‘Socialism in Utah’ by P.J. Holt from the International Socialist Review. Vol. 12 No. 10. April, 1912.

From Utah. The average membership of the Socialist Party in Utah during the year 1910 was 263; during 1911 it was 611. The banner month for receipt of dues money during 1911 was September, when 861 due stamps were sold. That record was exceeded in the month of February this year, when 977 due stamps were sold.

We now have one organizer in the field, and have had organizers–sometimes one and sometimes two–steady employed since January 29, 1910. It is safe to say that we have had an average of one meeting under state auspices every day. The sound revolutionary literature sold cannot even be estimated. Add to this that the locals have employed speakers in addition and sold literature and with the literature the revolutionary labor unions have sold, there are figures to stagger the capitalistic philistines.

There is now published one Socialist paper at Helper, Utah, and the name is the People’s Press. There is a movement on for starting a chain of papers under some central management.

The general condition of the party in the state is excellent. We look for an increase of membership to two thousand this year and hope to be able to keep two or three organizers in the field all the time.

As to how many votes we will get, that is immaterial. What we want is organization and education. Nor do we expect to have a perfect organization composed of angels, but rather to spread the propaganda to every nook and corner in the state and let the internal development of intelligent membership follow. To that end we will discourage all possibilities of factionalities and sometimes brush technicalities to one side for the sake of unity.

When the votes are counted next November there will be some ten or twenty thousand and many members of state legislature of our party will be elected.

P. J. HOLT, State Sec’y., Utah.

The International Socialist Review (ISR) was published monthly in Chicago from 1900 until 1918 by Charles H. Kerr and critically loyal to the Socialist Party of America. It is one of the essential publications in U.S. left history. During the editorship of A.M. Simons it was largely theoretical and moderate. In 1908, Charles H. Kerr took over as editor with strong influence from Mary E Marcy. The magazine became the foremost proponent of the SP’s left wing growing to tens of thousands of subscribers. It remained revolutionary in outlook and anti-militarist during World War One. It liberally used photographs and images, with news, theory, arts and organizing in its pages. It articles, reports and essays are an invaluable record of the U.S. class struggle and the development of Marxism in the decades before the Soviet experience. It was closed down in government repression in 1918.

PDF of full issue: https://www.marxists.org/history/usa/pubs/isr/v12n10-apr-1912-ISR-gog-Corn.pdf