The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1934-10-18
World Front
Japanese War Plans
Hit by Typhoons. Strikes
Wage Cutting for War
By HARRY CANNES

MT OY IypnoOnS, StFlkeS
Wage Cutting for War
THE Shinto gods have been
L acting unfavorably on the
war plans of Japanese inn
perialism against the Soviet
Union. What with typhoons
and growing strike struggles,
the Japanese military clique
was forced to reopen negotiations
with the Soviet Union and hike
their bid for the Chinese Eastern
Railway, when they had their heart
set on taking it by armed force
Most severely hit in the recent
terrific and death dealing typhoon
which swept the industrial centers
of Japan were the war industries.
An editorial in the Osaka Maini-
chi calling for a reconstruction
fund" actually appeals for a greater
Wa- fund to reconstruct industries
destroyed by the typhoon. We quote
from this editorial to indicate the
extent and type Of damage done;
Considering the losses suffered
by varicus industries in the af-
ficted area in the central factory
districts OF the city of Osaka
along the western shoreline and
by those close to the seaside in
lobe, Sakai, Amagasaki and else
where, rolled copper, iron and
steel, machinery, ship building,
dye, fertilizer, sugar manufac-
turing, cotton spinning and many
other plants flor example, poison
gas manufacturing, explosives, etc.
H. ca have been wrecked or in
undated. The steam generating
stations of electric power COM
panies have been rendered useless
THE Mainichi asks the governments
4 for over $400,000,000, in addition
to the present huge war budget to
reconstruct" the war industries.
A growing strike sentiment has
been sweeping the Japanese work.
ing class recently. In order to pay
for the huge war expenditures the
japanese trusts have been slashing
wages. Metal workers, seamen,
tramway workers, have either struck
already, or are threatening to
strike. An example of why the
Japanese workers strike and how
they do it we obtain from the fol-
lowing information sent to a COM
rade in Cambridge, Mass, and
transmitted to us;
THE unanimous walk-out of H.
900 militant Japanese workers
was the reply of the employees to a
clever scheme of reducing wages
which had been Matched by the
bankers and officials of the Tokyo
city government. The city govern
ment controls the transportation
system.
The $4,000 employees were to be
fired on Sept. 4th and 1000 yen
tear money" compensation, or a
solace bonus, would be paid to each
worker, whereupon the city govern
ment would rehire 95 per cent of
the employees at reduction Of
40 per cent in wages.
The average wages of the work.
ers vary from $40 to $50 per month
and average rs yen per month.
In other words, because the city
government cannot balance its bud
/ get and is virtually bankrupt, The
banks have agreed to loan it money
only on the basis of such a vicious
attack on the living standards of
the workers.
So anxious are they for immediate
profits that they are willing to pay
out at once, 14,400,0oO yen in tear
money" in order to cut the yearly
wages of the workers from 10000, 1000
yen to 6,156,000 yen. Of course,
the "tear-money' outlay can be
financed by long term bond issue
of some kind, while the immediate
saving of AGA, 900 yen per year will
enable the city government to meet
the tax and interest payments to
the Tokyo bankers.
The workers replied to this att
tack with a solidarity unequalled in
| previous strikes. Preparations fol
this strike we're carefully made and
the morning of the walk-out every
Starting Station through out Tokyo
was occupied by the workers at
am.
The Japanese Press claimed thai
there was no Communist influence
in the strike, but the history o.
the transportation workers il
Japan is one of left-wing unionism
in which Communists play lead.
ing role.
The same news source reports alst
that all summer long there hav'
been dozens of peasant uprisingi
throughout the land. All this SHOW
of militancy by the workers ma
bsen met with terrorism ans
7 brutality equal in ferocity to tina
OF the bloody Hitler regime.
AN example of how the Socialis
"A leaders in various countrie
f greeted the armed struggles of tn
| Spanish workers against Fascisn