Smith, Joe, 1872-1962

Seattle journalist and political activist.

Born in Laddonia, Mo., in 1872; died in Seattle, Wash., in 1962. After settling in Endicott, Washington, in 1883 to homestead, Smith's father expanded his landholdings and became one of the larger wheat farmers in the Palouse. In 1889, at the age of 16, Joe Smith began keeping a meticulously detailed diary while working on his father's farm. After attending Missouri State University, Smith began writing for the Spokane Spokesman-Herald and smaller eastern Washington papers. In the 1890s agricultural depression drove him to join the Populist Party. Smith joined the Army in 1898 and covered the Spanish-American War and Philippine Insurrection for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer as a newspaper reporter and commissioned officer. From 1900 to 1920 he was a political reporter for the Post-Intelligencer and various Washington newspapers. He was also active as a political organizer and unsuccessful candidate for Seattle City Council (1911), State Representative (1936), and other offices. Smith was allied with progressivism and the public power movement. He also edited a horticultural catalog entitled Joe's Seed Bulletin for over forty years.

From the description of Joe Smith papers, 1890-1962. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 39006388

Joe Smith was a wheat farmer, a political activist for Populist and Progressive causes, and a prominent newspaper reporter. Although successful as a journalist, Smith never won any of his several bids for public office.

Smith was born in Missouri in 1872. His family moved to Endicott, Washington, in 1883 to homestead. Smith's father slowly expanded his landholdings and became one of the larger wheat farmers in the Palouse. In 1889, at the age of 16, Joe Smith began keeping a meticulously detailed diary while working on his father's farm. Smith attended Missouri State University from 1890 to 1892 and Washington State University intermittently throughout the 1890s. Although he still worked on the farm occasionally, Smith began writing for the Spokane Spokesman-Herald and smaller Eastern Washington papers in the mid 1890s. The agricultural depression of the 1890s drove Smith to join the Populist Party. He served as a Populist precinct committeeman and campaign worker, as well as writing newspaper stories friendly to the Populists. His diaries thus describe in detail politics in the Palouse country during the 1890s.

When the Spanish-American War broke out in 1898, Smith volunteered for the Army. He also agreed to cover the war for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer . He saw action in 17 battles in the Philippines during the war and the subsequent Philippine Insurrection of 1899. Smith entered the Army as a sergeant major, and left in 1899 as a first lieutenant.

The articles published in the P-I established Smith's reputation as an excellent journalist. Smith settled in Seattle when he returned from the Philippines and married Emma Fonner in 1899. He worked for a myriad of papers; the P-I, Seattle Times, Seattle Star, and Seattle Union Record all hired Smith at one point or another. He covered Seattle politics and also reported on every session of the state legislature from 1901 to 1919. In addition, Smith edited and published a horticultural catalog, Joe's Seed Bulletin, for more than 40 years beginning in the 1910s. Smith, however, failed in his 1917 attempt to start his own weekly paper, called Joemma Jottings, in tiny Longbranch, Washington.

Joe Smith was also a political activist. He worked in the movement for passing the initiative and referendum laws, serving as Secretary-Treasurer of the Seattle Direct Legislation League for several years. He supported a number of other Progressive causes, including strengthening the power of Seattle City Light. Smith was one of the founders of the Seattle Municipal League, a powerful civic reform group created in 1910. When Mayor Hiram Gill expanded Seattle's "vice district" Smith played a very active role in the Municipal League's successful effort to recall Gill in 1911. Gill's replacement, Mayor George Dilling, picked Smith as his personal secretary. Smith and Dilling, however, soon had a falling out. Smith quit and then ran, unsuccessfully, for City Council in 1911. Smith joined the Progressive Party when it split off from the Republicans in 1912. He helped run Theodore Roosevelt's campaign in Seattle.

There is a gap in the Smith Papers from 1920 until the mid 1930s. During this time, Smith continued to work as a reporter and as editor of Joe's Seed Bulletin . In addition, Smith had switched political parties, becoming a Democrat, at some point during this period. In 1936 Smith ran unsuccessfully for the state legislature. In 1940 he sought, but did not obtain, the Democratic nomination for governor. Smith went into semi-retirement in 1941. He wrote a few articles in the 1940s and 1950s, mostly opinion pieces and reminiscences. He also began an autobiography but never finished it. Joe Smith died in 1962.

From the guide to the Joe Smith Papers, 1890-1962, (University of Washington Libraries Special Collections)