to underminethe newsies' strike? How did thestrike eventually end?

2. Do you think violence againstthe scabs was justified? Why orwhy not? How might the othernewsies have responded tothem without using violence?

CHILD

TODA\Today, 5.5 million young peoplebetween the ages of 12 and 1?are legally employed, accordingto the Child Labor Coalition. By thetime you finish high school, youprobably will have held a job, TheFair Labor Standards Act makessure that work doesn't interferewith your education or threatenyour health. Protect yourself byknowing your rights:

You must be at least 16 to workat most jobs.

^ Teens who are 14 and 15 may' ^ work certain jobs, but not

for more than 3 hours on aschool day.

O The federal minimum wage is^ $6.55 per hour and will go up

to S?.25 per hour on July 24,2009.

Web Watch:Learn more at:

www.youthrules.dol.gov

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