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} ======================================================================== | 1900 | 1904 | 1908 | 1912 | 1916 | 1920 STATE | DEBS | DEBS | DEBS | DEBS | BENSON | 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