William Byron Colver

{{Short description|American journalist and public official (1870–1926)}}

{{Infobox person

| name = William Byron Colver

| image = William Byron Colver in 1917 (cropped).jpg

| alt =

| caption = Colver in 1917

| birth_name =

| birth_date = {{birth date|1870|9|26}}

| birth_place = Wellington, Ohio, U.S.

| death_date = {{death date and age|1926|5|28|1870|9|26}}

| death_place = Washington, D.C., U.S.

| resting_place =

| other_names =

| alma_mater = Ohio State University

| occupation = {{hlist|Journalist|lawyer}}

| years_active =

| employer =

| known_for =

| notable_works =

| spouse = {{marriage|Pauline Simmons|1897}}

| children =

| signature = Signature of William B. Colver (cropped).png

}}

William Byron Colver (September 26, 1870 - May 28, 1926) was chairman of the Federal Trade Commission and general editorial director of the Scripps‐Howard newspapers. He was a member of the price-fixing committee of the War Industries Board during World War I.

Early life

William Byron Colver was born on September 26, 1870, in Wellington, Ohio, to Josephine L. (née Noble) and Byron H. Colver.{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-evening-news-william-b-colver-56/138557164/ |title=William B. Colver, 56, Dies in Washington |date=1926-05-29 |newspaper=The Evening Press |page=18 |via=Newspapers.com |access-date=2024-01-11}}{{Open access}}{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-evening-sun-william-byron-colver-4/138564205/ |title=William Byron Colver |date=1919-08-04 |newspaper=The Evening Sun |page=8 |via=Newspapers.com |access-date=2024-01-12}}{{Open access}}{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/historyandgenea00boltgoog/page/780/mode/2up |title=History and Genealogy of the Family of Thomas Noble of Westfield, Massachusetts |last=Boltwood |first=Lucius M. |publisher=Case, Lockwood & Brainard Company |year=1878 |pages=229,781 |via=Archive.org |access-date=2024-01-12}}{{Open access}} He attended common schools and graduated from Ohio State University in 1891. He was admitted to the bar in 1892.{{Cite news |url=https://archive.org/details/editorpublisher5919unse_0/page/n69/mode/2up |title=Colver, Editor and Public Servant, Dead |last=Pew |first=Marlen |newspaper=Editor & Publisher |pages=7–8 |via=Archive.org |access-date=2024-01-12}}{{Open access}}{{Cite news |url=https://archive.org/details/sim_editor-publisher_1924-04-19_56_47/page/28/mode/2up |title=Colver Speaks of Newspaper of Tomorrow |last=Schuyler |first=Philip |date=1924-04-19 |newspaper=Editor & Publisher |page=28 |via=Archive.org |access-date=2024-01-12}}{{Open access}}{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/historyofohiosta43ohio/page/184/mode/2up |title=History of the Ohio State University |volume=4 |last1=Siebert |first1=Wilbur H. |last2=McNeal |first2=Edgar Holmes |year=1938 |page=185 |via=Archive.org |access-date=2024-01-12}}{{Open access}}

Career

After graduating, Colver practiced law in Cleveland and Sandusky for two years.{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/evening-star-william-b-colver-funeral-t/138557646/ |title=William B. Colver Funeral Tuesday |date=1926-05-29 |newspaper=The Evening Star |page=7 |via=Newspapers.com |access-date=2024-01-11}}{{Open access}}

He was a journalist for The Cleveland Leader (then the Plain Dealer) and later the Cleveland Press. During the Russo-Japanese War, he traveled to Japan and China, and he served as a war correspondent in Manchuria.{{Cite news |url=https://archive.org/details/sim_editor-publisher_1904-12-03_4_24/page/n1/mode/2up |title=W. B. Colver's Appointment |date=1904-12-03 |newspaper=The Editor and Publisher |page=2 |via=Archive.org |access-date=2024-01-12}}{{Open access}}[http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn88085187/1904-06-10/ed-1/seq-3/ THE VALIANT RUSSIANS POT TWO HARMLESS CHINK FERRY TENDERS], in the Tacoma Times (via Chronicling America); published June 10, 1904; retrieved August 9, 2017 He served as New York and Washington correspondent for the Scripps‐Howard newspapers (then Scripps-McRae) from 1898 to 1900. He helped organize the Newspaper Editorial Alliance and served as its general manager from 1907 to 1912 and also served as editor. In his obituary, it was noted his editorials were influential in highlighting the forest exploitation in the Pinchot–Ballinger controversy and led to the resignation of Secretary of the Interior Richard A. Ballinger. He was appointed as secretary of the Cleveland Municipal Street Railway Company and served for one year. He fought for public control of the streetcar lines during Mayor Tom L. Johnson's tenure.{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-pittsburgh-press-w-b-colver-journ/138557956/ |title=W. B. Colver, Journalist and Ex-Public Official, Dies |date=1926-05-29 |newspaper=The Pittsburgh Press |page=16 |via=Newspapers.com |access-date=2024-01-11}}{{Open access}} In December 1904, he was appointed as Cuyahoga County tax inquisitor. He served as editor-in-chief of the Clover Leaf newspapers in Minnesota and Nebraska until 1917. He was also publisher of the Daily News.

On March 21, 1917, President Woodrow Wilson appointed Colver to the Federal Trade Commission.{{cite news |title=Mrs. William B. Colver |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1964/12/28/mrs-william-colver.html |newspaper=New York Times |date=December 28, 1964 |access-date=2015-04-11 }}{{Cite news |url=https://archive.org/details/per_chicago-daily-tribune_1917-03-22_76_70/page/n13/mode/2up |title=Two New Members Sworn to Federal Trade Board |date=1917-03-22 |newspaper=The Chicago Daily Tribune |page=14 |via=Archive.org |access-date=2024-01-12}}{{Open access}} He served as chairman of the commission from 1918 to 1919. He left the commission in 1920.{{cite web |url=http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/collinsworth-combest.html#COLVER |title=William Byron Colver |access-date=2015-04-11 }} During his tenure, he led a number of fights including the "stolen files" case against Chicago meatpackers.{{Cite magazine |url=https://archive.org/details/sim_national-provisioner_1919-01-04_60_1/page/n1/mode/2up |title=Colver Accuses Packers of Food Monopoly |magazine=The National Provisioner |date=1919-01-04 |via=Archive.org |access-date=2024-01-12}}{{Open access}}{{Cite news |url=https://archive.org/details/sim_new-york-times_1919-10-30_69_22559/page/n23/mode/2up |title=Assails Big Meat Packers |date=1919-10-30 |newspaper=New York Times |page=25 |via=Archive.org |access-date=2024-01-12}}{{Open access}} During World War I, he served as a member of the price fixing committee of the War Industries Board.

In 1919, he formed the Scripps-Howard Newspaper Alliance (then Scripps-McRae Press Association). He later served as general editorial director for Scripps-Howard. He retired in 1924. An editorialist, he believed tabloid journalism would become competitive with standard newspapers. In a letter in April 1911, he wrote the editorial column was the "personality of the paper, its incarnation into human being".