Mark A. Matthews

He was a leading city reformer, who investigated red light districts and crime scenes, denouncing corrupt politicians businessmen and saloon keepers.

He built a model church, with night schools, unemployment bureaus, kindergarten, an anti-tuberculosis clinic, and the nation's first church-owned radio station.

[1] He was an enigmatic figure, holding views in common with both Christian fundamentalists and liberals, especially the Social Gospel movement.

He battled corruption (especially in the person of Seattle mayor Hiram Gill[1]) and encouraged social services.

[3] Born in Calhoun, Georgia, in a family beset by Reconstruction era poverty, Matthews grew up in the environment of Southern revivalism and, later, post-Reconstruction radical agrarian politics.