| CAPTAINS OF INDUSTRY (OR ROBBER BARONS?) Now, headlining this show, with spotlight center stage, Were the big business tycoons of the Gilded Age, Those years of great wealth, when fortunes did tower For the captains of industry, finance and power. Of course, owners of trains were the first on this bill -- Like Cornelius Vanderbilt and Mister James Hill. But new riches unmatched, beyond even a king, Would soon climb past the clouds through manufacturing. Like Carnegie (Andrew), who knew the art of the deal, And grew richer than rich by churning out steel. Who bought first a few mills and made them his own, And then went a step further to see his dream fully grown: Buying railroads and mines, and warehouses and ships, He controlled the whole works at his deft fingertips, Which helped save on the costs and control expectation -- In business what's known as vertical integration. Indeed, ambition did pump and flow through his veins, But a philanthropist too, who often went to great pains To make use of his wealth and to fund charities To give back to the world and respond to its pleas. So, from a hardworking start and with great acumen Andrew became both a tycoon and a fine citizen, As his millions were spent to aid as they could For he wished to die poor -- and know he done good! And when oil wells gushed and did sprinkle the air, A new river of riches, a Texas Tea, did appear. And boosted one more to the penthouse from cellar: A name meaning money: Mister John Rockefeller. Now, these heroes to some and giants no doubt Were hard-charging cutthroats who often squeezed others out, Leaving people to ponder by the crumbs that they left: Were they barons of business or just men of grand theft? |
| Worksheet # 83 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|