Rubin, William Benjamin, 1873-1959.Papers, 1908-1950.Milwaukee Manuscript Collection P8.2 cubic ft. (20 archives boxes, and 1 small archives box) |
ABSTRACT: Papers of a Milwaukee Jewish lawyer who was chief counsel for the American Federation of Labor for twenty-five years. Most of the collection consists of correspondence with labor and political leaders, and contains no legal briefs and very little information on cases. The correspondence reveals Rubin's own attitude toward labor, his belief in democratic processess, and his political philosophy. Also contains copies of many of Rubin's articles and speeches, and newsclippings of his own writings. Collection includes ten letterbooks containing copies of letters sent out by Rubin's law firm, usually sent by his associates.
ACCESS RESTRICTIONS: There are no access restrictions on the materials, and the
collection is open to all members of the public in accordance with state law. However, the
researcher assumes full responsibility for conforming with the laws of libel, privacy, and
copyright which may be involved in the use of this collection (Wisconsin Statutes
19.21-19.39).
SCOPE AND CONTENT: The collection is divided into four series: Correspondence,
Articles and Speeches, Miscellaneous, and Letterbooks.
Although other lawyers sometimes wrote him asking for advice, Rubin's Correspondence
is more concerned with labor and politics than with legal matters. He often refers to
cases; but the collection contains no legal briefs, and very little detail as to cases.
Scattered throughout the correspondence are personal letters and notes, as Rubin kept in
fairly close touch with several members of his family.
In general, it is possible to group the correspondence by years to indicate the most
predominant subject at certain periods:
The correspondence Rubin carried on with national labor leaders, other lawyers, and political associates is revealing as to his own attitude toward labor, his belief in democratic processes, and his political philosophy. This correspondence includes letters exchanged with the following persons of note:
Most of the Articles and Speeches in three boxes are by Rubin. They
are filed alphabetically much as Rubin, himself, kept them. For instance, those concerning
labor are filed under "L."
Of the Miscellaneous items in two boxes, the clippings are worth noting;
these are chiefly Rubin's own writings for the newspapers, although some articles are
about him. The last box is entirely filled with manuscripts giving information and lists
concerning state elections of the 1930s and 1940s.
For the years 1917 and 1918 there are ten Letterbooks
containing copies
of letters sent out by Rubin's law firm. Since he had associates, many of the letters are
by others than Rubin. The firm handled damage suits, claims and notes due, estate work,
criminal cases, and labor matters.
ARRANGEMENT: Three certificates have been removed from these papers and are in an oversize package catalogued with the following number: File, January 21, 1913. This package contains: Certificate of appreciation, International Molders' Union, Certificate to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court, January 21, 1913, Testimonial to Rubin from United Shoe Workers of America. This has been retained by the State Historical Society of Wisconsin.
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE: William B. Rubin, Milwaukee attorney, was born in
Russia, September 1, 1873. He came to the United States with his parents at the age of
nine, and became a naturalized citizen. He attended the engineering school at the
University of Wisconsin; but transferred to Michigan to obtain his bachelors and law
degrees. Rubin then established his legal practice in Milwaukee, and except for a short
period in 1919 and 1920 practiced there continuously until his retirement in December
1956.
In addition to becoming a highly successful trial lawyer of both civil and criminal cases,
Rubin was a labor attorney of national reputation, and author, and a lecturer. He early
displayed a desire to become known as a man of ideals and ideas, evidently feeling that he
had a destiny to fulfill in behalf of mankind. Throughout his life Rubin was an advocate
of personal liberty, and maintained a keen desire to help bring about social and economic
progress. Rubin, who seemed to have an infinite capacity for work, was described as
thoroughly honest and stubborn for any position he took; and was the reverse of his own
statement that "an inert mind is a parasite on civilization."
His letters show him to have been a man of positive and progressive ideas, willing to
fight in support of his convictions. Among the many points of view expressed were his
belief in free enterprise, properly regulated; his conviction that Congress should have
the power to override Supreme Court decisions on constitutionality of laws, since laws
represent the people's legislation; and his objection to the inquisition-like power of
courts and judges. His test of this last objection led to his being cited for disbarment
in 1927, and he was not exonerated until the case was tried before the state Supreme Court
in 1930.
As early as 1906 he acquired a national reputation as a labor counsel when, in the case of
the Iron Molders Union vs Allis Chalmers, he established the American common law rule, or
code, governing the relation of capital and labor in labor's right to strike. Dozens of
labor cases followed, including his role as counsel in the steel strike of 1919, the
strike by Actor's Equity in 1919, and the seaman's strike of 1919. Rubin participated in
the drafting of the first yellow-dog-law prohibiting the blacklisting of employees by
employers in 1929. In the 1930s, as counsel for the Wisconsin Cooperative Milk Pool, Rubin
represented labor in the milk strikes in Wisconsin, and in 1937 was mediator in the J. I.
Case labor troubles.
For twenty-five years he was chief counsel for the American Federation of Labor, and
traveled widely in behalf of many unions. He carried on active correspondence with union
leaders such as Samuel Gompers, John P. Frey, and William Green; and was associated as
counsel with men such as Clarence Darrow when both he and Darrow represented the Illinois
and Chicago Federations of Labor.
In 1912 Rubin helped organize the Union Bank of Milwaukee, and for a time was its
president; but in 1920 he sold his interest, as he felt the bank had become more involved
with following its invested dollar than in helping trade unionism. In 1913 and 1914 he was
active in the Provident Loan Society, organized in 1904 in Milwaukee to lend to the poor.
In 1913 Rubin and his wife traveled in Europe so that he could study labor conditions. In
1924 he again went abroad, this time to study Zionism; and the following year, at the
request of Samuel Gompers, he went to Germany to reestablish fraternal relations between
the AFL and the German labor movement.
Rubin always maintained a sizable legal office, from which many prominent attorneys
"graduated". He employed from two to six assistants, and often expressed a
desire to make money in the law mainly to enable him to be free to devote himself to the
causes for which he stood. In 1919 he decided to set up practice in New York City, where
he thought he could do the most good for the labor movement and "be of more benefit
to the things for which I stand," (Letter to Gompers, April 21, 1919). After the six
months' residency requirement was fulfilled he failed to be licensed in New York--perhaps
due to the opposition of anti-labor lawyers--and he returned to Milwaukee.
As he became somewhat disenchanted with the national labor movement and failed to realize
his desire to head its legal division, Rubin turned to politics as his vehicle to advance
the people's cause. As a liberal Democrat he became a devotee of Franklin Roosevelt, and
acquired a large following among the farm and labor groups in Wisconsin. Previously he had
experienced two periods of active political limelight on the national scene: In 1918, on
the recommendation of Gompers, President Wilson called on Rubin to campaign in several
western states where the labor vote was needed. In 1924, he traveled a month in the East
campaigning for the candidacy of LaFollette and Wheeler for President and Vice President
In the thirties and forties Rubin was a stormy petrol in Wisconsin politics. In the state
Democratic platforms for 1932, 1936, and 1938 he is said to have written the planks on
farm labor, banking, and relief. In 1932, he was defeated in the Democratic primary for
governor; and again in 1934, after being defeated in the primary he decided to run in the
election as a third candidate, and was again defeated. In 1933 he was defeated in his bid
to become a state justice of the Supreme Court. Three times, in 1936, 1939, and 1949,
Rubin hoped to receive an appointment as judge of a Federal court, either circuit or
district, but failed. He was sometimes described as being too uncompromising and impulsive
for the bench. In 1936, he was Delegate-at-large to the Democratic National Convention.
Rubin frequently complained of the influence of Philip LaFollette on Democratic
appointments in Wisconsin.
William Rubin published two books, The Toiler in Europe (1919) and The
Constitution and Democracy (1937), and wrote the play, The Bolshevist (1919),
in which he exposed the fallacies of communism. Numerous pamphlets and articles came from
his vigorous pen, and he contributed regularly to union publications such as The
American Federalist, The Molders' Journal, The Bridgeman's Magazine, The Pattern Makers'
Journal, and The American Labor Banner. He constantly furnished editorials and
copy for newspapers, especially the Milwaukee papers, the Sheboygan Press, and the
Madison Capital Times.
Rubin's first wife, Sonia, died in 1915, leaving one son, Abner, who became a New York
lawyer, specializing in theatrical matters. Rubin's marriage of 1925 to Mrs. Borzena
Brydlova Grotte, author and playwright, ended in divorce in 1929. In 1935 he married a
Milwaukee French teacher, Josephine Geraghty. Although he maintained many of his Jewish
ties, Rubin seems not to have remained an orthodox Jew, and was openly opposed to the
Zionist movement. In 1927 he debated Rabbi Stephen Wise in Milwaukee, arguing that Judaism
is a religion, not a race or nationality. He died in Milwaukee in February 3, 1959.
A letter from William B. Rubin to a friend, January 19, 1926, gives advice which
epitomizes Rubin's own thinking and life: "Be militant! Weather all storms. Life is
great if you fight for it."
COLLECTION CITATION: This collection should be cited as:
Rubin, William Benjamin, 1873-1959. Papers, 1873-1959. Milwaukee Manuscript Collection P. Wisconsin Historical Society. Milwaukee Area Research Center. Archives. UWM Libraries. University of Wisconsin--Milwaukee.
RELATED COLLECTIONS:
Aarons, Charles L. (Charles Lehman), 1872-1952. Papers, 1907-1951. (Milwaukee Manuscript Collection DK)
Broughton, Charles E., 1873-1952. Papers, 1916-1953. (Milwaukee Manuscript Collection BA)
ACQUISITION: Presented by William B. Rubin on January 12, 1957.
MARC RECORD SEARCH TERMS: The following terms were used in the online bibliographic MARC record to this collection:
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Last edited on Friday, June 27, 2003.
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