The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1917-07-21
MEMBERS OF JAPAN
LABORU|V|ON ARE
FACING DISASTER
Laborers' Friendly Society Is
Blackisted By Employers
Cannot Strike.
Japanese Factory Conditions
Deplorable- Revolution
airy Agitation Started.

WASHINGTON, July 1e.-Benji
Suzuki, organizer and president of the
Laborers' Friendly Society of Japan,
was prominent" among the guests of
the last two conventions of the A. F..
OF L: While trying to induce the Am
erlcan workers. last fall, to send fra
ternal delegates to Japan to the an
nual convention of his young organi-
cation, Suzuki arranged a dinner at
the Imperial Japanese embassy in
Washington, at which the delegates to
the Baltimore convention from Cali
fornia were guests.
Now comes word that Suzuki, whose
society-to quote an article in the
New York Evening. Post by Prof. Isoh
Abe-"is by no means a labor union
in the proper sense, because it has
neither a strike fund nor a mutual
insurance SYSTEM" is in trouble with
the employers. They have begun
blacklisting and locking out all of the
Friendly Society members, and as it
is illegal to go on strike in demo-
cratic" Japan, his 10000 members ap-
pear to be threatened with disaster.
The only real labor union to get foot
hold In Japan was suppressed some
eight years ago, and S. Katayama, its
leader, was driven into exile in San
Francisco.
Factory Conditions Bad.
Japanese factory conditions, as af-
fecting women, are described in a
Japanese government report Of 1913
thus: 1.-THE factory girls in the coun-
try are about 100000 in number. of
whom 100000 are under 20 years OF
age. Four-fifths of them work in tex
tile factories, and 20 per cent of them
live in dormitories. AS they work
in insanitary factories, their health IL
something deplorable. AS each bed
in the dormitories is used by two girls
alternately day and night, it becomes
a medium for spreading tuberculosis.
The girls who come to the factories
from the country fdistricts every year
number about 100000, of which S0,-
900 return home, while the rest, after
going round several factories, settle
themselves at last in the. ill-famed
turn home, IL, go, suffer: from several
diseases and 10000 of them from
tuberculosis"
Prof. Abe explains the very made
quate "labor Jaw" which has: been en-
acted, and says: I'VE, can see that
women and children are not fully pro-
tected from the evil Of long working
hours. 1t is an undisputed fact that
young girls are losing health as well
| as characte under the existing factory
SYSTEM"
Agitation Started.
Conditions among the men EN-.
ployed in the industries are hardly
better than among the. women. EN-.
ployers are as hoggish as ever the,
were in England or the United States
Recent events-especially the Russian
revolution, according to men wht
have just come to Washington from
the Orient,-have stirred up strong
revolutionary agitation in the indus
trial towns. 1t takes a political TURF
because trade union activity is sup
pressed. Instead of smashing tn,
factory conditions it may upset tn
throne. This is the secret Of Premier
Terauchi's recent loud announcement
that 1.-The throne will remain forever.
The industrial earthquake seaso,
has begun, in Japan.