Louis M. Scates
{{short description|American labor activist and politician}}
Louis M. Scates (c. 1863–1954) was an American labor activist and politician from Massachusetts. Scates, a shoeworker and street car operator, was a member of the Social Democratic Party of America when he was elected in 1899. He served a single term in the Massachusetts House of Representatives alongside fellow SDP member James F. Carey.{{cite book|last=Richardson|first=Darcy G.|title=Others: Third Parties During the Populist Period|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zfhgbsZk1nQC&pg=PA266|accessdate=14 February 2016|date=April 2007|publisher=iUniverse|isbn=9780595443048|pages=266–}}{{cite book|title=Socialism and Government: Working Programs and Records of Socialists in Office|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1CE-AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA25|year=1916|publisher=Appeal to Reason|pages=25–}}
Biography
Scates was defeated in his November 1899 bid for re-election by 317 votes when Democrats and Republicans fused their efforts behind the candidacy of Republican Carleton M. How.[https://archive.org/details/1111HaverhillsocdemV1n06 "Socialism Strides Forward!"] Haverhill Social Democrat, vol. 1, no. 6 (Nov. 11, 1899), pg. 1
After his electoral defeat, Scates would later serve on the staff of the radical Boot and Shoe Workers' Union.Henry F. Bedford, Socialism and the Workers in Massachusetts, 1886-1912. Amherst, MA: University of Massachusetts Press, 1966; pp. 86, 98.
Scates was expelled from the Socialist Party in 1907 for voting against continuation of the use of referendum ballots for the election of officials of the Boot & Shoe Workers’ Union, deemed a violation of socialist principles.[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/24125369/former_massachusetts_legislator_louis/ "Expelled by Socialist Club," Boston Globe, Sept. 13, 1907, pg. 8.]
Louis M. Scates died in August 1954 at Haverhill, Massachusetts. He was 91 years old at the time of his death.
See also
Footnotes
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Category:Politicians from Haverhill, Massachusetts
Category:Social Democratic Party of America politicians
Category:Members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives
Category:Trade unionists from Massachusetts
Category:Boot and Shoe Workers' Union people
Category:Year of birth uncertain
Category:Massachusetts socialists
Category:19th-century members of the Massachusetts General Court
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