trade was put out under the label. The label may be used only in shops or factories where all the employees are members of the Brotherhood except such as may be ineligible to membership under the rules. All union shops entitled to the label are expected to display the union shop card. The Brotherhood has passed a resolution favoring a universal label for union-made goods of all kinds.

NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF LETTER CARRIERS OF THE
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

History. This organization was formed in 1889, incorporated under the laws of New Jersey in 1891, and reincorporated under the laws of Tennessee in 1892. About January 1, 1901, the secretary reported 767 branches and 14,800 members. On June 18, 1901, he reported 807 branches and 15,100 members.

The convention of the American Federation of Labor in 1899 directed the president of the Federation to visit the next convention of the Letter Carriers and invite them to affiliate with the Federation. It declared that the Federation had been "largely instrumental in procuring the 8-hour workday for the Mail Carriers.” The Letter Carriers have not heretofore responded favorably to such overtures, and they seem to rely on their own independent efforts rather than on other labor organizations to promote their interests before Congress. Yet they give some indications of a feeling of solidarity with the labor movement. The official journal of the association, in May, 1899, contained an editorial article urging the members to buy their uniforms from union firms, and saying that in Chicago. Cincinnati, New York, and Brooklyn the Letter Carriers had passed resolutions refusing to deal with firms which did not employ union help.'

General aims.-The constitution declares that the objects of the association are to unite fraternally the letter carriers in the United States for their mutual benefit, to seek improvement in the condition of all by legislation and otherwise, to secure their rights as Government employees, to strive to promote the welfare of every member, and to establish the United States Letter Carriers' Mutual Benefit Association.

Conventions. The convention meets annually. It consists of the officers, the delegates from the branches, and one delegate at large from each State or district association. Each branch is entitled to 1 delegate for the first 20 members or less and 1 additional delegate for each additional 20 members or major fraction thereof. Each branch may cast its full vote, though it have not the full number of delegates present. Any branch may give its proxy to the delegates of any other branch within the same State. If a branch is in arrears for annual dues or has neglected to make reports of its membership, its delegate can not be admitted except by a three-fourths vote.

Constitutional amendments.-The constitution may be amended by a majority vote of the convention; but any resolution or amendment so passed must be referred to a general vote of the members upon the written request of 10 branches containing not less than 50 members. The convention itself may refer any resolution or amendment to popular vote.

Officers. The elective officers are a president, a vice-president, a secretary, a treasurer, an executive board of 5 members, a committee on legislation of 3, a committee on constitution and laws of 3, a civil-service committee of 3, and 1 vicepresident for each State represented. Officers are elected by the convention. A majority is necessary to elect. If there is no choice, the candidate who has received the least votes is dropped and another vote is taken.

The president has power to fill vacancies until a new election shall be held. The secretary, in addition to his other duties, is to receive the money due the National Association and turn it over to the treasurer, making a settlement with him at the end of each month. His salary is $2,000 a year, and he gives a bond for $2,000. The treasurer is required daily to deposit any money received by him in depositories designated by the executive board and approved by the president. The members of the executive board act as trustees, and have general supervision and control over the association. They must direct the investment of the association funds "in readily convertible securities-Government, State, or municipal-that have a stated or well-known market value." They are forbidden to lend money on personal security or real estate mortgages.

The committee on legislation must "seek to improve the condition of letter carriers through legislation, to secure for every letter carrier the full benefits intended to be conferred by operation of laws already enacted." Any member or branch

1 Postal Record, May, 1899, p. 126.

which shall introduce or try to have passed in Congress any measures relating to letter carriers which have not been approved by the association is to be expelled. This provision is doubtless enacted in consequence of experiences of obstacles which are put in the way of legislation by the presentation of a variety of suggestions. The Postal Record for December, 1900, commenting upon the failure of a certain bill which the association had promoted at the previous session of Congress, attributed it to the " unwarranted interference" of some persons affected by the bill who had sent to Congress certain amendments, and by so doing had led the committee to think that the men affected "did not know just what they wanted."

State associations.-The constitution contemplates the formation of a State association in every State which has 3 branches. Branches in States where less than 3 branches exist are to be assigned by the president to the jurisdiction of State or district associations.

Membership.—Membership is confined to regular and substitute letter carriers. Applications must be made in writing, and each applicant must be recommended by a member in good standing, and must be elected by a two-thirds vote of the local after his application has been presented at one meeting and laid over to the

next.

Discipline.-Charges must be made in writing, clearly specifying the offense, and signed by a member of the branch. A copy of the charges, under seal of the branch, inust be served on the accused. The charges are to be referred to a committee of disinterested members, who are to summon the parties, hear and take down the testimony, and report the evidence and the facts elicited, with their verdict. The branch is then to pronounce its judgment and fix the penalty, if any. Expulsion can be inflicted only by a two-thirds vote. A member may appeal from the decision of his branch to the committee on appeals, consisting of the vicepresident, the chairman of the executive board, and the chairman of the committee on constitution and laws.

Finances. The charter fee for cities where there are 20 or more carriers is $5. Dispensations are granted for $1 to cities where less than 20 carriers are employed, and also to State and district associations. The per capita tax is $1.50 a year. Assessments can be levied only by popular vote.

Any branch which neglects to pay its dues or assessments within 30 days after they are due is to be fined 10 per cent of the amount and to stand suspended until payment is made. Any branch which remains suspended for 12 months forfeits its charter.

Members 3 months in arrears for dues are not entitled to vote in the branch, nor eligible to office. When 6 months in arrears they are suspended. They can be reinstated, after paying all demands against them up to the time of suspension, by a two-thirds vote of the branch.

Benefits. The constitution provides that branches may, at their option, make provision for payment of relief or funeral benefits and for levying additional dues for such purposes, but branches are forbidden to compel applicants for membership to participate in such benefits and dues in order to become members.

The association has organized the United States Letter Carriers Mutual Benefit Association, whose funds are separate and whose management is in the hands of different officers. This benefit association issues certificates, payable at death, for $1,000, $2,000, and $3,000. It is believed to be the only insurance association connected with any American labor organization which grades its assessments according to the ages of its members. Even the great railroad brotherhoods charge the same amount for an insurance certificate of the same size, no matter what the age of the holder may be. The Letter Carriers Association grades its assessments according to the ages of its members upon joining, from 38 cents for a single assessment on a $1,000 certificate for a man who joins between 21 and 25 to 88 cents for a man who joins between 49 and 50. An assessment is levied regularly at the beginning of each month, and extra assessments may be levied when they are required. The beneficiary is not entitled to more than the proceeds of one assessment, even though these be not equal to the face value of the certificate.

Fifteen per cent of each certificate is charged against it at the time of issue, and if the holder dies before he has paid assessments to the amount of this 15 per cent the deficiency is deducted from the amount due his beneficiary and placed to the credit of the emergency fund. The emergency fund can be drawn upon only for death benefits, and only when more than 16 assessments are required to pay liabilities in 1 year. Besides the deductions from quickly matured certificates, the

1 Postal Record, December, 1900, p. 390.

emergency fund is replenished by an addition of 10 per cent to the regular amount of each of the first 80 assessments which each member pays. The general expenses of the benefit association are paid by an annual per capita tax of 50 cents upon the members of it.

If the amount of each monthly assessment is not received at headquarters within 15 days after it is due, or if the amount of any special assessment is not received within 45 days after it is called for, the chief collector, the head officer of the mutual benefit association, is to notify the secretary, the president, and the collector of the delinquent branch of its suspension from benefits, and 30 days thereafter, if payment has not been made, the title of the members to benefit ceases. Any member who forfeits his membership in the Letter Carriers' Association by nonpayment of its dues, and any branch which is dropped from membership for the same cause, forfeit all their rights in the mutual benefit association at the same time.

An applicant for admission to the benefit association must be a member in good standing of the Letter Carriers' Association, between the ages of 21 and 50 years, must be recommended by some competent practicing physician appointed by the board of trustees, must be examined according to the published rules for medical examiners, and his application must be approved by the chief medical exan.iner.

AMALGAMATED MEAT CUTTERS AND BUTCHER WORKMEN OF NORTH AMERICA.

History. The organization called the Amalgamated Meat Cutters and Butcher Workmen of North America was formed in January, 1897. Sixty-three charters were reported as having been issued at the end of the fiscal year, December 1, 1899, 89 charters up to July 9, 1900, and 134 up to June 1, 1901. On July 9, 1900, the number of members in good standing was reported as 4,026.

In February, 1901, the secretary gave the total membership, in good standing and in bad, as about 6,000, and in June, 1901, as about 10,000.

Preamble. The preamble to the constitution of the Meat Cutters and Butcher Workmen contains the following:

"The concentration of wealth and business tact conduces to the most perfect working of the vast business machinery of the world, and there is perhaps no other organization of society so well calculated to benefit the laborer and advance the moral and social condition of the mechanic of the country, if those possessed of wealth were all actuated by those pure and philanthropic principles so necessary to the happiness of all; but, alas for the poor of humanity, such is not the case. Wealth is power,' and practical experience teaches us that it is a power too often used to oppress and degrade the daily laborer."

Conventions.-The convention is held biennially in August. No local is allowed more than one delegate. In order to be represented, a local must have been affiliated at least 60 days, and must have paid its dues to the International body up to within 60 days of the convention. In order to be eligible as a delegate or alternate, one must have been a member in good standing a year before the election, unless his local has not existed so long.

Referendum.-All questions which the executive board consider of sufficient importance, or as to which one-fourth of the local unions make the request, are to be submitted to a popular vote.

Officers.-The officers are a president, who is also general organizer; a secretarytreasurer, and 5 vice-presidents. The vice-presidents are elected from separate districts, and each in his own district acts as a central executive officer. The president has power to visit any local union and inspect its proceedings and examine all its books and documents, either personally or by deputy. The secretary-treasurer is required to deposit all money above $100 in his name as secretarytreasurer. The president and the secretary-treasurer receive $75 a month apiece and expenses. The vice-presidents receive $3 a day for time devoted to the service of the union, and expenses.

Local Unions.--A local union may be established by seven practical workmen of the occupations included. The power to grant charters is in the executive board, When one union has been established in a town, a second charter is not to be granted without the consent of the existing local, unless the executive board overrules the objections offered, on the ground that they tend to retard the work of organization. The president of the Butcher Workmen tried in 1900 to organize a packing trades council at Kansas City, embracing the stationary firemen, the coopers, and

the various unions of butchers and laborers. The firemen and the coopers refused to go into the plan.

Membership. The organization is meant to include all workmen in retail workshops and in slaughterhouses, except common laborers; as the secretary-treasurer says: "Every wage earner, from the man who takes the sheep, hog, or bullock on the hoof until it goes into the hands of the consumer." At the close of 1900, the secretary expressed the opinion that the members were about equally divided between slaughterhouses and retail shops. Retail butchers who do not employ any help may be received, at the discretion of the local union. Any one who becomes a member of any retail protective association or board of trade must be granted a retiring card. The minimum age for admission is 16.

Cards. Any member in good standing is entitled to a transfer, traveling, or retiring card at any time. No extra charge or initiation fee can be demanded of a member who presents a transfer or traveling card.

Discipline. Any officer who has charge of any book necessary to union meetings is to be fined 50 cents for each failure to have such book at a meeting. Any officer who does not have charge of any book is to be fined 10 cents for each absence, except when he is sick or out of town. For three consecutive absences without proper excuse an officer forfeits his place. Any member who accepts an appointment on any committee, and fails to act, is to be fined 25 cents for neglect of duty. Any member who disobeys the chair or uses profane or indecent language is to be called to order and fined 25 cents. If he continues to disturb the meeting, he is to be removed from the room and fined $1.

Finances.-The charter fee for a new local union is $15. This covers the cost of the seal and the outfit of books and stationery. The per capita tax is 25 cents a month; 10 cents goes to the defense fund, and 15 cents for general expenses.

The initiation fee of local unions may not be more than $5, and the dues may not be less than 50 cents a month. Dues are receipted for by means of adhesive stamps, furnished by the national secretary-treasurer, put by the local financial secretary upon the member's card, and canceled.

There is a provision for the reception of workmen of the craft, who are not near a local union, as members at large. The initiation fee of such members is to be the same as that of the nearest local, but is not to be less than $2 nor more than $5. The total receipts during 11 months ending November 15, 1900, were $8,176.91; the total expenditures, $7,304.83; the balance on hand November 15, 1900, $1,285.89. No part of the expenses of the period was for the support of strikes.

Any local which is 2 months in arrears in its dues to the national union, after receiving notice from the secretary-treasurer, is to be suspended. When 4 months in arrears, the constitution provides that its charter shall be revoked and it shall be fined $50, unless the international executive board rules otherwise. Locals 2 months in arrears are not in good standing, and, according to the constitution, any grievance presented by them is not to be considered by the international organization, and they are not entitled to any benefits.

Any member 2 months in arrears is to be suspended and fined 25 cents. When 4 months in arrears, he is to be expelled. An expelled member may be reinstated by a two-thirds vote.

Strikes and boycotts.-Each local union is directed to appoint a grievance committee of three members, who are to investigate any grievance and report to the local before any action is taken. Locals are forbidden to order strikes without the consent of the international executive board. The constitution even says that a reduction of wages demanded or enforced by an employer does not constitute a lockout. When a difficulty with an employer arises, the local must hold a meeting to consider it. A three-fourths vote of the members present, by secret ballot, is necessary to insist on a grievance, and no member is allowed to vote on the question who has not been a member for at least 3 months continuously. If it is decided to insist on the demand, the members involved must remain at work and the union must send a statement of the case to the national president. No member who was not employed in the place before the difficulty arose may go to work there while it is pending. The president must proceed to the place, personally or by deputy, and try, in conjunction with the local committee, to effect a settlement. If he fails, the case is submitted to the executive board. The local must be gov erned by the action of the board. If it strikes after notice has been given that the grievance is not sanctioned, it is subject to suspension.

Members out on authorized strikes are entitled to $5 a week after the first week. Every member who receives strike benefit must sign a voucher for the amount received for each week or fraction of a week, and the local union must send these vouchers to the general secretary, with a weekly statement in detail. The president and the executive board, if they become satisfied that the strike is lost, may

declare it at an end, so far as the support of the national body is concerned; but they must give 2 weeks' notice.

No member is entitled to receive strike pay until he has been a member in good standing for 6 months. No local union is entitled to draw strike pay until it has been affiliated 6 months, and if a local is suspended for any cause it can not receive any benefit until 6 months after it is reinstated.

The union finds it hard to enforce these excellent regulations. In reporting upon a disastrous dispute with Jacob Dold & Co., at Buffalo, the president said: "I found the same old course had been pursued-violate the constitution and then call on the executive council for advice and assistance." A dispute having arisen over a demand that the company discharge two men who were not in good standing in the union, the local declared a strike without waiting to consult with the national officers. In spite of the illegal action of the local the national officers felt compelled to take up its contest. A boycott was declared against the products of the Dold Company. The convention of 1900 empowered the executive board to levy an assessment of 25 cents a member a month on all members of the organization for such time as the board might deem necessary in order to push the fight and to give necessary aid to the strikers.

After the union had fought Swift & Co. with a boycott for almost 3 years, the president of the union said in his report to the convention of 1900: In view of the fact that the large packers are seemingly in a combine, one of the purposes being to cease selling meats to any retailer who refuses to purchase from a boycotted packer, thereby rendering a boycott on a member of the combine ineffectual, I hereby recommend that this convention take steps to remove the boycott on Swift & Co."2

The representative of the Meat Cutters introduced a resolution in the American Federation of Labor convention of 1900, reciting that the boycott upon the Swift Packing Company had existed almost 3 years and had received but little attention from organized labor, while it had prevented the organizing of the men working in many of the large plants of the "Big Four." and had disrupted many local unions of meat cutters throughout the country. The resolution instructed the executive council of the Federation to designate two members of the council to go to Chicago and effect a settlement of the existing difference. A settlement was made, and the secretary reported in June, 1901. that a perfectly friendly feeling existed between the organization and all the large packers. The only people who now object to their employees becoming members of the A. M. C. & B. W. are the small packers, who, in order to compete with the large firms, desire to reduce the wages of their employees. The organization is growing rapidly and we are enforcing the constitution and preventing strikes, as our object is not to antagonize our employers, but, by organizing, to make better men and more efficient workmen, and work in harmony with our employers and settle all differences by arbitration.' Union label.The Meat Cutters and Butcher Workmen have adopted two devices in the nature of a union label. One is an actual label intended to be attached to the products of slaughterhouses and packing houses. The other is a card which is meant to be displayed in retail shops, to indicate that the shops employ union men and are run under union conditions. The union shop card can not be placed in any meat market without the permission of the national executive board. It remains the property of the union and can be withdrawn at the discretion of the general secretary-treasurer. It may not be displayed in any shop where nonunion men are employed. The packing-house label has not obtained any extensive use. The secretary reported that about 5,000 shop cards had been sent out up to February, 1901.

THE AMERICAN FEDERATION OF MUSICIANS.

History.-The National League of Musicians was organized in New York City in March, 1886. As the American Federation of Labor gradually increased in size and power a dispute arose in the National League of Musicians over the question of affiliating with it. The proposal to affiliate was brought up in every convention of the League from 1887 to 1896. It was always defeated, but by a steadily decreasing majority. In 1895 the convention of the Federation of Labor instructed its executive council, in case the League of Musicians failed to affiliate, to call a convention of the musical organizations of the United States to form another national body. Messrs. Gompers and O'Connell, of the executive council of the Federation of Labor, appeared at the convention of the League of Musicians in 1896 and urged

1 Convention Proceedings, 1900, p.7.

Meat Cutters' Convention proceedings, 1900, p. 5.

American Federation of Labor Convention Proceedings, 1900, p. 207