The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-05-19
The Gold Mines and the kamr Qucs-
tlon.

The Gold Mines and the Kafflr Qucs-
tlon.
At the time of the outbreak Of the Boer
war the mines of the Transvaal were one
of the principal factors in the world 8
supply of gold. Between October. 1899.
and April, 1901, the industry was prac-
tically suspended. Such care as was
possible was given to the mines during
the period Of hostilities, but at the close
of the war they were in serious confusion
and disorder. Many of them were filled
with water; machinery was rusted, in
many cases beyond the possibility of
restoration or repair and the customary
labor, both white and kafiir, was widely
dispersed
The most serious problem in the res
toration of the industry appears in the
labor question, and with this the mine
owners are now confronted One group
OF mines alone stands in need Of 1907 900
laborers. In the days before the war, the
labor supply was drawn from the various
native tribes of the region, all being
grouped under the name of kaffirs, and
generally referred to as boys The old
system Of obtaining these boys pre-
sented much that was, sentimen tally at
least, offensive. They were brought in
by contractors who received an agreed
upon price, usually about thirty shill-
ings per head and the expenses of tram
sit. They were frequently, perhaps
largely, obtained by the contractors
through an arrangement with the various
tribal Kings, and in many If not in most
cases, it is doubtful if the boys them
selves had any will in the matter. They
were thus hired, or bought, for n speci-
fed period, usually three years; herded
in incosed compounds; and their wages
we're from sl250 to SIS month. as against
the So to 81 a day demanded by and paid
to white laborers for similar work The
ratio Of comparative labor efficiency be-
tween white and black is estir ated at
~ to for the work at which blacks are
employed. As gold mining is business
enterprise and not a philanthropic in
stitution the desirability of Kaffir labor
or its equivalent is plainly manifest. 1t
is estimated that Kaffir labor will produce
for one shilling that which will cost two
shillngs six pence for white labor.
The difference between three years
in Transvaal mining compound and
three years in prison at hard labor lies
in less and easier work and better care in
the jail, and saving Of n very small
number Of dollars year in the COM
pound Many died from pneumonia
and tuberculosis. These cases resulted
from the sudden transition from the hot,
damp atmosphere of the deep levels,
where their work was done, to the often
really cold air OF the Transvaal night,
emerging as they did from the mine in a
state Of practical nudity to wrap them
selves in the only partial covering af-
forded by Kaffir blanket. 1t would be
unjust to some of the mine owners and
managers to charge an utter or even a
general lack of humanity but the system
and it's conditions, at their best, may not
with accuracy be called humane, and
much vigorous protest has been made
against it, in England as we'll as in
South Africa.
A fundamental difficulty lies with the
Kafflrs themselves. They do not want
to come in They do not want to work
1t is process which does not appeal to
them with any special force. The Kaffir
boy is better pleased to spend his
days in dawdling around the domestic
kraal while the women do all. A special
incentive to Kaffir, to induce him to
mine labor, often lies in the fact that with
the savings of his term OF service he can
purchase a wife, under the system known
as ukulobold, who will do all the work
for the rest Of his life.
The situation is further complicated by
the fact that England has vast numbers
of these Kaffirs on her hands. The
Zulus, the Swazis, the Matabeles and
the many other tribes show n total
membership which runs to hundreds
of thousands and outnumbers the white
population many times over. If they
will not work and are not to be made to
work, what is to be the attitude Of Eng
lands Colonial Office toward them, and
what is England to do with them? The
head tax OF 80, now imposed, may en-
force a moderate amount OF labor but it
does not encourage industry us profess
sion. The broad problem is really of
much greater gravity than is the imme-
date question Of labor supply for the
Transvaal mines. 1t has been proposed
that the Kaffir be supplanted in the mines
by Chinese or by coolie labor from India.
But the yellow peril is source of
great apprehension, and vast influx of
coolies is only less feared.
Nor would the importation Of either
Chinese or coolies simplify England's
broader problem. 1t would, on the con-
trary, greatly aggravate it. 1t would
introduce scores of thousands of those
who are regarded as an Objectionable
social element, and leave the Kafiir to