''This is not to be confused with the independent, research-based organization of Toronto, Canada, also called

that targets executives, lawyers, professionals.'' The Federated Press was a left wing news service, established in 1920, that provided daily content to the radical and labor press in

America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territor ...

, characterized widely from a mere "labor wire service" or "a kind of left-wing AP" to widely known for having "employed many Communist editors and correspondents," "so closely allied to the Communist party of America as to be regarded by the Communists as their official press association," or just "the Red's Federated Press."

History

Federated Press

The

People's Council of America The People's Council of America for Democracy and the Terms of Peace, commonly known as the "People's Council," was an American pacifist political organization established in New York City in May 1917. Organized in opposition to the decision of the ...

, established in New York City in May 1917 and headed by

Scott Nearing Scott Nearing (August 6, 1883 – August 24, 1983) was an American Political radicalism, radical economist, educator, writer, political activist, pacifist, vegetarian and advocate of simple living. Biography Early years Nearing was born in Mor ...

and

Louis P. Lochner Ludwig "Louis" Paul Lochner (February 22, 1887 – January 8, 1975) was an American political activist, journalist, and author. During World War I, Lochner was a leading figure in the American and the international anti-war movement. Later, he serv ...

, produced a monthly publication called ''People's Council Bulletin'', which featured international news with an emphasis on the doings of the peace movement. The editor of this publication was William E. Williams, press spokesman of the People's Council.Scott Nearing,''The Making of a Radical: A Political Autobiography.'' New York: Harper Colophon Books, 1972; pg. 173. This bulletin proved the inspiration for the International Labor News Service, itself a news agency for the radical press, as octogenarian Scott Nearing recounted in his 1972 memoirs:

One day... a big, sturdy chap just past middle age came into our New York People's Council office and showed credentials from the Western Metal Miners. He had been reading our ''Bulletin'' and liked the material, especially that dealing with international affairs. 'If you will put this material into a regular news service,' he told us, 'our organization will help pay for it and circulate it. Here is our first contribution' and he put a $20 bill on the desk.

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. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee i ...

, a similar concept was being tested by Edward J. Costello, Managing Editor of Victor Berger's socialist daily, the ''

Milwaukee Leader The ''Milwaukee Leader'' was a socialist daily newspaper established in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in December 1911 by Socialist Party leader Victor L. Berger. The paper continued in operation until January 1939, when it was succeeded by the ''Milwauke ...

.'' This news service, called the Federated Press, was founded on January 3, 1920, and was intended to supply copy to labor and radical newspapers around the country. The two news agencies decided to join forces under the Federated Press banner, with Costello holding down the post of Managing Editor of the Service and Lochner acting as Business Manager. Nearing provided the service with regular installments of his writing. The service grew steadily and was ultimately mailing news releases and picture mats five days a week to some 150 labor and radical publications.

William F. Dunne William Francis Dunne (October 15, 1887September 23, 1953) was an American Marxist political activist, newspaper editor and trade unionist. He is best remembered as the editor of the radical ''Butte Bulletin'' around the turn of the 1920s and ...

was another co-founder. In August 1920,

conscientious objector A conscientious objector (often shortened to conchie) is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, or religion. The term has also been extended to obje ...

and university instructor Carl Haessler was released from federal penitentiary after serving a two-year sentence. He took over the job of managing editor from Costello, who left the employment of the service. Haessler remained at this position until the service was terminated in the 1940s.

Federated Press League

On February 4, 1922, a "Federated Press League" (FPL) formed in Chicago to collect funds for the news service. Members of the league's executive board included: Robert M. Buck, Jack Carney, Arul Swabeck, Editor Feinburg,

William Z. Foster William Zebulon Foster (February 25, 1881 – September 1, 1961) was a radical American labor organizer and Communist politician, whose career included serving as General Secretary of the Communist Party USA from 1945 to 1957. He was previ ...

(later CPUSA head), Carl Haessler, Mabel Search, Clark H. Getts, Louis P. Lochner, and Maude McCreery. In 1923 during the trial of communist leader

C. E. Ruthenberg Charles Emil Ruthenberg (July 9, 1882 – March 1, 1927) was an American Marxist politician and a founder and head of the Communist Party USA (CPUSA). Biography Early years Charles Emil Ruthenberg was born July 9, 1882, in Cleveland, Ohio, th ...

in St. Joseph, Michigan, the government prosecutor spent considerable effort while cross-examining

Jay Lovestone Jay Lovestone (15 December 1897 – 7 March 1990) was an American activist. He was at various times a member of the Socialist Party of America, a leader of the Communist Party USA, leader of a small oppositionist party, an anti-Communist and Centr ...

in establishing links between the Communist Party and the Federated Press. The prosecutor attempted to prove that all funding for the Federated Press came only from "Communist sources." Lovestone held the position that the Communist Party had tried to influence the Federated Press but had never controlled it. (In his 1952 memoir,

Whittaker Chambers Whittaker Chambers (born Jay Vivian Chambers; April 1, 1901 – July 9, 1961) was an American writer-editor, who, after early years as a Communist Party member (1925) and Soviet spy (1932–1938), defected from the Soviet underground (1938) ...

directly contradicts Lovestone by calling it the "communist-controlled news service of my ''Daily Worker'' days." ) Nearing continued to produce content for the Federated Press until 1943, when he was fired for his anti-war politics, which managing editor Haessler deemed to be "childish". The service was discontinued after the end of World War II, when the more conservative labor papers terminated their use of the service.

Locations

The Federated Press had its headquarters at 156 W. Washington Street in Chicago (where it shared offices with the

ACLU The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1920 "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States". ...

, the Chicago Committee for Struggle Against War, the Acme News Syndicate, and the Institute for Mortuary Research). It had bureaus in New York, San Francisco, and Washington DC (where it shared offices with the Soviet official news agency

TASS The Russian News Agency TASS (russian: Информацио́нное аге́нтство Росси́и ТАСС, translit=Informatsionnoye agentstvo Rossii, or Information agency of Russia), abbreviated TASS (russian: ТАСС, label=none) ...

). The Federated Press had foreign bureaus in Berlin and Moscow.

Clients

A major client of the Federated Press was the

Communist Party USA The Communist Party USA, officially the Communist Party of the United States of America (CPUSA), is a communist party in the United States which was established in 1919 after a split in the Socialist Party of America following the Russian Revo ...

, which subscribed to feed its newspaper the ''

Daily Worker The ''Daily Worker'' was a newspaper published in New York City by the Communist Party USA, a formerly Comintern-affiliated organization. Publication began in 1924. While it generally reflected the prevailing views of the party, attempts were ...

''. In 1922, newspapers that used Federated Press service included 23 in Illinois, 17 in New York, 7 in California, 5 in Minnesota, 4 in Washington, and some 2 dozen in the Midwest and New England.

Funding

Garland Fund The American Fund for Public Service, commonly known as the Garland Fund, was a philanthropic organization established in 1922 by Charles Garland. The fund, administered by a group of trustees headed by Roger Baldwin of the American Civil Liber ...

(administered by trustees headed by

Roger Nash Baldwin Roger Nash Baldwin (January 21, 1884 – August 26, 1981) was one of the founders of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). He served as executive director of the ACLU until 1950. Many of the ACLU's original landmark cases took place under ...

of the

American Civil Liberties Union The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1920 "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States". ...

) * Robert Marshall Foundation, which also funded "Farm Research" by

Harold Ware Harold or "Hal" Ware (August 19, 1889 – August 14, 1935) was an American Marxist, regarded as one of the Communist Party's top experts on agriculture. He was employed by a federal New Deal agency in the 1930s. He is alleged to have been a ...

, founder of the

Ware Group The Ware Group was a covert organization of Communist Party USA operatives within the United States government in the 1930s, run first by Harold Ware (1889–1935) and then by Whittaker Chambers (1901–1961) after Ware's accidental death on Augu ...

spy ring )

People

Founders: * William Francis Dunne (CPUSA leader) * Carl Haessler (Chicago Workers School) * Louis Lochner (''Milwaukee Leader'') * Scott Nearing * Leland Olds Editors: * Helen Augur (1920) * E.J. Costello (1921-1922) * Carl Haessler (1922-1940) Bureau Chiefs: * Louis P. Lochner (Berlin) *

Anna Louise Strong Anna Louise Strong (November 24, 1885 – March 29, 1970) was an American journalist and activist, best known for her reporting on and support for communist movements in the Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China.Archives West,Anna Loui ...

Correspondents: *

Abner Carroll Binder Abner Carroll Binder (February 20, 1896, Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania – 1956) was an American journalist. Binder was a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard University. He is best known for his contributions to journalism as a ...

Carl Braden Carl Braden (June 24, 1914 – February 18, 1975) was a trade unionist, journalist, and activist who was known for his work in the civil rights movement. Biography Braden was born in New Albany, Indiana, and died in Louisville, Kentucky. H ...

* Joe Carroll * Albert F. Coyle (also editor of the ''Locomotive Engineers Journal'') * Horace B. Davis *

Len De Caux Len De Caux (aka Leonard De Caux) (1899–1991) was a 20th-century labor activist in the United States of America who served as publicity director for the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) and worked to stop passage of the Taft-Hartley A ...

Miriam Allen deFord Miriam Allen deFord (August 21, 1888 – February 22, 1975) was an American writer best known for her mysteries and science fiction. During the 1920s, she wrote for a number of left-wing magazines including '' The Masses'', ''The Liberator'', a ...

* Robert W. DunnGloria Garrett Samson, ''The American Fund for Public Service: Charles Garland and Radical Philanthropy, 1922-1941.'' Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1996; pg. 167. *

(later CPUSA head) *

Conrad Friberg Conrad Friberg (1896-1989) was an American filmmaker, labor organizer and wallpaper hanger in Chicago, Illinois. Many of his films are credited to "C.O. Nelson". His best known work is ''Halsted Street'', which he produced when a member and lead ...

Betty Friedan Betty Friedan ( February 4, 1921 – February 4, 2006) was an American feminist writer and activist. A leading figure in the women's movement in the United States, her 1963 book ''The Feminine Mystique'' is often credited with sparking the se ...

* Ida Glatt (mother of

John McCarthy (computer scientist) John McCarthy (September 4, 1927 – October 24, 2011) was an American computer scientist and cognitive scientist. He was one of the founders of the discipline of artificial intelligence. He co-authored the document that coined the term "artifi ...

) * Travis K. Hedrick * Fred C. Howe *

Grace Hutchins Grace Hutchins (August 19, 1885 – July 15, 1969) was an American labor reformer and researcher, journalist, political activist and communist. She spent many years of her life writing about labor and economics, in addition to being a lifelong ded ...

Stetson Kennedy William Stetson Kennedy (October 5, 1916 – August 27, 2011) was an American author, folklorist and human rights activist. One of the pioneer folklore collectors during the first half of the 20th century, he is remembered for having infiltrated t ...

("Inside Out" column 1937-1950) *

Eugene Lyons Eugene Lyons (July 1, 1898 – January 7, 1985) was an American journalist and writer. A fellow traveler of Communism in his younger years, Lyons became highly critical of the Soviet Union after several years there as a correspondent of United P ...

Maud Leonard McCreery Maria Maud Leonard McCreery (February 24, 1883 – April 10, 1938) was an American suffragist, pacifist, labor activist, educator, and newspaper editor from Wisconsin. Early life Maria Maud Leonard was born in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, the daughter ...

* Alfred Maund *

Harvey O'Connor Harvey O'Connor (29 March 1897 – 29 August 1987) was an American radical journalist, newspaper editor, author, and political activist. The author of nearly a dozen books in his lifetime, O'Connor is best remembered for his activity in the 19 ...

Harvey O'Connor, ''Revolution in Seattle: A Memoir.'' New York: Monthly Review Press, 1964; dust jacket biography. *

Jessie Lloyd O'Connor Jessie Lloyd O'Connor (1904-1988) was a journalist, social reformer and political activist. She worked as a reporter for Federated Press. O'Connor served and supported numerous progressive organizations, including the American League Against War ...

Leland Olds Leland Olds (December 31, 1890 – August 5, 1960) was an American economist interested in labor, development of public electric power, and ecology. Education Olds was a son of George Olds, president of Amherst College. He studied mathematics ...

* Frank L. Palmer *

Julia Ruuttila Julia Ruuttila (1907–1991) was a journalist, writer, and political activist, who wrote stories, articles, and poems under many names, including her maiden name, Julia Godman. Early life Julia Godman was born on April 26, 1907, to Ella Blossom ...

James Peck (pacifist) James Peck (December 19, 1914July 12, 1993) was an American activist who practiced nonviolent resistance during World War II and in the Civil Rights Movement. He is the only person who participated in both the Journey of Reconciliation (194 ...

* Marc Stone (brother of I.F. Stone * Laurence ToddSolon DeLeon with Irma C. Hayssen and Grace Poole (eds.), ''The American Labor Who's Who.'' New York: Hanford Press, 1925; pg. 230.

Legacy

Karla Kelling Sclater has stated:

The Federated Press has also been ignored in the historiography. A news-gathering cooperative, the Federated Press, which began in 1920, was the first news service that provided affiliated papers with international reports of interest to the working class. Jon Bekken states that the Federated Press survived into the early 1950s as the only independent news service that supplied information to 150 papers including newspapers in Germany, Russia and Australia. Labor, socialist, and other newspapers utilized the Federated Press. To date, only one unpublished master's thesis discusses Carl Haessler, one of the founders of the Federated Press wire service, and the Federated Press.

Works

Federated Press Bulletin

The Federated Press published an English-language weekly ''Federated Press Bulletin'' out of Chicago from 1921 to 1925, of which Haessler was associate editor.

Labor Letter

The Federated Press published an English-language weekly Federated Press ''Labor Letter'' out of Chicago from 1925 to 1929.

Labor's News

The Federated Press published an English-language weekly ''Labor's News'', successor to its ''Labor Letter'', out of New York from 1929 to 1931.

Supported publications

By 1922, the Federated Press had helped establish eight weekly newspapers, including the South Bend (IN) ''Free Press'', Centralia (IL) ''Labor World'', Iowa ''Farm and Labor News, Producers Review'' (IL), Tri-City ''Labor News'' (Christopher, IL), ''The Labor Advocate'' (Racine, WI), and Cahoka Valley (IL) ''News''. '' Bérmunkás'' (''The Wage Worker''), Hungarian language newspaper, was affiliated with the Federated Press.Solon DeLeon and Nathan Fine (eds.), ''American Labor Press Directory.'' New York: Rand School of Social Science, 1925; pg. 11.

References

External links

Marxist History: Federated Press - Constitution (April 1921)

Columbia University - Federated Press

Columbia University - Federated Press records microform

Gale - Federated Press Records: Series 2 and 3

* ttp://microformguides.gale.com/Data/Introductions/33110FM.htm Gale - Introduction: Federated Press Records: Series 3: Chronological Files, 1920-1940
Library of Congress - Federated Press Bulletin

Library of Congress - Labor's News

Library of Congress - Federated Press Bulletin
{{Authority control 1920 establishments in the United States News agencies based in the United States Communist Party USA publications