SOCIETIES. 



545 



pums in case of sickness or death. The first govern- 

 mental recognition of these associations was made 

 in England in 1793, when an act was passed de- 

 signed to place them on a firm footing, by giving 

 them a legal status, permitting them to hold prop- 

 erty, and to sue and be sued in courts of law. This 

 act was repealed in 1829 and a new law passed, which 

 has been succeeded by several others, the latest be- 

 ing that of 1875. 



Of the English societies the Masons nnd the Odd 

 Fellows are both largely represented within the 

 United States. Tlie first lodge of American Masons 

 was organized in Boston in 1733, and in the follow- 

 ing year one was instituted in Philadelphia, with 

 Benjamin Franklin as its Worshipful Master. There 

 are more Masons in the United States to-day than in 

 any other country in the world, their strength here 

 being over 61)0, 000. The order of Odd Fellows was 

 brought to America in 1819, when a lodge was 

 founded in Baltimore by some members of the Man- 

 chester Union. It grew rapidly, and in 1842 the 

 American branch cut loose from the parent society 

 of Great Britain, in consequence of certain differ- 

 ences in their working rules. Since that period the 

 society has flourished in the United States, and is 

 Rtroug numerically and financially at the present day, 

 its membership in this country being over 600,000 

 with nearly 10,000 lodges. 



lu addition to the societies of English origin there 

 are a considerable number of American institution, 

 some of them of national importance. The Knights 

 of Pythias was founded in Washington in 1864, its 

 expressed object being " peace on earth and good will 

 toward men," and to disseminate the " great princi- 

 ples of friendship, charity, and benevolence." It 

 became a popular order and has grown rapidly, hav- 

 ing in 1885 more than 2000 subordinate lodges and 

 over 160,000 members. A society of earlier origin 

 is the " Red Men," in whose lodge-meetings the cus- 

 toms and dress of the American Indians are simulat- 

 ed. This has not grown in later years as rapidly as 

 some other societies, but is to-day in a prosperous 

 condition. Another of the older American socie- 

 ties is the " Order of American Mechanics." Some 

 societies of more recent institution, however, have 

 surpassed in popularity those older ones, and nota- 

 bly " The Knights of the Golden Eagle," which has 

 at present 281 "castles" or lodges in Pennsylvania 

 alone. Of recent years the disposition to found new 

 Societies has been active, and many have come into 

 being, among which may bo named "The Knights 

 of Malta," " The Senate of Sparta," "The Knights 

 of the MvsticChaiu," "The Legion of the Red Cross," 

 "The Royal Arcanum," "The Brotherhood of the 

 Union," "The United Workmen," "The Patriotic 

 Sons of America," "The Knights of Friendship," 

 "The Universal Order of Security," and "Order 

 of the Iron Hall." This is not offered as a full list. 

 Other societies could be named, while there are 

 many which are as yet of local importance only. 

 But in the list of important mutual aid societies of 

 the United States must be included "The Grand 

 Army of the Republic," an organization composed of 

 the veteran soldiers of the civil war, and one that is 

 worthy of the highest respect of the American peo- 

 ple. 



These various societies are differently constituted, 

 and have different methods of beneficial procedure. 

 In some, new members are examined by a competent 

 physician ; in others, the dues vary in accordance 

 with the age of the member ; in certain societies of 

 recent origin benefit payments are made only in case 

 of death, a sum being paid sufficient for the burial 

 of the deceased member and the temporary support 

 of his family. In these the members are assessed 

 for dues only when the death of a fellow-member 

 takes place, and the dues vary with the number of 



deaths. These societies aro conducted on the life 

 insurance principle, and some of the older societies 

 have adopted a similar principle, permitting their 

 members to insure their lives for fixed sums by mak- 

 ing payments in accordance therewith. One recent 

 society which combines the payment of sick benefits 

 with life insurance is that known as the "Iron Hall," 

 whose working principle has been adopted by other 

 organizations known as the "Order of Tonti " and 

 the "Sexennial League." Numerous other societies, 

 of local interest, might be named, all based on the 

 useful principle of aiding their members in seasons 

 of distress. Each new society seeks to afford the 

 most help for the least payment, and it must be con- 

 fessed that much progress has been made in the 

 beneficial management of society funds. 



In addition to the mutual aid societies organized 

 expressly for charitable and insurance purposes, 

 there aro numerous associations which add to this 

 aim others of equal importance. There are two par- 

 ticular classes of these societies, the labor unions and 

 the temperance associations, both of which call for 

 some consideration. With the growth of the factory 

 system of labor, as we have already said, trade unions 

 took the place formerly occupied by the guilds, 

 which had long ceased to be vital organizations. The 

 combination of working-men in opposition to capital 

 began in England in the latter part of the last cen- 

 tury, particular opposition being shown at that time 

 to the introduction of new labor-saving inventions. 

 There is uo evidence that any such societies existed 

 in America during the colonial period. Home labor 

 was then the rule, and there were no large collections 

 of mechanics in industrial centres. But by the 

 opening of the 19th century the modern conditions 

 of labor were well established, and the long conflict 

 between labor and capital had begun. Something 

 like a strike took place in New York in 1802, when 

 the sailors of that port quit work to enforce an ad- 

 vance of wages from $10 to $14 a month. Organ- 

 izations of labor appeared at the same time, begin- 

 ning in local combinations of single trades. The 

 New York Society of Journeymen Shipwrights was 

 formed in 1803, and a society of House Carpenters 

 in 1806. In 1817 the New York Typographical 

 Society is spoken of as a strong institution. Yet up 

 to 1825 there is little trace of such societies outside 

 of the State of New York. 



After 1825 labor showed a disposition to combine 

 on a larger scale. The local unions increased in 

 number, and the idea of national unions arose. The 

 two cities most prominent in this movement were 

 Boston and New York. In 1833 an address was 

 made before " The General Trades Unions of the 

 City of New York," the first indication we have of 

 the effort to combine all the workmen of one locality. 

 A premature attempt to form a national trades union 

 was made in 1835, though with no definite result, 

 and it was not till after 1850 that any efforts to or- 

 ganize national unions became successful. Of these 

 the earliest was the National Typographical Union, 

 tract-able to 1850, but not permanently organized 

 till 1852. In 1869 its name was changed to " The 

 International Typographical Union," with the pur- 

 pose of including the printers of Canada. This is 

 the oldest American trades union now in existence, 

 all the earlier ones having vanished. The hatters 

 combined in 1854 ; the iron and steel workers in 

 1858 ; the iron moulders, and the machinists and 

 blacksmiths, in 1859 ; and it is said that 26 trades 

 had national organizations in 1860. These national 

 unions were followed by the so-called international 

 societies, most of which, however, are international 

 only in name. In 1864 the Grand International 

 Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers was formed, 

 and that of the cigar-makers in the same year. So- 

 cieties of this national character were formnd with 



