Milwaukee's Socialist era survives in one of the city's essential public services: wastewater treatment. The Jones Island Water Reclamation Facility, built in 1925 under Socialist leadership, is now 101 years old and can process as much as 400 million gallons of wastewater daily. It remains a tangible example of a political movement that emphasized improvements in working people's lives.
Before the facility opened, the region's sewage flowed into rivers and then Lake Michigan, which also supplied drinking water, according to Kevin Shafer, executive director of Milwaukee's sewer system. Private industry could have constructed a treatment system, he said, but the enormous initial expense required support from a public tax base.
Beginning in 1910, Milwaukee elected three Socialist mayors who together served for nearly four decades. It was the only major American city to do so. Historian John Gurda attributes their appeal partly to dissatisfaction with corruption and the city's large industrial workforce. Manufacturing employed 57% of Milwaukee's males, creating a receptive audience for politics focused on workers.
Educated German immigrants also helped shape the movement, bringing Socialist ideals with them to the United States. Turner Hall served as a gathering place for their social activities, lectures and political debates. The local movement became known as "Sewer Socialism" because its priorities included reliable sanitation, parks and public housing. Gurda describes it as practical and closer to social democracy, with anti-capitalist leaders who nevertheless worked with others.
Public trust and careful spending were central to that approach. Emil Seidel, Milwaukee's first Socialist mayor, made a public exhibition of the municipal budget one of his earliest initiatives. Gurda said the effort resonated with immigrant households accustomed to stretching their money and helped establish the Socialists' reputation for incorruptibility.
The second Socialist mayor, Daniel Hoan, had the greatest impact on the city, according to Gurda. During his 24 years in office, Milwaukee repeatedly received recognition for safety, health and cleanliness. Gurda said its repeated public health victories eventually led to Milwaukee being retired from that award to allow other cities an opportunity.
Hoan championed the Jones Island facility and helped develop a marketable product from wastewater treatment: Milwaukee Organic Nitrogen, commonly known as Milorganite. Facility guide Bill Graffin explained that the fertilizer consists of microscopic organisms used in treatment. Still sold to gardeners, golf course superintendents and homeowners, it generates millions of dollars annually for the city.
Frank Zeidler, Milwaukee's final Socialist mayor, departed office in 1960. By then, the Democratic Party had absorbed many of the movement's most popular ideas. Gurda points to the New Deal and the establishment of Social Security in 1935 as examples of how policies associated with Socialists became part of Democratic politics.
The Socialist label remains contentious nationally, despite recent polling showing greater appeal among younger voters. Attack advertisements have accused Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed of promoting Socialism, which he has repeatedly said he does not support as a Socialist himself. Looking back at Milwaukee, Gurda emphasizes the mayors' practical objectives: their leftist beliefs accompanied a determination to improve everyday conditions, particularly for working people.
