The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-04-11
oDaDan's Cotton Factories


1 futons, or thick wadded comforters, which were packed away in cupboards I when not in use. The girls have neith-
 cd bedsteads tables nor chairs. and they l sit and sleep Japanese fashion upon the I floor.
 Two-cent Meals.
 l From here I went to one of the large l dining rooms which the company has established for It's employees. Here sev-
 eral hundred men and boys were eating with chopsticks steamng rice, vegeta bles l and fish. They were enjoying the meal
 and were apparently satisfied. As
 looked the managed told me that they furnished board at a little less than cost price, and that the men were given three meals for five and one-nalf cents per day. This is not quite two cents per meal, nevertheless, they work all day
 and grow fat. The manager told me
 that they lose about two cents per day on each man in thus feeding -hsm, and when I asked whether the food was uni forn1y good the reply came quickly:
 "Of course it is, and we have 10 keep
 it so or we should soon hear from the
 men"
 it furnishes it's employees such merchan- dies as they want at cost price. This store handles all sorts of Japanese goods, though the men may buy elsewners If
 they will It has food, clothing, notions
 and everything that appeals to :he taste
 of such people.
 Well-Treated Workmen.
 i This company is anxious to keep its men in good humor. It trains its em- ] ployes for it's work and does all It can to make them loyal to he estab- l lishment. It takes great pride in tle 1 fact that 1t has some of the bcst work men in Japan and leaves no stones rE- | turned to increase its reputatio7 in this regard. Among the special institutions at the mills is theatre with a large l, stage and full equipment of scenery. The house will seat, should say. about a thousand, the audience sitting on wnIte
 mats on the floor. There are galleries with similar seats, and the floor rises under them, that the people can see | uniformly we'll. The company brings actors and lecturers here at its own ex- pense In order to amuse It's employees There Is also two-storied school build I ing in the works, a large part of which | its given up to a kindergarten for the 1 little children whose mothers are em- ployed in the mills and there is a tech nical school, where picked boys are | taught the scientific theory of cotton spin | ming and practical mill work under com 1 potent teachers. This is with the object | of supplying intelligent overseers and | foremen for the future.
 l Another institution which all the Kane 1 gafuchi mills have Is a first-class hos | pital with a corps of physicians and nurses, who attend the sick without
 charge. The hospitals have spring beds
 and are thoroughly ventilated and lighted. | The one here had a laboratory connected 1 with 1t for the study of microbes and l the investigation of special diseases. The l company proposes to build sanitarum | at Takasago. one of the seaside resorts, | for its convalescent operatives; it has l appropriated s15,oo0 for the building and
 this is now under construction.
 In addition to the above, these mills
 have a pension fund which now amounts l to S142,000 fund for the welfare of the employees of more than $1000o0 and a
 sanitary fund of s25,0O0 The workmen have also societies organized under a l company for mutual relief and for the promotion of the general interest of the
 members One of these societies has a large income from its members fees in- | c1/ng a subsidy from the company, and another has a capital of s10000o.
 Mills Pay Big Dividends.
 I am told that all the cotton mills of Japan are doing we'll In addition to the establishment which have described there are many others which work day
 and night and which propose to increase their capacity and to extend their trade throughout the far east. They look upon China as their especial market and say that they have the advantage of all other people in understanding the written char | acter used in the languages of the two | countries, and also In their general knowledge of the Chinese people and their ! customs. There are now Japanese going oyer China investigating the markets for