Evening star., 1902-03-01

600 cash. about IS cents per month The
license until within a short time was 400
cash, or 90 cents month, and the raising
of it has now brought about big strike
on the part of the Wheelbarrow Union. The
officials claim that the wheelbarrow men
can easily pay this amount, as they make
about $15 month in silver, or 81 in gold,
and that this is ample to keep themselves
and their families. A similar strike took
place some years ago, when the license fee
was raised from % to so cents month.
The Servants Unions.
Among the curious unions are those of
the men servants who work for foreigners.
I do not know that their rules extend to
Chinese, but they are very rigid as to Eng
lish, Germans and Americans These serv-
ants take the place of the hired girls of our
country. The members Of their unions have
regular meetings, In which they discuss
their masters and mistresses and report
upon them. If you dismiss a servant the
union may boycott you, and 1t may be
year before you can get another. A lady
friend of mine, missionary. recently
caught her boy stealing and discharged
him. She employed others, only to find
them leaving after a few days on some
plea or other. The director of the Pacific
Mail steamship line had Chinese boy who
abused his little son. He discharged the
boy and could not get another for long
time One of the foreigners of Shanghai
recently took Wenchow man into his
house as servant. The Shanghai union
objected and forty of its members broke
into the house and took out the WenchOW
man and thrashed him. The directors wife
sent out her riksha cooley to bring the po-
lice but the union men set upon him and
broke his arm.
In these union meetings whenever a serv-
ant takes a new place he asks for a report
on the master and mistress, and the other
servants who have been employed there rise
and give full statement as to his or her
habits, whether he or she is pleasant to
live with, whether he or she drinks and
whether there is fair chance for cumshaw
or commissions. Every servant, of course,
expects to make his percentage on all that
comes into the house in the way of market
ing, and l might also say to make as much
more as he can.
Our Minister as Jam Eater.
AS result Of this principle the foreign
ers must watch their accounts very care
fully to prevent overcharging. I know of
one English bachelor whose servant brought
him in bill the other day charging him
for three pounds of beef every day for
month. This was too much beef for one
man and the bachelor gagged. Consul Cen
erai Goodnow was charged with twenty
cans of jam during a recent two weeks
visit Of Colonel Conger, our minister at
wife are both light jam eaters and Col.
Conger eats no sweets whatever. SO, when
the bill was brought in by the servant, the
consul general laughed and said:
See here, boy, how come this thing Be-
fore time you have only three cans Of jam
every two weeks. Now have twenty cans.
We no eat so much JAM This bin not
right"
''Oh, yes, master" said the bow. ."R,u
alice litee. Pekin master belong this side
one week He eatee plentee JAM"
The truth was that Col. Conger ate no
jam whatever and the extra seventeen
a YNr1r0 81
the servant. Whether Mr. Goodnow stood
1t or not l don't know.
Wages and Time.
So far the unions of China have done
very little as to fixing the hours of labor.
although the weayers' guilds here prohibit
their men from working later than o'clock
at night. The average day Is twelve or
more hours long and about the only holi-
days are at the end Of the year. The in
vasion of foreign machinery has increased
wages only at the ports. The pay every
where Is very low. ranging from three to
ten cents day for ordinary workmen and
ed laborers. In Fuchow coolies can be
hired for from seventy-five cents to one
dollar and half per month"; and good me-
chanics for ten or fifteen cents a day. In
other districts BARRIERS are paid three cents
taiiors ten cents, carpenters eleven cents
and blacksmiths thirteen cents per day
l have seen women making grass cloth
who work about twelve hours for cents;
and an old missionary tells me he can get
ten men to work a whole day for him for
dollar and the contractor who goes out for
| the gang win take 10 per cent of their
wages for hiring them. Doctors here are
paid as high as 20 cents visit: engravers
get 10 cents day. and a troop of theater
actors will play forty-eight hours for x,O
Farm laborers receive from 10 to Is cents
a day during harvest time. Sometimes they
are hired by the year at $12, with board
ana lodging thrown in This Is big pay.
Notwithstanding these low wages, there
are vast numbers In China who work for