cultural pursuits are members of industrial and economic organizations.

The second division, namely, "professional persons," comprises those engaged in law, medicine, dentistry, academies, hospitals, and ministers. Of course, everybody is familiar with the fact that practically all divisions of professional service are very thoroughly organized.

In the third group, namely, “ domestic and personal service," the millions engaged follow a multitude of occupations, very largely of a personal character concerning which it is not necessary to go into details to explain other than to say that, to the great misfortune of persons so employed, organization and united action for protective purposes has not yet become attainable.

In the two remaining divisions, namely, "trade and transportation" and "manufacturing and mechanical," it will be noted that 11,852,273 persons are engaged in gainful occupations, or about 40 per cent of the grand total (29,073,233). The organizations of labor affiliated with the American Federation of Labor, and the railroad brotherhoods, find their field of opportunity among these two latter groups of persons engaged in gainful occupations.

The total membership of the several organizations of labor is about 2,500,000 at the present time, or about 18 per cent of these two groups, and among such persons so employed organizations of labor may be made effective. I leave this subject with you without making special reference to the hundreds of thousands of persons employed by great corporations, such as the express companies, the Tobacco Trust, the Harvester Trust, the Steel Trust, the Sugar Trust, the Cordage Trust, the great ramifications of the textile industry and the many thousand employees of large department stores, in which the slightest effort for organization among the persons so employed is sufficient to penalize and forever blacklist them.

Neither do I make detailed reference to the hundreds of thousands, maybe millions, of individuals who are engaged in minor lines of transportation, such as local teamsters and private express wagon drivers. If these were all deducted, it would be seen more readily that those who speak for the organized workers do so with understanding and authority.

Let me respectfully call the attention of the committee to a more correct way in which such comparisons should be made, so that the proportional number of persons connected with the organizations of labor by trades and industries may be more easily and readily comprehended.

Early in the year 1912, I had occasion to prepare a table showing the proportion of persons connected with the organizations of labor in comparison with the total number engaged in certain occupations in several large cities in the United States. That table I herewith present and include in my statement. It shows that in a large number of occupations the proportion of persons so engaged who are connected with organizations of labor runs from 60 to 100 per cent.

Proportion of members of organizations of labor in comparison with total persons engaged in the stated occupations in cities of New York, Chicago, San Francisco, and St. Louis.

GROWTH OF THE AMERICAN FEDERATION OF LABOR.

It is well that I should place in the record some facts and figures relative to the growth of the organizations directly affiliated to the American Federation of Labor since its organization in 1881.

The several trades organizations which formed the federation unions at that time contained in round numbers about 47,000 members.

Other organizations came in and all grew and prospered, so that by 1897 the total had increased to 264,825.

I present a table which shows the average membership of the American Federation of Labor from 1997 to 1912:

I also wish to show a gratifying growth of the federation during the last three years, from 1909 to 1912, and to call attention to the very impressive fact that in spite of all attacks which the men of labor have had to endure during this period, the spirit and successes of the organizations connected with the American Federation of Labor have appealed so strongly to the still unorganized that they have unhesitatingly joined these organizations of their trades.

Growth of the American Federation of Labor from 1909 to 1912.

Mr. GOMPERS. In addition to that, Mr. Chairman, I have here a table of figures, and a few introductory remarks, regarding the accidents in industry as officially established; accidents which are largely preventable, occurring through ignorance and greed on the part of the employers of labor.

The matter referred to is printed in the record in full, as follows:

ACCIDENT STATISTICS.

Your attention is called to the great number of accidents occurring annually to men of labor, and while I have not been able to secure the statistics of all the States of the Union, I present herewith the statistics of accidents in industry from such official State reports as I

have been able to secure, and I might say that there are but 15 States of the Union that have laws requiring employers to report accidents to responsible State officials:

Killed: 1909 1910

COLORADO.

IOWA.

Fatal accidents from Jan. 1, 1910, to Dec. 31, 1911_.
Nonfatal accidents during the years 1910 and 1911_.

ILLINOIS.

89

319

28

2,742

For the calendar year 1908 there were 3,018 accidents; of these, 524, or 17.4 per cent, were fatal, and 2,494, or 82.6 per cent, were nonfatal. I have been unable to secure the statistics for the years 1909, 1910, 1911, and 1912.

KENTUCKY.

Total number of accidents for 1903 was 300; of these, 13 were fatal. Mr. Andrew B. Ludwig, chief factory inspector for the State of Kentucky, in writing his report in December, 1903, had this to say: "While the law does not especially provide for the collecting of such statistics, yet I consider it proper and essential in order to guard against the repetition of such accidents in the future, if such accidents occurred through carelessness on the part of factory owners by not providing the proper safety devices for their employees. The record of fatal and serious accidents occurring as a result of unguarded or imperfectly guarded machinery has demonstrated to me the propriety of insisting that manufacturers shall protect all unguarded machinery."

KANSAS.

Total number of accidents for the year 1910 was 482; of these 69 were fatal.

The average number of accidents for these five years was about 1,200 a year. During the year 1910 the number of accidents reported to the Bureau of Labor increased 700 per cent from 1,200 to 8,400. For the second statistical year, 1911, 8,364 reports have been received. During the year 1910, the first year in which the present law was in operation, vigorous efforts were made to secure more accurate accident reports, for prior to the passage of this law the managers of great industrial institutions were reluctant to report the accidents. occurring in their plants; hence the increase of the reported accidents for the second statistical year-1911.

It must be said to the great credit of the State of Minnesota that it has the most complete system and best law to compel the reporting of industrial accidents of all such laws in existence, and, in my opinion, this law should be used as a model for a uniform law in the several States.

MISSOURI.

Total number of industrial accidents for the year 1909 was 731, of which 68 proved fatal.

MICHIGAN.

Number of accident's in the year 1909 was 101, of which 6 were fatal.

NEW YORK.

During 1911 a total of 44,551 accidents was reported. According to these figures it appears that about 4 per cent of all persons employed in factories were injured during the year.

OKLAHOMA.

The number of accidents in factories and workshops for the year ending June 30, 1911, was 135, of which 5 were fatal.

PENNSYLVANIA.

Many accidents of various natures occurred in some of the industrial occupations of the State. In 1910, as reported by their management, there were 47,945 of a nonfatal nature and 1,381 which terminated fatally, or altogether 49,326.

TEXAS.

Industrial accidents for the year 1910 were 2,820; 34 of these proved fatal.

WISCONSIN.

During the period from July 1, 1911, to June 30, 1912, there were 5,241 accidents reported; of this number, 112 were fatal.

Having thus shown you some of the penalties the men and women of labor suffer in the general industries of the States, as reported by responsible officials of 12 State governments, I now respectfully call to your attention the mortality and accident records of four large industries:

(1) Mortality statistics of the bridge and structural iron workers. (2) Railway employees killed and injured.

(3) Fatalities in coal fields.

(4) Accidents in the iron and steel industry.

You will observe that I have quoted from reliable authorities and furnished data from the latest reports and that I have carefully refrained from covering too long a period.

Surely you will agree with me when I say that this awful record is sufficient to stagger humanity.

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