Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1908-01-03
Labor Situation in Japan.


follows that the political and military
institutions Of country, at any
given period in its history, reflect its
economic conditions, the latter be-
ing the moving cause and prime fac
tor in the line of its development.
In thirty-fvc years the Japanese
have advanced from the handicraft
labor and are now using the most
elaborate machinery and improved
processes in their industrial develop
ment. These facts have attracted
the attention of all the civilized ma
tions of the Earth. The Manchester,
(EnglanO Guardian recently sent q
correspondent to Japan to investi-
gate the industrial situation for the
purpose of enlightening British man.
ufacturers. He found the discon-
tent among the laboring class in that
country very pronounced. Concern
ing which situation he wrote to the
paper which he represented in the
following manner:
"Nor is all this disaffection due to the
agitation of those deprived of an accus-
toned competence by the increase of the
factory system; the root of the trouble
lies in the inhumanity of the system itself.
Japanese iudustrialism is a soulless
machine in which the worker is ground
to degree that would not be tolerated
in any country where those that bear the
burden of industry were intelligently
and sufficiently organized to protect
themselves. And woman, being the
cheaper vessel, suffers the nethermost
weight of it all. During the last twelve
months there has hardly been q week
that has not witnessed some exhi-
bition of united protest against the
injustice of the present labor conditions
Strikes and other manifestations of dis
content have broken out in all lines of
industry and among all classes of work.
ers. In some instances, as in the case
of the miners, the outbreak was so furi-
GUS as to result in murderous rioting and
wonton destruction of extensive prop
erty;
Inc wage system In Japan Is OppreS-
sive. Starvation wages are the rule,
even in cott0n-factories, where one might
expect conditions of labor to have
reached the most modern develop
ment.' Yet We are informed by this
writer:
Examine the labor conditions in
Tokyo. where the highest wages in the
Empire are paid. There q cotton-ginner
at best can make only q shilling ia
centsl day, and over most Of the coun-
try he has to be content with less. Thou
sands Of female factory operatives get
much less than Cd. az cents) = day.
This was hardly living wage . year
sgo, but it is less now. The highest
wages q carpenter can command is %.
t4S cents day, tillers get Is. Sd. TAO
cents], plasterers Is. lid. [46 centsl. boot
makers 1s. [24 centsl laborers 10d. 10
cents]. When We turn from the highest
to the lowest rate Of wages conditions
may better be imagined than described.
In the last year rice, which is one of the
most essential articles of food to Japa-
nese, went up in price to double the rate
OF the twelve months before. There
are other aspects OF the system still
more m enacing.
controlled by law, and the condition of
the toilers is pitiable in the extreme"
Railway accidents are frequent.
Sometimes employees are compelled to
be on duty twenty -four hours at a
stretch. Human life, as compared
with the financial phase, is regarded
as matter of slight Importance by
the greedy Imperial japanese profit
mOngers.
The extensive use of improved ma
chinery in this rapid, onward march
of industrial progress having thrown
many thousands of artisans of the
feudal school out of employment and
greatly impaired their chances of
getting a livelihood, their attention
is naturally directed towards other
countries, where they hope to i'm
prove their conditions.
The western shores of the United
States and British Columbia offer in
viting fields in this respect. Doubt
less the government of Japan feel.
ing the strain in having large dis
contented class within its domains,
lends its efforts towards encouraging
or countenancing the emigration of a
large percentage of this class. When
they arrive on our shores they feel
the need of money. Having been
accustomed to the cheap manner of
subsistence in their home country,
they are prepared to underbid Amer
lean workingmen for jobs. II this
latter happen to resent and on slight
provocatiOn, a rumpus is raised by
the home government, causing inter-
national complications, q Secretary
of War is despatched across the
country, over the waters of the Pa
cific, to the empire of the Mikado to
smooth over the situation. The in
vasion having been, for the most
part, of o recent tenor, it is hard to
tell the nature of the negotiations
bet ween the two nations, or make
predictions regarding the probable
outcome of the dilemma. It is sig
ni6cant fact. however, that emf
grants continue to arrive in the
United States from Japan. Unfort-
unately this country conta too
many industrial lords who are in
clined to employ the cheapest labor.
power in the market, whether it con-
sists of Caucasians or Mongolians.
In studying the situation, the
STANDARD years ago predicted that
the great influx of Asiatics to our
shores, letting them obtain q foot.