Max S. Hayes Papers on Microfilm
Collection Number: 5471 mf
Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives, Cornell University Library
Title:
Max S. Hayes Papers on Microfilm,
1816-1949
Collection Number:
5471 mf
Creator:
Hayes, Max S.
Quantity:
2 microfilm reels
Forms of Material:
Papers (documents), microfilm.
Repository:
Kheel Center for Labor- Management Documentation and
Archives, Cornell University Library
Abstract:
These papers consist primarily of correspondence. Also
included are newspaper clippings, an autograph book, and a typed copy of tributes to
Hayes.
Language:
Collection material in English
Maximilian Sebastian-Hayes (May 25, 1866 -October 11, 1945) was born in a cabin at
Havana, Huron County, Ohio. Hayes obtained his limited formal education in the rural
schools of Huron County (1871-1881).
While still in his teens, Hayes moved to Cleveland. There he worked on the Cleveland
Press (1881-1890). At this time the young Hayes also obtained an apprenticeship with
Typographical Union 53. He took an active part in the union and at one time or other
held most of the offices both in the local union and in the Central Labor Union.
Hayes also served as a delegate from Cleveland to AFL conventions. In 1903 the AFL
elected Hayes as a delegate to the British Trade Union Congress in London, England,
where his speech gained international attention. Eight years later (1911) Hayes ran
for president of the AFL against Samuel Gompers. Although Gompers won, Hayes
received one third of the votes.
His interest in the organized labor movement led him to establish a newspaper to
promote its cause. Thus, on January 31, 1891, Hayes became the founder-editor of the
Cleveland Citizen the earliest extant local weekly newspaper in the United States to
be dedicated to the movement. When he first started out, Hayes had a small, shabby
office and thirty dollars in capital. Within four years, however, the Citizen had
gained such wide recognition as a voice for the working classes that the American
Federation of Labor felt compelled to establish The American Federationist or else
acknowledge the Citizen as the official labor newspaper in the United States.
A Populist newspaper until 1896, in that year it became the trade union organ of the
Cleveland Federation of Labor, the local council of the American Federation of
Labor. Hayes was its editor for almost fifty years, until incapacitated by illness
in 1939. Under his editorship the Citizen dealt with the primary issues of labor
including better working conditions, higher wages, and shorter hours. Hayes,
himself, took the time to appear before legislative committees at Columbus to voice
his support of legislation to improve the lot of the working man.
Active in the Socialist movement too, Hayes belonged to the Populist Party
(1890-1896) and the Socialist Labor Party (1897-1900) before joining the Socialist
Party in 1900. He was a Socialist Party candidate for Congress in 1900 and for
Secretary of State of Ohio in 1902. The Socialist Labor Party nominated him for Vice
President of the United States at its National Convention at Rochester, New York
(February 2, 1900). Hayes, however, resigned from the ticket a couple of months
later when the Socialist Labor Party joined with the Social Democratic Party to form
the Socialist Party. Subsequently chairman of the Executive committee of the
National Labor Party (1919) his final campaign was in 1920 when he ran for the Vice
President of the United States on the Farmer-Labor ticket.
In Cleveland Hayes was a leader in Community affairs. In 1904, for example, Hayes and
a group of Cleveland doctors and citizens formed the Anti-tuberculosis League in
which he played an active part. In Ohio he was labor's representative on the
Consumer's League of Ohio beginning in 1900. He served on the Metropolitan Housing
Authority, 1933-1937. In 1934 he was appointed to the State Adjustment Board (NRA).
Hayes married Dora Schneider December 11, 1900. They had one child, a daughter,
Maxine Elizabeth, who married A.I. Davey Jr. in 1931. Davey became editor of the
Citizen when Max Hayes retired.
The papers of Max S. Hayes consist primarily of correspondence. Also included are
newspaper clippings, an autograph book, and a typed copy of tributes to Hayes. They
span the period 1891-1949 with the bulk period covering 1900-1928.
Boxes 1-5 (1891-1949) consist mainly of correspondence. Many of the letters are from
Hayes to his wife, Dora, and a few to their daughter Maxine. Also found here are
letters to Hayes from numerous friends and associatesA.M. Simons (editor, The
International Socialist Review) Henry L. Slobodin (of the Socialist Labor Party),
and others.
Box 6 contains newspaper clippings relating to Hayes, a few printed items, and an
autograph book. Also included here is a copy (tvpewritten/52 pages) of tributes paid
to Hayes at the Fiftieth Anniversary Dinner honoring his founding of the Cleveland
Citizen-Cleveland, Ohio, February 1, 1941.
The papers relate both to his personal life and to his work. Although many of Hayes'
letters are to his wife, Dora, they offer not only a glimpse into his private life,
but also into his life-long work in the local and national AFL and in the Socialist
movement. For he frequently wrote to his wifewhen away from homeabout his opinions
of particular speaking tours, his activities at conventions,
or his current ideas and impressions.
Correspondence.with other persons also relates to his activities in the labor and
socialist movements. Socialist sentiments, American Federation of Labor affairs, and
interest in the National Labor Party all appear in the letters to Hayes. Also found
here are letters that touch on Hayes' civic work. In addition, there are letters to
Mrs. Hayes from family and friends, plus a few from her to her husband.
Names:
Hayes, Max S., 1866-1945
Form and Genre Terms:
Papers (documents)
Microfilm.
Access Restrictions:
Access to the collections in the Kheel Center is restricted. Please contact a
reference archivist for access to these materials.
Restrictions on Use:
This collection must be used in keeping with the Kheel Center Information Sheet
and Procedures for Document Use.
Cite As:
Max S. Hayes Papers on Microfilm #5471 mf. Kheel Center for Labor-Management
Documentation and Archives, Cornell University Library.
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Container
|
Description
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Date
|
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| Reel 1 | 1891-1915 | ||
|
positive
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| Reel 2 | 1816-1949 | ||
|
positive
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