textile workers at the largest cotton mill were paid in scrip. In a 1907 labor strike, workers attacked and looted the Río Blanco, Veracruz textile company's store. The workers were gunned down by the Mexican military, but in the aftermath of the violence, more retail outlets were opened in Rio Blanco. Possibly the first company store in the world was in Hawaii. William Hooper started Hawaiiʻs first sugar plantation in 1835 at Koloa, on the island of Kauai. He hired 23 Hawaiian locals and paid them in a cardboard scrip, notated in various amounts. The scrip could only be exchanged for merchandise at his store. (Pau Hana- Plantation Life and Labor in Hawaii- 1835-1920- by Ronald Takaki, Univ of Hawaii Press, 1983, pg 7) See also Clawback General store History of coal miners Truck system Company scrip References Notes Further reading Excerpt and text search] the store--and the whole town, were owned by the Texas and Pacific Coal Company - guide to state studies of company stores in the 1880s Working conditions Payment systems Retail formats Store