The labor world., 1900-09-08
LABOR and EMPIRE
AMERICAN LABOR CANNOT COMPETE.
WITH PHILIPPINE LABOR.
The Effects of Imperialism UDun
WaGes-NIuch is Said of the Poll
teal Benefits But Nothing is Said
of the Industrial RcSultS-All
Wage Farmers Should Oppose I'm
periulism Root and Branch
.(By Ernest H. Crosby. J

| (By Ernest H. CrOsby)
| The. effect upon wages of anneXins
new countries overrunning with tn,
| cheapest kind of labor is evden
enough to anyone who will consider
the question dispassionately, but per.
| haps a brief account of what I have
seen with my own eyes in Egypt may
| serve to illustrate it We hear d grea1
deal of the political benefits conferred
by the British Government upon the
Egyptians, but little or nothing is sale
of the, industrial results of expansion
| and yet these results are most i'm.
| portant. . .5>s- .-. s.-.
Some years ago while I was living
| in Egypt I visited one of the cottor
mills at Mansourah, the commercial
centre of the cotton region. These
mills are owned by English, French
and German capitalists and operated
by native labor. In the main room OF
| the factory the air was so thick with
cotton-dust that I found it difficult tc
breathe. A row of Arab girls of y OF
13 years of age were standing there
before series of tubs manipulating the
raw cotton. 7's:' -.-~
what are the hours Of labor of these
girls?" asked the European foreman,
who was acting as my guide.
From o'clock in the morning to
o'clock at night, with an intermission
for dinner he answered.
And what is the pay?'
twelve and a half cents a day."
[ could hardly believe this, and the
next time 1 met the English manager
of one Of these mills ross-questioned
him on the subject. ...
is it true" I asked, that you work
your girls from four until six for 1917
cents a day?''
Yes he said, rather reluctantly.
Il didn't quite like it when I first went
to Mansourah, but the girls don't seem
to mind it, a.. ... .....- .
Don't mind IA hours work a day?''
I cried. r. ..-.-..-
Oh that is not ALL he replied.
When we are very busy they stay over
time from 6 till 10 o'clock in the even
ing and we pay them an extra piastre,
(212 or 5 cents) and sometimes young
mothers come with their babes at the
breast and put them down on the floor
in thezcorner and go to work with the
rest i. s.8s III z~. -. ~
All this, mind you, in an atmosphere
which you can almost cut with a knife,
so thick is it with cotton q 4E.t
One thing. has saved Egypt, and that
is the absence of coal. 1t costs too
much to bring it there for it to pay to
introduce factories on large scale.
But there is plenty Of coal in the
Philippines. Coal can be had at the
entrance of the mines in Japan for
13 cents a ton, I am informed, and it
will be as cheaq in the Philippines.
With coal at this price, with girls and
boys ready to work for 12za cents day,
what is to prevent the immediate flow
of our capital to these islands and the
inauguration of a competition such as
we have never know before? Either
wages will fall here to the 121a level or
our factories will be moved bodily to
our new possessions and our own work
ingmen left to starve. &..4.,.. ... &
Bishop Potter of New York has just
been in the Philippines and he tells us
that the PHILIPPINES take kindly to our
factory system. Poor Filipinos So do
mice take kindly to cheese in a trap!
The system will prove a, curse to them
as it has already proved to the girls of
lMansourah, and at the same time it
will inlpoverish our American wage
earners at home.It may be said that
the natives are not forced to work. But
this is not true. When their cupidity
lis not sufficient to make them toll
means are found to compel them. This
has already been done in the mines OF
South Africa and the British Govern
ment imposes taxes upon the natives
there with the avoWed object of fore
ing them to seek employment in the
mines for the purpose Of raising money
to pay the tax, that being the only way
|open for them to earn money. The
same plan will doubtless be adopted by
our capitalists in the philippines II
it turns out that Bishop Potter is mis-
taken and that the Filipinos do not
take kindly to factory work.
We are told that we, ought to es-
tablish a stable government in the
Philippines That is precisely what we
ought not to do. 1t is the lack of stable
government which prevents capital
from going to countries where people
are willing to work on starvation
wages. 1t is an automatic arrange
ment of nature that in civilized or
partlycivilized countries franchises and
monopolies are not we'll enough pro-
tected for capital to risk ITSELF. If this
were not so, all manufacturing indus
tries would seek at once the country
of cheapest wages, other things being
equal, and the starvation Of the home
populations would follow. 1t is best
for the world that the government OF
such countries should not be too stable
and by insisting upon a stable govern
ment in the Philippines we are do
ing our best to throttle our own in
dustries.
It is clearly the interest Of all wage
earners to oppose imperialism root and
branch. and if they have any doubt or
the subject, let them consider the cot
| ton operatives Of Egypt. .s.,..~ rs.. %
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