Stanley B. Wilson
{{short description|American socialist}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific_prefix = The Reverend
| name = Stanley B. Wilson
| image = Stanley Wilson Crop.jpg
| caption = Wilson in 1906
| office = Member of the
California State Board of Education
| appointer = William Stephens
| term_start = December 21, 1918
| term_end = November 9, 1923
| predecessor = Charles A. Whitmore
| successor = S. D. Merk
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{birth date|1869|10|11}}
| birth_place = Arnprior, Ontario, Canada
| death_date = {{death date and age|1937|01|27|1869|10|11}}
| death_place = Los Angeles, California, U.S.
| death_cause =
| resting_place = Forest Lawn Memorial Park
| resting_place_coordinates =
| nationality = Canadian
| other_names =
| known_for = 1906 Los Angeles mayoral election
The Western Comrade
| education = University of Southern California
| alma mater =
| employer =
| occupation = Labor leader, newspaper publisher, preacher
| party = Republican
| otherparty = Prohibition {{small|(1890)}}
Public Ownership {{small|(1906)}}
Democratic {{small|(1908)}}
Socialist {{small|(1911–1915)}}
| boards =
| spouse = {{marriage|Georgia M. Baxter|June 1, 1891}}
| children = {{flatlist|
- Charlotte
- Ethel
}}
| parents =
| relatives =
}}
Stanley Brock Wilson (October 11, 1869 – January 27, 1937) was a Canadian-American labor leader, newspaper publisher and Methodist preacher who served two terms on the California State Board of Education.{{cite news |author= |date=27 January 1937 |title=Stanley B. Wilson dies in Los Angeles hospital |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/617110267/?terms=stanley%20b%20wilson&match=1 |work=The Sacramento Bee |location=Sacramento |access-date=28 March 2024}}{{cite news |author= |date=2 September 1907 |title=Eloquent labor leader once a fighting parson |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/607874302/?terms=%22Stanley%20B.%20Wilson%22&match=1 |work=The Los Angeles Evening Express |location=Los Angeles |access-date=29 March 2024}} In 1906, he ran for mayor of Los Angeles on the Public Ownership ticket.{{cite news |author= |date= 6 December 1906|title=Machine rebuked at polls. |url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=LAH19061206.2.44&srpos=3&e=-------en--20-LAH-1--txt-txIN-machine+rebuked+at+polls------- |work=The Los Angeles Herald |location=Los Angeles |access-date=5 September 2023}} In 1918, Governor William Stephens appointed Wilson to a seat on the California State Board of Education, where he served until 1923.{{cite news |author= |date=10 November 1923 |title=Merk named on the Board of Education |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/998059004/?terms=stanley%20b%20wilson&match=1 |work=The Sacramento Union |location=Sacramento |access-date=28 March 2024}} Throughout his life he edited and published several newspapers and magazines, including The Western Comrade.[https://www.marxists.org/history/usa/pubs/westerncomrade/ "The Marxists Internet Archive"]
Early life
Image:California's Pugilist Preacher.jpg
Stanley Brock Wilson was born on October 11, 1869, in Arnprior, Ontario.{{cite web |url=https://freepages.rootsweb.com/~wjmartin/genealogy/wm-w_106.htm |title=Wesleyan Methodist Baptismal Register |author= |date= |website=rootsweb.com |publisher= |access-date=2 April 2024 |quote=}}{{cite news |author= |date=26 September 1919 |title=Who's Who in the State's Service |url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=SDU19190926.2.54&srpos=8&e=-------en--20--1--txt-txIN-%22Stanley+B.+Wilson%22-ILLUSTRATION------ |work=The Sacramento Union |location=Sacramento |access-date=4 April 2024}} He was the second of eight children born to William Wilson, an Irish immigrant, and his wife Martha, a Canadian native.{{cite news |author= |date=23 June 1899 |title=Death of Mrs. William Wilson |url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=SDDU18990623.2.52&srpos=10&e=------189-en--20--1--txt-txIN-%22Stanley+B.+Wilson%22------- |work=The San Diego Union |location=San Diego |access-date=2 April 2024}} Wilson immigrated to the United States at 18, settling in San Diego County with his brother.
Wilson's political and religious career began not long after arriving in Southern California; in 1889 he was elected chaplain of a local Band of Hope,{{cite news |author= |date=8 January 1889 |title=The Excelsiors Elect Officers for the Ensuing Year |url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=SDDU18890108.2.74.2&srpos=2&e=------188-en--20--1--txt-txIN-%22Stanley+B.+Wilson%22------- |work=The San Diego Union |location=San Diego |access-date=2 April 2024}} and in 1890 he was Secretary of the San Diego County Prohibition Party.{{cite news |author= |date=7 August 1890 |title=The Prohibitionists Hold A County Convention and Nominate a Full Ticket |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/572093448/?terms=%22Stanley%20B.%20Wilson%22&match=1 |work=The National City Record |location=National City |access-date=2 April 2024}} Later that year he was the party's candidate for San Diego County Clerk.{{cite news |author= |date=2 August 1890 |title=First in the Field |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/836160432/?terms=%22Stanley%20B.%20Wilson%22&match=1 |work=The Elsinore News |location=Lake Elsinore |access-date=2 April 2024}}
Wilson first came to prominence in the 1890s as a preacher and newspaper publisher in Ramona, California. After some time working for other papers, he acquired The Ramona Sentinel (the only newspaper in the area) in 1897 and became its editor.{{cite news |author= |date=8 April 1897 |title=Ramona |url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=LAH18970408.2.24.4&srpos=3&e=------189-en--20--1--txt-txIN-%22Stanley+B.+Wilson%22----1897--- |work=The Los Angeles Herald |location=Los Angeles |access-date=3 April 2024}}
="Pugilist Preacher"=
Soon after taking over the Sentinel, Wilson was involved in at least two fistfights with locals. The first involved a man from Julian who confronted Wilson after being labeled a "bully" by the Sentinel.{{cite news |author= |date=8 November 1897 |title=A Fighting Preacher |url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=SDDU18971108.2.35&srpos=1&e=------189-en--20--1--txt-txIN-%22Stanley+Wilson%22------- |work=The San Diego Union |location=San Diego |access-date=3 April 2024}} The second allegedly involved a group of American Indians about to attack a man.{{cite news |author= |date=11 November 1897 |title=The Rev. Stanley Wilson of Ramona |url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=FDE18971111.2.42&srpos=6&e=------189-en--20--1--txt-txIN-%22Stanley+Wilson%22+sentinel----1897--- |work=Daily Evening Expositor |location=Fresno |access-date=3 April 2024}} Wilson won both fights, and was dubbed the “pugilist preacher” by The Los Angeles Herald.{{cite news |author= |date=25 January 1898 |title=This man is both Pugilist and Preacher |url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=LAH18980125.2.105&srpos=3&e=------189-en--20--1--txt-txIN-%22Stanley+B.+Wilson%22----1898--- |work=The Los Angeles Herald |location=Los Angeles |access-date=3 April 2024}}
Political career
Despite his earlier association with the Prohibition Party, by 1898 Wilson was an active Republican,{{cite news |author= |date=17 September 1898 |title=Ticket Completed |url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=SDDU18980917.2.19&srpos=5&e=-------en--20--1--txt-txIN-%22Stanley+B.+Wilson%22+republican----1898--- |work=The San Diego Union |location=San Diego |access-date=3 April 2024}} stumping for William McKinley. In 1899 he was appointed a clerk to the State Assembly,{{cite news |author= |date=3 January 1899 |title=Evening Session |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/42193364/?terms=%22Stanley%20Wilson%22&match=1 |work=The Sacramento Union |location=Sacramento |access-date=3 April 2024}} and in 1900 he was made gatekeeper of the State Senate.{{cite news |author= |date=8 February 1900 |title=Local Happenings |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/571838218/?terms=%22Stanley%20Wilson%22&match=1 |work=The Record |location=National City |access-date=3 April 2024}} That same year, he leased the Sentinel and moved to San Francisco.{{cite news |author= |date=25 January 1900 |title=Local Happenings |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/571838176/?terms=%22Stanley%20Wilson%22&match=1 |work=The Record |location=National City |access-date=3 April 2024}} By 1903, he had settled in Los Angeles,{{cite news |author= |date=24 January 1903 |title=Local News |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/3594584/?terms=%22Stanley%20B.%20Wilson%22&match=1 |work=Covina Argus |location=Covina |access-date=3 April 2024}} and in 1905 he was elected president of the Los Angeles Typographical Union.{{cite news |author= |date=10 August 1905 |title=Printers' Banquet |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/677822970/?terms=%22Stanley%20B.%20Wilson%22&match=1 |work=Los Angeles Evening Post-Record |location=Los Angeles |access-date=3 April 2024}}
=1906 Los Angeles mayoral campaign=
File:Los Angeles need not hesitate in choosing a champion.jpg cartoon from the 1906 election depicting the candidates as gladiators of varying strength. Wilson is shown in the back leading a legion of "Ruef refugees."]]
On February 21, 1906, representatives of Los Angeles organized labor came together to form the Public Ownership Party, on the basis that anti-labor forces controlled city hall and private ownership of utilities was the source of political corruption.{{cite book |last=Stimson |first=Grace Heilman |author-link= |date=1955 |title=Rise of the labor movement in Los Angeles |url=https://archive.org/details/riseoflabormovem0000grac/page/306/mode/2up |location=Berkeley and Los Angeles |publisher=University of California Press |page=306 |isbn=}} Wilson took an early leadership role in the party, serving as chairman at the founding convention.{{cite news |author= |date=22 February 1906 |title=New Party Formed |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/677900551/?terms=%22Stanley%20B.%20Wilson%22&match=1 |work=Los Angeles Evening Post-Record |location=Los Angeles |access-date=3 April 2024}} In September the party announced its platform and ticket, with Wilson chosen unanimously as the candidate for mayor.{{cite news |author= |date=28 September 1906 |title=Public Ownership Ticket Forecasted |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/677838681/?terms=%22Stanley%20B.%20Wilson%22&match=1 |work=Los Angeles Evening Post-Record |location=Los Angeles |access-date=3 April 2024}}
Wilson campaigned on a platform that included banishing corporate lobbyists from city hall, restricting the sale of liquor, and an eight-hour workday for city employees.{{cite news |author= |date=25 November 1906 |title=Candidates for the mayoralty tell what they intend to do if elected |url=https://ccdl.claremont.edu/digital/collection/lsc/id/994/rec/33 |work=The Los Angeles Examiner |location=Los Angeles |access-date=13 April 2024}} His opponents were Democratic banker Arthur C. Harper, Republican doctor Walter Lindley, Non-Partisan attorney Lee C. Gates, Socialist carpenter Frank A. Marek, and Prohibitionist Wiley J. Phillips (another reverend-turned-newspaper editor).
During the campaign, his opponents accused him of being a puppet of the San Francisco political boss Abe Ruef, charging that refugees of the 1906 earthquake would be sent south en masse to steal the election.{{cite news |author= |date=25 November 1906 |title=Nothern strikers will help Wilson. |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/380258348/?match=1&terms=%22stanley%20b%20wilson%22%20ruef |work=Los Angeles Times |location=Los Angeles |access-date=6 August 2024}} Wilson, for his part, denounced Ruef, comparing him to the Democratic and Republican bosses that ran Los Angeles.{{cite news |author= |date=11 November 1906 |title=Wilson's Campaign. |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/380246941/?match=1&terms=%22stanley%20b%20wilson%22%20ruef |work=Los Angeles Times |location=Los Angeles |access-date=6 August 2024}}
Wilson would ultimately lose the election to Democrat Arthur Cyprian Harper, coming in fourth place with just over 12 percent of the vote.
Personal life
Wilson married Georgia M. Baxter on June 1, 1891, in Sultan, Washington.{{cite news |author= |date=9 June 1891 |title=The marriage of Stanley B. Wilson |url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=SDDU18910609.2.32&srpos=1&e=------189-en--20--1--txt-txIN-%22Stanley+B.+Wilson%22----1891--- |work=The San Diego Union |location=San Diego |access-date=3 April 2024}} They had two daughters, Charlotte and Ethel.
On May 31, 1913, Charlotte Wilson married Floyd De Hay, an unemployed youth that had recently been released from reform school and taken in by her father. Four days later, she filed for annullment, charging that De Hay had forced her to marry him by threatening to kill her and her father. De Hay was soon arrested, and the annullment was granted that August.{{cite news |author= |date=18 August 1913 |title=Pretty girl forced to wed freed |url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=LAH19130818.2.8&srpos=10&e=-------en--20--1--txt-txIN-%22Stanley+B.+Wilson%22-ILLUSTRATION------ |work=The Los Angeles Evening Herald |location=Los Angeles |access-date=4 April 2024}}
Works
{{commons}}
- Can a Catholic Be a Socialist? Los Angeles: The Citizen Print Shop, 1912.
- The Gospel of Socialism. Los Angeles: The Citizen Print Shop, 1913.
- [https://www.marxists.org/history/usa/pubs/westerncomrade/ The Western Comrade.] Los Angeles: The Citizen Publishing Company, 1913–1918.
References
{{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Stanley B.}}
Category:California Republicans
Category:Socialist Party of America politicians from California
Category:20th-century American newspaper publishers (people)
Category:Trade unionists from California
Category:International Typographical Union people
Category:American political party founders
Category:American temperance activists
Category:Progressive Era in the United States
Category:University of Southern California alumni
Category:People from Arnprior, Ontario
Category:Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills)