The Daily Worker Newspaper, October 22, 1927, Page 8

Page Eight Agrarian Movement in Japan , ve Japanese newspaper, racterized the present situa- “We (that is Japan) are precisely ions as those of France and etive ontbreak of their ter- rible (!) r Revolution—such is the cur- rent watchword among the masses of the people. Who can tell how s it will turn into reality?” ation haracteri spaper can ion. At the mass of symp- revolutionary an e nJ proach of a ent place among these symp- hief one, belongs no doubt to the > riots” of 1918 the antry never reached . Yat whilst the icidental and passing rice), the present »vement constitutes the logi- ular discontent of the Japan- “race riots” 1 phenomena (the wave of the peasa cal outcome of th ation in ese | with their economic ¢ ions which grows y by y The principal figures in the agrarian struggle e the tenant the landowne who are up in ty per cent of the peasants in Japan arc compelled to rent lands either wholly or par ry land allotments which aintain their families or even themselv expression in and now in thousands of agra conflicts, in which the whole of Japan is now involved. th 85 conflicts in 1918, the move tered al ly con- flicts in 1925 2 ens to step over gure of 3,000 in the nt year. In these conflicts there lved 1 of thousands of tenant farm sands of landowners (the majo re petty landowners). ant feature of the movement tative scale, but also the “qual- et. And here it ought to ” becomes ever more un- as the go by. It mong Japanese news- never so cordially are whilst this hatred grows from year to month to month, becoming ever more im: rding to traditional Japanese ethics, the tenant-farmer should look upon his landlord as a son does upon his father. Well, if such an attitude ever ex din Japan, it has long si The chief and usual demand of the ten- farmers is for a reduction of rent by about 50 per cent. In the past there were also cases when the tenant-farmers asked for a reduction in rent (to be sure, net to such a high percentage), but emands were usually associated with some raordinary happening, such as an earthquake, a ure of the crops, ete. Even then the peasants lared not demand more than a temporary reduction of the rent. Now it is quite a different story with the demands made by the peasants. Now they de- nand the reduction of rent without any exceptional ce vanished cau the ba In the event of the landlord refusing to grant the demands of the peasants (and this is nearly always the case), the tenant-farmers s mply cease paying their rent. The landlord then resorts to a method the mere mention of which causes the peas- ants’ blood to boil, namely to debarring the peasants from the land at the height of the rice-planting se m. This literally involves the death cf the peasant and his family from starvati The de- barring of peasants from the field for to pay rent or taxes is called in Japanese “Tatsiiri Kinsi,” and there are no more hateful words to the peasants than these. To be sure, there yet an- other method of coercion used by the landlords against their tena: consisting in putting an arrest upon the crop « e, which is called in Japanese “Sasige Tatsi Osae.” This method just as hateful to the peasants as the “Tatsii ” method. r fight against the peasant- d by the entire machinery of the , the army, the courts of law, ete. On the other hand, the peasants act collectively and upon the principle of “one for all and ail for one.” The fight between the peasants and the .land- owners is frequently accompanied by bloody encoun- te Even the bourgeois Japanese newspapers are plete with descriptions of such encounters. The fighting sthods vary. The peasants by whole vil- run the landlords’ estates raiding and burn- apanese The landlord: a | lages ove ing their homes and causing injury, and sometimes death to the landlords and their defe Tt hap- pened also that landlords and policemen, even chiefs of police, were ducked in the river or in the pond. Only a few years ago no peasant would ever dare to think of such an action. The pea sort also to “moral iorce.” Thus, during the confl the peasant children refuse to attend school, or if they do attend, they keep on* singing revolutionary songs. The young peasants refuse to turn up for military training, and so on. Thus, the peasants combine active fighting with a sort of “passive resistance.” But, of course, active ee STRUGGLE GERTRUDE KLUGMAN. By (A. Young Pioneer). ‘The time has come to unite as one! Against the barriers of civilization, We wili struggle till the game is won To build a clean, just nation! And when our aim will reach its goal As would be if there is wii! and strength. , And if necessary the b: ers in grime wil) roll Just to show there i e at length. one! ivilization, ill struggle till the game is won To build a, clean, just nation! A JOKE ABOUT COLLEGE A boy was at college and he wrote the following to his father:— Too dumb No Fun Your son. He received from his father this:—- That’s sad, Too bad Your dad. MILDRED MEDELIS. F } m THE DAILY WORKER, NEW YORK, fighting is a great deal more in vogue than “pas- i stan Lately w Village w of the pe have been witnessing a new form of omen, the wives, daughters and in*ecrowds of from 150 to 200 people and more, betake themselves to the city (as it happened in Tokyo and Osaka), break into the offices of the governor or of the chief judge, de- manding an audience of the governor, or asking for a revision of some legal case lost by the peasants in court. Since they are invariably denied an audi- ence, they kick up a row—as the newspapers have it—abusing the governor, the judges and all the representatives of authority. It is not always that the police succeeded in restoring order by the usual means, and they have to resort to armed force to get these women to clear out of the government building. An interesting ht: once the police asked these women whethi ey were suffragettes, and to this they replied t they did not know what it meant, but t) their rights. Of , a hundredth part of th place in va $ reports iat anyway they meant to get se, the Japs ss doesn e pre report even n conflicts which take apan. But even the meagre in the press indicate an ex- The gove ment is y worried over the agrar- an situation. Lately nt tried to save the situat by transforming a certain number of tenant-f ers into independent ndhold A project is being worked out by the r culture whereby one-fourth of all the ers are to t rs of their S within 85 yes This will require an outlay of 80 million yen annually, and the govenment hopes to get that sum by floating a Joan. the ; whilst the rea’ nger than the patience of the peasan ght goes on organized manner. This is la ence of the peasant unions. Th gwely d number of organ- A. F. OF L. OFFICIAL AT THE CONVENTIO) epportunity.” ~ ANNOUNCEMENT Beginning with this issue the Saturday | Magazine will appear in the full size pages | |of The DATLY WORKER instead of as a! /separate publication as hitherto. This | | change is made for the convenience of our | | readers. The New Magazine will be en-| larged and improved. ized peasants grows from year to year. At the close of last year there were in Japan 3,593 unions of tenants with a total of 334,600 members (in 1918 there were only 250 unions). The landowners are organized, too, they have 592 unions with 40,960 members. Both the farmers’ unions and the land- owners’ unions are united on a national scale. It is to be regretted, however, that the peasant move- ment, united unti! the current year, has now been split on pol grounds into three wings corre- sponding to the Japanese labor movement, namely, the Right, the Left, and the Centre. The united body of the peasantry has become divided into three separate unions, having their branches in the prov- xmong which there is frequent rivalry. Of , this split has weakened the organized’ move- ment of the peasants, but even the split could not stem the tide of agrarian conflicts. cot The Japanese government, as it is customary for ‘geois governments, wants to ascribe the chief of the agrarian movement to the agitation on by the peasant unions. Recently it de- » suppr the activities of these unions if ould nei the peasants to fight. The unions of ail the ngs were preparing in t throughout the country a Week the repressive measures contem- yernment. ull movement of the Japanese peasants, vement is due to their precarious eco- Qn the other hand, the landowners. clined icld. All the measures gove t, even if carried into mere palhatives. Only the revolu- nied by nationalization of the land, will save the situation of the Japanese peasants. to The Young Comrade Section NEWSPAPERS ists all over th 2 world try with every means at their disposal to keep the workers and their children satisfied with conditions as they are, so that they will not revolt. Some of these means ave the schools, the movies, the churches, the set- tlement houses, the charity organizations, the. mili- tary organizations, as the boy scouts, and the news- paper press. Thru these means they develop in workers and especially in children the spirit of pa- triotism and impress upon their minds the fable that everyone has a chance to become a millionaire or president of the U. S. This explains to a certain extent why so many workers and children are so ready to fight and die for their enemies, the bosses. This also explains why the workers in the American Legion, the Boy Scouts, and some others are against the ‘commoonists,” unions, Soviet Russia and the Young Pioneers. This condition we must fight against with all the means at OUR disposal. In the schools, our Pioneers must point out to other children the “bunk” that is taught. They must get them to join the Young Pion- eers. They must point out that the Current Events, Literary Digest and other capitalist newspapers are only interested in keeping the workers’ children in ignorance. They must explain that for children there is only one newspaper outside of the Young Comrade Corner and that is the Young Comrade. This monthly newspaper is the only workers’ chil- dren’s newspaper in America. It must be READ as well as supported by worke hildren. By getting subscribers for it you are helping to build a power- ful weapon against the bosses. Are YOU helping? THIS WEEK’S PUZZLE No. 37 The answer to this puzzle is a word in six letters meaning one who must work to live. My first Jetter is in WILL and also in WANT. My second is in DO but not in CANT My third n POOR but not in WEALTHY My fourth is in SICK but not in HEALTHY My fifth is in END and also in REAR My sixth is in REVOLT that bosses fear. Send all answers to the Daily Worker Youny, Comrade Corner, 33 First St., New York City, giving your name, age, address and the number of the puzzle, More Answers to Puzzle No. 34 Matilda Schottka, Long Island City; Dolfi Bar- toshik, Chicago, Ill, i a _ Our Letter Box Bosses Are Like Wolves Dear Comrades: I hope-you don’t go to a school like I do where we learn things that aren’t right. But now I am very glad, for vacation is almost here. My parents always thought it would be better fcr me to go to a school where they teach you something else, SOmething worth while learning. But as we are poor workers and cannot afford to go to a better” ¢cHObE} we'll have to do the best we can. In our school the teacher talks about the bible and the priests, but I don’t believe it. If the teachers don’t know any better than to believe in such things then let them just go on talking. I was reading the story of “Little Red Riding Hood, and the Wolf,” to my little sister and after I finished it, I thought to myself, “Well I’m glad there aren’t any more wolves in this country.” But then a thought came to my mind, “Oh! But the capitalists are much worse than wolves. They make many workers die by working them long hours at hard work for little pay.” # I will close, hoping each and every one of us will follow Comrade Ruthenberg’s last words, “Fight On!” One of the comrades, MARGARET YUHAS, I Lost My Vacation Dear Comrades: Who wants to know what kind of vacation the miners’ boys and girls get? My daddy promised me that I’ll have a nice vacation as soon as school was out. School has again started and I never got any vacation yet. My daddy got four months’ vacation together with many other boys’ and girls’ fathers. But the coal company never paid for that vacation, that’s why I didn’t get any vacation. But it’s not my father’s fault, I just blame the coal comany. Then we got a little vacation. We were picking berries for several days. How we scratched our hands, and legs and our bodies! I want to know who cails a vacation? That is the kind of vaca- tion the miners’ children get. When we all get to- gether, and fight against the bosses, we will win and hen-we will get real vacations. Comradely, SALLY BODO. More Answers to Puzzle No. 35 Walter Katka, Iron, Minn.; Miriam Rosenfeld, Bronx, N. Y.; Esther Cohen, Chicago, Ill.; Homer B. Chase, Hillsbcrough, N, H. The answer to last week’s puzzle No. 36 is: DEFEAT THE MEXICAN BOSSES REVOLUTION. The following have answered corretly: Sylvia Masler, Bronx, N. Y.; Jack Rosen, i eat 08 i, OF L. IMMIGRATION POLICY TURDAY, OCTOBER 22, 1927 “Autumn Moon” and “Spring Cloud” “YOUNG ladies, you will first of all burn all these worthless books, secondly you will no longer associate with the women’s union, thirdly, you will never set foot again in these dens of immorality and disorder which you call meetings, fourthly, you will take up your studies seriously. Otherwise you leave my house and will never see me again. Make your choice, and please do not compel me to repeat this. Do you hear me? ...” Thus spoke Mr. Fung Ta-kao, a wealthy Swatow industrialist to his two daughters. To listen to him one would think that Mr, Fung is a comprador, that is to say, that he belongs to that category of nouveaux-rich Chinese who owe their wealth and property to the imperialists and who belong to the most reactionary class .. .No- thing of the kind. Mr. Fung is a patriot and a nationalis Being a landowner Mr. Fung has been ruined by the exactions of the militarists of his district. He cursed his oppressors, sowed his rice plantations and went to Singapore and subsequent- ly to Java where he established himself as a small shopkeeper. After several years of economy and privation he amassed enough money not only to redeem all his old land, but also to acquire a con- siderable. number of shares in a tobacco company of which he became the sole proprietor after the death of his partner. He contributed generally to all national subscription lists. He contributed lib- erally to the Hong-Kong-Shameen strike fund which through the boycott of British merchandise made it ARIA ESS Fune to treble the sale of his cigarettes, called patriotically “Sun Yat Sen Cig- sinal.y, Mr. Fung was a member of the Kuomintang. But according to him all this kind of thing is,alright, but only for men. Women must remain as they are: p e and insignificant. While he w speaking, Mrs. Fung, a helpless witness of this nily tragedy, was furtively wip- ing her -tears while the M Fung, hanging their heads and feeling almost guilty, were seratching furtively and yet furiously the seulptured ivory flowers and birds of the antique table near which they were standing. Having pronounced this paternal ultimatum, Mr. bat : “No damn foreign worker is going to get into this gicrious land of —By M. Pass. Fung left the room without another word, showing thereby that he would not tolerate any explanations. When the women were left to themselves Mrs. ‘ung got up from her silk-covered arm-chair, ap- proached her daughters, took them in her arms and kissed them while the Tears were streaming from her eyes. She said: “Children, you know your father, he is very strict, he wants to be obeyed, and he must be obeyed, this is your duty. Moreover, he is quite right. These books here are subversive. Their titles alone are enough to make you unreason- able! ‘Free Marriage,’ ‘Sex Equality,’ ‘Free Love.’ All this is pure folly! When I was young one never hear@ of such things. As to these women with short hair who with great effrontery speak such nonsense from public platforms, your father is about right when he calls them mad, for what other epithet could one give to these beings, neither men nor women, devoid of modesty and bashfulness? Then again, these meetings frequented by men, women, girls and boys pell-mell, without any dis- tinction of sex or class, at which old men rub shoulders with young ladies and the poor sit side by side with the rich! If this continues, it will be the end of everything! My dear girls, women are women, they have always been and always be in- ferior to men. Women are bound by the ‘three obediences’ and the ‘four conducts.’ ** “The ‘three obediences’ and the ‘four conducts” constitute our only treasure and our only qualities. They are the beauty and grandeur of our sex. And these women are trying to destroy them! Women emancipated? The idea of it, they will never be that! Otherwise they will no longer be women! My dear children, I am your mother, I am more experienced than you. I advise you, I even com- mand you to obey your father, and I...” Just then a servant entered the room, made a deep obei- sance to Mrs. Fung and said: “Madam, my master wants you.” an “Well then,” said Thu-Nguyet (Autumn Moon), aged 16. “T have made my choice,” answered the eldest sister Xuan-Van (Spring Cloud), aged 17. “So have 1.” “For the revolution!” “And good-bye to the family.” They quickly scribbled a letter each to say good- bye and placed them ir their mother’s work-pas- ket. Then they collected the books, confiscated by their father Mr, Fung, placed them on the table as material of circumstantial evidence, and left the paternal house. “Poor mother!” And they could not help sighing when looking for the last time at Mrs. Fung’s por- trait and shutting the door of their home behind them. In Western countries it is a simple matter for young girls to leave their family. But this is quite a different matter in China, particularly if the girls belong to bourgeois families. *The “three obediences” say that in her girl- hood a woman obeys her father, married, she obeys her husband, as a widow, she has to obey her eldest son. *“*The “four conducts are: Submission, modesty, greptogns, passivity. , 1 aed To upset suddenly paternal authority, and auth- ority consolidated by centuries of propaganda and education, to leave a mother, who, in spite of her ignorance and naivete loves and adores you, is certainly very trying. Neither is it very easy to face the terrible scandal which their action was bound to create in the whole country. Above all, it is difficult to leave behind this luxurious life of “Cinnamon windows and pep- per walls” to face unknown but certain misery. Xuan-Van and Thu-Nguyet dared face all this calmly and resolutely, consoling themselves that it was for the revolution. First of all they went into a workshop as ap- prentices. Their wages were hardly sufficient to buy rice and a little salt fish every day. As they could not rent a rom, they slept in the small office of the Women’s Emancipation League. They found time to work energetically for this League and secretly for the Young Communist League. In the course of two months they had to change their employment three times. The: first time: be- cause they boxed the ears of a foreman who tried to take liberties with them. The second time be- cause they were seen distributing pamphlets. The third time because they wanted to organize a strike for better c ons of jabor. Wherever they worked they succeeded in organizing small nuclei of the Y. C. L. and sections of the Women’s Eman- cipation League. Several times Mr. Fung made attempts at recon- ciliation on condition that they would cease.to play “at revolution.” Their answer was that they would not be reconciled unless their papa let them do active work in the movement and consented to treat them as “persons” and not as “beings” without a will of their own. They were really sentimental skirmishes between the reactionary past and the revolutionary future rather than attempts at family peace. Mrs. Fung who could not’ stand seperation from her children any longer sent them the following note: “My dear children, I have been told that you work like common working women, that you haye grown thin and that you wear shabby clothes! I have been also told, Oh Great Buddah! Is it really possible?—that you work for this horrible League where the women wear short hair! My angels, you are not made to be working women and revolution- ists, but pretty girls, charming wives and happy mothers ... Ah, if you only knew what your poor mother has to endure fou you! ... Great heaven, what crimes did I commit in my previous life to be thus afflicted in this life—to see myself abandoned by the daughters whom I adore? ... ear chil- dren, come back to your mother who loves you and Fs is waiting for you. Papa will forgive you. Come back quick!” This happened in 1925, Til, Before going on with the story we must tell our readers that although there was one year’s differ- ence in age of the two sisters they are alike as “two flowers on the same stem.” The only differ= ence between them was that Xuan-Van, the eldest, was more intelligent and eloquent and better able to appreciate a situation correctly and to solve quickly the difficult questions and complicated problems with which they were frequently faced in their illegal activity. As to other qualities—cour- age, patience, abnegation, etc., Thu-Nguyet and herself possessed them in the same degree. April, 1927 . . . There was something in the air... One scented anxiety and treason... Nevertheless, everything went on as before . . . In the night from April 14 to 15 the long ex- pected storm broke out ... At midnight the streets were occupied by soldiers, telegraphic and telephonic communications cut . . . Revolutionary organiza- tions, trade unions, peasant unions, were attacked, traffic was stopped, houses and schools were requi- sitioned, people were arrested and shot. Firing was heard in various directions, at times there were isolated shots and then again they came thick and fast. This was the real struggle. There were heroic and desperate fights, all of them show- ing that the proletariat had been taken unawares. When April 15 dawned the Red town had been transformed into a hell of white terror. Power had been seized by blackest reaction, there were mass arrests, raids, massacres. Our men comrades were either killed or arrested or had fled or were besieged together with heroie railwaymen. It was left to the women comrades to carry on the different and arduous task of illegal work, Somewhere in charge of liason and communi» cation, others in charge ot organization, and others again in charge of propaganda. But the police were already beginning to arrest women and particularly young girls. Thirty mem- bers of Women’s Emancipation League, 24 students of the training college, 57 students of the propa, ganda school, were already in prison. Our printing works was discovered by the police. Xuan-Van and another comrade who were in charge of it were arrested and sentenced to death, The two condemned young girls were placed fa two rickshaws with chains round their necks and their arms and legs bound and were placed under escort of 150 soldiers and policemen urmed to the teeth. To their backs was fixed a bamboo board painted white with the inscription: “Xuan-Van, 19 years, A-Nui, 18 years, Communists arrested for having printed and distributed leaflets against the government and sentenced by the military court -t be shot.” vg All along the road the two young Commu: i although their necks and legs and arms wei rated by the chains—did not stop haran, crowds who were following them, just as had been on the platform of a meeting... place of execution they shouted: “Long Vive Com- munism! Long live the revolution! Down with t militia . . .” they could not finish the sentdnce. They © were struck down by 16 bullets, j q It was Thu-Nguyet who was killed and not Xuan+ Van. - On the eve of the execution Thu-Nguyet who was doing liaison work, disguised herself and obtained permission to pay a last visit to her “cousin” A-Nui condemned together with Xuan-Van. As soon as she was inside the prison Thu-Nguyet said to Xuan Van: “Dear sister, you are more capable than I. Your life is more useful and necessary to the rev- olution than mine. That is why I will lay down my life so that you might live in my place. * This must be. st is for the Revolution.” Xuan-Van wanted to say something but Thu- Nguyet went on: ‘ “Time is precious, we have only three minutes ta ourselves. Let us change our clothes quickly and get out as fast as you can.” After a second of excruciating silence during which a terrible moral combat was fought out in Xuan-Van’s mind, she said in a calm voice: “Be it so, it is for the Revolution.” She changed her clothes, kissed her sister and comrade and left the prison . . . to organize another illegal printing works, rea i ay ip enna gee cs Se