Charles Barzillai Spahr
(July 20, 1860 ? August 30, 1904) was an American political economist. Author, newspaper publisher and editor, he was also prominently identified with
University Settlement
work.
[1]
He numbered among his intimate friends such people as
Carl Schurz
,
Ernest Howard Crosby
, and
Henry George
.
[1]
Early life and education
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Spahr was born in
Columbus, Ohio
, July 20, 1860. He was the son of the Rev. Barzillai Nelson, and Elizabeth (Tallman) Spahr. He was the grandson of Gideon and Phoebe (Hegler) Spahr, and of George and Jane (Douglas) Tallman, and a descendant of Spahr, who was born in
Basel
, Switzerland.
[2]
Spahr was graduated from
Amherst College
, in 1881. He studied at
Leipzig
, 1884?85. The honorary degree of Ph.D. was conferred upon him by the School of Political Science,
Columbia University
,
New York City
, in 1886.
[2]
Career
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In 1886, with
Stanton Coit
, Spahr co-founded the
University Settlement New York
on the
Lower East Side
of
New York City
.
[3]
In the same year, he became associate editor of
The Outlook
,
[2]
and continued to be associated with the periodical until February 1904.
[1]
Spahr was one of the primary workers in the formation of the
American League
, which organization was strongly opposed to imperialism. he was one of the chief movers against the imperialistic policy of the U.S., and fought hard against the acquisition of the Philippines by the U.S. government.
[1]
In 1903, he purchased
Current Literature
, a successful magazine with offices on West 26th Street in New York City. He found in this undertaking that his duties, although lucrative, were onerous, and he gave way to the worry of the business p art of the enterprise, a phase of the publication trade with which he had had no previous experience.
[1]
He was the author of:
Present Distribution of Wealth
(1896);
America's Working People
(1900), and essays on "The Taxation of Labor"; "Single Tax", and "Giffeus Case against Bimetallism".
[2]
Personal life
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On July 5, 1892, he married
Jean Gurney
, daughter of Lambert and Mary (Burchard) Fine, of
Princeton, New Jersey
.
[2]
They had five daughters: Margaret (b. 1893; Smith 1914), Elizabeth Fine (b. 1894), Mary Burchard (b. 1896), Jean Gurney (b. 1899), and Helen Thayer (b. 1902).
[4]
Death
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Spahr either fell or jumped overboard from the steamer
Prince Albert
midway between
Ostend
and
Dover
on August 30, 1904. He had been suffering from a complication of severe indigestion, and the nervous strain of overwork in his editorial duties; he was traveling for his health.
[1]
Selected works
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]
- Present Distribution of Wealth
(1896)
- America's Working People
(1900)
Essays
[
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]
- "The Taxation of Labor"
- "Single Tax"
- "Giffeus Case against Bimetallism"
References
[
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]