Michael Hyde and Jack Weinberg
Ms. Ackley
U.S. History
2/29/2017
I am here before you today as a struggling businessman, wrongly accused of horrific greed and cruelty against my employees. I too, would be horrified if such accusations were true. My detractors call me a robber baron, even worse, they call my employees, who I care for dearly, “wage slaves,” as if they had no agency of their own and had left their destinies to me. This is as patronizing as it is untrue. Allow me to enlighten all of you as to the actual circumstances of this ordeal.
As you know, the economic depression of 1893 was the worst yet in our history. Throughout my industry and many others, demand fell drastically. Other companies were quick to adapt by lowering prices and, consequently, …show more content…
The answer is simple: if the stockholders lost faith in our company and tried to sell their shares, devaluing the company, I would not have enough money to pay my workers at all. I have also been asked why I didn’t deflate the cost of living in Pullman Paradise during the depression. In addition to dividend payments, the profit from the Pullman Paradise division was necessary to maintain the confidence of our shareholders. If I were to deflate the cost of living, our shareholders would abandon our ship already made tenuous by the depression. Ultimately, our employees are worse off with a low income and a low cost of living than with a high income and a high cost of living. Out of my care for my employees, which stretches deeper than any valley the depression may have pushed us down into, I acted with my their interests at heart, and as a result, they still have gainful and dignified employment, better than any handout I could offer them. Is that not the true American Dream, that even in the darkest times, we can still be free from tyranny, as to lend a helping hand to those around
Ms. Ackley
U.S. History
2/29/2017
I am here before you today as a struggling businessman, wrongly accused of horrific greed and cruelty against my employees. I too, would be horrified if such accusations were true. My detractors call me a robber baron, even worse, they call my employees, who I care for dearly, “wage slaves,” as if they had no agency of their own and had left their destinies to me. This is as patronizing as it is untrue. Allow me to enlighten all of you as to the actual circumstances of this ordeal.
As you know, the economic depression of 1893 was the worst yet in our history. Throughout my industry and many others, demand fell drastically. Other companies were quick to adapt by lowering prices and, consequently, …show more content…
The answer is simple: if the stockholders lost faith in our company and tried to sell their shares, devaluing the company, I would not have enough money to pay my workers at all. I have also been asked why I didn’t deflate the cost of living in Pullman Paradise during the depression. In addition to dividend payments, the profit from the Pullman Paradise division was necessary to maintain the confidence of our shareholders. If I were to deflate the cost of living, our shareholders would abandon our ship already made tenuous by the depression. Ultimately, our employees are worse off with a low income and a low cost of living than with a high income and a high cost of living. Out of my care for my employees, which stretches deeper than any valley the depression may have pushed us down into, I acted with my their interests at heart, and as a result, they still have gainful and dignified employment, better than any handout I could offer them. Is that not the true American Dream, that even in the darkest times, we can still be free from tyranny, as to lend a helping hand to those around