The Deutsch-Amerikanischen Typographia took the initiative in the adoption of this benefit at the New York Convention in May, 1884,[115] and was immediately followed in the same year by the Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners[116] and in 1887 by the Painters[117] and the Cigar Makers.[118] For the year ending September 30, 1904, the Carpenters, the Painters, and the Cigar Makers paid more than 92 per cent. of the whole sum expended by the eleven unions that have adopted this benefit. [Footnote 115: American Federationist, Vol. 2, No. 4, p. 61.] [Footnote 116: The Carpenter, Vol. 4, August, 1884.] [Footnote 117: The Painter, Vol. 1, April, 1887; Vol. 17, p. 529.] [Footnote 118: Constitution of the Cigar Makers' International Union of America, 1887 (Buffalo, 1888), Art. 10.] The wife's death benefit is designed to defray the cost of burial. It is, therefore, small in amount, not exceeding fifty dollars in any of the unions in which it is important. The following table gives the minimum amounts of the wife's funeral benefit paid under the original and under the present rules in the five unions in which the benefit is of importance. The term of membership required for participation in the benefit is also shown. MINIMUM AMOUNT OF WIFE'S DEATH BENEFIT. ===================================================================== | Originally. | In 1905. |------------------------------------------------------ Name of Union.|Amount.|Required Period of| Amount.|Required Period of | | Membership. | | Membership. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Bakers........| $50 | 6 mo. | $50 | 6 mo. Carpenters....| 50 | 6 mo. | 25 | 6 mo. Cigar Makers..| 40 | 2 yr. | 40 | 2 yr. Painters......| 25 | 6 mo. | 50 | 1 yr. Typographia...| 25 | 1 yr. | 50 | none --------------------------------------------------------------------- The wife's death benefit is not graded except in the case of the Carpenters, where the minimum benefit is twenty-five dollars for six months' and fifty dollars for one year's membership. The minimum given in the above table is in all other cases also the maximum.