June 17.
ATTENTION has been definitely directed to the professional Labour agitator in China by the report of the Commissioner of Police for the month of The facts concerning his act ties are so far meagre, but the menace which his presence means to a great and growing industrial centre such as Shanghai makes that particular remark in the report the most important of all. Less than a year ago we had occasion to discuss Labour matters in Shanghai, but at that time investigation had failed to show that the professional agitator was actually behind the troubles then occurring. To-day his existence and influence cannot be doubted.
In one case, that of the masons, the evidence is almost overwhelmingly in favour of the verdict that it was. engineered by professionals. The employers were practically unaware of the! cause of the strike when it occurred, and a great many of the men were in a similar position, not knowing what they were striking for, though a rise in pay was subsequently mentioned. Then came the intimidation, of which we have read the court reports. In another case a demand was put forward by the employees of a foreign company, an assurance was given them that their case would be considered by those in charge, and a definite date was announced for an answer. The men appeared to be satisfied upon hearing this, but before the time agreed upon had elapsed they were out on strike. A fault in translation it may have been, a result of the varying Chinese dialects, but suspicion was by no means absent from the case. In fact there is rather more than that: it is practically impossible to exclude the theory of the professional agitator. The time of the year when these events ate happening must be considered. The harvests are on in the country, and employment is plentiful. Generally about this time and for the two ensuing months employers reckon upon a scarcity of labour, for we may well imagine that even to the utilitarian Chinese the country calls, and work in the fields offers him not a cheap but rather a profitable holiday. above these considerations loom two great economic factors, the manipulation of rice to higher levels and the debasement of the currency, nasty things to stare a man in the face in his struggle for existence. The professional agitator regards these matters with as keen an interest as does the economist; they show him his opportunity; and he launches his strike at the moment when success will most easily be won.
The Commissioner of Police in a single phrase has called attention to the international character of the agitators believed to be at the back of the present unrest, and in doing so he has opened up a very wide field. Other sources of information. leave little doubt that Labour agitation here is connected with similar movements elsewhere, and also that it is a blood relation of Bolshevism.
Fifteen or more years ago Paris was the centre of revolutionary thought in the world, and without any doubt at all there were Chinese there under its influence.
Since those days the movement has proceeded down two lines, one in the way of Labour agitation, occasionally revolutionary and at other times on what could be called constitutional _principles, the other in a political direction, finding its most recent expression in Moscow. To-day there is every reason to believe that adherents of both plans of action are at work in Shanghai. Not so many weeks ago we commented upon the admirable field which Shanghai offered for the Bolshevik propaganda which was undoubtedly proceeding here, and the same premises hold good in the realm of Labow, To the Chinese Shanghai must appear to be the great home of Capital, and probably the foreign element presents itself as the most capitalistic of the lot. The fight against Capital must accordingly be waged the most fiercely here, and, if the indications of the past year or two have not been misread. the assault is being made through channels other than merely Labour. Worst and most dangerous of all, the conspirators remain well in the background, and have so far succeeded in preserving their anovymity. Sooner or later, however, they will be brought out into the open—they may actually have to be dug out—but not till then will it be possible fully to Over and! gauge and combat their plans.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.