umber 6th, 1919.
THE COMMUNIST Page Five Recent Development of Japanese Labor Revolt mass.
NGER goes before destruction. An angfull power of exploiting labor with unlimited ry capitalistic government is suicidally By Sen Katayama.
hours and wages under the level of susten.
tearing down what it built in the past. Capiance. The Japanese government has undertalists of Japan are losing their temper and been losing its influence over the people on taken the task of deceiving the Conference are abusing the very social institutions acount of economic conditions in Japan. Priat Washington with the aid and support of which they have preached must be respected ces of necessities, including house rentals, Great Britain, which wants India excluded and obeyed by the people. These self de have been rising without limit. koku of from the provisions of the Conference such as structive measures have made a steady prorice which used to cost 110w costs 25 the hour day, child labor and night work.
gress as the ideas of the social revolution. 27 (5 bushels. The average of food This Conference gave the workers of Japhave advanced prices over those of the pre war period is an a supreme chance to agitate for a labor reA most desperate battle is being fought 130. while the average rise in wages has presentative of their own.
Within a few against indestructible ideas and principles been only 70.
months there sprang up many labor associawhich have been making progress all over Men with fixed salaries, such as the gov tions, some of them under the direct or in.
Japan. The Japanese government has been ernment employes and army officers of lower direct solicitation of the government, to be suppressing the socialist movement. It has rank, have suffered the most, and have lately used to camouflage the bourgeois deleexcluded the books of Lenin and Trotsky organized into a Salaried Men Union. At gate of labor as selected by real labor bodies.
and has expelled Bolshevik propagandists this time the entire staff of the Treasury This trickery of the government so provoked irom Japan. But the ideas of Bolshevism Department is out on strike for higher salthe workers that even the yellow labor or have been permeating among the Japanese ary, which fact is as yet held back by the ganizations bolted from the meeting at government, though cabled to a certain firm which the labor delegate was to be elected.
You may suppress every known propain New York. There have been many strikes The Japanese government was rightly congandist and put them into prison, and you of government employees from time to time demned for its dishonest action by the Inmay terrorize the Bolshevik propaganda, for better pay, but this is the first time a ternational Labor Conference.
but you cannot arrest the thoughts in the government department such as the Treasminds of the people on the onsweeping Bol ury has faced a strike of the entire force, and caused the Japanese inasses more boldly These and many other happenings have shevik revolution, which acts and reacts in this is to be interpreted as evidence of the than ever to demand their social and eco.
spite of all gag laws and gendarmes.
loss of prestige of the ruling power and of nomic betterment. Lately they have found a Our capitalists and capitalistic governits discipline.
better method of making their demands, The Japanese working classes have been through sabotage rather than the strike.
ment are trying to mislead the awakened masses by camouflaged social reforms and testing the power of mass action since the know from my own personal contact liberal promises for the betterment of labor rice riots of August 1918. They have been that the Japanese workers are accustomed conditions. These apparent relaxations on increasing their awakened activity in the in to the use of sabotage, mostly destructthe part of the ruling classes have given dustrial world. Strikes and riots in the facive, in furtherance of their strikes, just tories and inines have been incrasing all great impetus to the workers and they have as historically the Japanese have had the over the country.
been demanding more and inore as the rulexperiences of violent mass assertions to ing classes have been yielding to them. The The recent development of the labor move demand the righting of their grievencss durpower and influence of the workers grows ment is something unique and very interest ing the feudal regime. The rice riots of stronger than ever.
ing. It shows a native adaptibility of the last August show the destructive workings few months ago appeared among the Japanese workers to their situation. The of the masses.
ranks of one of the regiments a most radical Japanese have really natural trait of adBut the recent use of sabotage is some piece of literature on the Imperial Rescript. justing themselves to their environment, thing new. It is open and in the form of This was specially addressed to the army the trait that accounts for the unique civili mass action, or rather a mass idleness. To and was, of course, handled underground. zation in the feudal regime.
give a concrete instance. At the Kawasaki It tore the principle contained in the Re Now the Japanese workers have no right Shipbuilding yards, at Kobe, 15, 000 emscript to pieces, from the standpoint of to organize unions. labor strike is a crime ployees demanded a 50 wage increase and Bolshevik ideas. It was skilfully distrib and strikers are subject to arrest and im the hour day. Upon the refusal of their uted among the soldiers through the mails prisonment for six months at hard labor. demands they all decided to carry out a proby unknown hands. This successful under There is therefore no organized labor union gram of sabotage. They reported at the facground work so shocked the government to aid the strike. Nevertheless during the tory every morning at th usual hour, with that it drove the authorities to an extreme last two months strikes have been increasing every one of the 15, 000 at his place of work of terror. The entire forces of the govern in number and strength, many big strikes Machines are in inotion, but with horse powment and the army went heart and soul into involving thousands of workers in some of er cut in two, and nothing is produced. Bethe work of hunting out the criminals who the larger factories. The Tokyo Govern sides the 15, 000 workers there are 500 enhad committed the greatest criminal act in ment Arsenal met with a strike call of all gineers and 800 foremen and supervisors.
Japan. The culprit, if captured, would be its 26, 000 men and women employees. This The foreman dared not fire any of the worktried in the highest and final court of Japan, strike was lost by the workers on acount ers because all the 15, 000 are acting like a a closed tribunal, and would be sentenced to of the extraordinary activity of the gen single man! This passive form of sabotage death, just like Comrade Kotoku. But they darmes and through treachery of the offi continued for 10 days, beginning on Septemcould not find any one even to frame up! cers. The leaders were arrested and put ber 18th, On the 29th it was decided by It is not reported in the press at all the into prison long after the strike was settled. unanimous referendum vote to continue the very report would cause punishment by the Then there was the printer strike which sabotage. committee was sent to negotideath penalty but the fact is now well stopped all the Tokyo dailies (16) for four ate with the President of the Company, but known to the people.
days. As the strikes increase the oppressive without result. The workers of two other The authorities have admitted, again and measures of the government become much branches of the company declared a symagain, that Bolshevik propaganda was the more drastic. At one time last Spring the pathetic sabotage, but still the demands were cause of the Korean uprisings, and that this government pledged itself publicly to the stubbornly ignored. Finally the engineers propaganda has been carried on within the cifect that it would not enforce the particular acted in a body to express their sympathy army and outside by soldiers who have been clause of the police law which practically toward the sabotagers and asked the Presi.
converted to Bolshevik ideas in Siberia. condemns the strike. But the government dent to grant their demands. Then the 800 Every suspect is blacklisted. But it is known used this law to the limit against the strike bosses followed the example of the enginto the public as a fact that the Japanese leaders. This treacherous performance caus This concerted stand of all the emsoldiers in Siberia have been influenced by ed deep indignation of the working classes, ployees of the company made the stiff neckthe revolutionary ideas spread by Bolshevik supported by the public at large.
ed President yield to the workers. Thus by propaganda in the army, some of the sol This feeling against the oppressive mea a very quiet and peaceful method the pasdiers having already joined the Bolshevik sures of the government was still more sive sabotage 15, 000 workers obtained the forces in Siberia.
heightened by the dishonest method of elect hour day with 10 hour pay and 50 inSince the rice riots of August 1918 the ing the labor delegate to the International crease in wages, together with wages for masses have awakened and asserted their Labor Conference at Washington, the days of sabotage!
power and have threatened the ruling clas now in session. This Conference is not of This conspicuously successful and clear ses. The ruling classes of Japan have been interest to the western proletariat but it is cut example of passive sabotage by the decaying at the core for some time. The to the Japanese, and especially to the Japan workers of the Kawasaki shipbuilding indpowerfut bureaucracy of Japan has also ese employers who have been enjoying the (Continued on page 8)
eers.