International Socialist Review (1900)

Algie M. Simons, a graduate of the University of Wisconsin, was the first editor of the International Socialist Review.

International Socialist Review was edited from 1900 to 1908 by Algie M. Simons, formerly of Wisconsin. Under Simons, the magazine served as a sounding board for various theoretical questions which were dividing the socialist movement.[1] The magazine gave particular attention to the role of the socialist movement towards the American farmer, an issue held near and dear both by editor Simons (author of a 1902 book on the topic) as well as by J.A. Wayland of the Appeal to Reason, the largest circulation socialist newspaper of its era.[1]

The tone of the early Review was temperate and the policies advocated modest. The publication was fully reflective of what one historian has called "the rather moderate social-democratic perspective of Simons and other Socialists of the 'Center.'"[2]

From its beginnings in the summer of 1900, the publication managed to achieve a modest circulation of about 4,000, about three-quarters of which obtained the publication by mail rather than via sales at newsstands or via bundle orders by local socialist organizations.[2]

Due to a disagreement over fundamental principles, with Simons' views becoming steadily more moderate while those of his employer became increasingly radical, publisher Charles H. Kerr fired editor Simons in 1908.[1] Kerr worked to make the previously dry and academic publication into what he called "the fighting magazine of socialism," making use of dramatic photography in telling the story of contemporary labor struggles against the forces of capitalism. As historian Allen Ruff notes, the revitalized Review took a very different form than its predecessor:

Mary Marcy played a leading role in establishing the tone and content of the Review after the departure of Algie Simons.

"Liberally illustrated with 'action fotos' and original graphics, the revamped ISR carried firsthand reports of major strikes, lockouts, organizing drives, and employers' offensives as well as theoretical and political discussions. Kerr's work with longtime associates Mary and Leslie Marcy and an editorial board including left-wingers William D. "Big Bill" Haywood, Frank Bohn, and poet/illustrator Ralph Chaplin raised the Review's circulation from nearly 6,000 in 1908 to over 40,000 by 1911."[1]

The Review soon became the major organ of the "left wing" of the Socialist Party, which was critical of what it perceived to be an obsession of many national figures in the party with ameliorative reform.[3] The circulation and influence of the Review was further enhanced with the 1910 termination of The Socialist, a weekly newspaper published in Seattle, Washington by Hermon F. Titus which had gained national attention and readership as a left wing voice. By July 1910, the monthly circulation of the Review had grown to 27,000 copies.[3]

The moderate wing of the Socialist Party was at times sharply critical of The International Socialist Review. Writer Robert Hunter declared in 1911 of the Review:

"It has sneered at Political Action, advocated rival unionism, and vacillated between Anarchism and Proudhonism. The constant emphasis The Review lays on Direct Action and its apparent faith that a revolution can be evoked by Will or Force is in direct opposition to our whole philosophy."[4]

The Review was, in fact, very sympathetic to the Industrial Workers of the World, a revolutionary industrial union which sought to unite all workers regardless of race, craft, or skill under the umbrella of "One Big Union" with a view to the overthrow of the wage system and its replacement with decision-making by economic units established by the workers themselves (syndicalism).