The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1902-03-02
Chinese Unions and Their Laws
Strike of the Cola Bcaters and
-, Stop Carriers-Why the BARRIERS
Refused to Clean Ears Killed
for Breaking Il Union Rule.

Special Corrc<pcndence Of The sunday Republic.
soochow. China. Jan. 2i.-Soochow has
more trades unions than any city OF the
United States. and its working men are
better organized than those of Europe, l
have spent some time studying the labor
situation. and l find that these people can
give us pointers on many subjects
Soochow IS one of the labor centers of the
Chinese Empire. IL is bigger than Boston
proper. and il has ten suburban towns OF
large size where Boston has one. There
are 5.Oo.Cco people living within a radius
of thirty miles Of it; and these are hudd!ed
together in a hundred cities which range
in size from a few thousand to a hundred
thousand. and in about one hundred thous-
and villages and hamlets.
The whole country Is a beehive of work.
!: makes all kinds of silks. satins and cot
tons. as well as manufacturers of iron.
wood. horn and glass. Within the last five
years great cotton and silk mills have
grown up about il. These are worked by
modern machinery. but the most of the
labor is still engaged in hous. industry
and in little factories em.loyiDg about 4
dozen hands. There are more than 49,
900 people making embroidery alone. ana
the Soochow weavsrs' guild has altogether
rsNI" O'sAs AAANA - :" 81
a fan business, and an enormous establish
merit in which the Soochow bath tubs are
made. In all. IL is said that every one OF
the 800 trades known in China Is carried
on here. and nearly every trade has its
{. union.
SOOchow Workmen Strike
on Short Notice.
The Soochow workingmcn are noted
among the Chinese for their independence.
They will strike on short notice and on
slight provocation. They have already had
some of the most remarkable strikes of the
Empire. 1t was here that the Gold Beaters'
Union bit an employer 20 death some years
ago. and il was here that one of the mag
fstrates who opposed the workingmen had
his ears bitten of.
The gold heaters case is the more re-
Inarkable in that it arose out of an order
for gold leaf issued by the Emperor OF
China His Majesty was anxious to have
the gold leaf on short notice. and Il gold
leaf capitalist who had a factory at 500
chow got leave from the authorities there
to take on more apprentices than the rules
of the union permitted. These rules pro-
vided that an employer could engage only
one new apprentice at a time. but this man
employed a large number. wherein the men
struck. They gathered at the factory to
the number of 12S. and there waited for
lEcI cutfntNtI- brIOEe IT'S TIE. nd1 nbiu
a consultation, during which they had as
sured themselves that there was no Law in
China making biting to death a capital Of
Tense. As soon as the employer came in
the men fell upon him.. and each took a bite
out OF his person. Every one was required
to join the execution, and those who first
bit were stationed at the door to see that
every man leaving had lips and gums COW
cred with blood. The employer died in a
very short time. The union who COM
mitted the crime were arrested and tried,
but only the one took the first bite was be-
headed.
Laborer Killed for
Breaking a Union Rule.
The above was a case In which an e-m-
ployer was punished. The members who
break the rules Of their unions are also
severely dealt with. Fines are common,
bat manning and killing are not unknown.
Only a few weeks ago a man was found
under a bundle of straw at the new dock.
opposite Shanghai. His eyes had been
gouged out and laid in a basin beside him.
, He had been thus treated because he had
broken the order of the union. which had
boycotted the docks and forbidden all work
upon them.
An instance Is known Of a cooper who
was ordered TO work at lower wages than
those required by his guild. The order
came from the magistrate and II could no.
well be disobeyed. but this workman cut
on his right hand and came with the
bleeding stump before the magistrate and
denounced him. After that the union prob
ably had no further trouble.
We are accustomed to look upon China