The Point Pleasant register. [volume] (Point Pleasant, W. Va.) 1909-1939, 1909-08-04
IN ENGLAND
Labor Organizations Advancing
In Great Britain.
THE TENDENCY is UPWARD.

Unemployed Payments and otho-
Large Financial outIays Give ssri.
Gus Thought TO Labor LsadseO-Ths
superannua.iOn Problem.
The trades unions of Great Britain
now form huge compact aSSresa.
ton able to neht the question OF
wages aud hours OF labor With in.
dividual or associated employers on
the one side and able to express them
selves as political entity Of IN
doubted power on the other.
A few facts may not be out Of place.
first of all to show the present extent
OF trades unionist organization. The
latest figures show that the rumber
OF separate unions in this country is
close on 100. This figure need not
be regarded unduly high. but 1t of
course means there are far too many
independent and unconnected unions
catering for the same trade. The ag-
greGate membership OF these separate
unions Is u Tar more vital factor. II
amounts to 2.+06,Tl6 This is an in.
crease in three years OF over 100000.
The relative advance OF retrogression
in the unionization OF certaIn trades Is
interesting. and We find that In the
latest three years covered by stats.
tics the coal mining union membership
Increased just over 20 per cent and
the textile unions did even better By
increasing in three years by about ~
per cent.
About onetwelfth Of our trades
unionists are women and girls. s. per
cent Of these being found In the tex
tile trades. the cotton Industry alone
accounting for 70 per cent. Female
trades unions show an Increase for the
last three years of 81 per cent.
Along with this general increase in
membership there has also been IN In
crease in financial strenGth-very nat1-
ral In view OF the fact that serious
strike troubles have, on the whole,
been fairly absent
4aklhs survey OF a decade, we ind
.nae the membership OF these unions
increased In the ten years from l,09O.-
900 TO $4,000. Their income Increas-
ed in the SINE period from $9.5Oo.OOo
10 nearly Sl2.3oo'Ooo, their expenditure
from $'.4oo'ooo to Slo,"'O.OOo and their
reserve tuncs from an aggregate OF
Sl32ooOOo TO considerably over $751;
OooOOo. these FUNDS representing ten
years ago $l2 per member and now
nearly $50.
1t is. OF course, in the growing cost
OF unemployed payments and the
equally growing burden OF accident
and pension benefit that the big tinan-
cial problems Of the unions are to be
faced. A survey Of the past ten years
covers all kinds OF periods. whether
OF good or Lad trade or Industrial war
or peace. The average expenditure on
dispute benefit has been 10 rer cent
OF the total expenditure per annum.
the figure having been MS high as %
per cent in 1898 and as low as 6 per
cent in 1901. the figure for the last re-
corded year Q90S) being well below
the average.
With regard TO the payments on un.
employed account. the average of the
ten years has been just upon % per
cent. The actual payments OF the
earlier years OF the decade never e1-
ceeded 20 per cent and were frequent
ly long way below that percentage.
AS matter of fact, ignoring years of
absolute record. bad trade. the present
ratio OF expenditure on out Of work
pay tends TO become normally what II
once was abnormally.
The decline in strikes and disputes
Is OF course a result OF the increasing
use OF methods of Cancellation and ar.
bltration in settling dispute questions.
but 1t is still uncertain as TO how far
these Cancellation methods would stand
the strain OF any deep seated trouble.
approximation is a problem by It
oil