The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1908-04-10
Japanese Labor Conditions
ny FREDERICK ). HAsKIN.

by FREDERICK j. HASI<IN.
Tokyo.
1t does not take long fol. the visitor
in Japan to understand why the peo-
pie of the laboring classes are so
anxious to emigrate TO some other
country. Wages are so low as to az
ford only the bare necessities OF en-
istence While the rate of compen-
81 ION is inadequate In all lines or en-
deavor. the lowest leve. is struck in
the pay given to woman workers. FOR
the manufacture of tooth-picks the
wages are 3 cents for ten hour day;
for making paper bags and cardboard
boxes, a cents for eight hours, Tor
folding paper in book binderies. cents
for eight hours: for sewing shirts and
underwear. cents. and for pastine
paper lanterns, Z cents day. Ihere
are thousands OF women In japan
working for less than enough to keep
the American factory girl in chewing
gum.
The Japanese government has issued
a table Of average wages for laborers'
and out of list of fifty different oc-
equations the bricklayer leads with
a wage of so cents day. Shoemakers
and blacksmiths get 40 cents, "hlie
leather workers and painters average
So cents a day The wages for skill
cd labor in the manufactures does not
vary from the cheapncss prevailing
in other branches of industry. a CHINA
decorator is paid but 80 cents Tor Ten
hours. work. during which time he
sits on his legs in tailor-fashion ana
Iuses his eyes ana hands upon his dell
cate work. He Is an artist capable oil
| executing the most intricate patterns,
yet an American street Urchn with
nimble pair of legs and good lung pow
or can earn more in an hour selling pa
The low scale of wagea in Japan is
| BY no means confined to common work X
men. The foreman Of the electric liSht
| plant in Yokohama. city OF oootuuo
receives only 40 cents
a day for his skilled services He
lis an educated electrician. but his SAL
AIRY is lower than that of an ordlrlats
| American office boy. The station mas
Tier in Yokohama. who has several nun
bred people under him, receives but
$50 a month. or course. he has lam
iily. and must pay rent and employ
servants out of this small salary. Inc
| engineers. conductors tralnmeh, SIT
tion employees and others who are un :
der him average ABOUT SIS month.
There are over 100000 men and wo-
linen school teachers In the elemental
| schools Of Japan whose average pay -
only IS month, and II Is salu a,
| the average salary of the 5000 govern
ment clerks in Tokyo is 90 cents
1 dav. This is quite a contrast to the
| fat Jobs American politicians hand
u around among their friends. Ponce.
men are furnished with uniforms anu
LESS to say that the clothes they wear
while on duty are the most expensive
u and comfortable they have ever worn.
/ Bookkeepers and accountants Tor ma
tive firms are paid about ~ cents d
day, with room rent and board thro CIV.
in. Some generous employers "'so
nish smoking tobacco
Things are done in Japan in way
quite different from that when N'ns.
: cans consider economically necessai , :
; rake for example the course or con
!. struction of a new house in Tokyo. me
excavation is accomplished by TABOR,
ers who receive is cents for ten hours
work. They carry the Dirt 70 ny, ano
street in baskets. then dump !. ,,, ,,n
carts. which another crowd Of men pun
ewav with much noise and labor. rms
nrocess is so slow that the work proves
extensive in the end. Before the eN-
) cavation is completed the dlrt 49,.
from it will be worth almost IT'S . MS =
in gold. when compared to Whal =
: would cost to remove !. ~ 9"
me various kinds Of workmen, ar.
rive before o'clock in the thoIhi1S
they DO not tt get re M and then
. or around it to talk and thaw OUT
nv s o'clock the most OF them are I, a,
work. They all wear blue COTTON S s,.di
Q cate their guild, as well as the ,,d nr'
{ ing. This is their winter garb. >, : y !,
: summer they wear nothing but a Crow
e around their loins, and band apou
i their foreheads to keep the swea
n from running down their faces !,
: The carpenters wages az. average aga - a
o cents day. They use the e., cruces aIa Is
o Sc $40 ''' in1ispensable. They follow thu
o usual topsy -turvy rule of this strang,
$ land pulling the plane ana nc saw SAY wnrGi
men waste much time in the cont tie
plation of uninportant detail. Ihes
constantly waste their strength II
instructed effort, loi ne TO m ,arn am am
working together at any task the.
j. keep time by chanting a droning song
e one of the reasons that this labor
IS chenp is because it's productive powe
Q. One popularity of Japanese nous
i is that It's dimensions are governed Q,
I the size of the mats which are to g
,c ways s made in multples of three, an
Sc the floors are made to correspond
at their size. Japanese lumber Is cut 7
U conform to this arrangement; am
le there is no waste to it at all, The ma
" tive carpenters are completely battle
:. when they get hold of American lum
u her with its odd sizes. especially J
20 they are required to construct some
10 thing Of dimensions which are rem not no o.
y, roof of a house is built on the groun
- - ana is then put UP on top of the frame
I, While steam pile-drivers are used ]
constructing large government work!
ia the old fashioned Japanese way
a crude pulley arrangement ts sus
pended on poles ans rope extende
from the "driver"to each man-.-usu
oil or heHl
70 to lift they all join In song. At
", certain point In the chant all hand
is let go, and the weight drops onto III
Ls pile The contractor Is furnished wit
~ lot Of crude music while his me
ir perform their work The lahorin
IN innn In Iannn has to know a lot {