they have work, they spend 14 hours per day at it, for which they receive, for men 40 cents, for women 20 cents. The secretary of the Union came to us directly from work, and therefore did not show up until after 10 o'clock at night. He would begin again next morning at daybreak. He told us that the struggle with the employers at the moment was to force them to pay the 40 cents and 20 cents per day in silver instead of depreciated coppers.
Clerks in Namyung are all paid by the year. Apprentices get only "food and lodgings," the fourth year they begin at $20 per year. From that point they slowly progress upward. When we insisted upon knowing what was the very highest wage being paid to any clerk in town, we were told $150 per year. Hours, daybreak until 11 p. m.
Artisans, upon completing apprenticeship, begin to receive wages at $4 per month. The average wage is $8 per month, with "food and lodgings"; the hours are 15 per day.
From Namyung we walked over the mountains to Nananfu, a distance of 120 Chinese li (about 40 miles). Throughout this distance we constantly passed groups of carriers, loaded with great bundles, bales and boxes, transporting the commerce between two great provinces exactly as it had been done for the past two thousands years. Only the character of the commodities has begun to change—again I saw oil cans bearing the "Socony" label. The carriers are about equally men and women. We are told that they earn 30 cents per day, but can get no detailed information.
Nananfu was the first town we had visited in the newly-conquered Nationalist territory. It was the first point in Kiangsi entered by the Nationalist Armies last July when they began their triumphant march northward. Following the advancing Armies had come a sweep of trade union organization, and struggles to ameliorate the terrible conditions of labor. Everywhere it was the same tale of feverish organization activities, strikes, and a few meagre gains which, however, had tremendous significance for the workers. Above all, they realized for the first time the power of organization, for the first time
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