Steel heart of a magnate
Was the great Scottish philanthropist Andrew Carnegie a bad employer? Andrew CArnegie was born in dunfermline, Fife, on november 25, 1835, and his family moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1848.
while working on the Pennsylvania railway, Carnegie recognised the growing nation’s massive demand for cheap steel, and, in the aftermath of the American Civil war (1861-65), began buying steel firms.
His companies were the first large U.S. plants to make steel by the Bessemer process — the first inexpensive method of mass steel manufacture. Carnegie also bought iron mines, ships and railways, to control the steelmaking process from the start.
in 1889, he published his gospel Of wealth, arguing that the wealthy have a moral obligation to serve as stewards for society. He eventually combined all his companies into the Carnegie Steel Company, which, by 1900, was making more than $40 million a year profit. when he retired in 1901, he was the world’s richest man and turned his energies to philanthropy. in 1902, he founded the Carnegie institution to fund scientific research and gave $10 million to establish a pension fund for teachers.
He gave money to build more than 2,000 public libraries and gave $125 million to the Carnegie Corporation to aid colleges and other schools. He established the Carnegie endowment for international Peace and funded the building of the Palace of Peace at The Hague, which houses the world Court.
none of this could hide the fact that he focused on filling his own pockets, often to his workers’ detriment. His steelworkers were poorly paid and, despite his public support for workers’ rights, including an 1886 article for Forum Magazine defending unions, he suppressed them.
in 1884, he took on the Knights of Labour and the Amalgamated iron and Steel workers at his edgar Thompson works in Pennsylvania, shutting the plant ten days before Christmas when he discovered one of his rivals had cut wages by 15 to 20 per cent.
By February 1885, facing starvation and freezing temperatures and with no money to buy food or coal, the men agreed to come back under individual contracts, with wage cuts of up to 33 per cent. The union branch at the plant was crushed.
Carnegie’s attempt to break a strike at his Homestead works in Pittsburgh in 1892 Q : Is our universe spinning? If so, in which direction?
Chris Macorkindale, London SW17. Q : Has it been normal procedure for the Admiralty to hold a court martial when naval ships have foundered, grounded or been involved in a collision?
Malcolm Macdonald, Stornoway, Isle of Lewis. Q : When did John Motson provide his first match commentary?
Mrs G. Shaw, Birmingham. led to the deadliest clash between management and labour in U.S. history. Carnegie was on holiday at Skibo Castle in Scotland and directed his chairman Henry Clay Frick to deal with the workers.
Frick brought in armed Pinkerton agents, and in the ensuing shoot- out 12 people were killed. it has been suggested Carnegie deliberately took himself away to distance himself from the situation.
His career and his tempestuous relationship with Frick is charted in Meet You in Hell: Andrew Carnegie, Henry Clay Frick, And The Bitter Partnership That Changed America, by Les Standiford.
The title was inspired by a comment made by Frick when he was passed a letter from the dying Carnegie, suggesting the two men should make up their differences. Frick is said to have told the messenger: ‘Tell him i’ll see him in Hell, where we are both going.’
Although a hard employer, Carnegie redeemed himself to a great degree with his good works. He decided to give away 90 per cent of his fortune so he could dictate what the money was spent on, and his generosity helped millions.
when he died in 1919, he had given away $350,695,653 (about £3 billion today).
Jim Wallace, Dundee. When we were kids, we used to knock on people’s doors and run and hide. We called this Knock Down Ginger. Why? AT LeAST 100 terms have been collected for this activity though the variants are sometimes slight; in Coventry they played rat-tat-tat, in Solihull rat-a-tat-tat.
Other terms include ding dong ditch, Knock door run, dolly Knock, Chap door run or Knock, Knock ginger ring and run, and nicky nicky nine door.
The most common variant seems to involve the word ginger. A popular suggestion for this is that the doors of council estates were once stained ginger. Another suggestion is that it comes from an Old Mother goose rhyme:
‘ginger, ginger broke a winder/Hit the winda — crack!/The baker came out to give ’im a clout/And landed on his back.’
Annie Crouch, St Ives, Cambs. Why do modern trainers have an extra (seemingly redundant) lace hole at the top? THeSe two seemingly redundant holes are indeed very important in aiding the correct fitting of the shoe.
The lace, after emerging from the last ‘normal’ hole, is taken back on each side into the extra hole on the same side, forming a loop. The end of the lace from each opposite side is then threaded through this loop before tying in the usual way.
This has the effect of fitting the shoe firmly around the ankle (don’t pull too tight). This holds the foot at the back of the shoe, minimising forward movement.
This stops the toes hitting the front of the toebox, thus avoiding the bruised toes and blackened toenails with which many runners will be familiar.
Any good specialist running shop should be able to demonstrate this ‘loop lacing’ method, which may be a reason for the serious runner to visit a specialist shop instead of buying cheaply on the internet.
Chris Arnold, Wantage, Oxon. When did British soldiers last wear red jackets in combat? FUrTHer to the earlier answer, the red tunic remained in use as the Full, or Parade dress for most British soldiers until the start of the great war.
not every soldier in the British Army wore a red tunic. riflemen wore dark green, and men in the royal Artillery, and other service corps, wore dark blue tunics as Full dress.
The last time a British soldier went into battle wearing Full dress was in 1914. As german troops swarmed into Belgium, a scratch unit of naval personnel was formed, including members of the royal Marine Light infantry. This division was rushed forward to help defend Antwerp. The royal Marines went into battle wearing the only uniform they had; their navy blue full dress tunic, trousers and peakless ‘Brodrick’ caps, all piped in red.
Most of the French army also went to war in full dress dark blue coats and bright red trousers. The British full dress red tunic is still worn, but is restricted to bandsmen and the Brigade of guards.
Mr A. Rayner, Canterbury, Kent.