The central idea of the passage is that the promises made by railroad men led to devastating consequences for farmers, who have lost their livelihoods and are forced to work in harsh conditions for meager pay, ultimately questioning the value of progress at the expense of their lives and well-being.
We were made a promise by the "great" railroad men not long ago. But what's in a promise? Their words were empty, but their pockets were filled. Now our mouths are empty, along with the fields and our hope. Us farmers used to make ends meet with our hands and our crops. Now we can't feed our families or make an honest wage. The trains drove costs for our crops down and erased us from the marketplace. To get back on my feet, I took a job building the very thing that demolished me. I got a dollar a day working for the railroad. I slept in a train car with dozens of other men. I worked 16-hour days seven days a week. I saw men die at the hands of one another or the equipment. So tell me, Mr. Railroad Man, was your grand idea worth it? For me, it was the end of the line.
write the central idea in one sentence
1 answer