Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1919-10-31
.ADWSERFOR|N INDIA
|SLEAD|NGF|GURE
At LABOR FARLEY
Bahman Pestonii Wadia
Prime Factor in Progress of
His Home Country.

man Pestonji Wadia, adviser to the
government delegate from India. He
is tall, straight and dignified and
wears a dark-gray frock coat of
clerical cut, with a turban of SIM
liar color. which he does not remove
! in the assembly hall. His eyes are
bespectacled, his features aqulllne,
his face bearded.
An Intellectual. his predictions are
for philosophy, literature and religion.
sui he is head of the eighteen
ais ancient land, leader of the home
rule activities and editor of two
Newspapers. the New India. daily,
and the Common Veal a weekly,
Doth published in Madras CITY. HOLD
ing the presidency of the labor fed
Grafton of Madras composed Of half
a dozen labor unions. is his chief
pride just now.
Jailed for His Activities.
As a matter of course. Mr.. Wadia
explained last night. in English of
perfect grammatic accuracy. he has
been jailed for his political activi-
ties. But three months imprison-
ment in 1917 has helped to bring self
government to his nation. he declared.
SO it was time pretty well used.
Never before in America, he has
come here directly from England,
where he spent four months giving
exhaustive testimony regarding labor
conditions in India to a parliamentary
committee and making friends with
wage earners in the British Isles.
Everywhere he was received cor
daily. and by the lawmakers was
heard with sympathetic appreciation
of his aims. Out of the visit to Eng
land Mr.. Wadia hopes there will come
drastic reform in factory laws and
marked amelioration of the condition
of India's toiling men, women and
children.
Three Glasses of Labor.
Labor in my country is divided
into three classes Mr.. Wadia said
agriculture. mining and factory. /
am fairly familiar with the bad con-
ditions from which labor in all these
industries suffers, but my intimate
experience is related to factory labor
in Madras. / am president of the
Madras labor union of textile work.
ers. formed in April. 1918. This union
has already had an interesting career.
1t has had to struggle not only to
grow but even to exist. and has sur
vived two lockouts on the part of
certain employers.
has come successfully out of two
strikes. The rickshawmen's union
came into existence in the midst of
strike. The printers and railway
workshop unions were the last to be
formed. But the movement is grow
ing rapidly everywhere. and I have
had the honor to initiate and help
organize the work, and shall con-
tinue it when l return home.
Labor Troubles Prevalent.
"On account of various causes labor
troubles have been prevalent in India
for many months. The strained eco
nomic conditions and the great rise
in prices have been the main cause
of this unrest. The forces let loose
by the war and the Russian revolu-
ton have to certain extent widened
and colored the political outlook of
the Indian laborer Excessive hours,
low wages premature exhaustion,
due to malnutrition; lack of educa-
ton for himself and his children, alb
sence OF any housing arrangements
and of general sanitary conditions.
and the prevalence of apathy on the
part of authorities and employers
have made the Indian laborer rest
less
Just consider this: The present fac
tory law enables an employer to en-
gage laborers for twelve hours a day,
six days week-seventy-two hours
of a work week-while in the United
States your workers toll but fifty or
forty eight or forty-four hours a
week. In India women are allowed to
be employed eleven hours a day.
Young persons-that is. boys and
girls of nine to fourteen years of age
are employed six hours a day. Usu-
ally two shifts are used in textile
factories.
THE long day of twelve hours has
the ridiculously small break of thirty
minutes in the middle of it for meal.
and the workers must wait in line
to get their food. This day lengthens
into thirteen or fourteen hours, when
you consider travel to and from work.
Pay From S. to $40 a Month.
I'm the matter of wages the law is
dumb. But the pay everywhere varies
from SIS to $40 a month. Thus the
wage-earner and his family must live
cheaply. miserably. hGpelessly. He is
always in debt and this circumstance
has resulted in widespread virtual
.oop,~a m 1yn,, wonder thera iS nm.