THE SOCIALIST VOTE

Previous to the organization of the Socialist party, the Socialist political activity in this country was in the custody of the old Socialist-Labor party. Its vote, as listed by the Appeal Almanac for 1916, developed as follows:

TABLE L

Socialist Vote for President from 1888 to 1898



1888	2,068
1890	13,704
1892	21,512
1894	30,020
1896	36,275
1898	82,204

After 1898 the vote of this party declined rapidly until, in 1914, its candidate polled only 21,827 votes.

On the whole, the best index of Socialist political strength is the vote recorded in the ballot box. A tabulation of the vote of the Socialist party in the presidential elections since and including that of 1900 is therefore germane. (See [Table LI].)

TABLE LI

The Socialist Vote for President by States from 1900 to 1920{1}



State	1900 Debs	1904 Debs	1908 Debs	1912 Debs	1916 Benson	1920 Debs

Alabama	928	853	1,399	3,029	1,925	2,369
Arizona	...	...	...	3,163	3,174	125
Arkansas	27	1,816	5,842	8,153	6,999	5,111
California	7,572	29,533	28,659	79,201	43,259	64,076
Colorado	684	4,304	7,974	16,418	10,049	8,046
Connecticut	1,029	4,543	5,113	10,056	5,179	10,355
Delaware	57	146	239	556	480	1,002
Florida	603	2,337	3,747	4,806	5,353	5,189
Georgia	...	197	584	1,026	967	465
Idaho	...	4,954	6,400	11,960	8,066	38
Illinois	9,687	69,225	34,711	81,278	61,394	74,747
Indiana	2,374	12,013	13,476	39,931	21,855	24,703
Iowa	2,742	14,847	8,287	16,967	10,976	16,981
Kansas	1,605	15,849	12,420	26,779	24,685	15,510
Kentucky	770	3,602	4,185	11,647	4,734	6,409
Louisiana	...	995	2,538	5,249	292	...
Maine	878	2,106	1,758	2,541	2,177	2,214
Maryland	908	2,247	2,323	3,996	2,674	8,876
Massachusetts	9,716	13,604	10,781	12,616	11,058	32,265
Michigan	2,826	9,042	11,586	23,211	16,120	28,947
Minnesota	3,065	11,692	14,527	27,505	20,117	56,106
Mississippi	...	393	978	2,061	1,484	1,639
Missouri	6,128	13,009	15,431	28,466	14,612	20,242
Montana	708	5,676	5,855	10,885	9,564	...
Nebraska	823	7,412	3,524	10,174	7,141	9,600
Nevada	...	925	2,103	3,313	3,065	1,864
New Hampshire	790	1,090	1,299	1,980	1,318	1,235
New Jersey	4,221	9,588	10,249	15,900	10,462	27,217
New Mexico	...	...	...	2,859	1,999	2
New York	12,869	36,883	38,451	63,381	45,944	203,400
North Carolina	...	124	345	117	490	446
North Dakota	518	2,017	2,421	6,966	...	8,283
Ohio	4,847	36,260	33,795	90,144	38,092	57,147
Oklahoma	...	...	21,779	41,674	45,190	25,638
Oregon	1,494	7,619	7,339	13,343	9,711	9,801
Pennsylvania	4,831	21,863	33,913	80,915	45,637	70,021
Rhode Island	...	956	1,365	2,049	1,914	4,351
South Carolina	...	22	101	164	135	28
South Dakota	169	3,138	2,846	4,662	3,760	...
Tennessee	413	1,354	1,870	3,492	2,542	2,239
Texas	1,846	2,791	7,870	24,896	18,963	8,194
Utah	717	5,767	4,890	9,023	4,460	3,159
Vermont	371	844	...	928	798	25
Virginia	145	218	255	820	1,060	807
Washington	2,006	10,023	14,177	40,134	22,800	8,913
West Virginia	268	1,574	3,679	15,336	6,140	5,618
Wisconsin	7,048	28,220	28,164	33,481	27,846	80,635
Wyoming	...	...	1,715	2,760	1,453	1,234

Total	96,116	402,321	420,973	897,011	585,113	915,302

Total Socialist vote{2}		408,230	424,488	901,062	...	...
Socialist-Labor vote{2}		33,546	14,021	30,344	...	...

note 1: World Almanac, 1920.

note 2: Appeal Almanac, 1916.

This table is compiled from the World Almanac. The column for 1920, in particular, may be suspected of serious inaccuracy in detail. The figures for Idaho, for example, would appear to be absurd, in view of nearly 12,000 in 1912 and more than 8,000 in 1916. The Appeal Almanac for 1916 gives larger totals, and adds a surviving vote of the Socialist-Labor party. The World Almanac for 1921 adds a note regarding the 1920 election:

The total for the Socialist-Labor ticket approximated 20,896, but it is to be said that in a number of the states the Socialist-Labor electors were called Independent Labor, or Independent, or Industrial Labor, so that the true total is considerably above that named above.

In general, the table affords a sufficient basis for general comparisons and judgment as to tendency.