July 22, The International Labour Conference presumably did its best with the information at its disposal] to come to a fair appreciation of} labour conditions in China. The resolutions of special importance to this country dealt respectively with application of factory legislation to factories within and without ex-tea territorial Jurisdiction; special convention for regulating hours of work in the textile industry: the formation of a special committee to study Asiatic Labour Properly constituted, the establishment of a committee as outlined in the third resolution might be of! real practical value, Geneva itself might benefit, for it then would—or should—be able to secure on Jabour conditions here more accurate or, rather, more complete data, than appear to be presently, available to ils chief labour organ. Oriental experience has advised caution in approaching proposals. made by the West in the name of progress for adoption by industries jin the East. It so often happens. that earnest reformers concentrate their attention on those undertakings which, by a curious coincidence, are most in competition with western enterprise. The point should not be pressed too far, partly because such procedure shows a practical perception of the advantage of rapidly mobilizing the maximum support for undeniably beneficent reforms, Moreover, in spite of certain dubious happenings of the past, the spirit of reform is now less open to scepticism because, in the conferences at Geneva, representa tion of Labour itself, as-well as of governments and employers, is secured. The spectacle of a group) of western employers forcing factory reform on the East in the sacred name of progress and' with an alert eye to competition cannot! naw be enacted, although it must be remembered that even the influence of western Labour on those discussions is not free from a lively self-interest.
This, really, makes it all the more necessary that China should appreciate the strength of the movement which asks her to put her industrial house in order for, having a good case in demanding regulation on humanitat world, well-versed in technique' of collective bargaining, is not going to lose the opportunity equalizing conditions of competition. "Mixed motives can be discerned in Geneva's solicitude, but as the main objective is the advancement of labour's interests they cannot be effectively impugn ed. For example, recognizing as Geneva does that it is impracticable to apply a forty-hour week to China's textile industry, as it is, fact, to that industry in other countries, it is obvious that strenuous efforts will be made to bring conditions here closer into accord with those prevailing elsc~ where. The contrast between the standard of a forty-hour week and the 75 hours-per worker in China fs all the more eloquent because there is virtually no difference beween cotton mills here of whatever ownership—Chinese, Japanese " or British, The International Labour Conference makes no concealment of its intention to yoke the fear of competition with reformative zeal, This emerges from its reference to factory inspection:
Factorleg on' Chinese territory and within the Settlement should not derive an unfair competitive ad~ vantage by availing themselves the absence of labour standards, In other words, fairness in competition is as respectable an ideal humanitarian treatment of labour.
The emphasis on fairness leads o the thought that the Conference would do well to obtain more authoritative information on the actual stale of factory legislation here, It is true that the resolution which presses for application of factory laws appears, owing to the omission of the word "foreign", to Include Chinese-owned factories within its purview, but the preamble makes it clear that the proposal is really based on the belief that factories under extraterritorial jurisdiction lack standards which are duly enforced elsewhere. The time has come when the contention that extraterritoriality obstructs the working of China's Factory Law should be critically examined, 'The Conference's apparent belief that nothing has been done in the In~ ternational Settlement of Shanghai requires correction by reference to the Shanghai Municipal Coun-all' report on its Industrial Section's admirable educative and persuasive activities, Not that pro-Press is absent from Chinese-controlled areas, During the recent celebrations of the City Government's Tenth Anniversary,—the Industrial Safety Exhibition' gave evidence of an advance in applying, principles of safety under the Factory Law, Moreover. despite the virtual abeyance of that Law a whole, real effort is being made by preliminary spade-work which, before tong should take effect when questions of jurisdiction have been determined. In Juno 1936, the Shanghai" Municipal Council and the City Government reached agreement for the application of certain fundamental provisions of the Factory Law to the International Settlement. The Conaular Body approved in principle but demanded a verbal clarification of the position of extra-territorial= ly-owned factories. Subsequent Suggestions from the Municipal Council are, it is understood, under the consideration of the City Government, Advantage might by token of the forthcoming visit of Mr. Harold Butler, the Director of the rote Labour OMice at Geney/, to enlist his ald in finding a so%tion, China cannot afford jet matters rest where they are, for the Conference will now press on the attention of all Goverpments foneetned the drafting "of con= vention {0 rectify what it regards as the absence of labour standards in factories here, Mr. Butler's visit should be also utilized to furnish him with a more accurate appreeia~ tion of the International Settle ment's position, which should presented with greater clarity than appears to have been possible so The time has obviously come the anomaly of the Settlo-"inability {0 secure effective n of its policy at Geneva should be corrected, It has been breached, notably in regard to the opium issue. Mr, Buller can be usefully encouraged to assist in ite complete elimination, provided. of course, that the diplomatic arbiters of the Settlement's destiny are pre pared to discharge their duties Properly.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.