L. W. Rogers
Louis William Rogers (May 28, 1859 – April 18, 1953), commonly known as "L.W.," was an American teacher, railway brakeman, trade union functionary, socialist political activist, and newspaper editor.
After more than two decades in and around the labor movement, Rogers shifted his activity to mysticism as a prominent lecturer, writer, and long-time president of the Theosophical Society in America.
[1] He worked across a number of midwestern railways, including the Kansas City, Springfield & Memphis, the Wabash & Western, the Santa Fe, and the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy.
[2] Following his dismissal Rogers toured the Burlington route engaging in public speeches on behalf of the strikers, traveling from Illinois all the way to Colorado on his mission.
[2] Leaving actual railway work after his dismissal from the Burlington & Quincy, Rogers launched his first newspaper, the Railroad Patriot in St. Joseph, Missouri.
[2] In September 1889, Rogers was chosen as a delegate to the national convention of the BRB, which selected him as editor of the official organ of the union, the Railroad Brakemen's Journal.
[5] The judges on that same day ordered that 10,000 copies of their newly granted injunction be printed and distributed by federal marshals along the striking railroad lines.
"[8] Owing to an indefinite end to the period of incarceration, this decision was quietly reversed on July 25, 1894, when bail was posted and Debs, Rogers and the other ARU leaders freed from the Cook County Jail.
Upon his release, the ARU having been effectively crushed in the failed Pullman strike, Rogers moved to Pueblo, Colorado, where he worked as an organizer for the American Federation of Labor.
He returned to Chicago to edit the new political party's official organ, The Social Democrat for a time, and helped to manage the massive speaking tours of Debs, one of the renowned orators of the day, for the next two years.
[13] Rogers was soon absorbed by the Theosophical movement, lecturing extensively and publishing numerous books and pamphlets on reincarnation, life after death, karma, and sundry matters of philosophical idealism.
