Protest Against Increase in Tobacco Tax Approximately 12,500 factory hands were thrown out of work on April 5, when 21 Chinese cigarette plants closed their doorsas.a protest against tthe Increase In the tobacco. tax enforced by the Ministry of Finance.
After "having been rushed "with work during past weeks, when the factories operated day and night in. order to produce the maximum amount of cigarettes possible to get head of the tax increase, the majority of the workers were reported 10 have welcomed this compulsory holl-day. No sign of unrest whatsoever was reported among them.
Of the 21 factories, eighteen are situated in the Se: tlement, while the remaining three in the French Concession. Workers involved were 11.785 in the Settlement, and 062 in ths Concession. The factories are: Foh Sing, Tuck Shing, Leo Shing, Zay Lung, Chung Woo, Yoong Lee, Zang. Fong, Zay Tsoong, Dah Toong, Hwa Tung, Nanyang, China, China South, Sing Ming, Khwun Lung, Huh Shing, Hwa Chen, Hwa Mel (in the Seltie: ment), Kiang Chok, Yeu Lee and Dah Foong! Nan (in the French Conces-ion).
'A Nanking message reported that all cigarette factories in the Me terior had been ordered to be moved to any of the following four treaty Ports: Shanghai, Tientsin, Hankow and 'Tsingtao, before June. Should the factories fall to comply' with the order, they would be forced to close.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.