Today in Labor History January 1, 1879: Ben Reitman was born on this day. Reitman was a comrade and one-time lover of Emma Goldman, a doctor to hobos and prostitutes, and an anarchist organizer. He wrote the novel, “Boxcar Bertha.” Scorsese later made a film based on this book. Reitman became a hobo at the age of ten, but returned to Chicago and got a job in a lab. In 1900, he started medical school. His first daughter founded the nudist Out-of-Door Club at Highland, New York. As a physician, Reitman performed many abortions when they were still illegal. In 1907 he founded the Hobo College for migrant education, political organizing and social services. The during San Diego Free Speech Fight in 1912-1913, vigilantes tarred and feathered him, burned “IWW” into his skin and raped him with a broom. In 1916, he served six-month in prison for breaking the Comstock Law by disseminating information on birth control.

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