The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1902-03-02
The Trades Unions of
China and How They
Are Affecting the Mod
ern Invasion. - =

suouE tnat ne AZ last put his station OH
the side Of the river opposite the city. and
there it is 70 this day Ii Hung Chang
had an income which is supposed 10 have
Appropriated a million dollars wear.
These boatmen each made fifty cents OF
less per day, but combined they brought
the great viceroy to terms.
SLOP CARRIERS AND THE MAGIs-
TRATES.
Another instance OF the power of such
unions happened shortly before visited
Marking. That city has a population Of
half million. II is noted for its rich
men, its handles and its extravasant Off
cials. There is magistrate there who has
an income which runs high into the tens Of
thousands Of dollars year. and he nat
urally feels his Importance, for he stands
at the top of the heap
At the very bottom of the Chinese social
! pile Is the Stop carrier. The cities here
i have no modern conveniences. and all the
| garbage, dish washings and Stops Of every
| description are carried out OF each house
every day by men who have the special
| trade Of slop carriers. These men carry
the Stops out through the city in great
wooden buckets, each man having two
! buckets hung TO the ends of long pole
which rests on one shoulder They are
often bare 90 the waist and the buckets
| bob up and down as they swing along
| through the streets Outside OF the natural
| courtesy shown to the burden carrier hv
getting out OF his way every sensible one
! steps aside for the slop man.
Not along ago one OF these fellows was
| trotting along gruntine as he went through
one OF the busiest streets OF Marking, when
| 4
| was jostled by him. One of the buckets
was spilled. and part OF the slop flew
over the magistrates gown OF lavender
satin. His exeellency became very angry.
| He ordered the slop man to be taken TO
| jail and told him he would punish him Sc
| vereiy. The next day there was no slop
carried out Of Marking, for the slop men
| had struck they refused TO lift bucket
or permit any one else to do SO. 1t was
the same the next day. and in short time
the conditions were lar worse than they
would be in Boston or St. Louis il all the
sewsEs were plugged and the garbage men
prevented from working. The city stank
so that even the Chinese could stand il no
| longer. They rose en- rnasse and the magis-
trate had to give in.
Similar strikes have recently occurred. at
| Shanghai from the contractors increasing
| The weight OF the buckets in which the
| slops are carried
HOW THE BARRIERS BULLDOZED
OFFICIALS.
The BARRIERS union is one of the strong
| est i'll China. In our country many shave
| themselves, but this is almost impossible
| mere, where shaving consists not only in
taking the hair from the face, but from the
| whole OF the head except the spot on the
crown where the pig tail sprouts out. The
| BARRIERS go about from place to place car
| wing their tools with them. During the
summer the most OF the work is done in the
| pen air, the barber usually carrying his
stool along with him
The trade is considered mental one. and
or long time, according TO custom, no
arber's son was admitted TO the literary
Nominations through which alone Offices
re obtained. The BARRIERS unions demand
that this be changed. They were refused
| many places. but they carried their ap-
| cal higher and higher. with the threat OF
trking, until they at last got what they
yanted. Had they struck they could easily
ave brought the province and empire to
inc
The BARRIERS unions regulate wages in
'ifferent districts In the Ningpo district
hey charge s. week, and in CERTAIN other
| 'laceS they also regulate the prices Of
| having. The Wenchow Rarbers' union re-
entity passed law forbidding their mem
7ers to shampoo their customers. and they
Have also an absolute rule that no barber
hall clean ears during the last six days
I It the year. 4 part OF every ordinary shave
china is the cleaning and scrapins the
7rs. The barber has special tools for the
urpose, and the operation takes time At
he last of the wear all BARRIERS are busy.
or then everybody must be shaved and
he time saved through the omission OF the
| ar cleaning adds considerably TO the
rofts.
THEY SMASHED THE MACHINES.
The laboring men are much excited as to
he foreign invasion. They fear that the
| introduction OF modern machinery will de-
crease work, and the officials are afraid
II an uprising on this account. The work
1en have already DESTROYED much modern
machinery. A Chinese from America start
I'd shoe factory not long ago He i'm
norted some OF our labor-saving tools but
The cobblers broke in and smashed them.
They reduced the shoe-sewing machine 20
scrap iron. The Shoemakers union de-
uounced the employer. and he had 10 quit
! 'UNlllSSS' Spllc OF lNG MODERN SILK InilS OF
Canton were similarly treated years ago, as
were also cotton mills in different parts Of
the empire.
Nevertheless, the Chinese quickly learn
how 10 handle the most complicated mod
ern machinery. They can do anything and
in the government workshops at Shanghai
they have made steel rails and locomotives
as well as all sorts of cannon and rifles.
THE WHEELBARROW UNION.
In opening up railroads our capitalists
will have the opposition of the Cartmen S
union, the Boatmen's union and the Wheel
barrow union. II seems strange 10 speak
OF a wheelbarrow union but there are
thousands OF such organizations here, COW
ering all parts OF the country. The wheel.
barrows are the drays OF the cities. and
they are to large extent the freight cars
OF the country. They are used TO carry
passengers as we'll as freight and the
unions will oppose the introduction OF cleo,
trio cars on the claim that they will injur<
their business. There are in Shanghai
alone almost 5000 passenger and cargo
/ rha- r. IL. u.