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Newspaper The Advocate and News (Topeka, Kan.) 1897-1899

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About The Advocate and News (Topeka, Kan.) 1897-1899

The Advocate began on August 10, 1889, and became the official organ of the Kansas Farmers’ Alliance with the motto “Devoted to the Interests of the Farmer’s Alliance and Industrial Union and Other Kindred Organizations.” It later served as the leading paper of the People’s Party in the state, with phenomenal circulation and commanding influence. The Advocate became the conscience and inspiration of Kansas Populism. Regarding many of the political issues of the time in Kansas, readers would say: “We don’t know what to think about this or that; we will wait until the Advocate comes. Doctor McLallin will give us the truth” (a memoir of McLallin by Annie L. Diggs in Transactions of the Kansas State Historical Society, 1897-1900).  

Stephen McLallin had practiced for nearly two decades as a physician when he took editorial charge of the Meriden Report, which he renamed the Advocate in 1889. The first twenty issues of the Advocate ran until December 20, 1889, when the newspaper outgrew its Meriden facilities and moved to Topeka. McLallin was one of the founders of the National Reform Press Association, and for a time was its president as well as president of the Kansas Reform Press Association. In 1890 the Populist orator and reformer Annie Leporte Diggs joined the paper as associate editor. The People’s Party, which had arisen out of the Farmer’s Alliance movement, gave voice the political needs of farmers and common citizens. Populists believed that the government was operating only in the interests of the economic elite. On July 27, 1892, “as the result of a matrimonial transaction in journalism,” the Advocate and another Populist paper, the Topeka Tribune, merged to reduce publication costs. The efforts of the renamed Advocate and Topeka Tribune continued in the direction of political reform and in the interests of the People’s Party. On January 17, 1894, the paper resumed its original title of the Advocate. McLallin continued to edit the Advocate until about a year before he died on March 4, 1897. By then, the paper was under the direction of William Alfred Peffer, the first Populist U.S. Senator. Peffer had been chairman of the national conference that organized the People’s Party and served as president of the National Reform Press Association. He was an important reformer to the extent that Populism was sometimes referred to as “Pefferism.”

In 1897, the Advocate and News merged with another Topeka paper, George B. Harrison’s Kansas News, and ran as the Advocate and News. It continued until 1899 when the title changed to the Farmer’s Advocate under the same editors and publishers.

Provided By: Kansas State Historical Society; Topeka, KS

About this Newspaper

Title

  • The Advocate and News (Topeka, Kan.) 1897-1899

Dates of Publication

  • 1897-1899

Created / Published

  • Topeka, Kan. : Geo. B. Harrison & Co., 1897-1899.

Headings

  • -  Topeka (Kan.)--Newspapers
  • -  Kansas--Topeka
  • -  United States--Kansas--Shawnee--Topeka

Genre

  • Newspapers

Notes

  • -  Weekly
  • -  9th year, no. 47 (Nov. 24, 1897)-11th year, no. 15 (Apr. 12, 1899).
  • -  "Devoted to the best interests of the home, the shop and the farm."
  • -  "Official State paper."
  • -  Archived issues are available in digital format as part of the Library of Congress Chronicling America online collection.
  • -  Farmers advocate (Topeka, Kan.) (DLC)sn 85032021 (OCoLC)12788795

Medium

  • 3 volumes : illustrations ; 40 cm

Call Number/Physical Location

  • Newspaper

Library of Congress Control Number

  • sn85032019

OCLC Number

  • 12759330

ISSN Number

  • 2329-2547

Preceding Titles

Succeeding Titles

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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.

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Cite This Item

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

Chicago citation style:

The Advocate and News Topeka, Kan. -1899. (Topeka, KS), Jan. 1 1897. https://www.loc.gov/item/sn85032019/.

APA citation style:

(1897, January 1) The Advocate and News Topeka, Kan. -1899. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/sn85032019/.

MLA citation style:

The Advocate and News Topeka, Kan. -1899. (Topeka, KS) 1 Jan. 1897. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/item/sn85032019/.