The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1898-11-30
HILL Operatives in Japan.

The people Of Japan are learning
that they must take the bitter with
tie sweet. In the few decades of the
new life Of their islands the japanese
have gone through great deal. At
the very first they adopted indiscrimi-
nately everything European, from
hats to tactics, good, bad or indiffer-
ent. Little by little they eliminated
some of the most undesirable OF their
"improvemehts' and retained what
seemed to them good At time
when certain high-rinded and disin
tercsted philanthropists were striving
to convince the American people of
the blessings of free and unlimited
coinage of silver, the japanese gov
ernment adopted the gold standard.
They discovered that a uniform tariff
of five per cent was not quite all that
might be wished, and they found that
the benefits of xtraterritorlalitv
were not reciprocrat They conducted
pretty little war with hardly hitch.
and almost satisfied the newspaper
correspondents. They have learned
to run their own locomotives and ma
rinc engines. greatcr triumph than
it sounds. They have trolley cars,
and their cavalry officers wear corsets.
Yet the japanese have troubles.
The trouble at present is that the
operatives in the factories arc dissat-
iSfed, end the worst part Of it is that
the workers seem to have just cause
for their complaints
Factories for various purposes have
been built in Japan very much on the
plan of our own cotton. mills. Great
barrack- like brick buildings they are,
but without the improvements for
light, ventilation and sanitation that
are matter of course in America.
There are at present in. Japan, says
Percy Alden in the Outlook, SO such
mills, chiefly spinning factories en-
ploying in all 5000 men and IS, 900
women. The women are chiefly young
girls brought by agents from the coun-
try. where they have lived almost en-
tirely in the open air. When they
reach the factories they are bound by
contract to work IL hours a day. Sun
days included, with but two holidays
a month. For days work they are
paid an amount that is equivalent to
FIVE cents of our money, and from this
amount four cents day are kept by
the employers to pay for the board
and lodging of the operative. This
leaves the girl one cent in cash each
| day as the remuneration for her labor.
The girls are lodged in dormitofies
within the factory gates, and have to
obtain permission before they can go
out on any excuse whatever. The
change of the free and healthy life of
the farm. where the japanese women
work with the men. to the close and
noisomc atmosphere of an ill-vcntila-
ted factory induces lung diseases.
Many of the most liberal and en-
ligh.ened statesmen of Japan are for
tuu ately interesting themselves in the
labor question. 1t is proposed to
limit the age of child wokers and to
shorten the working hours Of the wo-
men. Yhe evils of the contract sys-
TEN, as it is at present carried on, has
as yet received no attention.
In many branches Of labor in japan
there are already trades unions. The
iron workers, locomotive engineers
and railroad employees are particularly
powerful. But the mill operatives
are practically helpless, and must rely
upon legislation for relief. There is
now in Europe japanese commits
sioner. studying Germany's factory sys-
TEN.
Doubtless before long the condition
of the women in factories will be ame-
lierated. But that it has existed SO
long. unrebuked and even encouraged
is bad blot upon Japan s record OF
enlightened progrcss.-Ndrtfora Cou-
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