Strike at B.A.T. Pootung Factories Held by Red Labourers: Woosung Riots 'An incident yesterday in the Pootung' Factories of the B.A.T. and gne'on Sunday at Woosung in the Wing On Cotton Mills are attributed by local officials as being a direct} result of efforts by Communists to regain their control of local Ixbour since the change in Nanking. It will recalled that in 9 recent issue it was pointed out that Communist funds and Communist leaders have exerted a positive influence (indirectly of course) on the recent student agitation against the former Government in Nanking.
Despatches published in yesterday's issue from Nanking, indicate that this suggestion was not without merit," This message stated at least "Four 'x five Fearon. why the Gov: fernnment believed that the Radical elements had brought pressure to bear on the students, Yesterday morning a leader of the "format "Shanghai General Labour Union, which it will be realled, was forcibly dissolved by the Kuomintang when they came into wer four years ago, organized his henchmen at the BLALT. Pactory in Pootung. Eventualiy' they influence '¢0'betireen 6,000 and'7,000 employees {to stop working: and it was not until the Pootung police intervened ina subsequent event, that order was restored and the workers. returned to their places at about 1 pin.
According to information at hand, the employees' of the company' left their machines at about 10.30 a.m, ted by these out in. quarter of an hour, 100 persons of the labouring clase—it ig not reported if they were employees' of the B-A.T.—proveeded to the headquarters of the tobacco Union, which was organised under the recent reorganisation scheme of the Government tu supplant the {ating unions, demanding that the occupants of the premises should leave once, and they were not to inter= fore with the union's papers oF do-
Many of this raiding party carried iron bars and were Jed. by one, Lee Chang-kuei, the former chairman of the ex-union.
They attacked the premises and went about their business, that intimidating those on the premi
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.