Kid Blink

Kid Blink was names Louis Balletti, sometimes written as Balletto, appears to have been form in 1881 in Italy. He was described as "an undersized boy, one of whose eyes is blind, was introduced as 'our master workman.'" [1] On July 25, 1899 the newsboys held a rally in the New Irving Hall, on Broome Street in New York. The rally was heavily attended by an estimated 6000 newsboys, One paper said

"Over 3,000 boys blocked Broome Street before the meeting opened, and after the doors of the hall had been thrown open and every inch of available space, including window sills, had been filled with compressed young humanity, and the space over their heads was filled with noise, there were still 3,000 boys on the street, for they came from all directions. There were delegations from Jersey City, Brooklyn, Harlem, and all sections within the municipal limits."

Several people spoke, including Kid Blink.

Irving Hall, 1866

Transcript of Kid's speech

The newsboys' replies in parenthesis

The following is a transcript of the speech given by Kid Blink at the strikers’ rally on July 24, 1899, as pieced together from articles in the New York Times, New York Tribune, and New York Sun.

Friends and fellow workers: This is a time which tries the hearts of men–this is the time when we’ve got to stick together like glue!

But there’s one thing I want to say before I goes any further. I don’t believe in getting no fellow’s papers from him and tearing them up. I know I done it.

(Cries of “You bet you did!”)

But I’m sorry for it. No! There ain’t nothing in that. We know what we wants and we’ll get it, even if we is blind.

Ain’t that 10 cents worth as much to us as it is to Hearst and Pulitzer, who are millionaires? Well, I guess it is. If they can’t spare it, how can we?”

(“Soak ’em, Blink!”)

Soak nothing. I’m telling the truth. I’m trying to figure out how 10 cents on a hundred papers can mean more to a millionaire than it does to a newsboy, and I can’t see it. We can do more with 10 cents than he can with twenty-five. 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 let’s stop no more poor driver and dump over their wagons, like we done in Madison Street the other day. I know I was one.

(“You bet you was Blink, and a-leading, too!”)

Never mind that. Let’s not do it no more. Say, will we, boys?

(“No! No!”)

Say, you remember that day in Wall Street, when the gents threw money to us and told us to buy decent papers? You remember, say, don’t you boys?

(“Yes! Yes!”)

That’s all right, but, say, don’t lets hurt no more poor drivers. We won the fight in 1893. We ought to win in 1899. Oughtn’t we, boys?

(“Yes! Yes!”)

You know me, boys?

(“You bet we do!”)

Well, we’ll all go out to-morrow and stick together like plaster, and we’ll win in a walk.