nds which may in an emergency be
used for strike benefits, and more important, perhaps, the members,
accustomed to paying a considerable sum weekly or monthly for benefits,
are less reluctant to vote assessments adequate for carrying on
vigorously the trade policies of the union.

Finally, certain trade-union benefits aid even more directly in
accomplishing the trade purposes of the unions by tiding the members
over illness or unemployment. An unemployed journeyman, or one
impoverished by illness, unless supported by his union is tempted to
work below the union rate. A starving man cannot higgle over the
conditions of employment. The unions recognize that in time of strike
they must support the strikers. The establishment of out-of-work
benefits is urged on much the same ground.

While these considerations have been effectual in leading the great mass
of American trade unionists to believe in the advisability of developing
beneficiary systems in connection with their unions, the real reason
for the rapid growth of benefits lies, of course, in the desire of the
members to participate in such beneficiary systems. The development of
beneficiary systems has, therefore, not been guided chiefly or largely
by the consideration as to what benefits would most aid the trade unions
in enforcing their trade policies. The unions have chosen rather to
develop those benefits for which there was the greatest need. Taking the
Report of the American Federation of Labor as a convenient summary of
the beneficiary activities of American trade unions, it appears that in
1907 of sixty-seven national unions paying benefits of all kinds,
sixty-three paid death benefits, six paid benefits on the death of
members' wives, twenty-four paid sick benefits, eight paid travelling
benefits and six paid out-of-work benefits. The benefit which is most
effective as an aid to the enforcement of collective bargaining is
out-of-work relief. This it will be noted has been adopted by very few
unions. On the contrary, the death or funeral benefit of small amount is
far and away the predominant form of national trade-union benefit.
Probably no other benefit offers as little support to the militant side
of trade unionism. The reasons for the greater development of this
benefit are, first, the great need among many trade unionists for
benefits of this kind. Only within recent years has the funeral benefit
been widely obtainable from ordinary insurance companies. S