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222:(SPW) and served two terms as the SPW's representative on the governing National Committee of the Socialist Party of America in 1902 and 1903. Although identified with the left wing of the party, Boomer was also recognized as a peacemaker, being dispatched to Utah by the National Committee in 1902 to help broker a truce between warring party factions in
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to the
Socialist Party and continued to edit it until 1909. Boomer worked hard to modernize and expand his paper, moving to automated typesetting and expanding the paper from 4 pages to 8. Circulation grew to 4,000. During this interval Boomer also periodically contributed a column to
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mill. Due to the family's poverty, Boomer himself soon went to work in the mills, taking a job which paid him 65 cents for each 12-hour day. Boomer attended school three months a year, as required by law, until he reached the age of 14, at which time he dropped out.
128:
for a period of three years. In 1895, Boomer again ran for
Governor of Rhode Island, heading the SLP ticket. Boomer received more votes than any other SLP candidate in the election, a total of 1,709 out of about 43,000 ballots cast (4%).
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78:
Boomer worked for a time as a newsboy, a job which brought him into contact with the world of newspaper publishing. He eventually found a first job in the industry assisting with the production of the
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established after the decision of
Washington's left wing socialists to bolt the 1909 Convention of the Socialist Party of Washington and to form instead a new organization, the
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and initiated
Wayland-style folksy editorial patter to the front page, writing his column under the headline "Thoughts, by Your Uncle" while using the pseudonym "Uncle Sam."
165:. Boomer was smitten with the idea and he departed for the West Coast in the spring of 1898, bringing with him the knowledge of newspaper promotion which he had garnered in
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the following year. Boomer remained a member of that union throughout his life. He was a member of the Rhode Island
Central Labor Union for 8 years and its president for 2.
663:
333:, Boomer was attacked by a soldier from the nearby fort, an event which caused outrage in the Socialist community when the local judge refused to issue an
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in
November 1904 on the ticket of the Socialist Party of America. He ran at the top of the state party's ticket in 1908 as the Socialist nominee for
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668:
207:, instead forming his own socialist educational organization — a group which maintained an independent existence until after the formation of the
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for the attacker, instead declaring from the bench that the
Socialists should all be thrown into the bay and that he would be glad to assist.
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The
Boomers sold their newspaper in May 1909 and moved back across the Cascades to Seattle. There George Boomer edited at least one issue of
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journalist, newspaper editor, and political activist. Boomer is best remembered as a key participant in the formation of the
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George Boomer died on April 5, 1915, in Port
Angeles, Washington. He was just 52 years old at the time of his death.
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in the summer of 1901. Boomer would merge his local group into the
Socialist Party shortly after its formation.
237:, a small town in Central Washington. There he switched the political orientation of the town's newspaper, the
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In 1903, Boomer, now married a second time to a woman 18 years his junior named Alice, headed east of the
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for the first time in 1893. Boomer also published the Providence SLP and trade unionist newspaper,
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280:. On the campaign trail in 1908, Boomer was rotten-egged by listeners hostile to his message in
161:(BCC), who sought to establish a socialist colony on the American frontier in the new state of
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During his life, Boomer made four national speaking tours on behalf of the Socialist Party.
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188:. In December 1898 Boomer established a short-lived new socialist newspaper in Tacoma, the
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It was in this capacity that he learned of a group of devoted socialists, organized as the
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George Boomer came to Washington state in 1898 as part of a project to establish a
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Boomer was not long with the Equalty colony, however, soon departing rural
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Boomer made one last political run as the Socialist Party's candidate for
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weekly. The following year he moved to Port Angeles, where he edited the
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Twin Progeny of Capitalist Individualism: Assassins and Hero Worshipers.
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under Wayland's employ. Boomer took charge of the colony's newspaper,
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to work on the editorial staff of Wayland's popular socialist weekly,
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533:"Socialist Ticket: D. Burgess, of Tacoma, Nominated for Governor,"
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on Puget Sound. He remained in the state for the rest of his life.
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571:
Political Graveyard.com, Ann Arbor, MI. Retrieved April 15, 2010.
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In 1896, Boomer published an independent socialist newspaper in
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Socialist Party of America politicians from Washington (state)
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Cartoon of George Boomer from his 1908 gubernatorial campaign.
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In 1913, Boomer returned to Seattle where he helped to edit
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In 1902, Boomer launched a new socialist weekly in Tacoma,
486:"Rhode Island: Interesting Sketch of the Late Elections,"
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George Boomer in 1913, just two years prior to his death.
299:. Both the paper and the party proved to be short-lived.
321:, in 1912 where he edited another local newspaper, the
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George Ellsworth Boomer was born November 29, 1862, in
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The Boomers, baby daughter Mildred in tow, moved to
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in this capacity and in 1897 relocated to Southeast
218:He was elected to the first State Committee of the
180:for a more close approximation of civilization in
120:(SLP) in 1884. Boomer ran on the SLP's ticket for
474:Oly Blog, Olympia, WA. Retrieved April 15, 2010.
100:In June 1884, Boomer married Mary A. Vickery.
399:New York: Monthly Review Press, 1964; pg. 17.
306:, in 1910, where George worked as a printer.
8:
465:"Ungovernor, 1908: George Ellsworth Boomer,"
159:Brotherhood of the Cooperative Commonwealth
184:when the colony refused to participate in
490:, vol. 5, no. 4 (April 21, 1895), pg. 1.
603:, whole no. 134 (July 24, 1913), pg. 4.
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538:vol. 18, no. 75 (June 2, 1904), pg. 2.
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358:in Washington's 2nd District in 1914.
93:, where he joined the newly organized
664:Writers from Providence, Rhode Island
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192:a publication supportive of the SLP.
89:In the fall of 1882, Boomer moved to
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587:Edmonds, WA: George E. Boomer, 1912.
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197:Social Democratic Party of America
41:(1862–1915) was an American
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679:Trade unionists from Rhode Island
199:headed by radical trade unionist
95:International Typographical Union
397:Revolution in Seattle: A Memoir.
274:Secretary of State of Washington
118:Socialist Labor Party of America
19:For the Union Army colonel, see
684:People from Prosser, Washington
669:Writers from Tacoma, Washington
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644:Washington (state) socialists
614:Socialist Party of Washington
220:Socialist Party of Washington
49:and as its candidate for the
47:Socialist Party of Washington
674:People from Lewiston, Maine
564:Lawrence Kestenbaum (ed.),
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689:Trade unionists from Maine
659:American newspaper editors
209:Socialist Party of America
140:He came into contact with
70:, the son of workers in a
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80:Greenback Labor Chronicle
195:Boomer never joined the
122:Governor of Rhode Island
91:Providence, Rhode Island
649:Rhode Island socialists
547:News report in Everett
304:Leavenworth, Washington
255:revolutionary socialist
39:George Ellsworth Boomer
553:Revolution in Seattle,
521:Revolution in Seattle,
501:Revolution in Seattle,
329:in the nearby town of
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278:Governor of Washington
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51:Governor of Washington
35:
350:Peninsula Free Press.
323:Kitsap County Leader.
319:Bremerton, Washington
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291:Titus's successor to
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265:, writing under the
257:weekly published in
151:The Appeal to Reason
134:Cumberland, Maryland
639:American socialists
598:"George E. Boomer,"
551:cited in O'Connor,
436:"George E. Boomer,"
171:Industrial Freedom,
16:American journalist
566:"George E. Boomer,
470:2011-07-21 at the
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297:Wage Workers Party
116:Boomer joined the
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519:Harvey O'Connor,
499:Harvey O'Connor,
395:Harvey O'Connor,
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601:The Commonwealth
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556:
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536:Aberdeen Herald,
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439:The Commonwealth
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365:Death and legacy
317:Boomer moved to
289:The Wage Worker,
243:Democratic Party
205:Victor L. Berger
186:political action
104:Political career
32:socialist colony
21:George B. Boomer
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592:Further reading
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472:Wayback Machine
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272:Boomer ran for
263:Hermon F. Titus
239:Prosser Record,
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68:Lewiston, Maine
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342:The Barbarian,
335:arrest warrant
201:Eugene V. Debs
190:Spirit of '76,
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549:Commonwealth,
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356:U.S. Congress
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331:Port Townsend
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293:The Socialist
290:
285:
283:
279:
275:
270:
269:"Uncle Sam."
268:
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249:The Socialist
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178:Skagit County
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84:Auburn, Maine
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344:a left wing
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142:J.A. Wayland
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38:
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634:1915 deaths
629:1862 births
463:Steven L.,
136:, known as
62:Early years
623:Categories
503:pp. 17-18.
488:The People
327:soapboxing
282:Ellensburg
163:Washington
138:Uncle Sam.
373:Footnotes
346:satirical
241:from the
57:Biography
53:in 1908.
43:socialist
608:See also
468:Archived
267:pen name
231:Cascades
216:The Sun.
126:Justice,
555:pg. 18.
523:pg. 18.
259:Seattle
235:Prosser
325:While
182:Tacoma
167:Girard
146:Kansas
72:cotton
579:Works
253:the
224:Utah
203:and
261:by
233:to
82:of
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508:^
479:^
446:^
404:^
380:^
284:.
226:.
86:.
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153:.
23:.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
