Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1903-12-28
MISUSE OF FIGURES.
CORRECT WAY TO MEASURE TAs
STRENGTH OF TRADES UNIONS.
An EnltEhtcning Analysis Of the
Claim That Eighty Per Cent of III.
Workers Are UnorEnnized-Esnm
nation of Official Figures.

the Cn.,Gd States department of labor,
discusses in the Chicago News the sub
1ect Of the actual strength of the trades
nniens of this country. lie makes sew
eral good points in the article, which
follows:
1t is very difficult to get exact figures
on trades union membership. The rec
ords kept hy the national or interna-
fional unions ut their respective head
quarters have to do only with paid
membership that is to say the nation
III secretaries can only tell You how
many members the various locals are
paying the per capita dues upon. The
locals pay dues ESQ tie general or III.
tional only on the members who had
paid their local dues ut IL certain time,
Notwithstanding the deinqucnts ara
good fer it and are really members
in good standing. 1t has been asserted
in net too confidential voice by some
secretaries that local unions are fire.
quently deliberate "taX dodgers and
pay into the general treasury not on ac-
tual membership, but what they be-
lieyc to be ''about their SHARE 1t is
painful to think that any trades union
would dodge its taxes, as some Of the
capitalists and capitalistic corporations
i'll some cities in Mexico are said to do
The careful statistician of trades un-
ion membership must therefore take
fully into account this element of tax
dodging. The more serious element,
however, is the rapid changes in mem
bership. Regardless of how close to
the facts any set of figures may be,
they will be wrong before they can be
got into the hands of the printer. In
some respects, however. the popular
idea and even the figures of enormous
growth in the last two years are mis-
leading If not erroneous. For instance,
In Chicago the schOolteachers were Or
ganized into a federation. which was
not considered labor organization in
any sense until it Joined the Chicago
Federation Of Labor. Here was
large accession Of members without
any change that could in any way
AACNI COllultAOuS. lit lAClLCE
Carriers association has been agitating
the question Of uniting with the Amer
ican Federation Of Labor. This would
be another accession Of mere numbers
1t would Of course have social sgnifi-
cance. but not industrial Importance
In sense this Is true of bartenders
and even of BARRIERS unions. all of
which are rapidly incrcasing-that is
10 say, not all of the increase in trades
union membership has been in direc-
tions that vitally affect the manufac-
ture and transportation of commodities
The American Federatio of Labor
reported in September, 1903, 1000, 900
taxpaying members To get at the
proportion Of taxpaying members to
actual membership in the unions let
the records Of two or three organza-
tions suffice. The Garment Workers
records show 24,3OO paying the per
capita and $4,000 in good standing in
1902 and $4,000 in good standing in
1903. The paying membership of the
Iron Molders union was 25,9OO in 1902,
whereas in January, 1902. there were
a,2o1 in good standing and in June,
1902, 7G,4lG. and these figures are ex-
elusive of 1906 in arrears for dues to
their own locals.
The United Mine Workers pay per
capita on 5,4OO members, whereas
fhe actual membership in 1902 was
23S2 1000 and In 1903 264 ,430
1t will be seen from this that any list
secured from the American Federation
of Labor will be largely under the facts
RS to membership. \ conservative esti-
mate would add 20 per cent-that is,
raise the number to 100000 1t must
he remembered that none of the rail
road organizations is affiliated with the
American Federation of Labor These
have combined membership Of about |
22S5, 900.
The bricklayers are not affiliated with |
the American Federation Of Labor. !
Then there is the American Labor un- |
1ofi, strong central organization |
which is beginning to be to the west |
what the American Federation of La
bor is to the country at large. Affiliated |
With the American Labor union is the
Western Miners federation, the richest |
A1QoF ORGANIZATION, measured by actual |
cash in its treasury, III the world.
There are also a large number of lesser
bodies affiliated with the American La
Dor union. Its combined membership is
about 100000 These large outside bod
les, together with the bricklayers,
knights of Labor and other smaller or
ganizations that have 10 national CON
neetion, make ii difficult to put the
number OF union men in the United |
States at less than 100000. This I
would include Ct course a considerable
number of Canadian members of inter
national unions.
1t is difficult to determine where most
of the recent increase in membership |
comes from geographically. The Min
nesota State Federation Of Labor re-
ported in August, 1908, an increase of