Station: Amazons Gather to the Rescue The present time seems remarkable for signs of unrest among. labourers. The strike declared by workmen of the Chinese ink-making. shops about a fortnight ago is still as far from being settled as before. The cigarette dealers at Pootung have suspended business for four or five days in order to force the tax office to agree to increase the di count allowed them, but without avail. Now, we are told that work at no less than nine silk filature factories has been seriously interfered with by a number of female workers (said to number 5,000) demanding an increase in their wages and a curtailment of their working hours, and refusing to work until the granting of both demands.
The trouble is reported to have started first at Yunchen Filature at Hukamoohiao in Hongkew, because of the alleged ill-treatment of women by a foreman there. When the trouble spread rapidly to other similar establishments in the neighbourhood, the above demands were advanced us the reasons of their going on strike, probably as jan afterthought.
The other eight filatures affected,|are the: Tangfengyu Dixwell Road, Yuchin, Tungyi, Yuanfeng, Changyuan and Fuhua, all situated in' Wuchow. Road, Tienchang on Tienpao Road, and Yungtai on Tsepoo Road, the last twe being drawn into the quarrel only on Monday.
The chief cause of the strike is the question wages. Last year, when silk was worth Tls. 1,700 or Tls. 1,800 per picul, the workers got as much as 45 cents a day. But the price of silk this year is now only Tls. 900. per picul; the wage was 38 cents per day before the new crop came on the market, and this should have eon increased after the new silk was harvested. The proprietors intended to increase two cents at first, and four cents afterwartis, but the works are not yet satisfied, demanding to be paid 45 cents, the same as last year.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.