Mohave County miner., 1916-10-14


 ized the spirit of brotherhood and warmth of affection uniting the mem bers. MT. Suzuki pointed to the bra sier insignia fastened to the lapel of his coat.
 "Soon," he went on, i've had to think of establishing branches of our Tokio organization. We started a magazine and called it Labor and In dustry.' When the women joined us we began to print special magazine for them and called it Friendly WO- man. The mems paper has a circu- lation of 1S,OOO, distributed among the branch organizations which now total so. We have had to get new clerks, larger quarters-more of everything"
 Every week the associations in the various cities and towns hold meetings, and every year there is an annual gen eral convention.
 The correspondent asked about a strike in Yokohama last week which the newspapers mentioned as having been settled by the head of the labor ers' society. "It is true" MT. Suzuki explained. "Three hundred employees of the Yokohama Dock company went out to protest the discharge of two old worknen. One of the discharged men had been with the company 16 years, the other 23. They were dismissed on the ground that they were idle. Not only did the strikers insist upon the reinstatement of the men, but upon the withdrawal of the right of foremen to discharge workmen and upon granting of an increase of wages. I was sum- moned from Kobe, and after a long and bitter discussion with the officers of the company we won our cause, or, at least, the chief demands. The men were reinstated, the authority to dis miss was removed from the foremen and the company promised an increase of wages within a reasonable time. We do not encourage strikes, but we mean to labor for the betterment of the working people"
 The leader explained that the mem- bcrsh;p came chiefly from the iron, weaving and spinning and electrical industries, with 150O seamen. The women, mostly girls, were engaged in the weaving and spinning mills
 "How many of the working people of Japan are eligible for member slip?" was asked.
 About 100000" was the answer, land we hope to have them all in our association some day"
 President Suzuki voiced great satis- faction over the results of his visit to California last year, when he ad- dressed the delegates to the state con- vention of the federation of labor and had conferences with the leading labor men of the state. He believed there was @ better understanding in Cali fornia of the immigration question and thought that the fact that no anti-Japanese legislation had been introduced into the California legislature last year was one of the evidences of this improved under standing. The admission of Japanese to labor unions and the cooperation of the Japanese Federation of Labor in California with the American Ma tional Federation of Labor with the expectation of even closer relationship were to him additional proofs that the so-called Japanese problems were nearer settlement.
 Closer contact between Japanese and Americans will accomplish won ders in clearing the air." declared the Japanese leader in conclusion. ''When l went to the United States last year President Gompers of the American Federation first said he wasn't par ticularly interested in me because he thought our organization in Japan was devoted merely to social service. But l had a long talk with Mir. Gompers and told him how we were uplifting the laborers of my country-intellec- tually and economically-providing en- tertainments, lectures and literature and seeking their general advance ment. l think he changed his mind about us and I am very gratifed at the invitation to go to Baltimore this autumn"
 President Suzuki goes to the United States with the approval and even help Of representative Japanese like Baron Ei-ichi Shibusawa and Dr. J. Soveda the president of the Imperial railways, who are greatly impressed with what he IS doing for the uplift of the Japa- neSe laboring world.