Milan Kerdić – prilog za biografiju
MILAN KERDIĆ – GLEANINGS FOR A BIOGRAPHY

Summary/Abstract: Milan Kerdić belongs to the group of young people who were the fi rst to reestablish the Party of Rights, which after the Rakovica catastrophe had practically ceased to exist. He fi nished primary school in his birthplace Svinjar (today’s Davor), junior high school classes in Požega, he graduated from high school in Osijek and fi - nished legal studies in Zagreb. During his studies there was a demonstration of young Party of Rights’ members against Italian language in the Croatian Theatre in Zagreb; Kerdić was a participant. While a student he worked as Zagreb correspondent for the Party of Rights newspaper Sloboda. After fi nishing his studies he went to Sušak and worked as main assistant, and later, while still young, he became editor-in-chief of the Party of Rights’ newspaper in November 1880. In crucial moments, when he had to react promptly in regard to very essential matters, Kerdić proved to be determined and enterprising. This case involved the future of the fi rm Primorska tiskara and the newspaper Sloboda. At the beginning of January 1881 he managed to buy the printing house as well as Sloboda with money collected from party members and the adherents of the Party of Rights and thereby prevented the great district prefect Ljudevit Reizner from destroying “that baneful newspaper” of Sušak. In February 1881 Ante Starčević moved to Sušak which was very helpful for the progress of Sloboda. During the period Milan Kerdić was chief editor, Sloboda was the most persecuted and most often seized Croatian opposition newspaper. Each seizure implied also a penalty as well as loss from the guarantee, however, Kerdić succeeded in maintaining the newspaper until the beginning of 1884 when it was transferred to Zagreb. A reliable witness, Dušan Lopašić, who at the beginning of 1881 joined the editorship of Sloboda, affi rmed the simplicity, devotion and modesty of Milan Kerdić, the longest-lasting chief editor of Sloboda. Lopašić confi rms: “He was one of the lucky ones who heard and listened to the Old Man; indeed, he was his student.” With every breath, heartbeat and every thought he was a Pravaš (member of the Party of Rights). Such people are hard to fi nd these days.” After the newspaper had been transferred to Zagreb, Fran Folnegović took over the editing, while Kerdić remained a member of the editorship. So far it remains unknown when Kerdić moved to Brod to become a solicitor’s clerk in Dr Ignjat Brlić’s lawyer’s offi ce, inherited by Vatroslav Brlić. Most certainly it was before or at the very beginning of 1891. In Brod he continued his collaboration with newspapers of the Party of Rights such as Hrvatska and Trn.

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