Worse Than Day Hitherto: No Trouble in a Wuchang Factory:
Prospect of Relief Workers Claim Profits Fae Arn OwN Contesroxpext Fnon Ove OwN ConnssronDes?
Chengyangkuan, Sept. 10.
Hankow, Sept. 9.
Returning from the coast, one finds this section of China in the saddest state of drought in 36 years of acquaintance with it. There have been four periods of famine in the Huai valley, all caused by floods, but never "such serious distress caused by drought, hitherto, This year, the autumn crops are simply drying up, except in some favoured sections that have had local rains, Wheat and kaoliang were fairly good, however. There was so little rain in June and July that it was impos ible to plant the rice, This is, therefore, on the whole a very lean year, and still the heavens are brass, with no present prospect the farmers being able to sow their wheat, Returning from the coast, no] steam launches were available at} Péngpy, they being off on official business, but there was a gasoline Taunch on the run, that went through in one day, taking no tows, instead of the usual day and two nights of the steam launches with their loads. We left Pengpu at 7 o'clock on the morning of the Sth inst. and arrived hero at 8.30 jin the evening, covering 800 li. The next morning, the launch started back on its return trip, but, before it had gone three li, it burst into flames, and was burned to the water's edge. There were plenty of small boats near at hand that rushed to the rescue, and no lives were lost, but the mails -were burned" and also the passengers' baggage, as well as everything pertaining to the boat, except the engines. The daily sound of whist-Jes shows that steam launches' are now on the Fun 11) }}>5
The situation in the Chen Mill at Wuchang is very peculiar and also instructive. The workers struck suddenly on August 27 and formulated various demands. The chief item is easily summarised, It is the duty of the mill to estimate its profits at the end of the year, and, before February of the next. year, to pay to the workers the re~ sults of their good work. Last year, according to the workers, was 'a good one, but according to the masters it resulted in a loss, The workers therefore claim that they should have facilities for inspecting: the books of the firm and seeing: whether anything is due to then for 1928, The strike lasted only three hours, for the union stepped in and advised the workers to resume work at once, but at the same time they advised' the masters to pay every: worker a month's: wages on account. If the mill made a profit in 1928, this would be a prepayment of money duc to the workers; if it Jost_money, the advanced wages could be deducted later. To this. condition the masters refused to agree, so the strike was resumed fon the 29th, This time, a new demand was added, All old rope from the bales and all cotton' waste must be sold for the benefit of the workers as 2 whole. At present it is alleged that these things are sold by the foremen, who keep half the money. and pay the other half to the management, The demand for wages in advance was reduced to half a month's money for each worker, These demands have also been rejected, and the Generat Labour Union has called of the, strike for the time being.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.