Newswriter Walter William Liggett was a long-time supporter of the Farmer-Labor Movement and of the Progressive Party. He had been an activist in both his home state of Minnesota and in North Dakota. His career had taken him from Alaska to New York City. His articles gained nationwide fame. He helped turn public opinion against Prohibition. He viciously attacked Andrew Mellon He had written scathing attacks on Herbert Hoover, and had openly supported Floyd Olson in 1932. In the early days of the Olson Administration, Liggett had helped expose the right-wing enemies of Olson. He was a progressive to the core.
But starting in 1933 with the implementation of the Internal Security Act, Liggett had begun to criticize the authoritarianism of the Olson Administration. He railed against the abuses of ISA. His reputation as a progressive was so secure that he could not be portrayed as a dangerous right-wing rebel, and he soon became one of the leading faces of the anti-ISA movement. Some people credited his articles with disillusioning enough Progressives to prevent the Progressives from sweeping 1934 like they should have. Liggett was overjoyed when the Supreme Court weakened ISA, and continued to champion for a full repeal.
In 1934, after ISA was weakened, Liggett gained a new target in the Olson Administration: corruption. More money was bouncing around the Olson Administration than any other administration in history, creating new opportunities for corruption. Liggett was particularly critical of Attorney General Huey Long, who he alleged was behind most of the corruption and abuses of power. Stating that he still believe Olson to be good at heart, he called upon the President to fire the Attorney General. When Olson ignored the request, Liggett began to write articles, showing how numerous projects by the American Employment Agency, and large amounts of federal dollars, had ended up helping numerous organized crime groups, such as the notorious gangster Kid Cann in Minnesota. Liggett alleged that Cann, with connections to notorious gangsters such as Meyer Lansky, had supported Floyd Olson since the latter was governor.
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"There is no nationwide organized crime," pronounced FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover to the Joint Congressional Committee. "Local gangs run by men like the deceased Al Capone? Yes. But some sort of nationwide conspiracy, stretching from Florida to New York to Minnesota, involving the bribery of high-level politicians? It is simply a ridiculous notion."
"Can you be sure?" asked Progressive Representative Frederick Harold Dubord of Maine. "Perhaps the FBI should devote some of its resources to investigating these allegations."
"The era of bootlegging is gone with Prohbition," declared Hoover. "My men have much more important things to do than arrest bookmakers and gamblers. For instance, there are still far-right groups similar to the Silver Legion. We have evidence that many bank robberies and other crimes blamed upon so-called 'organized crime' are actually carried out by these political extremists."
"You use the far-right as your shield," proclaimed Republican Senator Arthur Vandenburg of Michigan. "You have abused the authority of the government. You have trampled upon the Constitution. The Olson Administration is corrupt, and dictatorial, and uses the phantom of a revived Silver Legion to seize power and crush its foes. I have no doubt that Olson wishes he could establish a Troika with Mr. Long and Vice President La Guardia here and end democracy in America, but we will not let democracy die!"
There was scattered applause from the conservatives in the committee. But talking points aside, very little was gained. Hoover was adamant that corruption and organized crime were both exaggerated.
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In the early morning of August 25, 1935, Walter Liggett placed his half-finished article upon his desk. It was another attack upon the US Department of Justice, claiming that Huey Long was basically setting up his own criminal syndicate across the nation, and that J. Edgar Hoover was complicit in his crimes for the promise of more power to the FBI. He hoped that people would listen, and that Floyd Olson could be brought down. Liggett had suspected Olson was using the governorship of Minnesota as a mere stepping stone for greater power since Olson was elected governor in 1924. However, he could not bring himself to sabotage Olson's progressive administration. He had been caught up in the anti-Mellon sentiment of 1932, and cheered on Olson with the rest of the radicals. But things had gone to far. He couldn't let the administration betray the trust of the American people like this any more.
Liggett knew he was a target for Kid Cann. He'd first gotten bribes from the gangster, but he refused to accept them. Then Cann's men had jumped him in an alley one day, and brutally beaten Liggett. But the writer managed to escape with his life, and recovered from his injuries. Horrible crimes had been alleged about him, including that he had kidnapped and raped boys. But these crimes had no evidence, and as corrupt as the police and judiciary were, they could not convict Liggett. He'd received death threats every day, mostly anonymous from mobsters, some from fanatical progressives. He felt sad that his family might lose him some day. But they knew that he could not stay silent and watch his nation suffer.
Liggett walked over to the kitchen, where his wife, Edith, was cooking breakfast. He kissed her, and complimented her cooking. She was happy that the legal trouble had been resolved; she loved her husband more than her reputation, and she knew that he would not be the man she loved if he did not stand up for what was right. Liggett walked to his daughter Marda's room, and looked down at the sleeping ten year old. She would have to wake up soon, to go to church. He shook her gently, and she woke up happy, telling her father how much she loved him. She was still ignorant and sheltered. He wondered what would happen to her in school, whether his enemies had created a toxic enough atmosphere that she would get bullied because of her father. He hoped he would be there to help her. Liggett wondered how many times he would be able to tell his daughter than he loved her.
After breakfast, Liggett told his family that he was going to go check the mail before they went to church. He opened the door and walked down to the mailbox, and found letters within.
"Is there anything for me?" called out Marda. She and her mother were standing in the doorway, staring down the walkway at her father.
"I don't think so," replied Liggett with a smile. He began walking back toward his house.
Suddenly, a car pulled up by the mailbox. Liggett turned around to see who it was. Before he was even fully turned, there was the blast of a machine gun and Liggett was blown down to the ground covered in blood. Edith and Marda screamed, but they could do nothing. The car had sped away. The writer's wife and daughter ran up to him, sobbing. He was already dead.
