Attack by' Tenant Farmers on Houses of Landlords Upon Refusal to Reduce Rents From Our Own Tokyo, Nov. 26. ious: riots broke out yesterday Gifu prefecture, near Osaka, when thousands of tenant-farmers made a concerted attack on the homes of several landlords and set fire to many of them. The immediate cause of the trouble arose from the ratal ofthe tnant-farmers to pay rents, in kind or otherwise, Soles such' were natesaliy reduced by the landlords. The latter, declaring that it was impossible for! any reduction to be made on the ground that whatever rents the landlords wore receiving barely sufficed, ble the latter to live decently, tween farmers and owners of land.
The authorities do rot minimize the gravity of the situation and adm that the peace Japan's rural i that a continuation of the causes which make for the ill-feeling between landlords and tenant farmers land consequent disturbances will Jdrive the rural community to desporation and precipitate very grave 'A Great Change in Relations One of the potent causes for the Jsmouldering bitterness that is felt by tenant farmers towards their landlords is the ultra-conservatism [which characterizes the latter.
Infuriated by this action, the peasants union of the locality affected called its members out in body and indulged in an orgy of Incendiarism, hooliganism and. vioting, {former years, the relations between tenant and landowner in Japan was that of servant and master, But, ate, the mental attitude of the fen-ant' farmer has been undergoing' great changes as a result of the vast wave of modern ideas which Incendiaries Deflant of Police has swept into every nook and The local policemen and firemen, leranny of these islands during and since the Great War. fon hearing of the disturbance, hur-demand for reduction of land rent led to the affected region, but 80 threatening was the deportment of is made, the landowner resents the the farmers and so superior were Jattitude' taken by the tenant, not much because of the demand a they in numbers too that the guardians of the law and the fire-fighters because he still persists in the el belief that the tenant-farmer is bat were unable to do anything. At the entrance and exit of every house a servant. 'The tenant. pushes hat had been marked down for des-tries to push, his case through by truction, the leaders of the mob every possible means in his power, placed a' number of hefty young men seeking the sympathy of the com-who, as soon as the servants or in-munity, of the.press and even of mates of the houses appeared with politicians representing farming fany goods, seized the property and communities, because to him, a rethrow it into the flames, Jduction of rent is a matter of life Jand death. This ig what the land-From early in the afternoon till Hard resents most, and the farmer's the amall hours of the next morning] request is, in most cases, peremptory he incendiaries held sway and it is fly turned down. Ig rent payment timated that some 20 houses, with is not forthcoming on the due day, were completely des-the Inndlord simply seizes the crop troyed. A tingent of armed whether it is sprouting or whether] police arrived early in the morning, it in still in the geed. but by. that time the Appeared, About 20 p Growing Influence of Labour been, since arrested, but. there considerable difficulty being ex: 'The tenant farmer has, however, perienced in finding out the act organized himself and, to-day, the Ting-leaders or the exact persons village tiller of the soil is no longer responsible' for the orgy of me Although the situation is well in hand and the police are patrolling the affected region trid the vicinity, the authorities are till apprehen Police
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