Question M

[Jonetta]

The newsboys prevailed, in a way, with their strike against Hearst and Pulitzer, the two newspaper magnates. This is actual fact and Kid Blink was a real newsboy leader. This appears to be one of the first “unions” in our history. Your thoughts?

[Robin]

I love how Victoria Thompson adds interesting little tidbits into her stories. It makes them seem so real. I am surprised that the strike worked though. I would have thought Hearst and Pulitzer could have hired others to take over for the newsboys who were on strike. It's not like people didn't need jobs.

[Jonetta]

I doubt that those publishers could have hired adults to work as cheaply as the newsboys and the “scabs” were reluctant to cross the line.

I was so impressed that they organized so well, which told me that they were a community before the strike. I loved that they had a leader in Kid Blink, that he was an actual person.