Thirteen Thousand Women Stop.
Work. in: Chapei Some 13,000 female. waskess in the various filatures of Chapel are idle as the result-of. general strike:
The trouble began on July, }2, when the workers of the tong Wel, Vu Chin and Tang ¥i FFilatures suddenly suspended work [but remained about the premises. They were asked by the management to explain their action and Stated that it was not, because their own desire that they declined: to return to, their posts but because of the fact that they. were constantly being intimidated by certain persons outside. After considerable persuasion, they were prevailed upon {to resume duty when-a guarantee cas given-by the Bureau of: Public Safety that they would not be 'On the following morning, the workers of the Tung Pung Filature, jot Dixwell Road, complained 'Similar intimidation' to their employers and at once suspended work. The news. soon spread and the! workers of the three mills referred to, as well as 18 others, joined in the strike, which has not yet been settled.
The' trouble spread quickly until it now involves nearly 13,000 employees, It is difficult to discover the reasons for the strike, the workers been, intimidated by outs fluences. They have.made the usual demands for better conditions and increased pay.
During last week-end the strike spread from the Chapel filatures into the Settlement until six Settlement? concerns. were involved, making a total of 21 filatures there is little change in the general labour situation, though some of the strikes have ended, There are evidences of unrest and agitation in labour circles, many having received demands for im: provement: in working conditions and better pay, Their demand for the recognition of Sundays as legal holidays having been refused by the Ministry of Communications and the Director-General of Posts, members of the Postal Employees Union are now reported to be demanding summer According to a statement made by 'a responsible official of the Post Office to a member of the Chinese press, the postal authorities found it difficult to consider this latest demand. Summer holidays were granted to school students, he said, but there was not a single branch of the government service where public servants were granted such holidays nor were the employees of the different shops throughout the country granted summer leave by their employers. The postal service, said this official, was a public utility and could under no circumstance be suspended on account of the hot weather. Such a thing was ridiculous, Apparently, he continued, the employees of the government in various places opined that they worked for capitalists and it was on this account tet they were constantly making trouble and presenting preposterous demands under the pretext of seek ing better treatment. It was only natural, he concluded, that the Coiaotinena should reject the de-mard.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.