Edgar Allan Poe Haynes (May 18, 1866 – January 11, 1923) was an American Christian evangelist. He was known variously as E. A. P. Haynes, Allan Haynes, and Allen Haynes. He was a philanthropist, ardent anti-liquor crusader, and international businessman, who, over the course of his lifetime, sold insurance, newspapers, cement, and his own expertise in business engineering. Haynes also had a lengthy criminal record of embezzlement, fraud, and failure to pay debts, as well as a history of frequent disappearances, location changes, and turnover in employment in the United States and abroad.
Early years Edgar Allen Poe Haynes was born on May 18, 1866, in Kirklin, Indiana, the seventh of eight children of Eldridge Clark Haynes and Maria Belle Eldridge. He was named after the writer Edgar Allan Poe.St. Louis Post-Dispatch (St. Louis, Missouri) · Tue, Jul 26, 1910 · Main Edition · Page 1
He married Cora Idella Schwinn of Madison County, Indiana, on November 25, 1886Madison County Indiana; Index to Marriage Record 1880–1920 Inclusive Volume, W. P. A. Original Record Located: County Clerk's O; Book: 2; Page: 390 and they had three children, Hazel, Evan, and Eldridge Haynes.Year: 1910; Census Place: Spokane Ward 5, Spokane, Washington; Roll: T624_1671; Page: 15B; Enumeration District: 0198; FHL microfilm: 1375684
1894–1906: St. Louis, Missouri
Aetna Before arriving in St. Louis, at the age of 21 Haynes delivered a talk titled, "Course of Study for Township and Village Graded Schools" at an Indiana State Teachers Association gathering in Indianapolis.The Indianapolis News (Indianapolis)· Tue, Dec 27, 1887· p.1 In 1892 he was selling insurance and had been elected secretary of the Indiana Association of Life Underwriters.The Inter Ocean (Chicago, Illinois)· Thu, Mar 10, 1892· p.3
Haynes was employed as an agent of the Aetna Insurance Company of Hartford, Connecticut, in St. Louis, MO.St. Louis Post-Dispatch· Wed, Jul 27, 1910· Main Edition· p.5 from 1894 to July 1906. In a Houston, MO, paper Haynes was listed among “251 men and women of more than local fame of their various professions -- many of them national and international fame" who had made contributions to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.The Houston Herald (Houston, Missouri) · Thu, Jul 12, 1900 · Page 6 An article in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch said that Haynes "[stood] alone as the one man who [insisted] upon combining the actual exercise of religious proceedings with those of his business."St. Louis Post-Dispatch· Fri, Dec 12, 1902· p.1
Spruce Street and City Missions Haynes served in ministries with social impact. In his first year in St. Louis, Haynes was elected an officer in the Central Branch of the Young Men's Christian Association.St. Louis Post-Dispatch· Fri, Dec 14, 1894· p.6 By 1899 he had organized the Spruce Street Mission to reach the homeless in St. Louis. The program consisted of preaching and concerts of classical music designed to draw the men up like a "magnet" as opposed to hoisting them up from below.St. Louis Post-Dispatch· Sun, Apr 2, 1899· p.43 He later concluded that an impoverished person's "physical and constitutional impairment" must be treated prior to "their resulting mental and moral deficiencies" and that doctors and hospitals would benefit the indigent more than preachers and missions.St. Louis Post-Dispatch· Sun, Dec 17, 1899· p.38 The Spruce Street mission also sponsored picnic outings for children and meals for the hungry.The St Louis Republic· Sun, Jul 15, 1900· p.9 On April 23, 1903, Haynes opened the St. Louis City Mission,The St Louis Republic· Fri, Apr 24, 1903· p.5 described as "one of the distinctive downtown institutions of its kind."The St Louis Republic· Sun, Nov 15, 1903· p.12 At that time he was a member and pastoral assistant at the Plymouth Congregational Church, ministering to "one of the weaker congregations of the denomination in St. Louis."The St Louis Republic· Sun, Nov 15, 1903· p.12
Anti-wineroom crusader Haynes was an ardent supporter of the St. Louis Anti-Wineroom Crusade, the goal of which was to prosecute violators of wineroom laws. Haynes organized the crusade shortly after he, along with three others, were witnesses at the September 1899 hearing of a saloon-keeper, Albert Rabe. They testified that he had "a piano in the place that kept going at all hours of the night, and that disturbances in which the police had to interfere were of frequent occurrence. It was also shown that the place was frequented by women."St. Louis Post-Dispatch· Sun, Sep 24, 1899· p.13 He was named to the executive committee of the Crusade at its first meeting and was a prominent voice in its public relations.St. Louis Post-Dispatch· Fri, Oct 27, 1899· p.4
As chairman, Haynes signed a December 2, 1899, agreement between the St. Louis Excise Commissioner, police, and the Anti-Wineroom Crusade, which permitted Crusaders to help enforce of wineroom laws by sharing "surveillance over saloons frequented by prostitutes and criminals," and also promote the Anti-Wineroom agenda and keep the public informed about the record of police enforcement of the laws.St. Louis Post-Dispatch· Sat, Dec 2, 1899· p.8 In March 1900 Haynes and Crusade representatives attended a meeting between the St. Louis Board of Election Commissioners and 91 saloon-keepers accused of violating saloon establishment laws. The saloon-keepers were ordered to cease unlawful activity or lose their licenses.St. Louis Post-Dispatch· Sat, Mar 24, 1900· p.3 In April Haynes wrote a letter for the Crusade to the police department accusing law enforcement of being soft on saloon-keepers and failing to "strike out this evil," specifically negligent policing of prostitution, sales of liquor to under-aged persons, use of shades and screens as a cover for illegal activity, serving "thieves and criminal characters" and violations of the Newberry Law, which prohibited music in winerooms.St. Louis Post-Dispatch· Sat, Apr 28, 1900· p.2
Speaker and preacher Haynes led Bible studies and was frequently called upon to preach, occasionally sharing responsibilities with ordained pastors. In 1898 he organized a Congregational Church he named the People's Tabernacle. He was described as having "a commanding presence and ardent temperament, combined with a good voice". The writer added that he "gives the impression of having a large reserve fund of nervous energy".St. Louis Post-Dispatch· Sun, Apr 23, 1899· p.41 Two years later Haynes was a temporary pastor of Hope Congregational Church.St. Louis Post-Dispatch· Sat, Aug 4, 1900· p.5
Gideon's National Organization Haynes' organized a local band of Gideons shortly after the turn of the century in St. Louis. The Gideons were described as "an association of Christian traveling men" whose object was "to minister to the religious life and raise the standard of character of the commercial traveler."The Indianapolis News· Sat, Sep 26, 1903· p.19 His evangelical activity and motivational speaking took him to a number of national gatherings over the Midwestern and eastern United States, and by 1905 he was serving as president of the national organization.The Des Moines Register· Sun, Sep 24, 1905· p.14 In St. Louis he personally paid for the Gideon's secretary and for a weekly publication.St. Louis Post-Dispatch· Thu, Mar 22, 1906· p.1
1907–1909 From St. Louis to Spokane
In February 1907 Haynes resigned as local manager of the Aetna agency. The vice president of Aetna said there was a "disagreement" over $20,000 that the corporate office claimed was owed to them. The matter was settled to Aetna's satisfaction when Haynes turned the otherwise successful local agency over to them. Haynes could not be found for comment.St. Louis Post-Dispatch· Thu, Mar 22, 1906· p.1
Manhattan Insurance In April 1907, Haynes was hired as an agent of the Manhattan Insurance Company with an office in St. Louis. A friend, Murray Carleton, accompanied Haynes to Manhattan's corporate office in New York City to vouch for Haynes' character. Carleton's name later appeared on a list of men who had "lost by their transactions" with Haynes."St. Louis Post-Dispatch· Wed, Jul 27, 1910· p.1 Haynes' employment with Manhattan ended four months later.St. Louis Post-Dispatch· Wed, Jul 27, 1910· p.5 Three years later, Manhattan went public with charges of embezzlement and orders were issued for his arrest.The St. Louis Star and Times. Mon, Jul 25, 1910· p.1
Haynes left St. Louis, changed his name to "Allan Haynes" and operated a publishing company in Spokane.The St. Louis Star and Times· Mon, Jul 25, 1910· p.1 Haynes held several insurance jobs in Chicago, after leaving Manhattan.The St. Louis Star and Times· Sun, Jul 24, 1910· p.5 One of his St. Louis bondsmen stated that after Haynes left St. Louis he moved to Seattle, "and was in a successful land deal with the Mayor of that city. but later lost all his money and that of his associates." The bondsman continued, "He went to Spokane and got into trouble there, but his friends, realizing his ability, put him in charge of 'an evening' newspaper, with absolutely no handling of money, and he succeeded as a manager."St. Louis Post-Dispatch· Mon, Jul 25, 1910· p.1
Having had problems in Spokane prior to taking on the newspaper, and the intervention of friends to prevent his access to money in a Haynes later left out the parts about Seattle in a short autobiography that said that after his term with Manhattan he moved to Chicago "without a dollar in money and no friends outside St. Louis." He said that after "casting about the city looking for some opening" no work materialized.St. Louis Post-Dispatch· Wed, Jul 27, 1910· Main Edition· p.5 He moved to Spokane in December 1907, leaving behind the bankruptcy of George W. Cole, chairman of the Southwestern Freight Traffic Bureau in St. Louis. Cole had endorsed promissory notes for friends, including a note of $23,000 for E. A. P. Haynes.
Spokane Inland Herald Haynes purchased the Inland Observer and Spokane Press in mid-June 1909. The Inland Observer was subsequently referred to as the Inland Herald when it became a daily on February 1, 1910.The Daily Deadwood Pioneer-Times (Deadwood, South Dakota)· Thu, Jan 20, 1910· p.6 On January 1, 1910, a notice appeared in the Spokane Press announcing an upcoming stockholders meeting of the Allan Haynes Publishing Co. The purpose of the meeting was to vote on a proposal to increase the capital stock from $30,000 to $600,000. The shares, worth $10 each, would be divided into preferred stock (20%) and 80% common stock.
Haynes' publication was welcomed by some, who said that it had excellent prospects for success because of a "corps of able men from all over the United States", and "splendid mechanical equipment."East Oregonian (Pendleton, Oregon)· Fri, Feb 11, 1910· p.4 They also wrote that "he set a new standard in the west in the handling of news and in the development of feature stories" with his recruitment of "brilliant men from the east," who were paid high salaries.
Inland Herald fails
In August 1910 a lawsuit was initiated and application made for receivership of the Inland Herald by the business manager, Blinn Yates. Yates testified that the publishing company was losing $40,000 a month and owed employees a total of $200,000. Yates himself was owed $500 in back salary. Further, checks that had been written had not been honored by banks.The Wenatchee Daily World (Wenatchee, Washington)· Sat, Aug 27, 1910· p.2 It was estimated that a total of $500,000 had been lost in the one year the enterprise was in operation.The Courier-Journal (Louisville, Kentucky)· Sun, Jun 4, 1911· p.24 The decision to shut down the paper was based on the disinterest and lack of financial investment of managers.The Evening Herald (Klamath Falls, Oregon)· Sat, May 13, 1911· p.4