The I. W. W.: A Study of American SyndicalismBrissenden, Paul F. (Paul Frederick)
History
The I. W. W.: A Study of American Syndicalism
Brissenden, Paul F. (Paul Frederick)
Industrial Workers of the World; Syndicalism
[472] Ransome, Arthur. _Russia in 1919_ (New York, B. W. Huebsch,
1919), pp. 120-121. The section of the book containing this paragraph
is reprinted in the _Liberator_, August, 1919, p. 31.
[473] _Daniel DeLeon, the Man and his Work: a Symposium_ (New York,
1919), 336 pp. The volume includes a reprint of the series of articles
by Rudolph Katz, "With DeLeon since '89", first published serially in
the columns of the _Weekly People_.
CHAPTER X
THE I. W. W. ON THE "CIVILIZED PLANE"
(1908-1915)
The Detroit faction of the I. W. W. which in 1915 changed its name to
the Workers' International Industrial Union, never attained a strength
at all comparable to that of the direct-actionist group. In Appendix
IV are given what membership figures are available for both locals and
individual members. For the total membership, the figures in columns
3 and 4 (Table A) are probably the most accurate. They show that the
Detroiters had in 1910, two years after the schism of 1908, about 3,500
members. The following year their membership was about the same, but
in 1912 it very nearly reached 11,000. That was the year of maximum
membership, as it was also, except possibly for the year 1916, for the
Chicago faction. In every year the figures show a very much smaller
membership for the Detroit than for the Chicago faction. The difference
in favor of the direct-actionists is still more marked in regard to the
number of local unions. The Secretary-Treasurer of the Detroit faction
says that only one new local was organized in 1909--the year following
the split.[474] The following table shows the growth of local union
membership:[475]
DETROIT I. W. W.--MEMBERSHIP FIGURES
-------+-------------------------------+---------+------------
| New locals formed. | |
| | Defunct | Total No.
Year. |--------+-------------+--------| locals. | of locals.
| Mixed. | Industrial. | Total. | |
-------+--------+-------------+--------+---------+------------
1908-9 | .. | .. | 1 | .. | 23
1910 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 16 | 14
1911 | 6 | 12 | 18 | 6 | 26
1912 | 7 | 25 | 32 | 24 | 34
1913 | 6 | 16 | 22 | 17 | 39
1914 | 5 | 9 | 14 | 4 | 49
1915 | 1 | 1 | 2 | .. | 51[476]
-------+--------+-------------+--------+---------+------------
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