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Western Workmen's Co-operative Publishing Company
The Western Workman's Co-operative Publishing Company, established in 1907, was a Finnish-language socialist newspaper and book publisher located in Astoria, Oregon, on the Pacific coast of the United States of America. The firm produced the newspapers Toveri (The Comrade), Toveritar (The Woman Comrade), periodicals designed for young readers, as well as books.
Targeted to a national female audience rather than a local readership, the weekly Toveritar (established 1911) would soon gain a larger circulation than the more frequently issued Toveri, which went to a daily publication schedule in 1912.
With circulation declining and the Communist Party, USA seeking to consolidate operations, the Western Workmen's Co-operative Publishing Company was terminated in 1931. The western regional organ Toveri was absorbed by the long-running Finnish-language radical daily, Työmies (The Worker), published in Superior, Wisconsin, while the national women's paper Toveritar was relaunched there as Työlaisnainen (Working Woman). The company's presses were exported to Leningrad in the Soviet Union where they were placed at the disposal of the Finnish-language Kirja publishing house.
The Western Workmen's Co-operative Publishing Company was established in Astoria, Oregon in 1907 by individuals closely associated with the Finnish Socialist Federation to supply radical literature in the Finnish-language to readers throughout the American West. The westernmost publishing center of the Finnish Socialist Federation (SSJ), centered around the newspaper Työmies (The Worker) in Superior, Wisconsin, was deemed too far distant to provide timely news coverage of events of the Finnish-American population on the Pacific Coast and a referendum of SSJ locals in the western region voted in favor of establishing a new publication.
On June 9, 1907, following the spring referendum on the matter, a temporary board of directors was established in Astoria to organize the formation of the new newspaper. Astoria was not the pre-ordained choice for the location of the forthcoming newspaper, as the provisional board determined that the press would be located in the town from which the greatest money for capitalization could be raised. Provision was made for the issuance of $5,000 of capital stock, to be sold in 500 shares priced at $10 each, and on July 24, 1907, the venture was formally incorporated.
Astoria's large Finnish population was especially energized by the new project and shares of stock sold there, in the words of one board member, "like glasses of wine in a dry state." A total of $2,500 was raised by October 20, allowing the project to legally proceed, and stockholders met to choose an editor and business manager for the publication. Aku Kissanen, a prominent member of the Social Democratic Party of Finland who had been recently forced to flee Finland following the failure of the Russian Revolution of 1905, was chosen as the first editor of the new newspaper. Väinö Riipa was selected as the paper's first business manager and given the task of acquiring a printing press in Portland, hiring typographers and press workers, and establishing a printing facility in Astoria.
On December 7, 1907, the first issue of the new bi-weekly newspaper, Toveri (The Comrade), rolled off the press. The publication's initial bi-weekly schedule proved to be little more than a fiction during its first financially challenged months of operation, however, with finances strapped by the Panic of 1907, and a regular publication schedule was only possible the following year.
During its first year of operation, Toveri attracted about 1,700 subscribers. The front page featured world news, frequently translated from English newspapers, with an editorial page appearing on page 2. The paper's size fluctuated from 4 to 8 pages, with the rest of the publication's content consisting of local Astoria news, correspondence from various Finnish-American communities in the western region, and advertising.
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Western Workmen's Co-operative Publishing Company
The Western Workman's Co-operative Publishing Company, established in 1907, was a Finnish-language socialist newspaper and book publisher located in Astoria, Oregon, on the Pacific coast of the United States of America. The firm produced the newspapers Toveri (The Comrade), Toveritar (The Woman Comrade), periodicals designed for young readers, as well as books.
Targeted to a national female audience rather than a local readership, the weekly Toveritar (established 1911) would soon gain a larger circulation than the more frequently issued Toveri, which went to a daily publication schedule in 1912.
With circulation declining and the Communist Party, USA seeking to consolidate operations, the Western Workmen's Co-operative Publishing Company was terminated in 1931. The western regional organ Toveri was absorbed by the long-running Finnish-language radical daily, Työmies (The Worker), published in Superior, Wisconsin, while the national women's paper Toveritar was relaunched there as Työlaisnainen (Working Woman). The company's presses were exported to Leningrad in the Soviet Union where they were placed at the disposal of the Finnish-language Kirja publishing house.
The Western Workmen's Co-operative Publishing Company was established in Astoria, Oregon in 1907 by individuals closely associated with the Finnish Socialist Federation to supply radical literature in the Finnish-language to readers throughout the American West. The westernmost publishing center of the Finnish Socialist Federation (SSJ), centered around the newspaper Työmies (The Worker) in Superior, Wisconsin, was deemed too far distant to provide timely news coverage of events of the Finnish-American population on the Pacific Coast and a referendum of SSJ locals in the western region voted in favor of establishing a new publication.
On June 9, 1907, following the spring referendum on the matter, a temporary board of directors was established in Astoria to organize the formation of the new newspaper. Astoria was not the pre-ordained choice for the location of the forthcoming newspaper, as the provisional board determined that the press would be located in the town from which the greatest money for capitalization could be raised. Provision was made for the issuance of $5,000 of capital stock, to be sold in 500 shares priced at $10 each, and on July 24, 1907, the venture was formally incorporated.
Astoria's large Finnish population was especially energized by the new project and shares of stock sold there, in the words of one board member, "like glasses of wine in a dry state." A total of $2,500 was raised by October 20, allowing the project to legally proceed, and stockholders met to choose an editor and business manager for the publication. Aku Kissanen, a prominent member of the Social Democratic Party of Finland who had been recently forced to flee Finland following the failure of the Russian Revolution of 1905, was chosen as the first editor of the new newspaper. Väinö Riipa was selected as the paper's first business manager and given the task of acquiring a printing press in Portland, hiring typographers and press workers, and establishing a printing facility in Astoria.
On December 7, 1907, the first issue of the new bi-weekly newspaper, Toveri (The Comrade), rolled off the press. The publication's initial bi-weekly schedule proved to be little more than a fiction during its first financially challenged months of operation, however, with finances strapped by the Panic of 1907, and a regular publication schedule was only possible the following year.
During its first year of operation, Toveri attracted about 1,700 subscribers. The front page featured world news, frequently translated from English newspapers, with an editorial page appearing on page 2. The paper's size fluctuated from 4 to 8 pages, with the rest of the publication's content consisting of local Astoria news, correspondence from various Finnish-American communities in the western region, and advertising.