The ''Milwaukee Leader'' was a

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 ...

daily newspaper established in

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at th ...

in December 1911 by

Socialist Party Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of th ...

leader

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 ...

. The paper continued in operation until January 1939, when it was succeeded by the ''Milwaukee Evening Post.''

History

Establishment

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

, best known as the first Socialist member of the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

. 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 McClelland Work (1869–1961) 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 propagan ...

, and international affairs commentator

Ernest Untermann Gerhard Ernest Untermann, Sr. (1864–1956) was a German-American seaman, socialist author, translator, newspaper editor. In his later life he was Director of the old Washington Park Zoo in Milwaukee, a geologist, fossil hunter, and artist. Biogr ...

World War I problems

During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, the paper's consistent

antimilitarist Antimilitarism (also spelt anti-militarism) is a doctrine that opposes war, relying heavily on a critical theory of imperialism and was an explicit goal of the First and Second International. Whereas pacifism is the doctrine that disputes (especi ...

stand brought it into conflict with the administration of President

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...

and his

Postmaster General A Postmaster General, in Anglosphere countries, is the chief executive officer of the postal service of that country, a ministerial office responsible for overseeing all other postmasters. The practice of having a government official respons ...

Albert Burleson Albert Sidney Burleson (June 7, 1863 – November 24, 1937) was a progressive Democrat who served as United States Postmaster General and Representative in Congress. He was a strong supporter of William Jennings Bryan and Woodrow Wilson, so Wil ...

. The ''Leaders 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.Work, "The Leader Among Labor Dailies," p. 9. In August 1918 the publication was deprived of the right to receive

first class mail The mail or post is a system for physically transporting postcards, letters, and parcels. A postal service can be private or public, though many governments place restrictions on private systems. Since the mid-19th century, national postal syst ...

, 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 Espionage Act of 1917 is a United States federal law enacted on June 15, 1917, shortly after the United States entered World War I. It has been amended numerous times over the years. It was originally found in Title 50 of the U.S. Code (War ...

." The paper was twice raided by the

U.S. Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United State ...

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 survive 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.

Sale and name changes

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 appeared 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."Work, ''Glances at My Life,'' ch. 5, pg. 66. 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.''Work, ''Glances at My Life,'' ch. 5, pg. 68. 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 time to the '' Milwaukee Post.''Work, ''Glances at My Life,'' ch. 5, pg. 70. The complete run of the ''Milwaukee Leader'' is available on microfilm from the

Wisconsin Historical Society The Wisconsin Historical Society (officially the State Historical Society of Wisconsin) is simultaneously a state agency and a private membership organization whose purpose is to maintain, promote and spread knowledge relating to the history of N ...

Footnotes

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History

Establishment

World War I problems

Sale and name changes

Footnotes

Further reading

See also