The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1919-10-22
LABOR PROBLEM BEGINS TO LOOM IN JAPAN
BUT UNIONzSM HAS LITTLE POWER AS YET
Hardly More Than Population Could Become Parties Dispute
Glass Question Agtato Bring Occidental
Theories Pracice-Workers in General Contented.

advanced nations in the West, so as to
avoid the difficulties they have been
| meeting In such matters.
An instance of Japanese attitude to-
ward cooperative motives OF capital ana
| labor Is the recent formation OF the
Cooperative Association. or "the Kyocho-
kai," organized by such captains of in
| dustry in Japan as Mr.. Kojiro Matsu-
| kata of the Kawasaka Shipbuilding
| Company, Mr.. Sanji Muto of the Kan
gafuchi Cotton Spinning Mills and Baron
| Nakajima of the Furukawa Mining Com
pany, who are making every effort to
| improve the welfare and prosperity of
their workmen.
The object of the association Is to
make efforts for the fruition of har-
mony between capital and labor in
| vestigate various matters pertaining to
social politics and help toward the eX-
ecution Of such matters. Besides head
office in Toxic the association will open
branch In every important district
! throughout the country, where separate
Investigations will be made and pamph-
lets containing the results of such in
vestigations will be distributed.
The association will open public libra
ries and hold popular lecture meetings
as a means for the development of the
intellectual faculties of the working peo-
pie. II will also make necessary ar
rangements for Offering service as a CEN
trail intelligence Office mediate or arbi-
trate labor discussions and make various
other arrangements as circumstances
may demand.
The association will be a foundation
on the basis of subscriptions by its mem
bers and contributions from outside.
through sympathizers. 1t will have a
board composed of men of various call
ings.
At the banquet given at the opening of
1.-THE Cooperative Society Of Labor and
Capital" at Kyochokai Mr.. Kei Hara-
Premier of Japan. indicated the Govern
ment's attitude on the labor question
when he said:
ut Is the most essential necessity at
this moment to cooperate capital and
labor and indorse such an attempt by
the influential people who represent the
labor and capital and wish to render my
heartfelt assistance to its SUCCESS"
Position of the Consumer.
Mr.. Tokonami. Secretary of the Inte-
rior, speaking on the same occasion. de-
clared:
Labor and capital should combine
with each other to enjoy mutual welfare.
However, there is party who insists
that the two never agree, and must
fight one another to attain their object {;
but OF the latter take no consideration,
as there Is a third party outside of the
two-that Is. the consumer. When con-
sidering this complicated state of affairs
there is no reason why the two should
not cooperate"
Private individuals are also trying to
promote the public good by studying It
from a sensible viewpoint. Thus, to
my thinking. labor conditions In Japan
are steadily improving. According to
some foreign critics. notably Germans,
japanese factories are next to jails and
japanese workmen are but slaves. That
statements OF this kind are only misrep-
reservations by commercial propaganda
lists must be evident to anybody who
| takes the pains to inspect the actual
conditions Prevailing in our factories
The japanese are thrifty and hard
working people, The nation must work
hard. utilizing its land, capital and
labor as economically rs possible. OF
course we cannot claim that the condi-
tions OF labor in Japan are superior to
those in Europe or America. I know