The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1907-08-05
OBJECT TO JAPS.
Wichita Union Labor Making a
Fight on Orientals.
Want the Cudahy Packing Com
pany to Discharge Them.
TO PAY NO ATTENTION.
The Packers Say They Cannot
Secure Other Help.
Offer High Wages But American
WOrkmen Are Scarce.

Wichita, Aug. 5.-Although the unions
are planning a fight on the employment
of japanese labor in this city, the Cud-
ahy Packing company says the Japs ir
its employ will be protected and that
more will be hired if the company is
unable to secure white men when it
needs them.
The packers claim that they are not
against organized labor, but that the
employment OF the japanese is neces-
sary on account of the scarcity Of Amer
lean labor.
Speaking of the local Jap situation
and the proposed fight on them by labor
unions, William Brown, superintendent
of the Cudahy Packing company, said
yesterday:
Il don't know anything about what
the unions propose to do, but 1 would
like to ask what they expect the COM
pany to do. We have got to have the
men in order to run the plant The
wages were increased Is to SO 1-3 per
cent, but we are still unable to secure
sufficient men. That is the reason the
JapS were brought here last spring. We
present, and do not anticipate importing
any more JapS in the near future, but #
the tiwe comes when we must have the
men or shut down we shall secure more
japanese"
A movement is on foot among the
labor unions of this city to discourage
and, if necessary, to oppose strenuously
the employment of Japanese labor in
this part of the counary. Committees
have already been appointed by the
unions to devise a means by which this
may be peaceably accomplished. In the
event that they are unable to convince
the employers of the imported labor
that the Japs should not be employed,
it is probable that more forceful means
will be resorted to. The personnel of the
committees which were appointed to in
vestigate the conditions and circum-
stances under which the Japs were i'm
ported is unknown outside of the trades
council.
The bone of contention in the present
controversy is the employment of jap
anese in the local packing house OF the
Cudahy Packing company. The union
men claim that favoritiSm is shown the
Orientals and that they are given the
cleanest kind of work. This the man
agement denies and declares they are
given the dirtiest jobs around the
plant.
The work around a packing; plant is
largely of a very disagreeable nature,
and it is almost impossible for the com
panies to keep a full force of white
men. Both the local companies nave
been short of men all summer and have
been, so they Claim, COHipe1Cu " III
port labor in order to keep the plants
running They claim this is the state
of affairs regardless of the fact that
they have advanced the wage scale %
cents so cents and in some cases dollar
per day over that of last year.
The Japs were brought here last March,
most of them coming from Denver and
some from Omaha. They draw the
same pay as the Americans employed
at the plants. The unions are afraid
that If a considerable number of the
foreigners should be imported they will
have a tendency to demoralize organized
labor and will work for wage that
would mean starvation to the American
workman.