The working class faced conditions in the factory that wealthier skilled workers did not have to deal with. These men were not in a comfortable financial situation at home and could not find comfort in dangerous working conditions with the dangerous machines they had to operate. Workers were injured every day, and among these injured employees were children (Shi 62). Many of these children were as young as nine years old and, for economic reasons, their families sent them to work in workshops, mines and even factories surrounded by dangerous machinery. Realistically, these children were condemned to work in factories for their entire lives. They did not attend school and worked to help provide for their families. Without education, they would not be able to find a more prestigious job with higher pay. Workers' pay was low, but not always guaranteed. The Knights of Labor pushed for a federal law that would require employers to “pay employees in full weekly for work performed during the preceding week” (Shi 62). These people only worked in harmful conditions to survive, but were not guaranteed enough money to feed their families. Charitable alms did not necessarily help feed a poor family, but aimed to “…produce very beneficial results for [the] community” (Shi 60). This meant that the rich did not directly give money to citizens, but built free public services. Among these free services were libraries and scientific research centers. Without a doubt these buildings do not help put food on the table. They create, however, a sense of hope for the educational and social improvement of the working class. It was not an extravagant life to live, but the working class of the Gilded Age earned just enough to survive through hard work, assuming the individual was not racially.