Industrialisti was a Finnish-language newspaper published from Duluth, Minnesota, United States. Founded in 1914 under the name Sosialisti, the newspaper was politically linked to the Industrial Workers of the World. It was published daily, but was converted into a fortnightly in its later years.Vaughn, Stephen. Encyclopedia of American Journalism. New York: Routledge, 2008. p. 251Holmquist, June Drenning. They Chose Minnesota: A Survey of the State's Ethnic Groups. St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 1988. p. 310
History Sosialisti had emerged in the back-drop of the 1913 copper and ore-dock strike. The 1913 strike had caused division amongst the Finnish socialists in Minnesota. They were now divided between a 'political' wing who wanted to focus on electoral struggles (through the Socialist Party of America) and those who favoured direct action. The split culminated at the annual conference of the socialist Työmies Publishing Company in the summer of 1914. At the conference, a heterogeneous coalition of political radicals and pro-direct action/pro-IWW unionists broke away and set up the publishing company behind Sosialisti.Hudelson, Richard, and Carl Ross. By the Ore Docks: A Working People's History of Duluth. Minneapolis, Minn. [u.a.]: Univ. of Minnesota Press, 2006. pp. 65-66
In 1916 the name of the newspaper was changed to Teollisuustyöläinen. In 1917 a lawsuit was levelled against the newspaper. It would re-appear under the new name Industrialisti.Ross, Carl. Radicalism in Minnesota, 1900-1960: A Survey of Selected Sources. St. Paul, Minn: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 1994. p. 72 By this time, the paper was completely under the control of the IWW faction. The newspaper was strongly opposed to the U.S. participation in the First World War. For example, the first issue of the refounded Industrialisti in March 1917 carried a strong anti-war message.Hudelson, Richard, and Carl Ross. By the Ore Docks: A Working People's History of Duluth. Minneapolis, Minn. [u.a.]: Univ. of Minnesota Press, 2006. p. 78Nordic Association for American Studies. American Studies in Scandinavia. Oslo: Universitetsforlaget, [etc.], 1968. Vol 21-23, p. 91 Leo Laukki was the Industrialisti editor at the time.Hudelson, Richard, and Carl Ross. By the Ore Docks: A Working People's History of Duluth. Minneapolis, Minn. [u.a.]: Univ. of Minnesota Press, 2006. p. 84
At the time of its foundation, Sosialisti had a circulation of around 4,000.Holmio, Armas Kustaa Ensio, and Ellen M. Ryynanen. History of the Finns in Michigan. Great Lakes books. Detroit, Mich: Wayne State Univ. Press, 2001. pp. 296-297 As of 1919 Industrialisti had around 10,000 subscribers. The newspaper had a sizeable readership across the border in Canada.Saarinen, Oiva W. Between a Rock and a Hard Place A Historical Geography of the Finns in the Sudbury Area. Waterloo, Ont: Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 1999. p. 121
Industrialisti was published by a publishing cooperative, the Workers' Publishing Company (which also published Finnish-language IWW literature). It began as Socialist Publishing Company in 1914. After the 1917 lawsuit, it re-appeared as the Workers' Socialist Publishing Company, changing its name to Workers' Publishing Company in 1954.
Industrialisti was shut down in 1975. When it was closed down, it was one of the last non-English publications of the IWW.
External links A Dissenting Voice of Finnish Radicals in America: The Formative Years of Sosialisti-Industrialisti in the 1910s
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