Milwaukee Leader
Encyclopedia
The Milwaukee Leader was a socialist daily newspaper established in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
in December 1911 by Socialist Party
chief Victor L. Berger
. The paper continued in operation until January of 1939, when it was succeeded by the Milwaukee Evening Post.
, best known as the first Socialist member of the United States Congress
. Other important editorialists over the paper's history included James R. "Jim" Howe (who died in the spring of 1917), his successor John M. Work
, and international affairs commentator Ernest Untermann.
During World War I
, the paper's consistent antimilitarist stand brought it into conflict with the administration of President Woodrow Wilson
and his Postmaster General
Albert Burleson. The Leader's Second Class mailing privileges were withdrawn in October 1917 and the publication was banned from the United States mails, eliminating about 14,000 subscribers with one blow. In August 1918 the publication was deprived of the right to receive First Class mail, with all letters from subscribers and readers sent to the publication summarily returned to sender with the envelope stamped "Mail to This Address Undeliverable Under Espionage Act." The paper was twice raided by the US Department of Justice and subscriber records were seized.
Editor-in-Chief Victor L. Berger was indicted and convicted under the Espionage Act and sentenced to 20 years in prison (a sentence subsequently overturned on appeal).The paper managed to survived only through carrier delivery in Milwaukee and its environs, with the paper regaining its mailing privileges only in June 1921, over two and a half years after the armistice which ended the world war. The paper survived this onslaught without skipping an issue and by 1923 had nearly 50,000 subscribers on its rolls.
Suffering financially, the Leader was sold on in March 1938 to Paul Holmes. Although no immediate changes were taken in the paper's editorial stance, editorialist John Work later recalled "for a little while I could write socialist editorials, but it soon appeaered that, while I could write socialist editorials, I was expected not to make much use of the word 'socialism.' I stayed on, knowing that I could still do some good work for the cause, and not knowing but that the socialists might again get control of the paper."
The new owners formed a new holding company for the paper called the Wisconsin Guardian Publishing Company. In April 1938 the name of the paper was changed from the Milwaukee Leader to the New Milwaukee Leader.
In January 1939, seeking to further distance the faltering publication from its socialist past and to bring in as many new readers as possible of a recently terminated Hearst
newspaper, the name of the New Milwaukee Leader was changed again, this time to the Milwaukee Evening Post.
In the spring of 1939, new owner Paul Holmes and his associates sold their interest in the Wisconsin Guardian Publishing Company to representatives of the Milwaukee Federated Trades Council, and the unions took over the paper. The paper continued to languish.
By July 1940, the Milwaukee unions had enough of the faltering daily and made an arrangement for the paper's employees to run it. The name of the paper was changed yet again that September, this tiime to the Milwaukee Post.
. It remains one of the most valuable primary sources for study of the history of the Socialist Party. The paper was continued by the New Milwaukee Leader (1938), the Milwaukee Evening Post (1939), and the Milwaukee Post (1940). The last-named publication discontinued publication in April 1942.
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee is the largest city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, the 28th most populous city in the United States and 39th most populous region in the United States. It is the county seat of Milwaukee County and is located on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan. According to 2010 census data, the...
in December 1911 by Socialist Party
Socialist Party of America
The Socialist Party of America was a multi-tendency democratic-socialist political party in the United States, formed in 1901 by a merger between the three-year-old Social Democratic Party of America and disaffected elements of the Socialist Labor Party which had split from the main organization...
chief Victor L. Berger
Victor L. Berger
Victor Luitpold Berger was a founding member of the Socialist Party of America and an important and influential Socialist journalist who helped establish the so-called Sewer Socialist movement. The first Socialist elected to the U.S...
. The paper continued in operation until January of 1939, when it was succeeded by the Milwaukee Evening Post.
History
The Milwaukee Leader was established on December 7, 1911, by a holding company called the Social Democratic Publishing Company. Stock was owned jointly by unions, branches of the Socialist Party, and individual participants in the labor and radical movement. Critical additional funding was provided by Elizabeth H. Thomas, a wealthy Milwaukee resident of radical political views. Editor-in-Chief from the paper's founding was Victor L. BergerVictor L. Berger
Victor Luitpold Berger was a founding member of the Socialist Party of America and an important and influential Socialist journalist who helped establish the so-called Sewer Socialist movement. The first Socialist elected to the U.S...
, best known as the first Socialist member of the United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
. Other important editorialists over the paper's history included James R. "Jim" Howe (who died in the spring of 1917), his successor John M. Work
John M. Work
John McClelland Work was an American socialist writer, lecturer, activist, and political functionary. Work is best remembered as a founding member of the Socialist Party of America and as the author of one of its best-selling propaganda tracts of the first decade of the 20th Century...
, and international affairs commentator Ernest Untermann.
During World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, the paper's consistent antimilitarist stand brought it into conflict with the administration of President Woodrow Wilson
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...
and his Postmaster General
United States Postmaster General
The United States Postmaster General is the Chief Executive Officer of the United States Postal Service. The office, in one form or another, is older than both the United States Constitution and the United States Declaration of Independence...
Albert Burleson. The Leader's Second Class mailing privileges were withdrawn in October 1917 and the publication was banned from the United States mails, eliminating about 14,000 subscribers with one blow. In August 1918 the publication was deprived of the right to receive First Class mail, with all letters from subscribers and readers sent to the publication summarily returned to sender with the envelope stamped "Mail to This Address Undeliverable Under Espionage Act." The paper was twice raided by the US Department of Justice and subscriber records were seized.
Editor-in-Chief Victor L. Berger was indicted and convicted under the Espionage Act and sentenced to 20 years in prison (a sentence subsequently overturned on appeal).The paper managed to survived only through carrier delivery in Milwaukee and its environs, with the paper regaining its mailing privileges only in June 1921, over two and a half years after the armistice which ended the world war. The paper survived this onslaught without skipping an issue and by 1923 had nearly 50,000 subscribers on its rolls.
Suffering financially, the Leader was sold on in March 1938 to Paul Holmes. Although no immediate changes were taken in the paper's editorial stance, editorialist John Work later recalled "for a little while I could write socialist editorials, but it soon appeaered that, while I could write socialist editorials, I was expected not to make much use of the word 'socialism.' I stayed on, knowing that I could still do some good work for the cause, and not knowing but that the socialists might again get control of the paper."
The new owners formed a new holding company for the paper called the Wisconsin Guardian Publishing Company. In April 1938 the name of the paper was changed from the Milwaukee Leader to the New Milwaukee Leader.
In January 1939, seeking to further distance the faltering publication from its socialist past and to bring in as many new readers as possible of a recently terminated Hearst
William Randolph Hearst
William Randolph Hearst was an American business magnate and leading newspaper publisher. Hearst entered the publishing business in 1887, after taking control of The San Francisco Examiner from his father...
newspaper, the name of the New Milwaukee Leader was changed again, this time to the Milwaukee Evening Post.
In the spring of 1939, new owner Paul Holmes and his associates sold their interest in the Wisconsin Guardian Publishing Company to representatives of the Milwaukee Federated Trades Council, and the unions took over the paper. The paper continued to languish.
By July 1940, the Milwaukee unions had enough of the faltering daily and made an arrangement for the paper's employees to run it. The name of the paper was changed yet again that September, this tiime to the Milwaukee Post.
Availability
The complete run of the Milwaukee Leader survived intact and is available on 160 reels of microfilm from the Wisconsin Historical SocietyWisconsin Historical Society
The Wisconsin Historical Society is simultaneously a private membership and a state-funded organization whose purpose is to maintain, promote and spread knowledge relating to the history of North America, with an emphasis on the state of Wisconsin and the trans-Allegheny West...
. It remains one of the most valuable primary sources for study of the history of the Socialist Party. The paper was continued by the New Milwaukee Leader (1938), the Milwaukee Evening Post (1939), and the Milwaukee Post (1940). The last-named publication discontinued publication in April 1942.