The Daily Worker Newspaper, May 29, 1926, Page 12

d Begging Resenting The New Woman in China ANTON.—“Red Canton,” as it is called for having been for years the revolutionary center of China, is a subject of much interest in the world press. In the current issue of “Asia,” in addition to an interesting article by Lewis S. Ganett, Anna Louise Strong (Anise), in a colorful picture of this city, tells of the women of New China and “Red Canton.” Her trip to this city was arranged in Shanghai thru the wife of Sun-Yat- Sen. Arriving there, she was met by “Mrs. Borodin, Russian-American wife of the Soviet representative,” and a Miss Liao. The mother of the girl was also a woman of New China, wife of a general of the army of the South who had been murdered. On his death she knew the strength of the ancient custom she was flaunting when, in- stead of retiring to her upper room for years of stricken mourning, she used the days of her husband’s funeral to arouse a sluggish people. She lad started three educational workshops for striking women—a laundry;-a san- dal-making shop, a sewing shop “with these new-fangled sewing machines.” By day they worked at their trade; in the evening they learned to read and write and studied the principles of Sun Yat-sen: ‘nationalism, democra- cy, socialism.” The dark little flamelike girl sat be- side me in the car as we swung thru many wide streets, the work of Sun Yat-sen against much opposition, con- verting the ancient city into the most modern town in China outside the for- eign concessions. At the home of Mrs. Liao other women gathered. Here was a strong girl in her early twenties, with hon- est, penetrating eyes, who had spent seven months in Moscow, “learning about revolutions.” She had a strangely contrasting double job in “women’s instruction” and in “reyo- lutionary secret service.” With an in- tellectual woman of forty, head of the Women’s Normal School, she was dis- cussing arrangements for the women’s mass meeting called for the morrow. Everyone turned to welcome a calm, sleek-haired woman in the early thir- ties, whose eye-glasses gave a touch of modernity to her face—Mrs. Chiang Kai-shek, wife of the general who within the past two weeks had dis- posed of three invading armies and was now in Swatow, consolidating his victory. There was a noticeably pa- triotic flutter around Mrs. Chiang, and a listening for the latest news from the front. General Chiang was a millionaire by inheritance; he had spent a million and a half of his own money to help organize the troops of Canton. Yet alone, among all the troops in China, they were not spoken of by the name of their leader; for they took pride in belonging to “the nationalist cause” and not to any man, however respected. The author continues: : And now discussion begins about the mass meeting of the morrow and the need of starting a large women’s organization, so that the women of - South China may be swiftly educated to take part politically with their hus- bands in building the new government. The younger women are impatient; the older women more cautious. Mrs. Liao especially, she who in her own person has dofled ancient custom, ad- mits its power. “Women cannot be awakened so quickly,” she says, “Cus tom is three thousand years strong.” ing only vegetables, The younger woman who handles women’s instruction and secret ser- vice speaks up swiftly, “The walls of Weichow were three thousand years strong,” she says, “but our Whampoa cadets have taken them.” She is flaming with assurance of success, I was to hear often of the taking by storm of this ancient city set on a narrow peninsula, with only a narrow neck of land twenty yards wide as approach to its unassailable walls. Boiling pitch from the ramparts, scal- ing-ladders against the towers—with the help of these was the city taken. And thus new prestige had come to the army. Bus Mrs. Liao has turned to me and beckoned her daughter to interpret. “She wants you to know,” says Miss Liao, “how our women are bound by custom. The wife stays always in her inner room. Only for very im- portant occasions may she leave the house, and then always in a closed sedan-chair. She does not eat with men, not even her own brother, after she is seven years old. If in three years of marriage she bears no chil- dren she is chased away as a no- account “wife.” Do ° yow” know! | what our old books say of the pure, brave woman? Once a maiden was touched on the hand by a man, and she cut off her hand because it was defiled. That is Chinese purity that women must honor. Some women, if their be- trothed dies, go anyway to the house of their father-in-law and live there always in submission as widows, eat- with the- image of their betrothed always beside them. That is Chinese faithfulness that women must copy. You cannot judge by the women of Canton. You must remember the peasant women. In Canton there is no question now that a girl marries whom she likes. But if you go to a village and tell a girl that she should marry whom she likes she will be very much afraid of the idea. Such women cannot be quickly organized. But, if the Chinese woman is.slow, in the end she will do much; for she has very great sympathy and is most strong to endure.” And so the new women of age-old New China continue building for the future—help-mates and comrades to their men in the ranks of the revolu- tion, Anise concludes: I saw them all again and again in the days that followed. Little Migs Liao, standing aloft at dawn on the Grave of the Revolutionary Dead, near the crowning statue that is go like the May Day in Fighting Soviet Russia A Letter from Earl Browder. Dear Comrade: A week ago the Moska River, swollen with the quick thaw and melt- ing of the snows of a long winter, flowed over its banks and into many of the streets of Moscow. But that flood, impressive as it was, had noth- ing of the magnificence of the flood which yesterday swept the streets of all Moscow. The latest flood was of workers, hundreds of thousands strong,.with a thousand red banners floating over their heads. From all over the city and its suburbs they came, marching, each factory and shop together, young and old, men and women. All roads led to the Kras- naya Ploshad, the Red Square. Everything, literally, is closed tight in the city for three days—except the curbstone cigarette stands and a few peddlers. Because I went shopping Friday night too late and found the stores cleared out of prepared * foods, Tom Mann and I had a very light breakfast. Then, with our interpreter, Gertrude Elsbach, we went to the Red Square. Promptly at 10 o’clock the ceremonies began.. The square was packed with soldiers of the Red Army. I estimated about 20,000 of them. Voroshilov, head of the army, made a short speech, and then the assembled soldiers repeated after him the oath of the Red soldier. Voroshilov, with a dozen other lead- ers, including Kalenin, Stalin, Tomsky, Enukidze, Molotov, was on the plat- form above Lenin’s mausoleum. We were quite interested when we saw a large group of high-silk-hatted diple- mats from the capitalist countries walk by the mausoleum, PO 0 | sepa pemere TR eaer araS their hats as they passed, and also later we took an unholy glee in watch- ing them remove those high tiles when the band played the Internationale. These little things, however, I am sure did not make them as uncom- fortable as did the parade, which be- gan at 11 o’clock with a review of the troops, company after company, for three hours, while cannons in the Kremlin boomed out a Salute; infan- try, cavalry, machine-gun companies, field artillery, armored cars, tanks; while in the air a score of planes maneuvered, looping, diving and play- ing all the sports of the airmen, After the army came companies of factory workers, armed; then the masses of workers. The parade continued until we, standing and watching, were tired out, and when we left at 4 o’clock there was no sign of the end. Every street leading to the Red Square was packed as far as could be seen, and still they were coming. We heard later that it continued until after 6 o’cloek before the last columns had marched past the reviewing stand. At midnight began the Russian Eas- ter, which before the Russian revolu- tion was the great holiday. Formerly the entire population swarmed around the churches at midnight, and followed the religious processions. Last night, however, the church was not able to muster an impressive following. Today the young folks and children are swarming into the country for a day of recreation and rest. Everywhere here one feels a contag- ious joy and .boundless.. faith .im the future of Russia. Already the achieve- ments, compared with the dark days of 1921, are so great that one gasps in amazement to see what has been built up. The deep sores «nd scars of war, still deep in the body of the Russian people, are making way for a new, strong, healthy life. That, above all, was what I felt while watching the great celebration yesterday. As ever, Earl Browder. Moscow, May 2, 1926. THE TINY WORKER. A Weekly Vol. 1 Saturday, May 29, 1926 XTRA! EXTRAL MORE NEWS when he is tired Statue Nigh tere se ond and joyously point- YouNG 2 Ho The Youns Pio- bs the dese tells him ing out teen stones, from rag America ang. PF Cal Chi y that every lit- him an ice-cream Lima or Sydney, to show me how ie wi A present Wenne neato. ore doing it. He “alse Chinese all round the world were knit | tz" gues to. sum: Workers ought “to gives Jimm in the revolution. The great mass to learn how to be- “The, Young Com: heme vo nie meeting of women in the hall of the a soldier. . . 1 thet’ what they —_— peee tema: agen pn Foete 2 seal wd his iran ja The reason thie speeches in which America and Rus- he an'traim works ys rt a gg OF sia were strangely intermingled as | Yorkers when the burning deck, heard of such @ ideals. The modern little comedy,|next war comes Barking at work- “What Is the Family?” in which [one ore near the rail. CIR yr first wife raises the cry of the modern NEWS buenos — Ryn pera here little news ‘ao. ; . eac : woman against her husband's desire | -phousands of tite eet the say y that every lit. fairy’ bs oy 4 A 4 to take other wives In ancient Chinese te 8 a and ite Hot dawg! A GE, any’ ing Ke Nr yeoman the world over are awaken. | {ayes inthe fac; rainy TALE 8 =—(“*Bt eS GAYE Tiny Worker —= ing—in all sections of the globe and | on the ‘farms ail Pg gy S-~ anewer ar to The Tiny han boy “or ‘itt eats ag far away as China, breaking cus- The CS running errands for swell all-day sueke , thay a e i store, er sent in a classy een tom and tradition, joining the front] care if the chi oe awe aad foe on S09 of The era ofa new world, - for them, ess asishe decease ovine that be ewellt