The years 1914 and 1915 were marked by a definite slump in the fortunes of the I. W. W. followed in 1916 by a noticeable increase of activity. St. John says that the decrease in membership during these years was most marked in the following industries: "lumber, railroad construction, building, packing house, amusement workers and the public service industries."[682] A possible exception to this general inactivity is the National Industrial Union of Marine Transport Workers of the I. W. W., which affiliated with the I. W. W. in April, 1913, and has since made some progress.[683] St. John informed the United States Commission on Industrial Relations that the cause of this falling-off was the industrial depression. He said that "the membership on the Pacific Coast from one end of it to the other, seventy-five per cent of them, have been out of work in the last year and have not paid any dues."[684] Leonard Abbott thought that the reaction or slump of 1914-15 in the I. W. W. was "due perhaps to the great emotional strain of revolutionary activity...." There is something almost pathologic [he said] in the present reaction of the I. W. W. It has stressed too much the destructive side--sabotage, violence. Acts of violence have a very violent rebound--the boomerang effect. Violence should not be made a tactic. You can see the apotheosis of violence in Europe today. The I. W. W. has too much gloried in it.[685] In the latter part of 1915 and in 1916 came a revival of I. W. W. activity. The most energetic group of all has been the Agricultural Workers' Organization or the "A. W. O." (organized April, 1915), which has taken great strides in pushing the propaganda of industrial unionism among the farm laborers and harvest hands and organizing these hitherto unorganized workers. At the tenth convention "the A. W. O. held the center of the stage, being represented by seven delegates with 36 votes each."[686] The "A. W. O." has its headquarters in Minneapolis and is strongest in the Middle West and Northwest. The following extracts from a daily press dispatch will give an idea of the stir which is being made by the "A. W. O." of the I. W. W. The accuracy of the report is questionable but it is presented for what it is worth. State and city officials of the states comprising the great American grain belt are considering holding a conference in the near future to devise methods of coping with the Industrial Workers of the World. Thousands of these migratory mendicants have thronged the Middle West this year creating a reign of terror throughout the rural communities and intimidating all who do not join their organization....