Bombay Agitation Against Ja-Panese Mill Products: Osaka Seriously Exercised Osaka, Feb. 15, The Japanese cotton mill owners! and traders are seriously concerned fat the reports of the agitation ut] Bombay millowners against Japan cotton.
The Japan Cottonspinners' Ass0- ciation has issued 4 statement pointing out that the working hours of Japanese mill hands are the namely, ten hours wages the Jupanese mills pay at least 30 per cent, more than the Indian mills, The statement calls attention to} the fact that Japan buys over half of the Indian cotton crop and is else a good customer for other Indian products, such as iron, The Osaka Chamber of Commerce has also taken up the matter. is seriously taking up the question of the Indian proposal for discrimination against Japanese cotton goods.
The "Adtinichi" does not believe that an anti-Japanese movement Yepresents the feeling of the people of India as a whole. The paper asserts that undoubtedly Lan:
the instigator of the mov but it calls attention to the decrease of Indian consumption of Lancashire 's cotton, mainly duc to the develop ment of the industry in India itself, and not the result of Japanese com: Petition. The "Mainichi" regards the proposal to terminate the convention with Japan as host Charge of Sweating Refuted Later.
The Japan Cotton Spinners' Ao. sociation emphatically refutes the charges of sweated labour ani affirms the statement issued last Monday, namely, that the Japanes mills pay higher wages than the Bombay mills. This calculation is based on last year's report of the Bombay Government Lal Bureau, The Association invites impartial investigation.
With regard to working hours the} members of the Association, which operate 90 per cent. of the total number of spindles in Japan, strictly observe ten-hour shifts, 'The Association admits that the Japanese mills at present employ women at night, but they have every intention to' discontinue this practice as soon as possible. The factory law, which is being shortly, enforced, gives three yeats grace in which completely to stop the employment of women at night.—Redter's Pacific Service,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.