JAPANESE INDUSTRIES

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LX, Issue 18089, 16 May 1933, Page 7

JAPANESE INDUSTRIES

EXPLOITATION OF CHILD LABOR BRISBANE, May 5. It is difficult to see how the world is to compete with the East, stated Mr. Gann, a Melbourne business man, who is returning home by the Changte after a visit to Japan. In an interview at Townsville Air. Cann said in the pottery works lie saw in Nagoya there were about 100 employees, and 75 per cent, were under 10 years of age, and earning about fifteen son a clay. A sen was worth about one-fiftli of a penny. They were just bits of children, said Mr. Cann. Japanese law provided that children must have siv years' schooling, but there was no such law in Korea. Ho visited a number of silk and cotton weaving factories in Japan. They wore very efficient. With the present price of silk it would Be surprising if the Continent ever recovered its silk trade at all. The Japanese were printing silks bv means of stencils. They were marvellous pieces of work, that was on lengths of up to fifty yards. Greater lengths were done by machinery, which took lengths up to 250 yards of one color. Australia used to buy ili is material from Franco, and to a small extent from America. 110 was informed that there were five buyers from Manchester buying cotton pioffe goods in Japan, which was a remarkable thing. Working hours in cotton mills were about 90 a weeTcj with only two holidays a month, no Sundays or Saturday afternoons off. A girl had twenty looms to look after, whereas four, eight and twelve were the allotments to operatives in England. No one to whom ho had spoken seemed able to point to any way of competing .vitli the Japanese. Mr. Cann said lie found the Japanese very honorable and straight, not, as they wore generally regarded, cunning and crafty.