Everything about Fremont Older totally explained
Fremont Older (
30 August 1856 -
3 March 1935) was born in a
log cabin in
Wisconsin. He was a newspaperman and editor in
San Francisco,
California for nearly fifty years. He is best known for his campaigns against civic corruption and efforts on behalf of
Tom Mooney and
Warren Billings, wrongly convicted of the
Preparedness Day bombing of
1916.
Older began his working life at age twelve as an apprentice printer, he claimed, after reading the story of
Horace Greeley. He worked in
Virginia City,
Nevada, on the
Enterprise, then moved on to the
Redwood City Journal, later writing for the
Alta California.
In 1895, Older became manging editor of the
San Francisco Bulletin (later merged with the
San Francisco Call in 1929), and gained notoriety when he took on the Boss
Abe Ruef machine in San Francisco, during the mayoralty of
Eugene Schmitz, which led to the corruption trials during the rebuilding of
San Francisco following the
1906 Earthquake and fire.
At one point, Older was kidnapped and threatened with murder by persons unknown, but said to be working for the grafters. In his later his years at the
Bulletin, Older was offended by the owner's rewriting of his editorials and refusal to commit to a lifelong appointment, so after twenty-three years of service, he resigned in
1918 and went to
William Randolph Hearst's paper, the
San Francisco Call. Along with talented staff, he brought the Mooney case and numerous other stories that the
Bulletin owner had refused to carry, including the Fair will case involving a state Supreme court justice and a bribe amounting to
$100,000.
Older originally believed Mooney was guilty, but changed his mind and spent twenty years working for Mooney and Billings release, although it was reported that he disliked Mooney, thinking him worthy of jail for real crimes, but not for the bombing at Stuart and Market for which he was jailed. For his efforts, Older was called a Communist, a Wobblie, a syndicalist and traitor, but Hearst backed him. Older died a few years before Mooney was pardoned by
California Governor Culbert Olson in
1939.
Older was also an early defender of
prostitutes, having published a story at the
Bulletin in 1917 entitled "A Voice from the Underworld, by Alice Smith".The article also increased the circulation of the
Bulletin.
Older was a long time friend and correspondent with
Clarence Darrow and was known as a friend to the poor. He regularly tried to reform drunkards and criminals with mixed success. After twenty years of attempting to help such persons, Older said, "I'm sorry, but I must admit that of the scores I've helped, all but one or two have failed me."
Trivia
Resources
Gaudy Century, the story of San Francisco's hundred years of robust journalism - John Bruce - Random House N.Y. 1948
My Own Story - Fremont Older - Macmillan N. Y. 1926. Focuses on the San Francisco newspaper and political scene 1895-1917, rather than on Older's biography.Further Information
Get more info on 'Fremont Older'.
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