The uncompromising R.C. Hoiles


This essay was written by Carl Watner in December 1985, and published in The Voluntaryist, May 1986, Vol. 3, No. 6.

In 1964, an article appearing inThe New York Timesnewspaper described Raymond Cyrus (R.C.) Hoiles as "slight of build, hawk-nosed toothy, bespectacled, with a fringe of still dark hair around his other-wise bald head." It also publicly identified Hoiles as a voluntaryist. With regards to the upcoming national elections (Goldwater was running for President), the same article reported that Hoiles was not inclined to look towards the ballot box for the quick adoption of his libertarian ideas. In fact, it quoted R.C. as stating, "It doesn't make much difference who is President. What is important is the attitude of the American people."

Another contemporary sketch of R.C. by Robert LeFevre painted him as "a rare old bird, a combination of crusty, two-fisted, hard-headed egoist, and a gentle, optimistic, hard-working idealist. The man is, a true genius in my view. His writings are about the most cumbersome, unwieldy and unreadable in print. In fact, I once stated that it was a good thing that R.C. owned some newspapers because no independent publisher would ever accept anything he wrote. Nor, so far as I know, has anyone ever done so. Yet, what R.C. thinks and writes, if you can interpret it, is magnificent. I love the old man." [Letter from Robert LeFevre to Howard Kessler, April 16,1964]

Raymond Cyrus Hoiles (born November 24,1878; died October 30, 1970) was the founder of the Freedom Newspaper chain, a group of daily newspapers that grew out of his employment as a printer's devil in the early 1900's. His newspaper organization still exists today. It could probably be described as the greatest money-making device ever put together in support of human liberty and human dignity. Its editorial pages were (and still are) dedicated "to furnishing information to [its] readers so that they can better promote and preserve their own freedom and encourage others to see its blessings." [From the masthead of the Colorado SpringsGazette Telegraph, November 24, 1984]The Hoiles papers distinguished themselves from all other newspapers by the contents of their editorial pages. Their news sections were the models of industry standards in factual reporting, but they were without doubt the only papers in the United States that came out against such things as tax-supported compulsory education, labor unions, and the United Nations.

In short, Hoiles "carried freedom's flame," as an editorial in one of the Freedom Newspapers announced on the anniversary of what would have been his 106th birthday. He gave encouragement to such people as Frank Chodorov, Rose Wilder Lane, Robert LeFevre, Ludwig von Mises, and Leonard Read; people who were largely responsible for the creation of the libertarian movement in the last quarter of the 20th Century. For more than 35 years, through conversation and the written word, R.C. "contended that human beings can enjoy happier, more prosperous lives in a voluntary society where force or threats of force are absent from human relationships." He believed that a single standard governed all human relationships:, that neither the lone individual nor any group of people (even if it were the majority and called itself the State) had any right to initiate force.

"Hoiles displayed that rare mixture of principle and worldly practicality" which was necessary to transmit his ideas to literally millions of newspaper readers over the course of several decades. The purpose of this essay is to show how R.C. was a unique blending of both philosopher and businessman, who created an empire dedicated to selling both newspaper and ideas.

R.C. was born in the Mt. Union section of Alliance, Ohio. His dad was considered a successful farmer in the area and had a keen business sense. By the time R.C. graduated from public high school, one of the most important lessons he had learned from his father was never to ask anybody to do something for him that he was not prepared to do himself. This lesson served him well in the business world as well as in the realm of moral ideas. During his college days at a Methodist school (Mt. Union College), R.C. spent his weekends working as a subscription solicitor for the AllianceReview. This was his first real introduction to newspapering. After teaching school and an assortment of odd jobs, R.C. eventually went to work for his older brother, Frank, who had purchased theReview. He started as a printer's devil at $2 per week.

In 1905, R.C. married Mable Myrtle Crumb and over the course of the next few years was to father four children: Clarence (November 1905 - December 31, 1981), Raymond (died 1920), Harry (born January 27, 1916) and Mary Jane (born April 1922). When theReviewsbookkeeper died, R.C. took over that job and eventually became Frank's business manager. By 1919, R.C. had managed to accumulate enough money to buy into two newspapers with his brother. At that time, R.C. owned a one-third interest in theReviewand a two-thirds interest in the Lorain, OhioTimes Herald. Several years later, he bought a third interest in another newspaper, theNewsof Mansfield, Ohio.

By swapping part of his holdings for those of his brother, R.C. managed to take full control of two newspapers by the mid-1920's. He and his brother Frank could no longer operate in tandem, since Frank insisted that their newspapers say nothing against labor unions, while R.C. persisted in speaking his mind. So in 1927, when he purchased the Bucyrus, OhioTelegraph-Forum, R.C. already fully owned the MansfieldNewsand the LorainTimes Herald. His son, Clarence, was sent to manage the Bucyrus newspaper, while R.C. lived in Mansfield and served as publisher there.

Shortly thereafter, Hoiles "entered into one of the bitterest newspaper fights in the history of the publishing business in Ohio." The Hoiles paper in Lorain had exposed the corruption prevalent in the awarding of paving contracts to the Highway Contracting Company of Cleveland. Horowitz, the owner of this company, was eventually shown to be the owner of the newspapers in Lorain and Mansfield, both of which strove to "get even" with Hoiles for his part in exposing the fraudulent practices. The rivalry between Horowitz and Hoiles prevailed till 1931, but in the meantime the front porch of the Hoiles home was destroyed by an explosion in November 1928, Hoiles' car was wired with dynamite (which fortunately failed to detonate), and a dud bomb was discovered in the office of the MansfieldNews. None of this gangsterism was ever explained, but it did motivate R.C. into selling the papers in Mansfield and Lorain.

During the New Deal days, R.C. became a victim of New Deal legislation. He had effected the sale of his two papers in Ohio in 1931, but according to the terms of settlement he was not to receive all of the proceeds until 1935. By that time FDR had devalued the dollar and nullified the gold clause in all private contracts. As R.C. expressed himself in a private letter to Robert LeFevre, written on February 4, 1964, he "had a little experience" with the government abrogation of contracts whereby "I lost $240,000." It was for this reason, if no other, that he concluded, government should have nothing to do with money or credit.

The proceeds from this sale were used to purchase daily papers in other parts of the country. The Santa Ana, CaliforniaRegisterand the Clovis, New MexicoNews Journalwere acquired in 1935. A year later, the Pampa, TexasDaily Newsbecame a Hoiles property. These along with theTelegraph-Forumof Ohio days, formed the nucleus of the Freedom Newspapers. No new papers were acquired during World War II, but R.C. did At one time during the war, he was fined $1,000 by the Federal Government for raising wages in violation of government statutes achieve a degree of notoriety during that time.. His editorial stance against the forcible relocation and internment of Japanese Americans was noted all across the country. He vigorously opposed their evacuation and fought for lifting the bans placed on them.

As the Japanese American Citizens League once put it, Hoiles "was the only one with the courage of his convictions." [Gazette Telegraph, January 23, 1966, p. 8-E]One other example will illustrate R.C.'s sublime indifference to compromise, even though his adherence to principle might be costly. Once in Santa Ana, a cub reporter was writing news stories about a group of local businessmen who had contrived an anti-chain store organization. When the managers of the chain stores, who represented over half of the advertising revenue of theRegister, walked into his office and demanded that the stories about their opposition cease, Hoiles responded in the following manner. "You can take your advertising out of my paper. That's your business. But I'm running this paper and I'll say what is to be printed in it as long as I'm running it, and if the stories are true, and we think that they are news, they're going to run whether you like it or not." [Raymond Cyrus Hoiles, p.8]

After World War II, Hoiles purchased two more papers. His son, Harry, became the publisher of the Colorado SpringsGazette Telegraph, and his daughter, Mary Jane Hardie, became associated with the Marysville, CaliforniaAppeal Democratin 1946. A year after the purchase of theGazette Telegraph, that paper entered a strike of its employees, who were members of the International Typographical Union (ITU). The strike action began in January 1947 and R.C. refused to make a satisfactory contract agreement with the local involved. Picketting ceased in July, but the ITU did not give up its efforts. It funded a competition paper, known as theFree Press, which existed for at least two decades. A similar occurrence took place in Lima, Ohio, when Hoiles purchased theNewsthere in 1956. In the interval the Freedom Newspapers had expanded to include the Odessa, TexasAmerican(1948) and three other Texas papers (1951), the BrownsvilleHerald, the McAllen ValleyEvening Monitor, and the Harlingen ValleyMorning Star. The Anaheim, CaliforniaBulletinwas acquired in 1962.

It was not until after these purchases in the early 50's that the designation "Freedom Newspapers" was applied to the Hoiles' acquisitions. Although R.C. first suggested that they collectively be designated "our watchful newspapers," the "freedom" label was ultimately selected as being far more descriptive of their overall editorial policy and outlook. When theNew York Timeswrote about Hoiles in 1964, the combined circulation of these dailies exceeded 300,000. By the time of Hoiles' death, the Freedom chain also included the LaHabra, CaliforniaDaily Star-Progress(1963). The Turlock, California TurlockDaily Journal(1965), the Gastonia, North CarolinaGastonia Gazette(1969), three dailies in Florida, the Panama CityNews-Herald(1969), the Fort PierceNews Tribune(1969), the Fort Walton BeachPlayground Daily News(1969), and the Columbus, NebraskaTelegram(1970). In 1985, the chain comprised nearly 30 papers with a combined daily circulation of almost 1,000,000 readers.



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