Maximillian Sebastian Hayes (25 May 1866 – 11 October 1945) was an American newspaper editor, trade union activist, and socialist politician. In 1912 Hayes became the first candidate to challenge Samuel Gompers for the presidency of the American Federation of Labor in nearly a decade, drawing about 30 percent of the vote in his losing effort. Hayes is best remembered as the long-time editor of the Cleveland Citizen and as the vice presidential candidate of the Farmer–Labor Party ticket in 1920.
Biography
Early years
Hayes was born in the tiny rural hamlet of Havana, Huron County, Ohio, on May 25, 1866. His father, Joseph Maximilian Sebastian Hayes, was a farmer. Hayes was raised as a Roman Catholic. Hayes was largely self-educated, attending school only through the fourth grade.
At age 13, Hayes began work as a printer's apprentice; he would continue to work in this field for the rest of his life. Hayes worked on the staff of the Cleveland Press from 1881 to 1890.
In 1890, Hayes became founder and editor of a labor newspaper with a socialist bent, The Cleveland Citizen. This paper was named the official organ of the Cleveland Central Labor Union in 1892. Hayes remained active as editor of this weekly publication until 1939.
Hayes was a member of the International Typographical Union (ITU) from 1884 and worked as a general organizer for the labor movement in the Cleveland area for 15 years.
He was a frequent representative of the ITU at the annual conventions of the American Federation of Labor (AFL).
In 1903, Hayes was chosen as the delegate of the AFL at the convention of the British Trades Union Congress.
Hayes was a bitter opponent of the Industrial Workers of the World from the time of its founding in 1905, lending his support instead to the AFL.
Early political career
In 1890, Hayes joined the People's Party; he remained a member of this party until 1896. Hayes then joined the Socialist Labor Party of America (SLP) and served as the Secretary of Section Cleveland, SLP. He left the SLP when the party split between the anti–Daniel DeLeon faction and the pro-AFL dissident faction headed by Henry Slobodin and Morris Hillquit in 1899. Although Hayes had been a vocal opponent of Samuel Gompers while he was a member of the AFL, he was even more opposed to the SLP's Socialist Trade and Labor Alliance (ST&LA), which he believed to be sectarian and destructive.
In 1900, Hayes was nominated for Vice President of the United States by the Hillquit faction. He withdrew from the race, however, in favor of the candidacy of Job Harriman in a unity ticket that brought together the former-SLP dissidents with the Chicago-based Social Democratic Party of America of Eugene V. Debs and Victor L. Berger. Hayes was a Social Democratic Party candidate for US Congress in that year.
Hayes was one of five members of the "Springfield SDP", joining a like number from the Chicago organization, named to a special committee in charge of preparations for the August 1901 Joint Unity Convention from which the Socialist Party of America was born.
In the 1902 campaign, Hayes ran as the Socialists' candidate for Ohio Secretary of State.
Challenge to Gompers
The 1911 annual convention of the American Federation of Labor, held in Atlanta, Georgia, saw the introduction of a resolution by a socialist member of the Brewery Workers' Union endorsing the use of a direct vote of member unions instead of a vote of assembled convention delegates for the selection of AFL officers.
While the socialist-backed resolution called for immediate establishment of this system, others favored a more measured approach. This minority report called for the governing Executive Council of the AFL to investigate the applicability of this electoral method and to report their findings to the 1912 convention. Because this resolution had long been part of the Socialist Party's ameliorative minimum program and the nominator was well-known as a member of that organization, conservative delegates took to the floor to warn of the dangers of the Socialist Party's efforts at boring from within.