Top of page

Newspaper The Commonwealth (Everett, Wash.) 1911-1914

About The Commonwealth (Everett, Wash.) 1911-1914

“The work of The Commonwealth will not be done until the day the true commonwealth in which all are in possession of that which is truly their own is established. The Commonwealth will continue to call upon the people early and late, to rise and claim that which is their own.” Thus proclaimed the Everett Commonwealth at its debut on February 4, 1911.

First edited by O.L. Anderson, this four-column, eight-page weekly entered into the fractious debates typical of the Washington State’s multiplying Socialist factions. Editors came and went in quick succession, the most notable being Anna Agnes Maley (September 1911-May 1912). Having written for one of the most important Socialist periodicals in the country—-The Appeal to Reason, Maley had made her mark nationally through her support for political and women’s rights before coming to Washington State. The Commonwealth’s coverage of notable national and international events expanded under her hand, without a reduction in the detailed reports on Socialist activities around the state.

With the Presidential election of 1912 on the horizon and with Eugene V. Debs leading the Socialist ticket, Maley left the paper in order to run for governor, the first woman and first Socialist to do so in the state. The Commonwealth covered the run-up to the election in considerable depth, publishing Debs’ speech in Everett along with other campaign news. Maley came in third in the race for governor, taking a respectable 12 percent of the vote.

The Commonwealth continued under six more editors, including Maynard Shipley, a graduate of Stanford University and former editor of the World of Oakland, California– the oldest Socialist newspaper on the West Coast. Believing that the constant squabbling among factions damaged the Socialist cause, Shipley refused to publish stories about the infighting. He tried to maintain high standards of journalism in the Commonwealth, increasing the use of photographs and the depth of news coverage.

Several significant figures in the national and international Socialist movement contributed to the Commonwealth including Gordon Nye, Fred D. Warren, George D. Herron, and Debs himself. The paper advocated strongly for freedom of expression, universal suffrage, industrial unionism, and the single tax. It also supported the Industrial Workers of the World and helped the Washington State Socialist Party to push organized labor toward the left. Despite constant efforts to increase its subscription base, the paper struggled financially and went into receivership in March 1914. The final issue of the Commonwealth appeared on April 9, 1914, and the paper’s assets were sold to the Socialist Party of Snohomish County. The Commonwealth’s demise brought about the birth of a new paper, the Washington Socialist.

Provided By: Washington State Library; Olympia, WA

About this Newspaper

Title

  • The Commonwealth (Everett, Wash.) 1911-1914

Names

  • Hazard, Joseph T.
  • Socialist Party (Wash.)

Dates of Publication

  • 1911-1914

Created / Published

  • Everett, Wash. : Commonwealth Pub. Co.

Headings

  • -  Everett (Wash.)--Newspapers
  • -  Washington (State)--Everett
  • -  United States--Washington--Snohomish--Everett

Genre

  • Newspapers

Notes

  • -  Weekly
  • -  Began in 1911.
  • -  -No. 170 (Apr. 9, 1914).
  • -  "A Socialist weekly."
  • -  Editor: J.T. Hazard.
  • -  Archived issues are available in digital format as part of the Library of Congress Chronicling America online collection.
  • -  "Official paper of the Socialist Party of Washington."
  • -  Description based on: Jan. 26, 1911.
  • -  Washington socialist 2169-6063 (DLC)sn 88085769 (OCoLC)18197849

Medium

  • volumes : illustrations

Call Number/Physical Location

  • Newspaper

Library of Congress Control Number

  • sn84025731

OCLC Number

  • 10353705

ISSN Number

  • 2157-3263

Succeeding Titles

Additional Metadata Formats

Availability

Rights & Access

The Library of Congress believes that the newspapers in Chronicling America are in the public domain or have no known copyright restrictions. Newspapers published in the United States more than 95 years ago are in the public domain in their entirety. Any newspapers in Chronicling America that were published less than 95 years ago are also believed to be in the public domain, but may contain some copyrighted third party materials. Researchers using newspapers published less than 95 years ago should be alert for modern content (for example, registered and renewed for copyright and published with notice) that may be copyrighted. Responsibility for making an independent legal assessment of an item and securing any necessary permissions ultimately rests with persons desiring to use the item.

The NEH awardee responsible for producing each digital object is presented in the Chronicling America page display, below the page image – e.g. Image produced by the Library of Congress. For more information on current NDNP awardees, see https://www.loc.gov/ndnp/listawardees.html.

For more information on Library of Congress policies and disclaimers regarding rights and reproductions, see https://www.loc.gov/homepage/legal.html

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

The Commonwealth Everett, Wash. -1914. (Everett, WA), Jan. 1 1911. https://www.loc.gov/item/sn84025731/.

APA citation style:

(1911, January 1) The Commonwealth Everett, Wash. -1914. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/sn84025731/.

MLA citation style:

The Commonwealth Everett, Wash. -1914. (Everett, WA) 1 Jan. 1911. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/item/sn84025731/.