George Ellsworth Boomer (1862–1915) was an American
socialist
Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...
journalist, newspaper editor, and political activist. Boomer is best remembered as a key participant in the formation of the
Socialist Party of Washington
The Socialist Party of Washington was the Washington state section of the Socialist Party of America (SPA), an organization originally established as a federation of semi-autonomous state organizations.
During the 1910s, the Socialist Party of W ...
and as its candidate for the
Governor of Washington
The governor of Washington is the head of government of Washington and commander-in-chief of the state's military forces.WA Const. art. III, § 2. The officeholder has a duty to enforce state laws,WA Const. art. III, § 5. the power to either a ...
in 1908.
Biography
Early years
George Ellsworth Boomer was born November 29, 1862, in
Lewiston, Maine
Lewiston (; ; officially the City of Lewiston, Maine) is List of cities in Maine, the second largest city in Maine and the most central city in Androscoggin County, Maine, Androscoggin County. The city lies halfway between Augusta, Maine, August ...
, the son of workers in a
cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus ''Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor perce ...
mill.
[Harvey O'Connor, ''Revolution in Seattle: A Memoir.'' New York: Monthly Review Press, 1964; pg. 17.] Due to the family's poverty, Boomer himself soon went to work in the mills, taking a job which paid him 65 cents for each 12-hour day.
Boomer attended school three months a year, as required by law, until he reached the age of 14, at which time he dropped out.
["George E. Boomer,"](_blank)
''The Commonwealth'' verett whole no. 134 (July 24, 1913), pg. 4.
Boomer worked for a time as a newsboy, a job which brought him into contact with the world of newspaper publishing. He eventually found a first job in the industry assisting with the production of the ''Greenback Labor Chronicle'' of
Auburn, Maine
Auburn is a city in south-central Maine within the United States. The city serves as the county seat of Androscoggin County. The population was 24,061 at the 2020 census. Auburn and its sister city Lewiston are known locally as the Twin Cities ...
.
In the fall of 1882, Boomer moved to
Providence, Rhode Island
Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay ...
, where he joined the newly organized
International Typographical Union
The International Typographical Union (ITU) was a US trade union for the printing trade for newspapers and other media. It was founded on May 3, 1852, in the United States as the National Typographical Union, and changed its name to the Interna ...
the following year.
Boomer remained a member of that union throughout his life. He was a member of the Rhode Island Central Labor Union for 8 years and its president for 2.
In June 1884, Boomer married Mary A. Vickery.
[Steven L.]
"Ungovernor, 1908: George Ellsworth Boomer,"
Oly Blog, Olympia, WA. Retrieved April 15, 2010.
Political career
Boomer joined the
Socialist Labor Party of America
The Socialist Labor Party (SLP)"The name of this organization shall be Socialist Labor Party". Art. I, Sec. 1 of thadopted at the Eleventh National Convention (New York, July 1904; amended at the National Conventions 1908, 1912, 1916, 1920, 1924 ...
(SLP) in 1884.
Boomer ran on the SLP's ticket for
Governor of Rhode Island
The governor of Rhode Island is the head of government
The head of government is the highest or the second-highest official in the executive branch of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, o ...
for the first time in 1893.
Boomer also published the Providence SLP and trade unionist newspaper, ''Justice,'' for a period of three years.
In 1895, Boomer again ran for Governor of Rhode Island, heading the SLP ticket.
["Rhode Island: Interesting Sketch of the Late Elections," '' The People'' ew York vol. 5, no. 4 (April 21, 1895), pg. 1.] Boomer received more votes than any other SLP candidate in the election, a total of 1,709 out of about 43,000 ballots cast (4%).
In 1896, Boomer published an independent socialist newspaper in
Cumberland, Maryland
Cumberland is a U.S. city in and the county seat of Allegany County, Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its s ...
, known as ''Uncle Sam.''
He came into contact with
J.A. Wayland in this capacity and in 1897 relocated to Southeast
Kansas
Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...
to work on the editorial staff of Wayland's popular socialist weekly, ''
The Appeal to Reason.''
It was in this capacity that he learned of a group of devoted socialists, organized as the
Brotherhood of the Cooperative Commonwealth (BCC), who sought to establish a socialist colony on the American frontier in the new state of
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...
.
Boomer was smitten with the idea and he departed for the West Coast in the spring of 1898, bringing with him the knowledge of newspaper promotion which he had garnered in
Girard under Wayland's employ.
Boomer took charge of the colony's newspaper, ''Industrial Freedom,'' and initiated Wayland-style folksy editorial patter to the front page, writing his column under the headline "Thoughts, by Your Uncle" while using the pseudonym "Uncle Sam."
Boomer was not long with the Equalty colony, however, soon departing rural
Skagit County
Skagit County is a county in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, the population was 129,523. The county seat and largest city is Mount Vernon. The county was formed in 1883 from Whatcom County and is named for the Skagit Ind ...
for a more close approximation of civilization in
Tacoma when the colony refused to participate in
political action
In sociology, social action, also known as Weberian social action, is an act which takes into account the actions and reactions of individuals (or ' agents'). According to Max Weber, "Action is 'social' insofar as its subjective meaning takes ...
.
In December 1898 Boomer established a short-lived new socialist newspaper in Tacoma, the ''Spirit of '76,'' a publication supportive of the SLP.
Boomer never joined the
Social Democratic Party of America
The Social Democratic Party of America (SDP) was a short-lived political party in the United States established in 1898.
The group was formed out of elements of the Social Democracy of America (SDA) and was a predecessor to the Socialist Party of ...
headed by radical trade unionist
Eugene V. Debs
Eugene Victor "Gene" Debs (November 5, 1855 – October 20, 1926) was an American socialism, socialist, political activist, trade unionist, one of the founding members of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), and five times the candidate ...
and
Victor L. Berger
Victor Luitpold Berger (February 28, 1860August 7, 1929) was an Austrian–American socialist politician and journalist who was a founding member of the Social Democratic Party of America and its successor, the Socialist Party of America. Born in ...
, instead forming his own socialist educational organization — a group which maintained an independent existence until after the formation of the
Socialist Party of America
The Socialist Party of America (SPA) was a 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 of Ameri ...
in the summer of 1901.
Boomer would merge his local group into the Socialist Party shortly after its formation.
In 1902, Boomer launched a new socialist weekly in Tacoma, ''The Sun.'' He was elected to the first State Committee of the
Socialist Party of Washington
The Socialist Party of Washington was the Washington state section of the Socialist Party of America (SPA), an organization originally established as a federation of semi-autonomous state organizations.
During the 1910s, the Socialist Party of W ...
(SPW) and served two terms as the SPW's representative on the governing National Committee of the Socialist Party of America in 1902 and 1903. Although identified with the left wing of the party, Boomer was also recognized as a peacemaker, being dispatched to Utah by the National Committee in 1902 to help broker a truce between warring party factions in
Utah
Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...
.
In 1903, Boomer, now married a second time to a woman 18 years his junior named Alice, headed east of the
Cascades to
Prosser Prosser may refer to:
__NOTOC__ Places
;United States
* Prosser, California, a former settlement
* Prosser Creek, California
* Prosser, Nebraska, a village
* Prosser, Washington, a city
;Australia
* Electoral division of Prosser, Tasmania
* Prosser ...
, a small town in Central Washington.
There he switched the political orientation of the town's newspaper, the ''Prosser Record,'' from the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to:
*Democratic Party (United States)
Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to:
Active parties Africa
*Botswana Democratic Party
*Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea
*Gabonese Democratic Party
*Demo ...
to the Socialist Party and continued to edit it until 1909.
Boomer worked hard to modernize and expand his paper, moving to automated typesetting and expanding the paper from 4 pages to 8.
Circulation grew to 4,000.
During this interval Boomer also periodically contributed a column to ''
The Socialist,'' the
revolutionary socialist
Revolutionary socialism is a political philosophy, doctrine, and tradition within socialism that stresses the idea that a social revolution is necessary to bring about structural changes in society. More specifically, it is the view that revoluti ...
weekly published in
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
by
Hermon F. Titus
Hermon Franklin Titus (1852–1931) was an American socialist activist and newspaper publisher. Originally a Baptist minister (Christianity), minister before becoming a medical doctor, Titus is best remembered as a factional leader of the Washingt ...
, writing under the
pen name
A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name.
A pen na ...
"Uncle Sam."
[Harvey O'Connor, ''Revolution in Seattle,'' pg. 18.]
Boomer ran for
Secretary of State of Washington
The secretary of state of Washington is an independently elected constitutional officer in the executive branch of the government of the U.S. state of Washington. Fifteen individuals have held the office of Secretary of State since statehood. The ...
in November 1904 on the ticket of the Socialist Party of America. He ran at the top of the state party's ticket in 1908 as the Socialist nominee for
Governor of Washington
The governor of Washington is the head of government of Washington and commander-in-chief of the state's military forces.WA Const. art. III, § 2. The officeholder has a duty to enforce state laws,WA Const. art. III, § 5. the power to either a ...
.
On the campaign trail in 1908, Boomer was rotten-egged by listeners hostile to his message in
Ellensburg
Ellensburg is a city in and the county seat of Kittitas County, Washington, United States. It is located just east of the Cascade Range near the junction of Interstate 90 and Interstate 82. The population was 18,666 at the 2020 census. and was ...
.
The Boomers sold their newspaper in May 1909 and moved back across the Cascades to Seattle.
There George Boomer edited at least one issue of ''The Wage Worker,'' Titus's successor to ''The Socialist'' established after the decision of Washington's left wing socialists to bolt the 1909 Convention of the Socialist Party of Washington and to form instead a new organization, the
Wage Workers Party.
Both the paper and the party proved to be short-lived.
The Boomers, baby daughter Mildred in tow, moved to
Leavenworth, Washington
Leavenworth is a city in Chelan County, Washington, Chelan County, Washington (state), Washington, United States. It is part of the Wenatchee, Washington, Wenatchee−East Wenatchee, Washington, East Wenatchee Wenatchee-East Wenatchee metropolit ...
, in 1910, where George worked as a printer.
![Boomer-George-1913](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/95/Boomer-George-1913.jpg)
Boomer moved to
Bremerton, Washington
Bremerton is a city in Kitsap County, Washington. The population was 37,729 at the 2010 census and an estimated 41,405 in 2019, making it the largest city on the Kitsap Peninsula. Bremerton is home to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and the Bremerto ...
, in 1912 where he edited another local newspaper, the ''Kitsap County Leader.''
While
soapbox
A soapbox is a raised platform on which one stands to make an wiktionary:impromptu, impromptu speech, often about a Politics, political subject. The term originates from the days when speakers would elevate themselves by standing on a wooden c ...
ing in the nearby town of
Port Townsend
Port Townsend is a city on the Quimper Peninsula in Jefferson County, Washington, United States. The population was 10,148 at the 2020 United States Census.
It is the county seat and only incorporated city of Jefferson County. In addition to ...
, Boomer was attacked by a soldier from the nearby fort, an event which caused outrage in the Socialist community when the local judge refused to issue an
arrest warrant
An arrest warrant is a warrant issued by a judge or magistrate on behalf of the state, which authorizes the arrest and detention of an individual, or the search and seizure of an individual's property.
Canada
Arrest warrants are issued by a j ...
for the attacker, instead declaring from the bench that the Socialists should all be thrown into the bay and that he would be glad to assist.
In 1913, Boomer returned to Seattle where he helped to edit ''The Barbarian,'' a left wing
satirical
Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming or e ...
weekly.
The following year he moved to Port Angeles, where he edited the ''Peninsula Free Press.''
Boomer made one last political run as the Socialist Party's candidate for
U.S. Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is Bicameralism, bicameral, composed of a lower body, the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives, and an upper body, ...
in Washington's 2nd District in 1914.
[Lawrence Kestenbaum (ed.)]
"George E. Boomer,''
Political Graveyard.com, Ann Arbor, MI. Retrieved April 15, 2010.
During his life, Boomer made four national speaking tours on behalf of the Socialist Party.
Death and legacy
George Boomer died on April 5, 1915, in Port Angeles, Washington. He was just 52 years old at the time of his death.
Footnotes
Works
* ''Twin Progeny of Capitalist Individualism: Assassins and Hero Worshipers.'' Edmonds, WA: George E. Boomer, 1912.
Further reading
"George E. Boomer,"''The Commonwealth''
verett whole no. 134 (July 24, 1913), pg. 4.
See also
*
Socialist Party of Washington
The Socialist Party of Washington was the Washington state section of the Socialist Party of America (SPA), an organization originally established as a federation of semi-autonomous state organizations.
During the 1910s, the Socialist Party of W ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boomer, George
1862 births
1915 deaths
American socialists
Washington (state) socialists
Rhode Island socialists
Socialist Party of America politicians from Washington (state)
American newspaper editors
Writers from Providence, Rhode Island
Writers from Tacoma, Washington
People from Lewiston, Maine
Trade unionists from Rhode Island
People from Prosser, Washington
Trade unionists from Maine