The Liberal Democrat Archive

The Liberal Democrat of Liberal, Kansas, began on January 6, 1911, as a successor to the Liberal Independent founded in 1907. Carl G. Eddy was the first editor and publisher of the Democrat, changing the politics of the Independent because he had a "strong desire for a democratic newspaper" in Liberal. Eddy only remained with the paper for a short time, however; he resigned in March of the following year to report for a daily newspaper in Nebraska. After his departure, the Democrat had a number of owners, editors, and publishers until John B. Miller took over at the start of 1917; he remained with the paper until its end in 1924. The Liberal Democrat served both the city of Liberal and the surrounding area and in 1918 was named the "Official Paper of Seward County." The paper maintained a healthy circulation, and by 1913 enjoyed a subscription rate of 1,097 while the population of the town and county was 1,508 and 4,091, respectively. Its rival, the Republican Liberal News, had nearly identical subscription rates. The Democrat remained affiliated with the Democratic Party throughout its tenure, and was published once weekly on Fridays until 1917, and then on Thursdays thereafter.

The Liberal Democrat reported on the rapid increase in population in the region and covered local news in Seward County and developments in the nearby towns of Enterprise, Alma, Eureka, Sunshine, Bethel, and Harwood. As such, the paper contains a large amount of genealogical information. The Liberal Democrat generally avoided editorial notes or pieces, a tradition maintained over the life of the paper. In the first issue, Editor Carl G. Eddy quipped: "To our friends who comment on the absence of editorials, we might suggest that there are some people who like to find a little news in a newspaper." John B. Miller later echoed this sentiment when he said "[A]n editorial is merely the expression of the opinion of the editor on some question or subject ... when we do get time to think connectedly long enough to write an editorial the boys in the back room will have a little too much matter for the space - and as the least important matter is always left out - there go our editorials."

In fact, the editors of the Democrat did occasionally express their individual thoughts and preferences. For example, the paper was a steadfast advocate of Woodrow Wilson throughout his presidency, and celebrated his election in 1912 with the headline: "Wilson is elected President: The common people of the nation have at last spoken." Kansas voters seemed to agree, with Wilson winning 39 percent of the vote, though Theodore Roosevelt was close behind at 33 percent. The paper also supported Wilson's potential third term candidacy in 1920. The statement "For President 1920: Woodrow Wilson" appeared underneath the editor's box in every edition of the Democrat in 1919.

The Liberal Democrat ended in 1924 when it, along with the Kismit Klipper, was absorbed by its longtime rival, the Liberal News, which in turn became the Southwest Daily Times in 1935.