Max S. Hayes

Max S. Hayes as a young man.

Maximillian Sebastian "Max" Hayes (1866—1945) was a newspaper editor, trade union activist, and socialist politician. He is best remembered as the long-time editor of the Cleveland Citizen and as the Vice Presidential candidate of the Farmer-Labor Party ticket in 1920.

Biography

Early years

Max Hayes was born in Havana, Huron County, Ohio on May 25, 1866, the son of a farmer.^[1] Hayes was largely self-educated, only attending school through the 4th grade and going to work at age 14.^[1]

A printer by trade, Hayes worked on the staff of the Cleveland Press from 1881 to 1890. He was a member of the International Typographical Union since 1884.^[1]

In 1890, Hayes founded and edited a labor newspaper of a decidedly Socialist bent, The Cleveland Citizen.^[1] He remained active as editor of this weekly publication until 1939.

Political career

In 1890, Hayes joined the People's Party, of which he was a member until 1896.^[1] Hayes then joined the Socialist Labor Party of America (SLP), serving as the Secretary of Section Cleveland, SLP. He left the SLP during the split of the anti-Daniel DeLeon and pro-American Federation of Labor dissident faction headed by Henry Slobodin and Morris Hillquit in 1899.^[1] Although Hayes was an vocal opponent of Samuel Gompers in the AF of L, he nevertheless was even more opposed to the SLP's Socialist Trade and Labor Alliance (ST&LA), which he believed to be sectarian and destructive.

Max S. Hayes as he appeared in 1918

In 1900 Hayes was nominated for Vice President of the United States by the Hillquit faction in 1900, but withdrew in favor of the candidacy of Job Harriman in a unity ticket that brought together the former-SLP dissidents with the Chicago-based Social Democratic Party of America of Eugene V. Debs and Victor L. Berger.^[1] Hayes was a Social Democratic Party candidate for U.S. Congress in that year.^[1]

Hayes was one of five members of the "Springfield SDP," joining a like number from the Chicago organization, named to a special committee in charge of preparations for the August 1901 Joint Unity Convention from which the Socialist Party of America was born.^[2]

In the 1902 campaign, Hayes stood as the Socialists' candidate for Ohio Secretary of State.^[1]

In 1903, Hayes was chosen as the delegate of the AF of L to the convention of the British Trades Union Congress.^[1]

Hayes was a bitter opponent of the Industrial Workers of the World from the time of its founding in 1905, lending his support instead to the AF of L. In 1911 Hayes challenged Gompers for the AF of L Presidency at the organization's annual convention, polling 30 percent of the convention vote in a losing effort.

Hayes was an opponent of the aggressively antimilitarist 1917 St. Louis resolution of the Socialist Party. He did not resign from that organization until May of 1919, however. Hayes then joined the fledgling [Farmer-Labor Party and was named to the national ticket as candidate for Vice President of the United States, running with the group's Presidential nominee, Parley Parker Christensen. He was active in the Conference for Progressive Political Action (CPPA) from 1922 to 1924.

Death and legacy

Hayes died in Cleveland on October 11, 1945.

The Max S. Hayes papers are held by the Ohio Historical Society and are available through interlibrary loan in microfilmed form.

Hayes is the namesake of Max S. Hayes High School in Cleveland, part of the Cleveland Metropolitan School District.

Footnotes

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j} Solon DeLeon with Irma C. Hayssen and Grace Poole (eds.), The American Labor Who's Who. New York: Hanford Press, 1925; pg. 100.
2. ^ William Butscher, "Reply of the Springfield NEC," The Socialist [Seattle], no. 38 (April 28, 1901), pg. 4.

Works

• Socialism and Trade Unions; Trade Unions and Socialism. With Daniel Lynch. Chicago: Charles H. Kerr & Co., 1900.
• The Double Edge of Labor's Sword: Discussion and Testimony on Socialism and Trade-Unionism before the Commission on Industrial Relations. With Morris Hillquit and Samuel Gompers. Chicago: National Office of the Socialist Party, 1914. Also translated into German and Japanese.
• A History of Cleveland Labor. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland AFL-CIO Federation of Labor/The Greater Cleveland Labor History Society/The Cleveland Citizen, 1987.

Persondata
Name	Hayes, Max S.
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Date of birth	1866
Place of birth
Date of death	1945
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