The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1914-09-05

of 1887, leaving for all other or
ganized bodies a membership of &c.
222.
There were in Canada at the close
OF 1913, 2,017 local trade union
branches Of gil classes, 1892 having
international affiliation, 1919 of a non
international character, and "a indie
pendent local bodies. These figures
show an increase Of 1874 in interna-
tional local union branches, a.. de-
crease of 26 in non-international, and
an increase of six in independent
bodies. International organizations
having in Canada at the end of 1913
one or more local branches numbered
1O1, an increase of two during the
year. There are 10 on-international
organizing bodies in the dominion, an
increase OF three as compared with
1912.
Organized Labor in Cities.
The relative strength Of organized
labor in Canadian cities is usually a
point Of some interest. A statement
gives particulars as to rs cities hay
Ing each more than 20 trade union
branches, the total for the cities
named being 1,121. OF this number
654 report a membership which to-
tails 88,O37, or somewhat over SO
per cent Of the total trades union
membership of the dominion. The
membership of the non-reporting
units is a somewhat conjectural
quantity, but information before the
department gathered from various
sources permits it to be placed ap-
proximately~ at 25,s2S, giving a total
trades union mem bership for the &c
named Of 1886.
Trades Unionism in Many Lands.
The report also contains a. state
ment showing the standing in trades
un1onism Of the chief industrial ma
lions Tor the years 1911 and 1912,
with figures showing the percentage
Of union membership to total popu-
latlon. The total trades union MEN,
bership Of the world for 1912 stood
at >12,094,490, a slight increase over
the number reported for 1911, which
was 11,435,498. The report shows
that the union membership during
1872 Increased more rapidly in Great
Britain than in Germany, the first
named country having an increase of
over 100000 and the later slightly
over 256,O00, giving Great Britain
nearly a half million more OF a
trades union membership than Ger
many. The United States stands
third, but, especially having regard
to its much larger population, con-
siderably below Great Britain and
Germany. The statement shows
Australia as the most highly union
lied country in the world.
The report gives some attention to
the general scheme Of organization
which has deveoped in the fedora
lions, district councils and trades and
labor councils to be found in the
leading Industrial centers. Particu-
lars of these various bodies is given.
An interesting chapter is given to
a discussion Of some leading features
of the chief railway labor brother
hoods and orders, the elaborate and
sometimes intricate schemes Of or
ganization which have been evolved
by these bodies being dealt with at
some length. Consideration is given
to the duties and responsibilities
placed on the various committees
known under the term of general"
grievance" adjustment" "protec-
tive Legislative" etc., and also to
other matters Of vital import per-
tanning to the leading bodies en-
braced in the railway group.
The feature introduced in the re-
port for 1912 showing disbursements
made during the year on account of
beneficiary work Of central labor or
ganizations operating in Canada is
continued In the present report. OF
the 101 international organizations
having local branches in the domin-
ion, "a have benefit features OF vary.
ing extent. The grand total of the
disbursements made on account of
benefits by these organizations Tor
the last fiscal year is $14,962,7O5.
Nearly one-half of this amount was
expended in death and disability
benefits. The payments on this ac-
count amounted to $7,556s76. The
railway brotherhoods contributed the
larger payments for death and disa-
bility benefits. These disbursements
are, Of course, for Canada and the
United States taken together, separ-
ate figures for Canada 4. alone not
being available.
The report also. serves as a direc-
tory OF trade unions for the dominion
Tor 1911, including particulars, not
only Of every known local trade !
union IN Canda, but also list Of all
international and non -international
central organising bodfes, together
with the names and I'D dresses Of the
chief executive officers. View York