Omaha daily bee., 1908-11-15

MNg0 hhhaA bNN " VI NAN
&&<4qH4 Transvaal. General Botha's
kNN$fA hand has written that decree
o4AHS on the Industrial wall Of South
Africa No more coolies are to be i'm
ported. The first shipment Of 1900 back to
China was made. not more than a year
ago. and others will be exported at inter-
walls until these yellow slaves, as they are
called. are eliminated from the golden
treasure vaults Of the Rand.
The Chinese and the Worlds Gold.
This movement will affect the whols
world. 1t will. for a time, dam the enor-
nous streams of the yellow metal which
have been flowing out Of these mines and
will cut down the gold supply Of the ma
lions. within the last twenty years South
Africa has produced $1,000, 100000 worth of
bullion, and about half Of his has been
turned out since the Boer war. 1t has been
mined largely by Chinese cheap labor, and
now that the Chinese are to go the mining
nabobs arc In despair as to getting others
to take their places.
Gold mining in the Transvaal Is a low
grade proposition and II must be carried
on at low wages. Out of the sixty-fivo
or seventy mines now on the Rand more
than one-third do not yield over $3.50 worth
Of gold to the ton, and In some the yield
is still less. The quantity of ore is prac-
tically inexhaustible. and the output Is
limited almost entirely by the amount of
labor at hand. Last year 1t was about
S13O, 0O0,C 900, or between one-third and one
fourth OF the whole gold supply Of the
world. 1t could be doubled or trebled IL
the Rand had the labor, and IL 1t has It
not It must fall. There are more than
5000 Chinese here at work and they form
the best OF the unskilled labor that the
Rand has ever had.
The Native Labor supply.
But first let me tell you something about
the native labor of South Africa. There
are about 100000 negroes in the British
possessions south OF the equator, and there
are perhaps 100000 more in Portuguese
East Africa over the way. OF this. how
ever, a large number are comprised Of old
men and women and children. The men
employed In the mines range in age from
10 to 40. and 1t is stimated that there is
only something like 100000 available en-
ployes in the whole population. Moreover,
the natives will not work longer than six
months at a time, so this cuts the constant
supply down to q possible 100000, which,
even II 1t could be relied upon, is far less
than the wants Of the country.
Before the Boer war there were 111.00O
natives employed in the gold mines. This
number dropped to almost nothing during
that struggle. and the high wages then
paid by the armies and others 80 disor-
ganized the industry that when the war
closed and the mines again began to work
the shortage in the laobr supply was 10000
and more. 1t was then that the possibility
of getting Chinese was discussed. and as a
result the celestials were brought here by
the shlpload.
How the Chinese Came to Africa.
The Importation began in 1904. The first
shipment came in July, and by the close
Of that year 10000 OF these Acknowledged
pig-tailed workmen were getting out gold.
Since then about thirty or more steamer
loads have been brought. and the total
invasion has amounted to 10000 or more.
This has been decreased by expectation
and In other ways until at the first of last
year there were about 1900, and at present
there are $1,000 or less.
The cost of bringing the Chinese was
about SIS per head. They came for terms
of three years. with a possible extension
to six years, but no longer; and they were
to be paid at the start SIS a month. II
was provided that they were to live in
compounds. or walled yards, during their
stay In South Africa, and that no one could
employ them except under license.
The most Of them came from north
China, and more than half were shipped
from Tien-Tsln. They were brought in on
a contract between the British and Chi
nese governments, and were washed and
scrubbed. vaccinated ard photographed and
medically examined before leaving. They
got two months pay at the start and they
were so we'll cared for that very few died
on the way. 1t was a part OF the agree
ment that they were to be carried back
home, and the Transvaal was assured that
the Chinese would not be allowed to obtain
a foothold in the land.
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With the Chinese Miners.
During my stay here l have gone through