YELLOW SERVANTS

New Zealand Times, Volume XLIII, Issue 10107, 22 October 1918, Page 3

YELLOW SERVANTS

A WOMAN'S PETITION TRADE UNIONISTS HARASSED FOR SIGNATURES. With the near approach of Parliament petitions are very much in the air. Union secretaries at the Trades Hall, Vivian street, wore made keenly aware of one particular petition a few days ago. On Friday last the usual air of diligent industry in the building was very much disturbed by the entry of a lady, who carried a bag in one hand and a formidable roll of paper in the other. She wanted to see one of the union secretaries about a very particular matter, and, selecting one Labour official, whose sympathetic demeanour proclaimed him a likely victim, she asked to have a few words with him. Once inside the office the well of female eloquence which had been held in check until then was opened up, so that for the best part of an hour the Labour secretary was held as a spellbound listener. The visitor announced that her mission was a most important one. She held a .petition asking Parliament to remove the poll-tax on Chinese and Japanese, bo that they might land in New Zealand at their leisure, and be employed as domestic servants. The domestic servant problem was an acute one, and this, stated the visitor, was the only solution. All the available female labour was now absorbed by the vacancies left in civil employment by soldiers going to the front. What bettor way to relieve this shortage than to import yellow servants for the distressed residents of Hobson street or Wellington terrace? Cheap and docile servants in abundance. The mothers of the nation would be relieved of Tneir present worries, and the cry for domestic "servants would be silenced. However, continued the speaker, eloquently, it might be necessary to introduce only one sex from China and Japan, to prevent the mixing of the races. She had seen the Chinese Consul, and he had stated that he would be onlji too pleased to assist her, as there were many young yellow maidens in the land of the yellow dragon who would joyfully travel to New Zealand to don the apron of domestic serv'antdom. Of course, the yellow emigrants could be indentured for a number of years, and then asked to leave again on the return journey. Finally, when the visitor had outlined the subject exhaustively, she unrolled her petition to Parliament, and solicited her listener's signature. The secretary managed to explain that the petition would receive no support from Labour, as it was desirous to preserve as clean a race as possible in the Do. minion. Then, as the visitor appeared disposed to argue, he tactfully suggested that his fellow-unionist in the room opposite might be interested. The lady with the petition then entertained the other trade unionist for close on an hour, but, receiving no encouragement, pounced on another room in the hall. She was fortunate, for here she found several Labourites, and, using the woman's prerogative, she talked fchem to distraction on her domestic servant scheme. She pointed out that no more fitting recognition could be given to the Japanese for help during the war than by issuing this invitation to prospective domestic servants from the Orient. One by one the listeners crept from the room until only one was left, and not until this unionist positively declared that he would not 6ign the petition did the eloquent and peristent visitor roll up her petition and regretfully leave the building.