In the first half of 1919, the Socialist Party had over 100,000 dues paying members and by the second half of 1921 it had been shattered. Fewer than 14,000 members remained in party ranks, with the departure of the large and well-funded Finnish Socialist Federation adding to the malaise. In September 1921, the NEC of the party determined that the time had come to end the party's historic aversion to "fusion" with other political organizations and issue an appeal declaring that the "forces of every progressive, liberal, and radical organization of the workers must be mobilized" to repel conservative assaults and "advance the industrial and political power of the working class".