Richard Lloyd Jones
Richard Lloyd Jones | |
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Jenkin Lloyd Jones, Sr., Richard Lloyd Jones, Jr. | |
Parent(s) | Jenkin Lloyd Jones, Susan Barber |
Richard Lloyd Jones (April 14, 1873 – December 4, 1963) was an American journalist who was the long-time editor and publisher of the now defunct
Early life
Richard Lloyd Jones was the only son of Welsh born
Jones worked briefly as a lawyer, but did not stay long in this profession. In 1899, he was hired as a reporter and editor by the Telegram of Stamford, Connecticut. He was an editorial writer for the Washington Times from 1900 to 1902, and an editor for
In 1905, Robert Collier and Jones collaborated to buy the old Abraham Lincoln farm at auction in
From 1905 until 1911 he was a member of the Federal Prison Labor Commission. This service confirming in his mind that the system reformed nobody, but turned them into hardened criminals. He editorialized, "...our whole prison system is born of ignorance and arrogance; it is medieval; it is the most fruitful factory we have for making criminals. They do not reform but confirm criminals. They break down self-respect when, what the individual needs, and what the state needs, is self-respect built up."[1]
By 1911, Jones had decided to buy his own newspaper. His friend, the Wisconsin senator
Tulsa Tribune
In 1919, Jones learned that businessman-philanthropist Charles Page wanted to sell one of the two newspapers that he owned in Tulsa, Oklahoma. According to Jones's grandson, David, his grandfather met with Page and told him, "Charlie, you've got a paper and you don't want one. I want a paper and I don't have one. Sell me your paper." The deal was done and the Tulsa Democrat became the Tulsa Tribune on December 1, 1919.[4]
Jones immediately took up a long-running local political issue: the Spavinaw Water Project. Tulsa leaders had been studying alternative sources of city water since at least 1915. The two most viable candidates were Shell Creek, owned by Charles Page, and Spavinaw Creek. The Tulsa Democrat, then owned by Page, naturally supported Shell Creek, while the rival Tulsa World, supported Spavinaw Creek. Page's proposal was rejected when tests showed that the quantity was inadequate to meet Tulsa's expected needs and construction of the Spavinaw project began in 1922.[5]
Tulsa race massacre controversy
On May 31, 1921, the Tulsa Tribune published a story in the afternoon edition with the headline: "Nab Negro for Attacking Girl In an Elevator", describing the alleged assault of a white elevator operator by a young black man named Dick Rowland. In the same edition, the paper allegedly had an editorial warning of a potential lynching of Rowland. The editorial, allegedly titled "To Lynch Negro Tonight", was said to have reported that white people were assembling that evening to lynch the teenage Rowland. The paper was known to have a "sensationalist" style of news writing.[6] It is unclear if the paper had a source for the possible lynching.
Several years later, researchers discovered that the editorial in question was missing, apparently having been removed from the Tribune's archives, as well as the 'Oklahoma Edition' of the Tribune in the state archives.
Some people have claimed that the Tribune article and editorial was a cause of the assault on Greenwood that night and the next day. Jones never discussed or wrote about this occurrence. He neither took responsibility nor apologized for it, and the paper never again discussed the massacre.
Rowland's life was saved that night, largely through the efforts of the Tulsa County sheriff. Ultimately, a jury found the charges against Rowland were false. He was released and left the city after the massacre was over.[1]
Other controversial issues
Other controversies ensued. The World editorially supported the Democratic Party and opposed the Ku Klux Klan. Jones embraced the Republicans. The Tribune never supported a Democratic presidential candidate. Only once was there an editorial supporting a gubernatorial candidate. Although the Tribune did not endorse the Klan's unlawful activities, it implied support of the organization's stated goals, saying: "The KKK of Tulsa has promised to do the American thing in the American way."[1]
Jones crusaded against prohibition and corruption in state and local politics. He also supported issues such as reapportionment of the Oklahoma State Legislature, a merit system for state appointments, a modern highway system, fluoridation of drinking water, and economic diversification. Still, as time passed, he moved farther to the right politically. He supported Senator Joseph McCarthy for his anti-Communism and editorialized against Senator Paul Douglas for his opposition to McCarthy.[1]
Joint publication with the Tulsa World
In 1941, Jones joined forces with his rival, Eugene Lorton, to establish the Newspaper Printing Corporation (NPC), which would print both the Tribune and the World. The management and editorial staffs of the two papers remained separate. NPC was dissolved after the Tribune went out of business in 1992.[8]
Personal life
Jones married Georgia Hayden (1875–1967) of Eau Claire, Wisconsin, on April 30, 1907.[9] She became an advocate of liberal causes such as women's suffrage, humane treatment of animals, control of children's diseases and Planned Parenthood. The couple had three children: Richard Lloyd Jones, Jr. (born 1909), Jenkin Lloyd Jones (1911–2004), and Florence Lloyd (1914–2004).[1] According to the 1920 U. S, Census, Richard, Jr. was born in New York, while the other children were born in Wisconsin.[10] They all would later work for the Tribune, effectively making it a family enterprise.
Richard Lloyd Jones was a cousin of noted architect Frank Lloyd Wright, who designed "Westhope", the editor's home in Tulsa in 1929.[a] The house was added to the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) on April 10, 1975. Its NRIS number is 75001575.[11]
Jones was raised in a strongly religious family. His parents, grandparents and much of the extended family were lifelong
Death and legacy
Jones died December 4, 1963. He was buried in Memorial Park Cemetery of Tulsa, Oklahoma. His widow, Georgia, died in 1967 and is buried beside him.
Jones was inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame in 1952.[12]
The Tulsa Tribune continued for nearly three decades after Richard Lloyd Jones' death. His elder son,
Notes
- Richard Lloyd Jones House".
External links
Media related to Richard Lloyd Jones at Wikimedia Commons
- Voices of Oklahoma first-person interview with Jenkin Lloyd Jones Jr. about his grandfather Richard Lloyd Jones, the Tulsa Tribune, and the Jones' family history. Original audio and transcript archived with Voices of Oklahoma oral history project.
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Hughes, Peter. Dictionary of Unitarian & Universalist Biography. "Richard Lloyd Jones." Retrieved October 25, 2012."Richard Lloyd Jones". Archived from the original on 2009-05-07. Retrieved 2009-07-17.
- ^ Tauscher, Cathy and Peter Hughes. "Jenkin Lloyd Jones." "Jenkin Lloyd Jones". Archived from the original on 2009-05-09. Retrieved 2009-07-17..
- ^ "Richard Lloyd Jones". uudb.org. Retrieved 2017-02-13.
- ^ a b Jones, David. GTR Newspapers. "Jones Family Published the Tulsa Tribune." June 17, 2007. Retrieved October 26, 2012.
- ^ Davis, Kirby Lee. The Journal Record (Oklahoma City). "These Walls: Spavinaw watershed in Tulsa" July 24, 2009.[1]
- ^ Final Report of the Oklahoma Commission to Study the Tulsa Race Riot of 1921. 2001. pp. 55–59.
- ^ "May 2003: In a recent development, Jim Lloyd, a Tulsa lawyer and former member of the Tulsa Race Riot Commission, is suing the children of the late editor of the Tulsa Tribune and heirs to its fortune. Lloyd argues that the newspaper incited the riot with its inflammatory front-page editorial entitled "To Lynch Negro Tonight," of which no copy can be found. The best evidence is a hole cut out of the Tulsa public library's copy of the paper." "Tulsa Race Riot" Archaeology
- ^ Wilson, Linda D. Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture. "Tulsa Tribune." Retrieved October 29, 2012.[2]
- ^ Wisconsin Historical Journal. "Remembering Madison:The Lloyd Jones Family Album." Retrieved October 27, 2012.[3]
- ^ U. S. Census 1920. Retrieved October 20, 2012.
- ^ "Tulsa Landmarks and Famous Places - Westhope."
- ^ "Oklahoma Hall of Fame". Retrieved November 16, 2012.