Evening journal., 1898-08-26
JAPAN LABOR UNIONS
The Movement Is Spreading
Throughout the Empire.
There Have Been TbIrty-Eight
Strikes within a yeRr-WageH
Have Advanced In the
Last Two Years.


into japan with considerable success
The ideas they represent seem TO APP
peal to the Japanese working people,
and the movement is spreading /
throughout the empire with such rapid !
lty that it has already attracted the at
tention of parliament and is likely TO
create a disturbance. Thcsstrength OF |
the movement, although il Is still in its
infancy, was demonstrated recently
when the union Of ironworkers in the
city of Toxic held public meeting.
The entire membership Of the union,
1900 in number, and Representatives
OF other organized labor were present.
Speeches were made by Messrs. SHIN
ada Saburo. vice president of the lower
house OF parliament; Miyoshi Taizo,
chief justice of the supreme court;
Profs. Takano and Suzuki, Of the Uni
versity of Toxic, and Prof. Katayama,
Of the University Of Wisconsin. The
Ironworkers' union is the largest and
the most prosperous in the empire,
which is probably due TO the fact that
the representatives. Of this trade are
more intelligent and better paid than
other wage-earners. There are, how
ever, 13 other organizations In Japan,
of which ten are located in the city Of
Toxic. The union of the railway men,
all OF whom are employed by the gov
ernment, is second in strength to the
Ironworkers.
The organizers aud promoters Of the
movement are endeavoring TO steer
clear Of political influences, although
they have met with great difficulty In
doing so, chiefly because the working
people of Japan demand the extension
of the right of suffrage, which Is now
limited to people who pay taxes to the
amount of 10 yen, or silver dollars, a
year. The ostensible objects of the or
ganization are to maintain wages, TO
promote education, 10 elevate the con-
dition of the wage-earners and furnish
a system OF insurance which gives 20
sen 90 cents) day for sick members.
a funeral benefit of ten dollars and a
death benefit Of $50 to families OF mem
bers. The dues are 20 cents a month.
There have been no less than 3s
strikes in Japan within the last year,
in which several classes Of laborers
were represented - silk and cotton
operatives, carpenters, cargo coolies,
dock laborers, miners, railway em-
ployes and others. These disturbances
have created distrust and apprehen.
sion among capitalists that has been
communicated to parliament, and
several bills have been introduced FOL
the regulation and protection OF labor
on one hand and the protection of cap
ital on the other
They are largely based onBriusl
/ statutes The department Of agricul
ture and commerce has taken the mat
ter in hand and has prepared n gen
cral bill covering the whole subject
which is intended for the benefit oi
both the employers and the employed
1t provides for the sanitary inspection
of factories, the liability Of employers
in cases of accident, safety provisions
for the protection of operatives
against dangerous machinery and fire
IL prohibits child labor under ten years
and limits working hours for childreI
> under IS; prohibits the employment o
!
that makes them sensitive to injury
r limits the working hours for adults t.
10, 2,'requires payment for overtime, ant
q to prevent strikes and the coaxing o
labor away from one factory 20 an
other. There Is a provision requiring
every person employed in the factorie
q TO obtain from the municipal authori
! ties certificate OF license, which is e
p be deposited with his or her employees
n Employers are forbidden to hire per
sons who do not present certificates
and no person can leave a factor.
against the will of his or her employ
Z, er without surrendering this certifi
y cate. All disputes are referred to tn
/. police authorities for decision. Thus
IL this law is passed, strikers can neve
= obtain employment so long as thei
a employers refuse to return their cei
tificates, and at the same time one en-
: ployer will not be able to entice ava
the operatives Of another, which is
I frequent practice in Japan.
s The employer class, particularly IN
s Cotton Manufacturing association, OF
I pose the bill because il limits the hour
of labor, requires the introduction q
sanitary improvements and paymer
| for overtime, while the working elias
object because It disarms organize
labor OF its strongest weapon by il
! Producing the certificate system.
With the exception Of farm laborei
wages have advanced from 20 to 40 pc
cent. through all lines of industry
Japan during the last two years. II
, result has been ushealthy competitio
: for employment and the deNoraliz
1 tion Of the agricultural interests. PEI
pie are leaving the farms and crow
ing into the cities to seek work fc
b which they have no experience {
? qualifications. And, on the oth'
hand, IL is represented that the mani
facturers are making a serious mi
+, take by neglecting their machiuer
J by employing inexperienced oper
I tives to tend their looms and spindle
c and by using cheap lubricants, whiS
5 not only has resulted in the rapid d
I probation of the value of their plant
: but is injuring the reputation Of the
}. products.--W. L. Curtis, in Chicae
. nanCrI