Julius Wayland
Encyclopedia
Julius Wayland was a Mid-Western US
socialist during the Progressive Era
. He is most noted for publishing Appeal to Reason, a socialist publication often deemed to be the most important socialist periodical of the time.
Julius Wayland was born in Versailles, Indiana
26 April 1854, but as an infant his father and four of his siblings died in a cholera
epidemic. His early years were spent in abject poverty and he was forced to find work after only two years of schooling. He then apprenticed to a printer in his home town, rising to become owner of the Versailles Gazette in 1874. As a result of reading books such as Laurence Gronlund
's The Cooperative Commonwealth and Edward Bellamy
's Looking Backward
, Wayland became a socialist. His writings created tensions with home-town conservatives, and he fled Versailles to avoid lynching.
Moving to Pueblo, Colorado
in 1893, Wayland started an radical periodical, The Coming Nation, which quickly became the most popular socialist newspaper in America. At this point he helped found a utopian settlement
, the Ruskin Colony
in Dickson County, Tennessee. In July, 1895, he left Ruskin and moved to Kansas City, Missouri
, where in August, 1895 he started another socialist journal, Appeal to Reason. Then, in 1897, he moved to Girard, Kansas
. At first a mixture of articles and extracts from works by well-known socialists and radicals, Appeal to Reason began to publish writings by many of the prominent young socialists and reformers of the era, including Jack London
, "Mother" Jones, Upton Sinclair
and Eugene Debs. Circulation soared, reaching 150,000 in 1902. In 1904 Appeal to Reason commissioned Upton Sinclair to write a novel
about immigrant workers in the Chicago
meat packing houses. Sinclair's novel, titled The Jungle
, appeared in 1905 as a serial in Appeal to Reason.
However, the success of Appeal to Reason led again to personal attacks on Wayland in the conservative press, particularly The Los Angeles Times. His offices were repeatedly broken into in an unsuccessful effort to find evidence of criminal activity.
Wayland committed suicide on November 10, 1912. He had been depressed by the recent death of his wife and the smear campaign
mounted against him by the conservative press. Afterward, his children and Appeal to Reason editor Fred Warren successfully sued for damages from newspapers that had published libelous material about Wayland.
Midwestern United States
The Midwestern United States is one of the four U.S. geographic regions defined by the United States Census Bureau, providing an official definition of the American Midwest....
socialist during the Progressive Era
Progressive Era
The Progressive Era in the United States was a period of social activism and political reform that flourished from the 1890s to the 1920s. One main goal of the Progressive movement was purification of government, as Progressives tried to eliminate corruption by exposing and undercutting political...
. He is most noted for publishing Appeal to Reason, a socialist publication often deemed to be the most important socialist periodical of the time.
Julius Wayland was born in Versailles, Indiana
Versailles, Indiana
Versailles is a town in Johnson Township, Ripley County, Indiana, United States. The population was 2,113 at the 2010 census. The town is the county seat of Ripley County.-Geography:Versailles is located at...
26 April 1854, but as an infant his father and four of his siblings died in a cholera
Cholera
Cholera is an infection of the small intestine that is caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. The main symptoms are profuse watery diarrhea and vomiting. Transmission occurs primarily by drinking or eating water or food that has been contaminated by the diarrhea of an infected person or the feces...
epidemic. His early years were spent in abject poverty and he was forced to find work after only two years of schooling. He then apprenticed to a printer in his home town, rising to become owner of the Versailles Gazette in 1874. As a result of reading books such as Laurence Gronlund
Laurence Gronlund
Laurence Gronlund was an American lawyer and socialist.-Biography:Born in Copenhagen, Denmark, he graduated from the University of Copenhagen's Faculty of Law in 1865, and moved to the United States in 1867...
's The Cooperative Commonwealth and Edward Bellamy
Edward Bellamy
Edward Bellamy was an American author and socialist, most famous for his utopian novel, Looking Backward, set in the year 2000. He was a very influential writer during the Gilded Age of United States history.-Early life:...
's Looking Backward
Looking Backward
Looking Backward: 2000-1887 is a utopian science fiction novel by Edward Bellamy, a lawyer and writer from western Massachusetts; it was first published in 1887...
, Wayland became a socialist. His writings created tensions with home-town conservatives, and he fled Versailles to avoid lynching.
Moving to Pueblo, Colorado
Pueblo, Colorado
Pueblo is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and the most populous city of Pueblo County, Colorado, United States. The population was 106,595 in 2010 census, making it the 246th most populous city in the United States....
in 1893, Wayland started an radical periodical, The Coming Nation, which quickly became the most popular socialist newspaper in America. At this point he helped found a utopian settlement
Utopia
Utopia is an ideal community or society possessing a perfect socio-politico-legal system. The word was imported from Greek by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book Utopia, describing a fictional island in the Atlantic Ocean. The term has been used to describe both intentional communities that attempt...
, the Ruskin Colony
Ruskin Colony
The Ruskin Colony was a utopian socialist colony which existed near Tennessee City in Dickson County, Tennessee from 1894 to 1896...
in Dickson County, Tennessee. In July, 1895, he left Ruskin and moved to Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
, where in August, 1895 he started another socialist journal, Appeal to Reason. Then, in 1897, he moved to Girard, Kansas
Girard, Kansas
Girard is a city in and the county seat of Crawford County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 2,789.- History :...
. At first a mixture of articles and extracts from works by well-known socialists and radicals, Appeal to Reason began to publish writings by many of the prominent young socialists and reformers of the era, including Jack London
Jack London
John Griffith "Jack" London was an American author, journalist, and social activist. He was a pioneer in the then-burgeoning world of commercial magazine fiction and was one of the first fiction writers to obtain worldwide celebrity and a large fortune from his fiction alone...
, "Mother" Jones, Upton Sinclair
Upton Sinclair
Upton Beall Sinclair Jr. , was an American author who wrote close to one hundred books in many genres. He achieved popularity in the first half of the twentieth century, acquiring particular fame for his classic muckraking novel, The Jungle . It exposed conditions in the U.S...
and Eugene Debs. Circulation soared, reaching 150,000 in 1902. In 1904 Appeal to Reason commissioned Upton Sinclair to write a novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
about immigrant workers in the Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
meat packing houses. Sinclair's novel, titled The Jungle
The Jungle
The Jungle is a 1906 novel written by journalist Upton Sinclair. Sinclair wrote the novel with the intention of portraying the life of the immigrant in the United States, but readers were more concerned with the large portion of the book pertaining to the corruption of the American meatpacking...
, appeared in 1905 as a serial in Appeal to Reason.
However, the success of Appeal to Reason led again to personal attacks on Wayland in the conservative press, particularly The Los Angeles Times. His offices were repeatedly broken into in an unsuccessful effort to find evidence of criminal activity.
Wayland committed suicide on November 10, 1912. He had been depressed by the recent death of his wife and the smear campaign
Smear campaign
A smear campaign, smear tactic or simply smear is a metaphor for activity that can harm an individual or group's reputation by conflation with a stigmatized group...
mounted against him by the conservative press. Afterward, his children and Appeal to Reason editor Fred Warren successfully sued for damages from newspapers that had published libelous material about Wayland.