called. The actual executive work is performed by a general secretary, who himself engages such office assistance as may from time to time be necessary. In marked contrast with all the Trade Union constitutions which we have hitherto described, the Cotton-spinners' rules do not
' Rule 9, p. S- The general representative meeting even resembles the British Parliament in being able itself to change the fundamental basis of the constitution, mcluding the period of its own tenure of office. The rules upon which the Amalgamated Association depends can be altered by the general representative meeting in a session called by special notice, without any confirmation by the constituents. — Rule 45, pp. 27–28.
40 Trade Union Structure
■ give the election of this chief executive officer to the general body of members, but declare expressly that " the sole right of electing a permanent general secretary shall be vested in the provincial and district representatives when in meeting assembled, by whom his salary shall be fixed and deter- mined." ^ Moreover, as we have already mentioned, the candidates for this office pass a competitive examination, and when once elected the general secretary enjoys a permanence of tenure equal to that of the English civil service, the rules providing that he " shall be appointed and continue in office so long as he gives satisfaction."^
The Amalgamated Association of Operative Cotton- spinners is therefore free from all the early expedients for securing popular government. The general or aggregate meeting finds no place in its constitution, and the rules con- tain no provision for the Referendum or t he Initia tivg. _ No countenance is given to the idea of RotatiOT_of Officgj^ No officers are elected by the members themselves. Finally, we have the complete abandonment of the delegate, and the sub- stitution, both in fact and in name, of the representat ive. On' the other hand, the association is a fully-equipped democratic state of the modern type. It has an elected parliament, exercising supreme and uncontrolled power. It has a cabinet appointed by and responsible only to that parliament. And its chief executive officer, appointed once for all on grounds of efficiency, enjoys the civil-service permanence of tenure.^
> Rule 12, p. 6. , 2 Tiid.
^ The other branches of the cotton trade, notably the federations of weavers and cardroom hands, are organised on the same principle of an elected repre- sentative assembly, itself appointing the officers and executive committee, though there are minor differences among them. The United Textile Factory Workers' Association, of which the spinners form a part, is framed on the same model, a "legislative council," really an executive committee, being elected by the "conference," or representative assembly. (This organisation temporarily suspended its functions in 1896.) Moreover, the rules of the several district associations of the Amalgamated Association of Operative Cotton-spinners exhibit the same formative influences. In the smaller societies, confined to single villages, we find the simple government by general meeting, electing a committee and officers. Permanence of tenure is, however, the rule, it being often expressly provided that the secretary and the treasurer shall each "retain office as long as he gives satisfaction." More than half the total membership, moreover, is
Representative Institutions 41
We have watched the working of this remarkable consti- tution during the last seven years, and we can testify to the success with which both efficiency and popular control are secured. jThe efficiency we attribute, to the existence of the adequate, highly-trained, and relatively well-paid and permanent civil service.^ But that this civil service is effectively under public control is shown by the accuracy with which the cotton . officials adapt their political and industrial policy to the developing views of the members whom they serve. This sensitiveness to the popular ' desires is secured by the reaL sup remacy of th e elected r epresentativesj For the " Cotton-spimTerJ^ParliaSient *'^is no formal gathering of casual members to register the decrees of a dominant bureaucracy. It is, on the contrary, a highly -organised deliberative assembly, with active repre- sentatives from the different localities, each alive to the distinct, and sometimes divergent, interests of his own constituents. Their eager participation shows itself in constant " party meetings " of the different sections, at which the officers and workmen from each district consult together as to the line of policy to be pressed upon the assembly. Such consulta- tion and deliberate joint action is, in the case of the Oldham representatives at any rate, carried even further. The consti- tution of the Oldham Operative Cotton-spinners' Provincial Association is, so far as we know, unique in all the annals of democracy in making express provision for the " caucus." ^
included in two important " provinces," Oldham and Bolton, which possess elaborate federal constituJtioDS of their own. These follow, in general outline, the federal constitution, but both retain some features of the older form. Thus in Oldham, where the ofiScers enjoy permanence of tenure and are responsible only to the representative assembly, any vacancy is filled by general vote of the members. And though the representative assembly has supreme legislative and executive powers, it is required to take a ballot of all the members before deciding on a strike. On the other hand, Bolton, which leaves everything to its repre- sentative assembly, shows a lingering attachment to rotation of office by providing that the retiring members of its executive council shall not be eligible for re-election during twelve months.
> The nineteen thousand members of the Amalgamated Association of Opera- tive Cotton-spinners command the services of ten permanent officials, besides numerous local officers still working at their trade.
' The "caucus," in this sense of the term, is supposed to have been first VOL. I C 2
42 Trade Union Structure
The rules of 1891 ordain that "whenever the business to be transacted by the representatives attending the quarterly or special meetings of the Amalgamation is of such import- ance and to the interest of this association as to require unity of action in regard to voting by the representatives from this province, the secretary shall be required to summon a special meeting of the said representatives by announcing in the monthly circular containing the minutes the date and time of such meeting, which must be held in the council room at least seven days previous to the Amalgamation meeting taking place. The provincial representatives on the amalga- mated council shall be required to attend such meeting, to give any information required, and all resolutions passed by a majority of those present shall be binding upon all the representatives from the Oldham province attending the amalgamated quarterly or special meetings, and any one acting contrary to his instructions shall cease to be a repre- sentative of the district he represents, and shall not be allowed to stand as a candidate for any office connected with the association for the space of twelve months. The allowance for attending these special meetings shall be in accordance with the scale allowed to the provincial executive council."* But even without so stringent a rule, there would be but little danger_of_the.. representatives failing to express the desires of the rank and file. Living the same life as thefT constifu entiTand sub ject to annual election, they can scarcely fail tp be in touch, wjth ..the general body, of the members. The common practice of requiring each representatrve'To repor^ his action to the next meeting of his constituents, by whom it is discussed in his presence, and the wide circulation
introduced about the beginning of this century, in the United States Congress, by the Democratic Party. See the Statesman's Manual, vol. i. pp. 294, 338; Woodrow Wilson, Congressional Government, 1 2th edit. (New York, 1896), pp. 327–330; Lalor's Cyclopedia of Political Science (New York, 1891), vol. 1. p. 357. The "caucus" in the sense of "primary assembly" is regulated by law in many American States, especially in Massachusetts. See Nominations for Elective Office in the United States, by F. W. Dallinger (London, 1897).
1 Rule 64, pp. 41–42, of Rules and Regulations for the Government of thi Oldham Operative Cotton-spinners' Provincial Association (Oldham, 1891).
Representative Institutions 43
of printed reports among all the members furnish efficient substitutes
