Stopping the Presses : The Murder of Walter W. Liggett

In the 1920s and '30s, Minneapolis was a crime city. Gangsters and politicians were partners in illegal gambling, prostitution, and bootleg liquor. STOPPING THE PRESSES is a searing look at this corrupt time, told through the life of martyred journalist Walter W. Liggett, by his daughter who finally sets the record straight. 20 photos. Publishers Weekly Woodbury depicts her crusading muckraker of a father (1886-1935) as an idealist who rallied against corruption and too-chummy links between crooks and politicos in a one-man crusade that eventually cost him his life. (Gangsters shot him dead in front of his family in a Minneapolis alley.) Unfortunately, tangible drama and outrage don't arrive until the book's second half, though an exhaustive portrait of the Liggett family saga, along with a generous helping of descriptions of the Depression-era American press and unionist-socialist politics do help set the stage. The mainstream press appears to have respected Liggett, who published mainly in the Midwest American, a small weekly he began in 1933 with the blessing of Minnesota's then governor Floyd Olson, but, as Woodbury shows, kept its distance. Woodbury's research is top-notch and is well complemented by childhood remembrances, but some of the detail is extraneous and might have been pared away to make this feel less like a regionalist's account. Still, readers will find fascinating the trial of Kid Cann, Liggett's accused killer. Edith Liggett, the author's mother, proves a staunch, heroic figure, and readers can only shake their heads as the press fights too late for the life and reputation of one of its own. 20 b&w photos. (June) "Stopping the Presses is a fascinating look at the dangerous word of newspapers in the 1930s. I wish I'd had this book while researching Saint Mudd. I know how difficult it is to research history on the under-world...and even more difficult to research the overworld that protected the underworld. Hats off to Marda Ligget Woodbury, this is...the kind of work Walter Ligget would be proud of. Stopping the Presses is an important book". Steve Thayer, author of Saint Mudd and The Weatherman In the 1920s and 30s, Minneapolis was crime city. Gangsters and politicians were partners running the Twin Cities' illegal gambling, prostitution, and liquor concerns. Stopping the Presses is a searing look at this corrupt time, told through the life of martyred journalist Walter W. Ligget by his daughter, who finally sets the record straight. Walter Ligget published The Midwest American, a newspaper that sought to expose machine politics and corruption in Minnesota. At times Ligget seemed alone in this endeavor -- very few journalists joined his crusade to detail the links between the political establishment of populist Governor Floyd B. Olson and the crime syndicate in Minneapolis. For his efforts Ligget was threatened, offered bribes, beaten up, framed, and finally shot to death in the alley behind his home. His wife witnessed the assassination and was able to identify Liggett's killer as mob leader Kid Cann. Though he was indicted by a grand jury, Cann was not convicted after what appears to a sloppy investigation and cursory trial. Liggett's ten-year-old daughter Marda also witnessed the shooting that night. Decades later, while researching the events surrounding her father's death, shediscovered a historical record that was either woefully inadequate or outright incorrect. She worked for more than eight years ton research her father's life and death, exposing a side of Minnesota's history that has been ignored or overlooked. An intriguing report on the complex intersection between populist politics and corruption, Stopping the Presses is a personal and detailed account of the surprising stories of crime, politics, and journalism of the time. In the 1920s and 30s, Minneapolis was crime city. Gangsters and politicians were partners running the Twin Cities' illegal gambling, prostitution, and liquor concerns. Stopping the Presses is a searing look at this corrupt time, told through the life of martyred journalist Walter W. Liggett by his daughter, who finally sets the record straight. Walter Liggett published The Mid-West American, a newspaper that sought to expose machine politics and corruption in Minnesota. At times Liggett seemed alone in this endeavor—very few journalists joined his crusade to detail the links between the political establishment of populist Governor Floyd B. Olson and the crime syndicate in Minneapolis. For his efforts Liggett was threatened, offered bribes, beaten up, framed, and finally shot to death in the alley behind his home. His wife witnessed the assassination and was able to identify Liggett's killer as mob leader Kid Cann. Though he was indicted by a grand jury, Cann was not convicted after what appears to be a sloppy investigation and cursory trial. Liggett's ten-year-old daughter Marda also witnessed the shooting that night. Decades later, while researching the events surrounding her father's death, she discovered a historical record that was either woefully inadequate or outright incorrect. She worked for more than eight years to research her father's life and death, exposing a side of Minnesota's history that has been often ignored or overlooked. An intriguing report on the complex intersection between populist politics and corruption, Stopping the Presses is a personal and detailed account of the surprising stories of crime, politics, and journalism of the time. Contents......Page 10 Preface. A Daughter’s Journey......Page 12 Introduction. Starting Point......Page 16 Part I. Walter’s Story......Page 20 1. Prairie Activist......Page 22 2. The Roaring Twenties......Page 34 3. Freelance Writer, Freelance Radical......Page 40 4. Meanwhile, in Minnesota......Page 56 5. Return to Minnesota......Page 64 6. Break with Olson......Page 78 7. Move to Danger......Page 88 8. Framed and Beaten Up......Page 100 9. On Trial......Page 124 Part II. Death in an Alley......Page 136 10. Crescendo of Horror......Page 138 11. Last Day: Family Recollections......Page 148 12. The Cops Arrive, a Little Late, with Their Notebooks......Page 152 13. The Word Goes Out......Page 160 14. No Time to Mourn......Page 166 Part III. Edith’s Story......Page 170 15. Aftermath of Murder......Page 172 16. Hard Times......Page 182 17. Kid Cann Beats the Rap......Page 196 18. Loose Ends......Page 216 19. Home to Brooklyn......Page 222 Appendix. Who Done It? And What Happened to Kid Cann?......Page 230 Notes and Sources......Page 240 A......Page 276 C......Page 277 D......Page 278 F......Page 279 G......Page 280 J......Page 281 L......Page 282 M......Page 283 O......Page 286 R......Page 287 S......Page 288 U......Page 289 Y......Page 290 In the 1920s and '30s, Minneapolis was crime city. Gangsters and politicians partnered illegal gambling, prostitution, and liquor concerns. Walter Liggett sought to expose the corruption through his newspaper THE MIDWEST AMERICAN. This book is a searing look at that corrupt time, told by the daughter of the martyred Liggett. 20 photos. In the 1920s and 1930s, Minneapolis was crime city. Gangsters and politicians were partners running the Twin Cities' illegal gambling, prostitution, and liquor concerns. This book focuses on this corrupt time, told through the life of martyred journalist Walter W. Liggett, by his daughter.