Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1935-09-01
Continued From First Page.)

discipline and receiving wages suit
able only for q very debased standard
of living.
2. The depreciation Of the Japanese
currency unit-the yen-in terms Of
foreign currencies.
3. A very high degree OF, mechani-
zation in Japanese industry in con-
junction with % mentioned above.
4. The payment of subsidies to ex-
porters.
Now let us examine these four fac
tors separately. Judged by Oriental
standards, Flabor conditions in Japan
are good. The system of employ
ment Is patriarchal, many of the fac
tories being run as huge family con-
Germs. The employees are indentured,
but they are well housed; the pay
satisfies their simple mode of living
and there is considerable attention
paid TO welfare work. Compared to
conditions in the factories of British
India, China or even Mexico, Japanese
labor conditions are comparatively
good. The actual money wages paid
compare unfavorably with those paid
to working people doing similar work
In America or Britain, but the pur-
chasing power Of the yen in Japan
is what matters to the Japanese
worker.
Recreation for Workers.
prt<,,. - thn Iafaef roy,orf IF the
British Embassy on japanese eco
nomic conditions it Is stated: AN
average wage OF two yen per diem
Is amply sufficient to attract male
workers from rural to urban en-
ployment. BY English standards this
seems an extremely small sum. 1t
Is indeed small, but it is much higher
than appears at first sight, If its
purchasing power be taken into &C
count" Also, the money wages do
not include the recreational facilities,
free housing and other amenities.
This is borne out by investigations
OF the international labor Office Of
the League of Nations. Recently the
assistant director of this Office, M.
Fernand Maurette, visited Japan and
made an intensive investigation Of
living and working conditions. He
is a recognized expert, and made a
very full and interesting report, which
may be summarized in the concluding
sentence:
Social dumping. defined as the
operation Of promoting the export Of
national products by decreasing their
cost of production as the result Of
depressing conditions of labor in the
undertaking which produced them, or
keeping those conditions at a low
level, does not exist in Japan"
Machinery Major Factor.
In any case, machinery is used to
such an extent in Japan, as in other
countries, that wage factors are be-
coming of less and less Importance.
Thus, in the manufacture Of artificial
silk yarns in the japanese factories
direct labor costs appear as less than
l per cent in the cost of production.
But even if low wages were an i'm
portant factor in competing with the
British and American factories, they
would not explain the successful
underwriting of the Indian cotton
mills India produces her own cotton;
her factories are modern in every
way, and labor costs are less than in
Japan. Japan has to import all her
raw cotton over many thousands of
miles, and she has actually been able
to buy Indian cotton, ship it to Japan,
manufacture it into the cheaper counts
of cotton cloth. ship these back to
India and compete in the Indian mar
ket despite rs per cent ad valorem
duty. compared to Is per cent ad
valorem duty on similar British goods.
Until the Indian government inter-
vened, the Indian mill owners were
faced with ruin.
No. Low wage rates do not ex-
plain the ability of Japan to undercut
everywhere.
Depreciation Of japanese currency
no doubt has assisted the export