Register of the Eric Hass papers
Finding aid prepared by Dale Reed
Hoover Institution Library and Archives
© 2011
434 Galvez Mall
Stanford University
Stanford, CA 94305-6003
hoover-library-archives@stanford.edu
Title: Eric Hass papers
Date (inclusive): 1899-1980
Collection Number: 81034
Contributing Institution: Hoover Institution Library and Archives
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
11 manuscript boxes
(4.5 Linear Feet)
Abstract: Correspondence, speeches and writings, notes, clippings, serial issues, other printed matter, and photographs, relating to
the Socialist Labor Party, and to social problems of aging.
Creator:
Hass, Eric
Physical Location: Hoover Institution Library & Archives
Access
The collection is open for research; materials must be requested in advance via our reservation system. If there are audiovisual
or digital media material in the collection, they must be reformatted before providing access.
Use
For copyright status, please contact the Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
Acquisition Information
Acquired by the Hoover Institution Library & Archives in 1981.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Eric Hass papers, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
Biographical/Historical Note
1905 |
Born, Lincoln, Nebraska |
1928 |
Joined Socialist Labor Party |
1932-1938 |
National organizer, Socialist Labor Party |
1938-1968 |
Editor,
The Weekly People
|
1949 |
Author,
The Socialist Labor Party and the Internationals
|
1952 |
Socialist Labor Party candidate for President (first campaign) |
1956 |
Socialist Labor Party candidate for President (second campaign) |
1960 |
Socialist Labor Party candidate for President (third campaign) |
1964 |
Socialist Labor Party candidate for President (fourth campaign) |
1969 |
Resigned from Socialist Labor Party |
1974-1978 |
Lived in Costa Rica |
1980 |
Died, Santa Rosa, California |
Scope and Content of Collection
Eric Hass was a longtime leader of the Socialist Labor Party. This party, dating back to 1876, was the first Marxist political
organization in the United States. A number of the early leaders of the subsequent Socialist and Communist Parties served
their political apprenticeships while passing through SLP ranks. Even before the death in 1914 of its outstanding leader Daniel
De Leon, the SLP had been eclipsed in size and influence by the younger Socialist Party. For decades thereafter it nevertheless
maintained a low profile existence, regularly publishing its newspaper
The Weekly People and securing a ballot position for its presidential candidate every four years. Hass figured significantly in these activities
as editor of
The Weekly People for thirty years and as a four-time presidential candidate. In 1969, however, he broke with the party. While remaining a
committed socialist, Hass came to believe that the SLP had become intellectually stultified and internally undemocratic.
The papers of Eric Hass are divided. Many are located in the Nebraska State Historical Society. Those in the Hoover Institution
Library & Archives were acquired from Tillie Hass in 1981, after the death of her husband. These papers largely date from
Hass's later years, following his departure from the SLP. After this rupture he worked for a time as caretaker of Trinity
Churchyard in New York City, then retired to Costa Rica where the cost of living was low, and after a few years returned to
the United States. As an experienced journalist and an avid amateur naturalist, he was able to supplement his income by writing
nature articles for the mainstream press, principally the
New York Times.
The
Subject File contains a good deal of collected information on Daniel De Leon. The
Speeches and Writings file includes some output by Hass from his SLP period, especially his editorial reports prefiguring his breach with the party,
and his account of his resignation. The
Correspondence file includes exchanges in the 1970s with Sam Brandon, Nick Simon and other former SLP members, analyzing their experiences
and the prospects for reconstituting a De Leonist political organization.
During the decade of the 1970s Hass became increasingly involved in study of the social problems of aging, and in advocacy
for older persons in regard to age discrimination and related issues. Toward this end he joined the Gray Panthers after his
return from Costa Rica. Shortly before his death he completed a book-length study, "Agism: The Shunning of the Elderly." This
manuscript, for which he was unable to find a publisher before he died, is in the
Speeches and Writings file. The
Subject File contains a substantial quantity of collected material on aging.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Socialism -- United States
Aging
Older people
Socialist Labor Party
Biographical File
1905-1980
Scope and Contents note
Identification documents, biographical sketch, curricula vitae, clippings, and medical and financial records
box 1, folder 1
General
1905-1980.
Scope and Contents note
Identification documents, medical and financial records, and miscellany
box 1, folder 2
Biographical sketch, curricula vitae, and clippings
1970-1972.
Scope and Contents note
Includes press coverage of break with Socialist Labor Party
Correspondence
1930-1980
Scope and Contents note
Arranged alphabetically
box 1, folder 5
Adler, Robert H.
1975-1977
box 1, folder 7
Ames, Gerald, and Rose Wyler
1976-1980
box 1, folder 8
Ansello, Edward F. (University of Maryland Center on Aging)
1978-1980
box 1, folder 9
Bambiger, Barbara
1972-1979
box 1, folder 10
Begovich, Margaret (re Socialist Labor Party)
1976
box 1, folder 11
Bergelon, Olaf and Rose
1977-1979
box 1, folder 12
Brandon, Sam (League for Socialist Reconstruction)
1973-1980
box 1, folder 13
California. Commission on Aging
1980
box 1, folder 15
Church, Frank (U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging)
1979
box 1, folder 18
Diamond, Julian (re Socialist Labor Party)
1976-1978
box 2, folder 1
Finger, Jack and Catherine
1975-1979
box 2, folder 2
Folkerstma, Bote
1971-1972
box 2, folder 3
Garamendi, John (California Senate Committee on Health and Welfare)
1980
box 2, folder 4
Garcelon, Dan and Peg
1978-1979
box 2, folder 5
Gardner, Jiggs (re Socialist Labor Party)
1977
box 2, folder 6
Ginsberg, Arthur H.
1954-1977
box 2, folder 7
Girard, Frank (re Socialist Labor Party)
1971-1977
box 2, folder 8
Goodstein, Phil (re Socialist Labor Party)
1977
box 2, folder 9
Gray, Bill and Betty (Trinity Church, New York City)
1974-1980
box 2, folder 15
Herder, Milton (re Socialist Labor Party)
1976-1977
box 3, folder 2
Lazarus, Louis (re Socialist Labor Party)
1961-1976
box 3, folder 4
Lewin, Ed (re Socialist Labor Party)
1976-1978
box 3, folder 5
Long, Robert W. and Helen
1974-1979
box 3, folder 6
McClintock, Howard and Juanita
1976-1980
box 3, folder 7
Maves, Gustavus A. (re Socialist Labor Party)
1934-1935
box 3, folder 8
Muncy, Ralph W. (re Socialist Labor Party)
1972-1974
box 3, folder 9
Nathan, Bernard, and Barbara F. Newman
1974-1980
box 3, folder 10
National Institute on Aging
1980
box 3, folder 11
Nebraska State Historical Society
1973-1977
box 3, folder 12
New York Botanical Garden
1969-1973
box 3, folder 13
New York Public Library
1971-1972
box 3, folder 14
New York Times (Joan Lee Faust, garden editor; Peter Kihss)
1968-1977
box 3, folder 15
North Bay Health Systems Agency
1979
box 3, folder 16
Northen, Rebecca T.
1973-1979
box 3, folder 17
Nunez, Margot (Trinity Church, New York City)
1974-1980
box 3, folder 18
Papernow, Leon N. and Felicia
1976-1978
box 3, folder 19
Pepper, Claude (U.S. House Select Committee on Aging)
1979
box 3, folder 20
Perry, Benson (re Socialist Labor Party)
1969-1976
box 3, folder 22
Reynolds, Verne L. (re Socialist Labor Party)
1934-1959
box 3, folder 25
Schwartz, Simon (re Socialist Labor Party)
1976-1980
box 3, folder 26
Sesame Street (television show)
1979
box 3, folder 27
Sherman, John (re Socialist Labor Party)
1968-1969
box 4, folder 2
Simon, Nick (re Socialist Labor Party)
1967-1980
box 4, folder 3
Singer, Richard J.
1976-1979
box 4, folder 4
Skutch, Alexander F.
1972-1974
box 4, folder 5
Socialist Labor Party (Nathan Karp, Arnold Petersen, Emil F. Teichert)
1934-1977
box 4, folder 6
Stein, Philip and Sylvia
1974-1979
box 4, folder 8
Trinity Church (New York City)
1970-1975
box 4, folder 9
United States. Federal Bureau of Investigation
1979
box 4, folder 10
Wexler, Arthur and Marion
1977-1980
box 4, folder 11
Woodard, Jack and Lucila
1974
Speeches and Writings
1949-1980
Scope and Contents note
Arranged chronologically
box 4, folder 12
"Why Labor Should Fight U.M.T.,"
ca. 1949.
Scope and Contents note
Speech outline
box 4, folder 13
"Daniel De Leon: Master of Socialist Tactics," speech, De Leon commemoration meeting
1953 December 13.
Scope and Contents note
Typescript
box 4, folder 14
"The American Double Standard of Living,"
ca. 1954.
Scope and Contents note
Speech outline and typescript
box 4, folder 15
Remarks at Belle Rosen memorial meeting
1955 May 24.
Scope and Contents note
Typescript
box 4, folder 16
Introduction to dramatized reading from Lincoln-Douglas debates
ca. 1959.
Scope and Contents note
Typescript
box 4, folder 17
"Biological Demonstration of the Marxian Principle,"
ca. 1950s.
Scope and Contents note
Speech notes
box 4, folder 18
"The Meaning of McCarthyism,"
ca. 1950s.
Scope and Contents note
Speech outline
box 4, folder 19
"The Paris Commune,"
ca. 1950s.
Scope and Contents note
Speech outline
box 4, folder 20
"The Years of Capitalism Are Numbered,"
ca. 1960.
Scope and Contents note
Speech outline
box 4, folder 21
Remarks at golden jubilee celebration for Arnold Petersen as Socialist Labor Party national secretary
1964
Scope and Contents note
Typescript
box 4, folder 22
Report as editor of The Weekly People to Socialist Labor Party National Executive Committee meeting
1966 May 7.
Scope and Contents note
Printed copy
box 4, folder 23
"The 'New' Imperialism and War,"
ca. 1966.
Scope and Contents note
Speech outline
box 4, folder 24
"On a Winter's Day: 'Twigging' Anyone?'"
New York Times
1968 February 25.
Scope and Contents note
Typescript and printed copy
box 4, folder 25
"Survival of Giant Redwoods Hinges on Washington Report,"
Christian Science Monitor
1968 May 14.
Scope and Contents note
Printed copy
box 4, folder 26
Report as editor of
The Weekly People to Socialist Labor Party national convention
1968 May.
Scope and Contents note
Printed copy
box 4, folder 27
"Nature's Botanical Oddity,"
New York Times
1968 August 9.
Scope and Contents note
Printed copy
box 4, folder 28
"Wild Flower Protection,"
New York Times
1968 September 29.
Scope and Contents note
Printed copy
box 4, folder 29
"Amy and the Deer Mouse" (children's story)
1968 November 12.
Scope and Contents note
Typescript
box 4, folder 30
"Clowns of the Plains" (article for juveniles)
1968 December 13.
Scope and Contents note
Typescript
box 4, folder 31
"The Living Fossil,"
New York Times
1968 December 15.
Scope and Contents note
Printed copy
box 5, folder 1
"Another Mouse to Feed,"
1968
Scope and Contents note
Holograph and typescript
box 5, folder 2
"What's Wrong with the SLP?"
ca. 1968.
Scope and Contents note
Typescript
box 5, folder 3
"How Indians 'Talked' Without Saying a Word'" (article for juveniles)
1969 January 24.
Scope and Contents note
Typescript
box 5, folder 4
"Oasis in the City,"
New York Times
1969 April 6.
Scope and Contents note
Printed copy
box 5, folder 5
"Why I Resigned from the SLP,"
Socialist Forum
1969 July.
Scope and Contents note
Printed copy
box 5, folder 6
"Benjamin Gilbert: Friend and Naturalist" (memorial meeting remarks)
1969 September 5.
Scope and Contents note
Typescript
box 5, folder 7
"An Encounter with Winter" (written under pseudonym Jack Focht),
New York Times
1970 January 11.
Scope and Contents note
Printed copy
box 5, folder 8
"Jack in the Pulpit,"
New York Times
1970 May 17.
Scope and Contents note
Printed copy
box 5, folder 9
"A Bonus for Woodland Wanderers,"
New York Times
1970 May 24.
Scope and Contents note
Printed copy
box 5, folder 10
"House Finch,"
New York Times
1970 August 9.
Scope and Contents note
Printed copy
box 5, folder 11
"Sharin' Erin's Floral Charms,"
New York Times
1970 August 30.
Scope and Contents note
Printed copy
box 5, folder 12
"To the Irish Sea for an Eyeful of Puffins,"
New York Times
1971 January 10.
Scope and Contents note
Printed copy
box 5, folder 13
"To the Rescue of a Tree,"
New York Times
1971 January 17.
Scope and Contents note
Printed copy
box 5, folder 14
"Trinity's Yard Blooms amid 'Canyons,'"
New York Times
1971 April 11.
Scope and Contents note
Printed copy
box 5, folder 15
"'That Queen of Secrecy,'"
New York Times
1971 May 16.
Scope and Contents note
Printed copy
box 5, folder 16
"Yugoslavia: The Hinterland Also Seeks Tourists,"
Washington Post
1971 October 31.
Scope and Contents note
Printed copy
box 5, folder 17
"Nature Haunts for Subway Riders,"
New York Times
1972 April 2.
Scope and Contents note
Typescript and printed copy
box 5, folder 18
"The Old Apple Tree,"
New York Times
1972 June 25.
Scope and Contents note
Printed copy
box 5, folder 19
Review of Alexander F. Skutch,
A Naturalist in Costa Rica, Garden Journal
1972 October.
Scope and Contents note
Printed copy
box 5, folder 20
"Block Island Summer,"
ca. 1972.
Scope and Contents note
Typescript and working materials
box 5, folder 21
"Hawking in Ireland,"
ca. 1972.
Scope and Contents note
Typescript and working materials
box 5, folder 22
Untitled article re St. Paul's Churchyard, New York City
ca. 1972.
Scope and Contents note
Typescript and working materials
box 5, folder 23
"'A Small, Friendly Country that Fits Our Purse'" (re Costa Rica),
Dynamic Maturity,
1973 January.
Scope and Contents note
Printed copy
box 5, folder 24
"Butterflies Are Coming Back to the City's Parks,"
New York Times
1974 June 9.
Scope and Contents note
Printed copy
box 5, folder 25
"An Expatriate's Spring,"
New York Times
1975 March 30.
Scope and Contents note
Typescript and printed copy
box 5, folder 26
"Our Outmoded Political Constituencies,"
1975 August 18.
Scope and Contents note
Typescript
box 5, folder 27
"Report on the Fifth World Symposium of the International Society on Toxinology,"
1976 August 16.
Scope and Contents note
Typescript
box 5, folder 28
"A Most Dangerous Snake,"
1976
Scope and Contents note
Typescript and working materials
box 5, folder 29
"On Collecting Plants in the Tropics,"
1977 January.
Scope and Contents note
Typescript
box 5, folder 30
"Pueblo, a Newspaper for the People" (re Costa Rican newspaper; written under pseudonym Larry Able)
1977
Scope and Contents note
Typescript, transcript of interview with editor Javier Solís, and other working materials
box 5, folder 31
Letter to the editor,
Santa Rosa News-Herald, re monetary policy
1978 August 12.
Scope and Contents note
Typescript
box 5, folder 32
Letter to the editor,
Santa Rosa Press-Democrat, re supermarket item-pricing (written on behalf of Gray Panthers)
1979 May 23.
Scope and Contents note
Typescript
"Agism: The Shunning of the Elderly,"
1979
Scope and Contents note
(book-length study, including multiple draft versions)
box 5, folder 33
Outlines and front matter
box 7, folder 4
Footnotes and bibliography
box 7, folder 5
Note card working materials
box 7, folder 6
Correspondence with writer's agent Richard Curtis and publishers
box 7, folder 7
"Fear of Aging in Children,"
1979
Scope and Contents note
Outline and drafts for study never completed
box 7, folder 8
"Collecting Plants in the Tropics for Your New York Home,"
ca. 1970s.
Scope and Contents note
Typescript
box 7, folder 9
"The Federal Reserve System: A Total Money-Making Machine,"
ca. 1970s.
Scope and Contents note
Typescript
box 7, folder 10
"The Great Redwood Park Hassle,"
ca. 1970s.
Scope and Contents note
Typescript
box 7, folder 11
"House Finches,"
ca. 1970s.
Scope and Contents note
Typescript
box 7, folder 12
"How Fawns Survive,"
ca. 1970s.
Scope and Contents note
Typescript
box 7, folder 13
"The Living Lakes of Yugoslavia,"
ca. 1970s.
Scope and Contents note
Typescript
box 7, folder 14
"Nature in the City,"
ca. 1970s.
Scope and Contents note
Typescript
box 8, folder 1
"On the Trail of a Hibernian Donkey,"
ca. 1970s.
Scope and Contents note
Typescript
box 8, folder 2
"The Redwoods in Spring,"
ca. 1970s.
Scope and Contents note
Typescript
box 8, folder 3
"Taste of Terror in the Night,"
ca. 1970s.
Scope and Contents note
Typescript
box 8, folder 4
"Three Weeds of Late Summer,"
ca. 1970s.
Scope and Contents note
Typescript
box 8, folder 5
"Why Doctors 'Play God,'"
ca. 1970s.
Scope and Contents note
Typescript
box 8, folder 6
Untitled memoir re father of Eric Hass
ca. 1970s.
Scope and Contents note
Typescript
box 8, folder 8
Remarks to Sonoma County, California, Board of Supervisors on behalf of Gray Panthers re supermarket item-pricing
1980
Scope and Contents note
Typescript and working materials
Subject File
1889-1980.
Scope and Contents note
Notes, printed matter, correspondence, and typed copies, arranged alphabetically by topic
box 8, folder 9
General. Notes and mimeographed materials
1977-1979
box 8, folder 10-12
Printed matter. Clippings and journal articles
1943-1980
box 8, folder 13
Sources. Bibliographies and catalogs
1977-1980
box 9, folder 1
Central America. Clippings and journal article
1977-1978
box 9, folder 2
Typed copies of De Leon correspondence, mainly with Olive M. Johnson
1897-1913.
Scope and Contents note
Includes one photocopy of an original De Leon letter
box 9, folder 3
Typed copies of De Leon writings
1889-1913.
Scope and Contents note
Includes a few printed copies of articles, and pamphlet James Madison and Karl Marx
box 9, folder 4
Correspondence about De Leon, 1933-1962, mainly from editorial files of The Weekly People. Includes letters by Arnold Petersen
box 9, folder 5
Notes, clippings, and journal articles about De Leon
1912-1977
box 9, folder 6
Environment and ecology. Clippings and journal articles
1962-1977
box 10, folder 1
General. Notes, lists, flyers, newsletters, circulated material, and clippings
1975-1980
box 10, folder 2
Gray Panther Network issues
1978-1980
box 10, folder 3
Imperialism. Notes, clippings, journal articles, and pamphlets
1927-1967.
Scope and Contents note
Includes clippings from The Weekly People
box 10, folder 5
Monetary policy and inflation. Clippings, journal articles, and other printed matter
1925-1979
box 10, folder 6
Nature. Clippings and journal articles
1958-1979
box 11, folder 1
Socialism. Clippings, journal articles, typed copies of journal articles, and other printed matter, 1910-1971, mainly re utopian
socialist communities in the United States
box 11, folder 2
General. Notes, clippings, and typed copies of journal articles
1900-1967
box 11, folder 3-4
Weekly People issues
1967-1969
box 11, folder 5
Trinity Church (New York City). Leaflets, newsletters, minutes, and other printed matter
1908-1979
box 11, folder 6
Wine. Typescript "The Glorious Grape" (authorship uncertain)
1978
box 11, folder 7
Yugoslavia. Tourist guide literature, and typed transcript of interview with I. Sharenow
1970
box 11, folder 8
Miscellany. Mainly printed matter
1946-1978
Audiovisual File
undated
Scope and Contents note
Photographs
box 11, folder 9
Photographs of Daniel De Leon, family, and associated locations
box 11, folder 10
Photographs of Eric and Tillie Hass
box 11, folder 11
Photographs of nature scenes
box 11, folder 12
Photographs of Trinity Churchyard, New York City
box 11, folder 13
Photographs of miscellaneous and unidentified scenes