Oscar Okert, A railroad fireman, dies with his union and Socialist Party button on while at work.

‘Brave Socialist Worker is Killed in Railroad Wreck’ from The Socialist (Columbus). Vol. 2 No. 77. June 8, 1912.

Comrade Okert Meets Death After Years of Labor for Loved Ones.

Comrade Oscar Okert, residing at 1090 Bennett street, was killed Thursday of last week near Bradford, O. when a Panhandle train, on which he was fireman, went into the ditch. He lay pinned under the wreckage for nearly two hours and died before he reached Bradford. Comrade Okert was a member of the Sixth Ward Branch Socialist Party, and formerly was in the old Fourth Ward. He was a tireless and effective worker and disseminator of literature. The funeral was held Sunday afternoon at Wesley Chapel, Northwest of the city. The Sixth Ward Branch provided a beautiful floral emblem in the shape of a Socialist pennant bearing the inscription, “Comrade.” Upon the breast of the corpse there shown the red button of the Socialist party in compliance with the dead comrade’s request. A brave soldier of the revolution has died in the battle for bread for his loved ones, He is survived by his widow and four children. He was honest, tender, true and class-conscious. We sadly miss such as Comrade Okert

RESOLUTIONS OF RESPECT

In compliance with resolutions passed at joint session of the Sixth and Seventh Ward Branches, Tuesday night, relative to the death of Comrade Oscar Okert, we beg to submit the following for publication in The Socialist.

The Socialist Comrades of the Sixth and Seventh Ward Branches deeply regret the sudden taking off by death in the railroad wreck at Bradford, Ohio, our much-loved Comrade Oscar Okert, who lived at 1090 Bennett Street, Columbus, Ohio. Comrade Okert was a charter member of the old Fourth Ward Branch, now the Sixth Ward and was the most active literature agent in the city of Columbus. He not only made friends, but Socialists in his everyday honest manner of living. Being a good Socialist, he was therefore a good husband and father, a good neighbor and friend, courteous and humane in all his dealings. Comrade Okert was a member of the Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen, and when killed wore the emblem of that order and the Socialist button and was never known to scab on the train nor at the ballot box. A man of influence in his craft, yet was class-conscious, and fought to secure industrial and political emancipation of his class.

His family loses more than money can buy or lips suggest.

The community will scarcely find another more worthy of their confidence and the Socialists of Columbus suffer the loss of one of their most alive and consistent Comrades. A wife and four children survive to mourn his death.

J.R. WOOD, M.D., W, C. BATES, Attorney, D.J. FARRELL, Printer, Committee.

With dozens of periodicals named ‘The Socialist’ in U.S. history, it can be hard to distinguish. This ‘The Socialist was the party press of the Columbus, Ohio local between 1910-1914. Those years saw the city have an important streetcar strike and Socialist victories in elections. While the Ohio State Party leaned left, Columbus was more in the tradition of Milwaukee and Chicago in embracing a ‘sewer socialism.’

PDF of full issue: https://archive.org/download/socialist191012200soci/socialist191012200soci.pdf