‘In Memoriam: Laura Wilard Taft’ from Worker’s Call (Chicago). Vol. 3 No. 108. March 30, 1901.

Socialism Loses an Able Advocate in the Death of Comrade Laura Wilard Taft.

It is with regret that we announce in these columns the death of Comrade Laura Willard Taft, who died unexpectedly at her residence 1719 Escanaba Ave. on the morning of Sunday May 12th. The funeral took place on Tuesday, and was attended by many of the comrades of the Socialist party, the remains being interred in Graceland cemetery. It is needless to say that the expressions of sorrow and sympathy upon the part of the members who knew the departed comrade, are deep and earnest.

The Executive Committee of the party at Its regular meeting on Monday passed the following resolution:

Whereas, this body, recognizing the serious loss sustained by the socialist movement in the death of our late Comrade Laura Willard Taft, does hereby resolve That we, in the name of the Socialist party of Chicago do hereby express our sorrow and regret over the death of our Comrade Laura Willard Taft, and tender our deepest sympathy towards her bereaved husband, our Comrade Marcus H. Taft.

The following sketch of the deceased contributed by a comrade who was intimately acquainted with her, is here appended. In the death of Mrs. Laura Willard Taft the socialist movement, not only of Chicago, but of the whole country suffers a great loss.

Comrade Mrs. Taft was a graduate of Carleton college, and later received a Master’s degree from Chicago University for work done in the department of economics and sociology of that institution. She was married in June 1898 to Comrade Marcus Taft, and both she and her husband have always been among the most active workers for socialism in the West. She was a frequent contributor to the columns of the party press, particularly to The Worker’s Call, where her interesting and practical suggestions had come to be almost a regular feature.

Owing almost entirely to her efforts, a strong and active section was organized among the laborers in the South Chicago Steel Works, and her labors were untiring to arouse these much oppressed slaves to a sense of their condition and the mode of securing freedom. At one time she made a house to house canvass of a large portion of the neighborhood in which she lived, visiting and talking with the laborers, distributing socialist literature and seeking to arouse the interest of the workers.

She was the life and center of the movement in her locally and her death cannot but be a heavy blow to socialist activity in South Chicago. Her voice was always heard for socialist unity and in opposition to all fraternal strife, and here as elsewhere, she did not confine her activity to merely talking and writing but took an active part in all efforts to heal the fratricidal strife that is proving so fatal to the cause of human liberty.

Few if any are left in the socialist movement of Chicago, who combine her intellectual gifts, scholarly training and literary ability with such complete devotion to the work and such willingness and capacity for all phases of socialist activity.

Workers Call, predecessor to the Chicago Socialist, was published from 1899 as a dissident Socialist Labor Party publication edited by AM Simons. It became a voice of the Springfield Social Democratic Party after splitting formally with De Leon in July, 1901 and was a major voice of the new Socialist Party founded that same year. It became the Chicago Socialist Party paper with the SDP’s adherence to the Socialist Party of America and changed its name to the Chicago Socialist in March, 1902. In 1906 it became a daily and published until 1912 by Local Cook County of the Socialist Party and was edited by A.M. Simons of the International Socialist Review. A cornucopia of historical information on the Chicago workers’ movements lies within its pages.

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