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May 1910. St. Louis, Missouri. "Burns Basement Branch. A dark dirty cellar, 3518 Evans Avenue." Newsies picking up their papers from the St. Louis Times news agent. Photo by Lewis Wickes Hine. View full size.
The newspaper headline visible upside down regarding the "Unavoidable Accident" likely refers to the City of Saltillo wreck on May 11, 1910. Six men, 5 of them crewmembers drowned trying to save the lives of others after the boat ran into a rock.
The kid matted his cigarette as he called-out the News Agent, "Hey Mack, my paper-count should be seven, and you're only giving me six. You better give me back the one you glommed into your pocket, or there's going to be trouble." All eyes widened. As the tension mounted and nerves began to shudder, Lewis released the shutter.
Like the St Louis Times, this location no longer exists today. It's a vacant lot, like much around it. Time marches on.
You have to feel bad for these poor kids. You can see the poverty in their clothes, and on their faces. The BIG kid in the center of the picture sure has a dirty right hand, allright, hopefully just from newsprint.
The chap receiving a stack of papers is going to burn his lips if he doesn't soon pitch the cigarette! The young man behind the agent seems shocked by the flash powder. What an interesting picture of hard-working young men!
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