Conflicts of Interest

   "We published your declarations among those whom we represented and as a result,
   there was a substantial addition to the strength of your following from the Liberals of Massachusetts [...]
   These people all over the state are now looking to you [...] at this critical moment in the nation's life."

This open letter to Senator David Ignatius Walsh of Massachusetts was addressed to him six months into his term in office – September 12, 1919.  It was signed by two prominenet figures:

Demarest Lloyd – son of Henry Demarest Lloyd (the famous muckraker and progressive activist) and a prominent journalist.  Lloyd was on the executive committee of the short-lived National Party, a non-partisan organization founded by pro-war defectors from the Socialist Party.  Other members of the Party included Upton Sinclair and John Spargo.

Chester R. Lawrence – Progressive candidate for U.S. Representative from Massachusetts 12th District, 1914; Prohibition candidate for Governor of Massachusetts, 1916, 1917.

Senator Walsh, the son of Irish Catholic immigrants, is documented as being a strong supporter of Irish independence (see below) and argued that the Treaty of Peace favored the British (as many Irish Catholic and German Americans maintained at the time).  Given his staunch isolationist/anti-interventionist sentiments, this letter brings up questions of why Senator Walsh would tease an alliance with a pro-war socialist group whose platform values, besides prohibition, he claimed to support.

"Walsh Pleads for Reservation." Boston Daily Globe, October 10, 1919, 1. Proquest Historical Newspapers (503836526).
"'Walsh Assails, Nelson Defends League in Senate." New York Times, October 10, 1919, 1. Proquest Historical Newspapers (100470188).
"'Walsh Asks For Test." New York Times, January 19, 1920, 8. Proquest Historical Newspapers (98246580).
"'Calls Treaty Outrage." The Sun, May 3, 1920, 22. Proquest Historical Newspapers (538010471).
"Walsh Sees Cox; Urges Home Issues." New York Times, July 30, 1920, 2. Proquest Historical Newspapers (98138305).

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