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Excerpt from Business Methods and Accountancy in Trade Unions In attempting this work on Business Methods, Office Organisation, and Accountancy, applied to the work of- Trade Unions, I have been actuated by the fact that it is a branch of Trade Union work that the officials and others Qq preparing for those positions have hitherto had little or no opportunity of studying, although it is a branch which is of vital importance to the efficient conduct of such organisations; in fact, it is second only to the purely industrial side of the movement, the success of which is dependent upon it to a far greater extent than is generally realised by those not in immediate contact with the work. Most industrial disputes are nowadays decided by submission to the arbitrament of an independent person, who is generally guided in his decision by the facts, figures, and arguments adduced at the inquiry; and if the workers case is to be successfully pioneered through this ordeal, statistics, correspondence, calculations, and other records must be conveniently at hand, and this is not possible without good office organisation. Then again, many of our Unions have become very wealthy undertakings, having vast sums of money lent out in various ways; having many thousands of pounds passing through their accounts monthly, and at times, in the case of unemployment and strikes, making huge disbursements, necessitating up-to-date methods of accountancy. I have devoted much attention to this subject, aiming at taking the reader, by easy stages, through all the problems he is likely to be confronted with, so that by a diligent study of this section of the book, and the working out for himself of the exercises given, together with the additional tests, I have no hesitation in saying that the average person will have a sufficient grip of the subject to be able to acquit himself creditably in actual practice. It is now generally recognised that it is as necessary to make a speci