Those students of labour matters [who affirm tat the follies of British trade union leaders are driving workmen in disgust. out of: tho unions can point in proof to, return issued by the Lalor' De" partment of the Board of The figures cited are extraordin significant, showing. a. tpi all-round reduction in the: member ship of the unions. It is estimated that in 1924 there were 16,000,008 persons employed in. occupations which would warrant. them being members of a union. in, Great Britain, but the statistics show. thet out of this large number only, about 5k millions, or about 30 per cent, were returned as being members, The comparison between 1920 and 1924 provides some. remarkable contrasts, Thus, in the first-named year there were 1,304 unions with 8,894,362 members." Since that date the number of unions had steadily decreased, while the, membershigy had fallen to 5,581,143, or by: well over 24 millions.' Taking those industries where manual Inbour is the rule, one finds that in every.
the membership showed In agriculture the figure in 1920 was 207,340, whereas at the end of 102A it was 60,418; in mining the figures dropped from 1,149,860 to 962,874; the metal trades from 1,126,087 to 671,949; textile, 827/507 to 215,105; building, 505,102 " to 824,086; and transport, 1,286,982: to 1,006,912; while in general labour the decline was enormous, vie., from 1,004,078. to 462,209, ' Aa a matter of fact, less than 30 per cent. of; British workers are at present members of trade unions, a position which the leaders make strenuous efforts to conceal, since it shows how utterly they have failed to confines the workers that the policy followed By the executive is in their best interests, Even the reduced m ber of union members is in excent of the figure for 1913 and the income compared with that year ig more than thrice as great, On the other hand, management" expenses have almost trebled, absorbing: no ess than 6s, 8d of every Si of income, It is notorious that trade union officials treat themsebes very lavishly in the way of expenses; in fact, a9 the Board of Trade figures show 0 clearly, the heaviest charge on the funds of the unions in the cost of running them, The modera trade union leader is certainly: nob foch from motion of aintrneted
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.