Wallace Mertin Short

Background

Wallace Mertin Short was born on June 28, 1866, on a farm near College Springs, Iowa, close to the Iowa-Missouri border.

Education

Wallace Short attended the nearby Amity Academy, then Beloit College, eventually graduating from Yale Seminary (now Yale Divinity School) as a Phi Beta Kappa in 1896.

Career

Short’s career as a clergyman spanned more than two decades, 1896-1918, when Wallace Short served Congregational churches in Evansville, Wisconsin; Kansas City; and finally the First Congregational Church in Sioux City, where he added 250 members to the church’s rolls between 1910 and 1914. He proceeded to establish a new congregation, Central Church, in September 1914, which he served for the next four years.

By 1924 Wallace Short felt destined for higher office but was defeated in his bid to achieve the Republican nomination for Congress. In 1926 he was thwarted in an effort to regain the mayoralty.

In his late 50s, Wallace Short turned to a career in journalism. In 1927 he founded the Unionist and Public Forum. During the 1930s, the paper had more than 2,000 subscribers in Sioux City, and as many as 3,700 copies were printed, some of which were read by Iowa legislators. The paper demonstrated Short’s support for the cause of both farm and labor elements in Iowa.

Works

More photos

• book

  • The Deeper Meaning Of The "temperance" Question...
  • Let There Be Light: A Study in Freedom and Faith, Being a Review of Six Years Ministry in Sioux City, Iowa

Politics

Throughout his career, Short’s politics contained both liberal and conservative elements.

Views

Wallace Short was a lifelong advocate of civil liberties, fought against racism and religious intolerance, fought for unions both as mayor and editor, saw the family farm as the bulwark of American civilization, opposed the sales tax because of its impact on working people, and was a strong advocate of pensions. Wallace Short was not sympathetic to radicalism but believed that all citizens were entitled to free speech.

Personality

Wallace Short was highly educated but possessed charisma and the courage to attract attention and sometimes make himself a major force in Iowa's local and state politics for half a century.

Connections

Wallace Mertin Short married May Belle Morse and they had a daughter, Emily, and adopted two sons, John and Burton.

Spouse:

May Belle Morse

Daughter:

Emily Short

Son:

John Short

Son:

Burton Short

References

• Hudson, D., Bergman, M., & Horton, L. (Eds.) The biographical dictionary of Iowa
  2009