Oral Histories

Interview of Reuben W. Borough

Member of the Socialist Party and active in the Populist movement. Reporter for the Los Angeles Record, editor of EPIC News, and a commissioner on the Los Angeles Board of Public Works.
Subtitle:
Reuben W. Borough and California Reform Movements
Topic:
Politics and Government
Social Movements
Journalism
Biographical Note:
Member of the Socialist Party and active in the Populist movement. Reporter for the Los Angeles Record, editor of EPIC News, and a commissioner on the Los Angeles Board of Public Works.
Interviewer:
Dixon, Elizabeth I.
Interviewee:
Borough, Reuben W.
Persons Present:
Borough and Dixon.
Place Conducted:
Borough's home in Los Angeles, California.
Supporting Documents:
Records relating to the interview are located in the office of the UCLA Library's Center for Oral History Research.
Interviewer Background and Preparation:
The interview was conducted by Elizabeth I. Dixon, Head, Oral History Program, UCLA; B.A., international relations, USC; M.L.S., library service, UCLA.
Processing of Interview:
The interview was edited by Bernard Galm, editor, Oral History Program, UCLA; B.A., English, St. John's University, Collegeville, Minnesota; M.A., theater arts, UCLA. Editing was completed May, 1967. The edited material represents a verbatim transcript of the taped interviews. An audit-edit was done to check the tape transcript for accuracy. The editing was minor in nature, mainly punctuation and spelling corrections. The chronology of the taped interviews was retained, with no major deletions or rearrangement of the material. Borough, who reviewed and approved the edited manuscript, Inserted material on the following pages: 80-81, 84-85, 88-89, and 124-125. Also Included as an appendix to the volume is a verbatim transcription of Chapter XVI of Mr. Borough's unpublished autobiography.
Length:
15.25 hrs.
Language:
English
Copyright:
Regents of the University of California, UCLA Library.
Abstract:
Boyhood in Michigan; family background; early influence of populist thought; William Jennings Bryan and populist attitude toward banks and railroads; first exposure to socialism and trade unionism; work on Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette; writing for Parker H. Sercombe and Tomorrow magazine, Chicago; meeting Paul Jordan Smith at Tomorrow magazine; reporter for Chicago Daily Socialist and International Socialist Review; friendship with Carl Sandburg; visits to Jane Addams and Hull House; development of socialist convictions; move to California, 1912; singing in movie houses; reporter, Pasadena Daily News, then Los Angeles Record; experiences on the Record, 1917-37; E. W. Scripps's social and political views; public ownership of utilities; Hollywood Bowl development; End Poverty in California (EPIC) movement; editing EPIC News; working with cooperatives of the unemployed; Municipal League; Citizens Independent Vice Investigating Committee, Clifford Clinton, and recall of Mayor Frank Shaw; commissioner, Los Angeles Board of Public Works during Mayor Fletcher Bowron's administration; Progressive Party politics; experiences with the Tenney committee; civil liberties; writing projects.