Mary Sheridan Rubin, 1912-1995.

• Author: Rothschild, Matthew
• Position: 55-year Progressive employee and officer - Obituary - Editorial

Death came to visit us again this month. This time, it claimed Mary Sheridan Rubin, our dear, sweet, tough friend, who devoted more than half a century to "this little magazine," as she always called it in her modest Midwestern style.

Mary was the last tie to the La Follettes, who led the Progressive Movement in the early part of this century and founded this magazine in 1909. But after three decades, the La Follette family grew exhausted by the financial headaches of publishing a leftwing magazine in America and was looking to hand it off. Late one evening in 1940, Phil La Follette, who had been governor of Wisconsin like his father Robert before him, phoned up Mary's husband, Morris, to see if he'd take over.

Morris was an accomplished newspaperman, and he had served as Phil La Follette's press secretary. So when Phil put the arm on Morris, he was susceptible to the pressure. But first he discussed it with Mary. "In the end," Morris wrote in his memoirs, "she surrendered as easily as I did, although, more practical creature than I am, she had her doubts that we could manage with what the salaries might be."

For Mary, that salary was nothing the first two years. She served as managing editor of The Progressive for thirty-eight years, then as book editor for thirteen years. And for fifty-five years, she served as a member of the board of directors of The Progressive, Inc.

More than any single individual, Mary Sheridan Rubin was responsible for the continued existence of this magazine. It is no exaggeration to say that the issue you hold in your hands today would not be there if it were not for her.

Mary's finest hour came in 1954, when she and Morris put out a courageous expose of Senator Joseph McCarthy. That issue sold 180,000 copies - a record for us. And Mary also was instrumental in getting and keeping distinguished writers for The Progressive, including Sidney Lens and Milton Mayer, who were the voice of this publication for many years.

Throughout her tenure, Mary was a steadying influence. Morris suffered from manic depression, and it was Mary who held things together. She was immensely capable, and would work behind the scenes to make sure that all the details were taken care of. She was tight with the purse strings. Her editorial judgment was shrewd, her pen quick, and her eyes sharp. She was far and away the best proofreader who ever worked here.

And she was tenacious in her defense of the magazine.

"If we're going to go down...