If figures are ever misleading, they are so in reference to the "Wobblies." They are presented, however, in the belief that they have some significance. The organization was now unquestionably picking up. In 1910 there had been a number of I. W. W. strikes—nine at any rate in which the organization was actively interested. In April, the farm hands of North Yamhill, Oregon, who "had been handing out the principles of revolutionary unionism in huge, raw chunks,"[526] walked out on account of the discharge of some of their number. In August, the Gas Works' laborers in southern California, chiefly Mexicans, were out for about two weeks for higher wages. The settlement as reported fixed wages at $2.25 and provided that only I. W. W.s were to be employed in the future. A strike of the window cleaners in Providence for a wage increase and the closed shop was reported won. These instances will give an idea of the character of the strikes and the workers involved. In 1910 there appear to have been very few strikes in which the I. W. W. was interested. Such meager data as are available about I. W. W. strikes have been gathered together in Appendix VIII.
Although 1911 was an inactive year as regards strikes, the condition of the organization was not nearly so hopeless as it had been.
Despite the prevailing "hard times," [writes "The Commentator">[ the I. W. W. is (in February, 1911) upheld by six weekly papers of its own.... Far from being weak and emaciated, as in 1907, the I. W. W. is putting up a robust fight for free speech and assemblage at Fresno, Cal.; and is giving the Shoe Manufacturers' Association of Greater New York the struggle of their lives—a struggle in which for the first time the employers combat an organization which means to make the shop the collective property of the workers....[527]
Another indication of growth was the expansion of the I. W. W. press. At the close of the fourth convention the I. W. W. had only one paper, the Industrial Union Bulletin, which suspended publication early in 1909 and whose place was filled by the Industrial Worker (II.) (Spokane), which in turn passed out in September, 1913. The Industrial Worker (I.) was published from January, 1906, until the summer of 1907. The Industrial Worker (III.) (Seattle) began publication in April, 1916, and continues to appear.[528] It is stated in Solidarity, July 2, 1910, that in that year the I. W. W. had seven papers in as many different languages.
During the twelve months preceding the sixth convention (September, 1911) seventy locals were organized and forty-eight disbanded. They were distributed among specified industries, as shown in Table 2.
TABLE 2[529]
| Industry | Organized | Disbanded |
|---|---|---|
| Metal and machinery | 11 | 10 |
| Food stuffs (Bakers) | 2 | 2 |
| Recruiting locals | 13 | 8 |
| Tobacco | 1 | |
| Building | 4 | 4 |
| Shoe | 1 | 1 |
| Public Service | 8 | 4 |
| Clothing | 3 | 3 |
| Furniture | 1 | |
| Mining (coal) | 4 | |
| Transportation | 7 | 2 |
| Smelting | 1 | |
| Lumber | 9 | 4 |
| Farming | 2 | 2 |
| Car building | 2 | 4 |
| Steel | 1 | 4 |
| 70 | 48 |
Secretary-Treasurer St. John presented an interesting classification of the reasons given for the disbanding of these forty-eight local unions. He distributes them as follows:
| Disrupted by lack of interest | 22 | |
| Disrupted by strike | 6 | |
| Disrupted by other organizations | 6 | |
| Work closing down | 5 | |
| Disrupted by members leaving locality | 2 | |
| Incompetent secretary | 2 | |
| Disrupted by internal dissension | 1 | |
| Members left for Mexico | 1 | |
| No record | 3 | |
| 48 | [530] |