Before John Reed left for Russia, the Espionage Act was passed on June 15, 1917. This called for fines and imprisonment as a punishment for interference with the recruiting of soldiers and prohibited the mailing of any newspaper or magazine that promoted such sentiments. The U.S. Post Office was also given leave to deny any mailing that fitted these standards from further postal delivery, and then to disqualify a magazine because it had missed a mailing (owing to the ban) and therefore no longer considered a "regular publication." "The Masses" was thereby forced by the United States federal government to cease publication in the fall of 1917, after they refused change the magazine's policy against World War I. "The Liberator", founded by Max Eastman under his and his sister's private control, published Reed's Russian Revolution accounts instead. In an effort to ensure the magazine's survival, Eastman compromised and tempered its views.