The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1927-02-19


ganise trade unions on the railways
For great many years the Japanese govern
ment, through its agents, had been impressing the
minds of the railway officials, as we'll as of the
rank and file, that they state employees and
should faithfully their country and govern
ment, Loyalty carrying out all the commands of
their superior officers, so as to make faithful
servants of the government
In this manner the proletarian spirit was stul-
titled, and the workers practically forced to
give up any idea of organizing themselves into
railwaymen's unions
In a word the regime on the Japanese railways
strongly reminds of the pre-revolutionary
gime en- the Russian railways.
There were attempts to form a union on the
part of the class-conscous elements among
the railwaymen, but they were defeated by the
strenuous opposition on the part of the agents of
the government.
Thus the first strike of engine drivers broke
out in 1899 on private railway line owned by
the Japanese Railway Company, and the first union
of railway enginemen in Japan formed the
northeastern line, under the of "Nitetsukio-
Seiukai," but this union forced out Of
existence.
1t was only in 1920 that another attempt was
made to form a union of railwaymen under the
of "Dainton Kikansia Dzomuinkai" Japan
Enginemen's Association). With headquarters
in Tokyo, and with a membership of 2, 100, the
union embraced only the enginemen the fol-
lowing railway lines: Tokaido, Tiuo, Sinetsu, and
Tonoku. One year later, however, the union
subjected to repressive measures by the Minis
try of Ways and Communications, and compelled
10 dissolve.
The formation of the Engnemens Union in 1920
conceded with strong outburst of the labor
ment. There spontaneous wave of move
ment of organization among the masses of the
workers to secure better conditions of labor; but
it ended in defeat because neither the leaders nor
the workers had a sufficient understanding of the
class struggle
In 1928 the raiwaymen took up once again the
question of forming a trade union. A series of
conferences of rawaymen was called for this pur-
pose in June. More than one-half of the delegates
attending those conferences consisted of former
members of the Engnemens Union. The result
the formation of the Japanese Railwaymens
League (DainihOn Tezudogengion Domel).
Some time afterwards a section of the railway
men, dissatisfied with the leagues position, formed
a union composed exclusively. of the lower grades
of workers These two organizations represented
something like a right and left wing. The first
these organizations began to decline, having
utterly failed to gain the support of the On
the other hand, the second union successful in
this respect
In 1925, in connection with the general revival
of the labor movement in Japan, the question
raised by the progressive elements of the
workers on the state railways concerning the need
for organizing an all-Japanese Railwaymens
Quoted among the members of the two railway
mems unions, leading to negotiations between these
unions, which were held from November 25, 1925,
until February H. 1926, and resulted in the forma-
ton of the All-Japanese Raiwaymen's Union.
The organizational movement among the rail
waymen has been carried out with great success.
Since the formation of the Railwaymen's Union in
February, 1926 the organizing activity the state
railways has been carried with the united sup
port of the right and the left organizations
From the very outset the union has concentrated
its entire attention upon organzational and educa
tional work.
At the time when it was formed, the union had
a membership of 1900; it has over 5000 men,
bers Organizational activities are in full swing
throughout the country; the Kiu-Siu, in the
central provinces of the island of Konsiu, in Kanto
and in the North East. Three branches are soon
to be opened the eastern railways; at Iskosuka,
Snsuku, and at Sinbas (Tokyo).
Nevertheless the workers considerably him
dered by the specific spirit of chauvinism and title
worship which has been incucated among the Jap
anese railway workers in the course of many years