Donald Trump, Kid Blink, and the Newsboy Strike of 1899
One of the most fantastic stories of American history is the newsboy strike of 1899. It is glaring testimony to the real reality of government or business; when it gets right down to it; the people rule if they want to. America was merely designed after this reality; the people always outnumber the governing authorities and there is no government without people. You can kill everyone, or too many, which would leave the governing authorities to do their own work and cook their own meals. Trust me, they don’t want to. The founding fathers of America recognized this and that’s why we are a “representative republic.”
Look at what we plainly have going on in our day: the Democrats and Republicans alike are not representing what the people want; obviously, as the elitist experts, they know what’s best for the people who pay their salaries. Congressman and Senators are attorneys who represent people, not rulers over the people or experts that know better than people what people need or want. Observe the obvious: those who work for us are the judges as to whether we got it right or not. More frightening yet, law enforcement is in on it and setting out to jail those who truly represent the people.
The world and reality are designed around the individual, and institutions are for the express purpose of facilitating that reality and that’s just plain reality. Governments are always the result of the people’s will whether that will is the result of being deceived or lazy thinking. During WWII, civilians were held responsible for the actions of their government, and rightfully so. The world would be a better place if that continued.
Houston, we have a problem; someone who truly represents the will of the people, Donald Trump, is in office and all hell is breaking loose. This goes to show we have been fooling ourselves for a lot of years. America hasn’t been functioning like a representative republic for a long time. And by the way, America is not a democracy. Of course, the elitist ruling class who now dominate our government would love a democracy complete with elections being determined by the popular vote. This would not be equal representation, it would mean the West coast and East coast elitist politicians would obtain complete control of America. Middle America would be told what to eat, what to drive, where to work, how to talk, and whatever else you would like to add to the list. Don’t forget anything; it would be comprehensive control.
The newsboy strike of 1899 demonstrates all of the above points and mirrors what is going on in the present-day government shutdown. Once upon a time, newspapers depended on children to distribute their newspapers. These children were little more than street urchins. Mostly from poor immigrant families, and oftentimes homeless or orphaned, they lived and survived by the cruel laws of the streets.
Yet, overall, they represented one of two humanity camps; the individualist with self-respect and the courage to be free versus the collectivist who believes humanity must be mothered and taken care of by an elitist class. The newsboys lived by their own reality; the reality that worked for them. Their demand for fairness and justice was directly linked to their self dignity. They would swallow no food if it meant swallowing injustice along with it. Don’t be too quick to judge all the homeless, they are often homeless because they won’t play the game.
The deal went something like this. The newsboys (and girls) bought newspapers from the companies of Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst for 50 cents per hundred. The amount of papers they sold on the streets of New York for a 50% profit margin determined what they would make. So, these children needed to have a significant degree of business acumen. They would have to plan in order to have money to buy more papers to resell. And, whatever they didn’t sell, they owned, so many would have to work late into the night in order to not lose money and then get up for school the next morning if they went to school. They would also have to possess ability to project sales in order to stay in business. They were child business owners.
Then came the Spanish-American War which promised to greatly increase sales. And, what then, was the thinking of Hearst and Pulitzer? Something like this: “Hey, since you guys are going to be selling more papers, we are going to increase what you pay for the papers.” The price was raised to 60 cents per hundred while the price of the paper was not raised. This meant the newsboys were going to be working harder for the same amount of money while being the engine that would greatly increase sales for Hearst and Pulitzer during the war. As always the case with elitists, Hearst and Pulitzer were surprised that the little street urchins saw it for the bad deal that it was. The newsboys went on strike.
This is another thing that the newsboys realized; shutting down newspaper circulation during that time was a huge deal. In our day, it would be literally like shutting down the internet and cellphone towers. During the strike, circulation for the New York World dropped from about 360,000 papers to 125,000. Eventually, mere children brought two elitist icons to their knees.
Adult businessmen and politicians had managed to organize a union for the newsboys, but had a limited grip on what the newsboys did. Their primary leader was a thirteen-year-old named “Kid Blink” who only had one eye and wore an eyepatch. His speech before a rally during the strike attended by 6000 newsboys is instructive for Donald Trump and Republicans in general during our present government shutdown:
Friens and feller workers: Dis is a time which tries de hearts of men–dis is de time when we’re got to stick togedder like glue! But der’s one ting I want ter say before I goes any furder. I don’t believe in gettin’ no feller’s papers from him and tearin’ ’em up. I know I done it. (Cries of “You bet you did!”) But I’m sorry fer it.
No! der ain’t nuttin in dat. We know wot we wants and we’ll git it, even if we is blind. Dem 10 cents is as good ter us as to de millionaires–maybe better. I shouldn’t be surprised but that it’s as good as a quarter is to dem. Anyway, we wants it. And we’ll strike and restrike until we get it. Won’t we boys? (Cries of “Yes! Yes!”)
But don’t lets stop no more poor driver and dump over der wagons, like we done in Madison st. de odder day. I know I was one. (“You bet you was!”) Let’s not do it no more. Say, will we, boys? (“No! No!”) Say, you remember dat day in Wall-st., when the gents trun money to us and tole us to buy decent papers? You remember, say, don’t you boys? (“Yes! Yes!”) Dat’s all right, but, say, don’t lets hurt no more poor drivers. We won de fight in 1893. We ought to win in 1899. Oughtn’t we, boys? (“Yes! Yes!”)
Youse all know me, boys, don’t you? We’ll stick togedder like plaster, won’t we, boys?
The newsboys held fast, and forced Hearst and Pulitzer to the bargaining table that resulted in a compromise, but not before they attempted to destroy the leader of the strike, Kid Blink, by spreading false rumors about him. Sound familiar? Hearst and Pulitzer agreed to buy back all unsold papers while the 60 cent charge per hundred remained until the end of the war. The newsboys held out in the face of literal starvation, but got a “good deal.” A just deal.
That’s the way it will always work because reality is about the individual, not the collective. Strong individuals make a strong collective, not the other way around. Listening to the propaganda of the elitist ruling class filled with control lust results in every third-world hellhole we see in our day.
Collectivism will not work. Americans can keep kicking the can of individualism down the road, but as always, it will eventually end in a revolution of some sort. We can pay freedom now, or later.
Donald Trump needs to learn from Kid Blink, don’t blink, freedom will demand payment now or later.
paul
Paul's Passing Thoughts 
Fantastic history! We don’t realize the power of working on ourselves as individuals. By doing that, we can help the group. No Oligharchs needed.
The only thing Trump did that was so horrible was to turn the stadium lights on in DC. I have been trying to convince folks since 2007 it’s the establisment elite vs the nobodies in flyover. The paradigm changed but they did not want people to figure it out. The Republicans vs Democrats paradigm they fostered benefited both sides of elites. So that we have an elite Oligharchs that exempts itself from laws, rules and policies they pass for us. now that are top law enforcement institutions have been totally compromised and corrupted using set up process crimes to run people with lawfare , and even registered whistleblowers have their homes raidedto send a message to future whistleblowers….. We are basically living in a police state. Sadly a lot of people refuse to see it because they are only looking at the political game and Orange Man Tacky NPC meme. They are good little lemmings who believe what they are told by the MSM. They do no research and do not consider any analysis of what they are told. It looks like our public school system has paid off.
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Well, the teachers union all but openly admitted the 60s movement moved from the streets to education.
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I’d like to be optimistic, but the problem as I see it is with the basic philosophical roots of Government. I just don’t think you can give people Authority and not expect them to become Authoritarians. One implies the other. To think otherwise seems like hope over reason.
The Republic cannot be saved. It never could. I wish it weren’t so, but I also wish I could flap my arms and fly. Unfortunately, Donald Trump, like the rest of us, is fighting the inevitable conclusion of a premise that was written in Philadelphia almost two hundred years before he was born. Reason can hold its breath for only so long, Eventually it must come up for air.
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“I just don’t think you can give people Authority and not expect them to become Authoritarians.”
Isn’t a conclusion such as this accepting the premise of human depravity?
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I don’t think so, Andy. I just think that if you put people in power to rule over you then that’s what they will do. It’s a logical outcome of the idea…it’s keeping consistent with the concept of “ruling”. Government is not cooperation, it’s force. Why should we expect freedom to flow from those whose purpose is to serve as a referee for human existence…unless we think that man needs a referee because without one humanity collapses? So I would say, accepting the premise of human depravity is to think to it can be ultimately efficacious to use force to compel moral outcomes. In other words, I think Government implies human depravity.
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A representative republic represents the collective will of individuals; its principle is based on the idea that justice is self-evident to all. The core premise will work to the degree that it is executed, which will probably never be perfect, but will yield the greatest results. A government can be for the people and by the people; that is not a pipe dream. People who understand this idea will die for it rather than to be enslaved. People understand freedom because it is intuitive and essential for wellbeing. Viz, the volunteer army we have that is the best and bravest in the world.
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This is not so much a flaw of government but rather a testament to the reality that there is indeed a Sin master who seeks to enslave. Much like Sin’s use of the Law to condemn and therefore enslave does not make the Law evil, no more does Sin working a desire within man to seek to control others through use of government force make government in and of itself evil.
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I hope you are right, Paul. I look around though and wonder why freedom is not more forthcoming. I look at the premise of the State and to me it makes sense why things get less free and not more free as time goes by, even in our country. But maybe I’m wrong; I just don’t think I’ll ever be able to accept the argument that it’s not working because the people in power simply aren’t doing it right. But maybe government represents a gravity well for narcissist and psychopaths, and if better people were in power it might work okay. But then I find myself wondering whether government can actually attract any other kind of personality, in the end. Those of us who do not wish to use force against our fellow man to compel behavior, but prefer cooperation, aren’t interested in positions where force is implied. I don’t know. I guess we will see.
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The bigger the government the smaller the citizen. I am of the leave me alone Caucas. Yet, I do think people are attracted to the concept of freedom. We don’t sell it properly, either, due to ignoring the responsibility that comes with it and that life is hard.. Many sold it as coming with an economic security blanket and life shoukd be easy which turned out to be the biggest lie. It came with an oligharchy suffocating blanket and micromanaging sin sniffing Puritans.
It’s not perfect, our Constitution, but show me something better this side of Jordan.
Government can’t educate. That was the first huge mistake. Just as the institutional church can’t educate. Their own quest for power gets in the way.
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When you say “better”, Lydia, do you mean from the point of view of the governing or the governed? I’m not sure the King of Saudi Arabia thinks the US is better. Barack Obama surely thinks there are better places to live. It’s funny how “better” is a relative term that way. “More freedom for the governed” doesn’t tend to be better if you are a member of the ruling class.
As far as my opinion goes a lowly, obedient law-“abider”…I don’t think it matters. I mean, there are things not legal here that I want that are legal in other countries, so that sucks. And the opposite is also true, so that’s cool. I guess could argue that we need a “freer government”…but freedom I’m pretty sure isn’t really the point of government. I’d like it to be, but the “monopoly of force” thing always gets in the way in the end.
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Paul,
Once again you have helped me with the home education of my children!!
Thank you for taking the time to share with all of us!!
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You are more than welcome. My pleasure.
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I agree with you that the Law and Governemnt are not themselves inherently evil. Truly, it’s is man’s assumption that he should control other men, and the doing of that, which is evil. But I think that the Law and Government, whilst not evil themselves, as you point out Andy, are a logical extension of this evil desire. I’m not sure what other point there is to Law and it’s Corollary, government (force), besides controlling others. I think that’s the whole idea, really.
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Argo, I was speaking of our constitution which was supposed to be our road map. I would never expect tyrants to think our constitution is better. We were supposed to have a very limited government. I’ve read enough of the founders to know that most of them thought of government as being evil but necessary.
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Hi Lydia, I understand your points. I agree with you on the Founders’ intentions. The problem with the Constitution being a road map is that it implies a journey. Unfortunately, it cannot be to capital “F” Freedom because it implies government, which implies Authority, which implies a metaphysic that declares man, at the level of his natural identity, incapable of a Just Society absent violent coercive force. It implies that human interaction must ultimately occur only via dictated terms from an Authority placed over him. The problem is that since all men are human, and humans are said to be morally flawed creatures (insufficient to their existence absent an external power which dictates their behavior by threat), who shall be put in charge? There can be no rational answer to this question. So what happens is that man is collectivized into an Ideal…and this Ideal is what he understand shall be served. That Ideal then implies rulers…those who are seen as mirroring its virtues most closely. So…even if we are “freely electing” our leaders, we are still doing it based upon what is not best for man the Individual, but for man the Ideal. The American Ideal is the People, which is as close to individualism as you might get from government, but it’s still a Collectivist Ideal. And thus the road map takes us to Tyranny, even though we we are sure we intended to go to Freedom.
And, not being snarky here, honestly. But if an evil is nevertheless necessary wouldn’t that make it good?
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