SOCIETIES. 



rapidity after that period, until to-day there is 

 scarcely a distinct trade without such an organiza- 

 tion. 



The next step in the process of combination was 

 the effort to form a national organization of all the 

 trades. This was taken in 1866, when the National 

 Labor Union was formed. It grew rapidly in num- 

 bers for a few years, and then declined and died out. 

 A more successful effort was made in 1869. On 

 Thanksgiving day of that year Uriah 8. Stevens, a 

 Philadelphia tailor, called a meeting which proved 

 the initial step in the organization of the Knights of 

 Labor, a society which in 19 years has grown into 

 the most powerful labor organization of modern 

 times. It differs from all previous labor societies in 

 including all branches of skilled and unskilled 

 labor in its organ i/.at ion, its expressed purposes be- 

 ing mutual aid of members, protection against the 

 encroachments of capital, and the attainment of re- 

 forms in industrial relations. This society admits 

 all men to membership except bankers, brokers, 

 professional gamblers, lawyers, and liquor makers 

 and sellers, and is the first of such societies to rec- 

 ognize the claim of unskilled labor to the same pro- 

 tection which skilled labor has so long possessed. 

 Other general societies on a different basis have been 

 instituted from time to time, constituting federa- 

 tions of labor unions, delegate bodies to which each 

 subordinate union sends a representative. Such 

 labor congresses now exist in all the large cities of the 

 Union. In 1881 there was organized in Pittsburg, 

 on a national basis, a "Federation of Organized 

 Trades and Labor Unions," on the model of tho 

 trade-union congress of England. 



Just how many persons are included in these 

 American trade societies is not known. It cannot be 

 less than a million, and may be much more. In 

 1880, according to the Census Report, there were 

 2440 such societies in the United {States, represent- 

 ing 132 industries. Of these one-quarter of the 

 whole (620) were located in the State of Pennsyl- 

 vania, while no other State had much over 200 This 

 is a natural result of the great importance of Penn- 

 sylvania in the mechanical industries. The same 

 State leads in benevolent and beneficial organiza- 

 tions probably from the same cause. The societies 

 above described, Hie strictly beneficial, and in some 

 cases the labor associations, are often the only sav- 

 ings banks of working-men, being accident, sick, 

 and life insurance companies in which the small 

 weekly dues ]>aid by the members are frequently 

 their sole provision against future want. These 

 dues are usually from 12 to 15 cents per week. The 

 trade societies protect their members against reduc- 

 tion of wages and pay them benefits during strikes, 

 thus serving a doubly useful purpose. In this con- 

 nection it is necessary to mention the socialist so- 

 cieties which have gained so unenviable a reputation 

 in recent years. Of these there are three in the 

 United States: "The Socialistic Labor Party," 

 " The International Working People's Association," 

 and "The International Workmen's Association." 

 It is the last named of these which has rendered 

 itself so objectionable by its open advocacy of an- 

 archical violence, and by the murderous use of dy- 

 namite as an exemplification of its principles. It j 

 is chiefly composed of the most turbulent element ', 

 of European labor, disposed to put in practice here 

 methods devised against the oppressive governments 

 of their native soil, but in no sense applicable to 

 American institutions. The others named are to 

 some extent anarchical in their principles, but have 

 not yet proved so in their practice. (See SOCIALISM.) 



Of the remaining societies in which the mutual 

 aid of members is a prominent feature, that of the 

 Grangers, or Patrons of Husbandry, has been already 

 treated (see GBASOKBK). Its purposes arc largely 



~.:d, but mainly protective, including the purchase 

 of goods and machinery at producers' prices and 

 mutual defence against railroad discrimination. We 

 have yet to mention the temperance societies, in 

 which a crusade against liquor is the principal feat- 

 ure, though in some cases combined with financial 

 aid to members. The associated temperance i 

 metit began early in the century, and grew \<-iy 

 active after 1825, but the existing orders of temper- 

 ance did not come into bein;; until 1842, when the 

 ' Sons of Temperance " society was organized. In 

 tin- same year there was introduced into the 1'nivd 

 States an English society, " The Independent Order 

 of Kechabites," which had existed since 1835. It 

 spread with great rapidity in this country, and had 

 at one time more than 100,000 members, but has 

 now but a small fraction of that number. The Sons 

 of Temperance grew with yet greater rapidity, and 

 in is.".!) had 2::2,2:!:! members. It declined greatly 

 during the civil war, but it is now growing again, 

 and in 1888 numbered 78,913 members. 1 

 secret society, admits to membership women as well 

 as men, and colored as well as white men, and is 

 beneficiary in its workings. This pioneer society 

 was, followed in 1851 by the "Order of Good Tem- 

 plars," which left out the mutual aid principle, and 

 made temperance reform its sole purpose. This 

 society grew very rapidly, extended, like the Sons of 

 Temperance, to England and other countries, and 

 has lodges now in every country of the civilized 

 world. In 1875 it had in all 735,000 members. Smen 

 then it has declined in numbers, its strength in 1888 

 being 483,103 members. Women are eligible to 

 membership, and there is a juvenile branch having, in 

 Is.**, a membership of 139,951. Juvenile temperance 

 l.as made great progress in other societies, as the 

 ( 'adets of Temperance," and the English " Band of 

 Hope Union," which is said to have over 800,000 

 members in Great Britain and Ireland. Other 

 American societies are the " Templars of Honor and 

 Temperance," organized in 1845 ; the " Independent 

 Order of Good Samaritans and Daughters of Sa- 

 maria," organized in 1H47 ; the "Royal Templars of 

 Temperance," organized in 1*09 ; and a considerable 

 number of smaller societies of local interest only. 

 Temperance societies exist in many churches, the 

 most publicly prominent of these being the Catholic 

 Total Abstinence Beneficial Society, which has done 

 great good in its crusade against strong drink. Of 

 recent societies, however, the most important is the 

 .Woman's Christian Temperance Union, which has 

 been exceedingly active in the cause of temperance 

 reform, and has very recently combined many of tho 

 juvenile teni]ierance organizations into a single so- 

 ciety, "Tho Loyal Temperance Legion," whose 

 membership is estimated at 500,000. There are 

 other temperance societies of recent organization, 

 such as (lie "Law and Order Society," "The Re- 

 form Clubs." etc., but as these last-named societies 

 do not belong to the beneficiary class they need not 

 be further mentioned. 



What has l>een above said is sufficient to show 

 that the idea of association for mutual benefit has 

 had a remarkable development in the United States 

 during the nineteenth century, and that at present 

 the membership of such societies includes a very 

 considerable portion of our population. It might 

 be shown also that these societies have made no less 

 progress in their methods of beneficiary procedure, 

 and the skilful handling of their funds, the expe- 

 rience of life insurance companies having proved 

 highly useful to the mutual aid societies. As at 

 present constituted, in fact, every degree of progress 

 in this direction can be traced in the workings of 

 the several societies. In the Free Masons, for in- 

 stance, we have a retention of the mediaeval general 

 and non-obligatory system of charity. Other socie- 



