The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1901-01-19

The methods by which the labor
leagues enforce their authority are un.
ique. If a man is found out undersell-
by which he is bound a hint is quietly
dropped to the local head of the Beg
CARS Union, and that worthy details a
| specially numerous and loathsome body
| OF mendicants-leperS If available--tC
pay assiduous attention to the offend
er's establishment. If this penalty fail
a possibility which seems inconceiva-
| BILE to any white man who has ever
come into contact with the fraternity
| various means are taken to trip UP the
| recalcitrant member over some trifling
police regulation. Having succeeded in
this object, the union authorities quiet
| ly notify the municipal elders in whose
hands is conferred the administration Of
| local Justice that disciplinary measures
are necessary, and they inflict punish
ment accordingly.
The various unions keep the roads of
their own districts, and collectively
maintain the town police and the school.
Each village has a real interes! in edu-
cational matters, for this reason: a
.,
ed by examination, into the literary
class) has the right at all times, TO
'see" the mandarin, and as 1t is a we'll
accepted custom that scholar should
always intervene on behalf Of any of
his own village in trouble with the au-
thorities, it follows that the more schol-
ars district can produce the better for
the inhabitants thereof
To lessen the number of police (and
thereby the rates for their support) the
labor leagues enact that any person
who catches a thief red-handed on his
premises is bound to give him up to
Justice, no matter what are the cir
cunlstances which might incline him to
mercy Failure to comply with this
rule reduces the captor to the same
level as the criminal. This law has in
the past been stumbling block to mis-
sionaries, who have not always realized
the mistaken impression Of Christian
morality produced upon natives by the
pardon Of a thief caught offering dur
ing a prayer meeting or class insrruc-
tion
The usual penalty inflicted for petty
larceny Is the walking punishment"
The offender, stripped to the waist, and
preceded by tom-toms and bells, is
marched through the streets attended
by a policeman or executioner, who adj
ministers heavy blow with a bamboo
cane every few steps. The cangue is
another ordinary penalty. man wear
ing this collar can neither rest nor
feed himself for the projecting wood
prevents him from reaching his hand to
the mouth.
1t is difficult to overestimate the
power of the trade unions in up-country
towns, where they control the actions
of both the elders and the Taotai. For
instance, ehould the latter interfere
with a member of a guild, the labor
league simply orders all shops to be
closed and the municipal dues with
held. If this dislocation of business
continue more than a day or two, "a
state of rebellion In official parlance,
thereby automatically exists. The dis
trict mandarin is compelled to take
cognizance of the outbreak, and the
local gentleman is either degraded or
beheaded In civilized countries trade /
unions are not an unmixed blessing, |
but it is certainly a matter for con-
that they are not quite so
as in China-London Pail |
Mall Gazette.