Charles A. Wells papers, 1934-1976

Charles A. Wells was a cartoonist, journalist, author, periodical publisher, and editor. He was born in Greenfield, Indiana in 1897 and raised as a Quaker. In 1920, he graduated from Friends University, a university of Quaker heritage located in Wichita, Kansas. Wells began his career as a sports cartoonist for newspapers in Kansas and New York before transitioning into social commentary on international societal and political issues. Wells employed cartoons, editorials, and articles for his commentary. Much of his work was published in The Mennonite and The Friends Journal. He was also a lecturer on world affairs and a television analyst for various national stations and affiliates. Wells was a frequent traveler to Europe and Asia; he also traveled to the Soviet Union. In 1942, he founded Between the Lines, a subscription-based newsletter distributed nationally in which Wells interpreted the news of the day from a religious perspective. He was both editor and publisher of the newsletter from 1942 until his death on May 8, 1976. He authored the books, Pink: A Caricature of an American Revolutionary in Russia (1935), Cancelled Crosses (1937), Building a Better World (1939), The Great Alternative: An Examination of Six Pressing Concerns in Today’s World (1951), Think on These Things: A Collection of Drawings and Paragraphs (1955), and Journey into Light (1958). He also wrote “Ah, But a Man’s Reach,” an unpublished novel about Americans in China during the 1930s.