The Washington times., 1902-10-29
THE LABOR QUESTION
IN SOUTH AFRICA
BY F. W. Reitz, former Secretary of State Of
the Transvaal Republic.

| We think that the workingman was
| better OFF under the Transvaal govern
ment than he is today; and the truth Of
this opinion can be easily confirmed by
consulting the newspapers OF Johannes
burg and Cape Town. Oyerseers of mines
and other workmen of similar standing,
! including trained mechanics who earned
Ell day under the old regime, are glad
to get from s shillings to 10 shillings
today. And the same ratio OF dimin-
ished wages runs through ali branches
and degrees Of labor.
The great object of the mining people
seems to be to substitute. as far as possi-
BILE, the cheap Kaffr 1aborer, or any
other native workmen. or Japanese, or
| Chinese, or other Asiatic labor, for the
former white workmen
There are many men who belonged to
the different corps during the war who
have been entertaining hopes of settling
! in South Africa and making their way in
the world. But, according to all reports.
they have thus far been grievously dis
appointed. The situation may be righted
without outside Intervention eventually.
but at present the hotels. boarding
houses and other gathering places are
full Of men looking for work.
Warnings have been sent by the con-
suls of other countries, to the effect that
the labor market Is not fourishing, and
their warnings are being needed: but
what to do with those already on the
t.
The thousands OF houses that were de-
stroyed during the war will probably be
rebuilt in time; but even of this am
not sure, and, in any event. the mere
planning for rebuilding will take much
valuable time, because the people are
far too impoverished 10 begin work at
| once.
Even the natives keenly feel the
strained circumstances of the present.
The Kaffirs used to earn ga month
and were boarded by their employers.
True. their food did not amcunt to
much from our point OF view. and con-
sisted almost entirely of what you call
here "hominy"y But it was what they
had always been accustomed to and what
| they could best work on. Today there
IS great difficulty in obtaining Kaffir
labor at all. and whether 1t is owing to
the insufficient offers made them by
their would-be employers or on account
of the Kaffirs' dislike of the present un-
settled condition of the country, 1 am
unable to say.
But there are certainly plenty OF able
bodied workingmen. as search through
the Portuguese territory and the diff
ferent Kaffir native states will clearly
prove. These men are willing to work
and are good miners, and when prop
erly superintended. often work as hard
and faithfully as the white helpers. But
they must be managed properly They
are nothing but overgrown children. and
must be handled as such-kindly yet
firmly. They cannot be driven or be
treated as equals.
There are places for from 10000 to
leo. 600 workers in the mines, but how
tc obtain the proper men and how to
solve the problem of their labor ara
two questions not yet settled by the
people now in power.
And this makes the cost OF mining an
open question We used to be able to
compute to a penny the cost of mining
an ounce of gold; but under the present
circumstances the experts have been un-
able TO arrive at an approximate guess.
In Kimberley the compound system Is
now in vogue. BY this is meant that the
workers are penned in the yards tor
compounds), where they are at work for
two or three weeks at a time. or as long
as their work lasts. This system does
not exist in the gold fields. because our
government land here refer, OF course,
to that of the Transvaal government)
found that this treatment did not serve
the interests of trade. and refused TO in
troduce II.
Conditions of labor are by no meana
improved by the British domination.