Oct. 19.
Wituin the past two or three years Shanghai has very properly taken a great deal of notice of labour agitation in the midst of the community, and with constant strikes occurring in these current months that concern cannot be lessened. Already before the war, it should be borne in mind, signs of a trade union movement were apparent, vague signs it is true, but sufficient to indicate the probable trend of events in subsequent years. The guild system began to find itself inadequate to cope with the modern Western industrial conditions rapidly growing up in the district, and more and more the trade union idea, imported ready-made from Europe and America, took hold upon the workers. It required naturally some time before it could take tangible shape, subject as it had to be to Asiatic modifications, but its ultimate \presence as a vital force was inevitable. Its real advance to a position of importance has been registered since the conclusion of the war, and naturally during these particular years there has been anxious inquiry as to the presence of the professional agitator. His advent was likely to be the signal for the movement attaining proportions and pursuing aims hardly consonant with the well being of the community as a whole, and as a matter of fact we have already seen him at work, taking advantage of the inherent power of the Chinese for combination and their readiness to follow blindly their leaders. self-constituted or otherwise. On the whole, however, it may be" doubted whether, except in the outstanding cases which will be within the memory of the public, the professional agitator has yet made good his claims to leadership, and an examination of the present economic situation and its'relation to recent strikes will be found to afford the best proof of this.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.