The Last Rose of Summer

05

Jack hit the table and walked away. "Come here, fellas. Come here."

"They can't just do that, can they?" Albert asked.

Race shrugged and answered, "Why not? It's their paper."

"It's their world," Crutchie added.

"We ain't got no rights," Finch whined.

"We got the right to starve! Let's just get our papes and hit the street while we still can."

"At them prices?" Henry said.

"We got no choice."

"Hold on!" Jack yelled. "No one is payin' no new price!"

"You got an idea?" Albert asked.

"Just keep your shirt on. We can think this through."

"Well what's your angle?" Buttons questioned.

"Stop crowding him!" Les cried. "Let the man work it out!"

They waited in silence for a minute or two before Les asked, "Hey Jack, ya still thinkin'?"

"Sure he is," Race joked. "Can't you smell the smoke?"

"All right, here's the deal," Jack said. "If we don't sell papes, no one sells papes. No one gets them out there til they put the price back where it belongs."

"You mean a strike?" Davey questioned.

"Hey, you heard Davey, we're on strike!"

The boys began chattering and Davey  said, "Hold on, I didn't say-"

"We shut down this place just like the trolley workers."

"Yeah, then the cops'll bust out head. Half a them strikers is laid up with broke bones," Finch reminded the group.

"The cops ain't gonna care about a bunch of kids! Right Davey?"

"Leave me out of this! I'm just here trying to feed my family!"

"What, and the rest of us is here on play time? Just because we only make pennies doesn't give them the right to rub our noses in it!"

"I know, but it doesn't matter. You can't strike. You're not a union."

"What if I says we is?"

"There's a lot of stuff you gotta have in order to be a union. Like membership."

Jack gestured to the newsies. "Whaddya call these guys?"

The newsies waved and some said hello.

"And... and officers," Davey added.

"I nominate Jack president!" Crutchie exclaimed.

"What about a statement of purpose?"

"I must'a left that in my other pants," Jack answered sarcastically.

"What's a statement of purpose?" Race asked as he raised his hand.

"A reason for forming the union," Davey clarified.

"What reason did the trolley workers have?" Jack wondered.

Davey shrugged. "I dunno. Wages, work hours, safety on the job?"

"Who don't need that! Hey, I bet if your fadder had a union, you wouldn't need to be out here sellin' papes right now."

"Yeah..."

"So our union is hereby formed to watch each other's back. Union'd we stand. Hey, that's not bad. Someone write that down."

"I got a pencil," Les said as he pulled one out.