=============================================================== | | PER CENT OF | TOTAL | SOCIALIST VOTE YEAR | SOCIALIST | IN THE NINE | VOTE | STATES ------------------------------+----------------+--------------- 1900 | 96,116 | 55.6 1904 | 402,321 | 58.2 1908 | 420,973 | 50.5 1912 | 897,011 | 48.0 1916 | 585,113 | 45.8 =============================================================== It appears, then, that these nine states--New York and New Jersey, containing the large cities of Greater New York, Jersey City, and Newark; Wisconsin, containing the great German population of Milwaukee; Illinois, containing Chicago; Ohio, containing Cleveland and Cincinnati; Nebraska, containing Omaha; Pennsylvania, containing Philadelphia and Pittsburgh; Missouri, containing St. Louis and Kansas City; Minnesota, containing Minneapolis and St. Paul; to say nothing of the smaller cities and rural districts, largely inhabited by immigrants of German birth--have contained more than half of the voting strength of the Socialist parties. Some discount must be allowed for the fact that these large cities contain also large numbers of foreign-born voters of other races; but even a generous discount for this fact does not nullify the predominance of the German element in the Socialist voting strength. These nine states account also for about half of the dues-paying membership in the Socialist party; according to the _American Socialist_ of January 23, 1916, there were 44,132, or 47 per cent, of the total of dues-paying membership of the party, in 1914, and 38,194, or 48 per cent, in 1915, in the nine states. JEWS IN SOCIALISM