Holy Toledo

by Marnie Jones

Holy Toledo is the first biography of one of the most remarkable social reformers of this century. It is the story of one man's attempts to remake himself, the workplace, and the city along Christian democratic lines. Jones was a deeply divided man: the successful businessman turned reformer who, after more than a decade of remarkable fidelity to the Golden Rule, still believed he had failed. Unlike most progressive reformers, Jones was in a position to initiate real change. His factory workers shared in the profits and took advantage of day-care facilities for their children. As mayor, he was a nationally revered public figure who supported municipal ownership of utilities, ended the practice of jailing the homeless, and made available free legal counsel to those who needed it. Marnie Jones relies upon a rich collection of unpublished documents to tell the compelling story of the only man in America to have run a city on the principles of the Sermon on the Mount.