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a broader and more general Labor movement. The Labor World, its mouthpiece, had become a real Socialist organ.

The history of the Socialist movement of Japan is one of oppression and persecution. Started in the latter part of 1899 by a few young men in Tokyo it was at first a purely academic affair, a debating society for some intellectuals who had discovered Socialism while studying in Europe or America. The monthly meeting was held at a Unitarian Church. This changed when the Railroad Workers' Union at its annual meeting passed a resolution joining the movement for general suffrage and indorsing Socialism in its platform as the final goal of the labor movement. The debating Circle which met at the Unitarian Church was so greatly encouraged that the Socialist Party of Japan was founded by them and that in 1901 a Manifesto with the Socialist Platform was published in the May Issue of The Labor World. But this party had a rather short life. The government immediately suppressed the Socialist Party, its organ and the four non-socialistic daily papers in Tokyo which had printed the Party Manifesto. The Socialists then formed a Socialist Association and started educational work. They held regular monthly public meetings, which were always attended by hundreds and by charging an admission fee of 10 Sen they soon collected a considerable propaganda fund. During the Russo-Japanese war the Socialists conducted an energetic anti-war propaganda and increased their membership to five thousand men and women. They now published a weekly paper, distributed leaflets, pamphlets and books and held meetings all over the country. Just after the war the Socialist Party was revived and a Socialist Daily published in Tokyo. But again the government used all the means in its power to suppress the Socialist movement; fifty comrades were sent to prison, one editor after the other was arrested and jailed until after seventy days the publication of the daily newspaper ceased. Red flag demonstrations were arranged, mass meetings on public streets held despite the police prohibition and the propaganda conducted so vigorously that the government became ever more_brutal and violent in the suppression of the movement. It was only natural that the movement ceased its public activities and became once more a secret organization. The result was the world famous Anarchist trial of 1909-1910. Twentyfour Socialists and Anarchists were condemned to death; twelve of the men were hanged, all Socialist literature was confiscated, the books burned and the Party dissolved. Since then very little Socialist propaganda has been possible.

The government does now permit Socialist agitation and one or two little magazines have been published by T. Sakai

and others. But our Japanese comrades must be very careful, must treat Socialism as an academic question and must not report anything about Socialist activity in Japan and still less about Socialism in Europe or America. A Socialist School has been started in Tokyo where the pupils are taught German, English, sociology and national economy; Dr. T. Koto, a famous surgeon and physician, who learned his socialism in Germany, began a movement to treat and cure the poor for almost nothing and has had the satisfaction of seeing this movement grow to a big social movement with five branches in Tokyo, Yokohama. and Osaka. Last year the associated Socialist physicians treated 703,274 persons in spite of strong opposition from the-medical profession. It publishes a paper, edited by Socialists, which already has a circulation of several hundred thousand. This paper is not a Socialist publication in the strict sense of the word, but it interprets the events of the day in the light of the Socialist philosophy. It will soon be a focus of working class activities since the foundation of a co-operative movement is being planned in connection with it. There exists another "labor" movement in Japan-with the permission and encouragement of the government. It is the so-called Yu-ai-Kai, which is controlled by bourgeois reformers and managed by B. Zuzuki, the delegate to the American Federation of Labor convention of 1915. This organization claims a membership of several thousand. In September, 1916, the factory law will become effective. Under this law the employer is permitted to set children to work for 14 hours a day and also to employ women and children over 15 years of age in cotton factories at night.

The oppression and persecution of Socialists and class conscious unionists may be expected to continue, for the annual budget provides 270,000 Yen for the suppression of the genuine Labor movement. The government keeps a secret list of all known Socialists and has one special police inspector at every police headquarters in charge of the antiSocialist activities. This list is also sent to foreign countries, such as America, Canada, Germany and China with instructions to the vice-consuls to watch their countrymen and report as soon as one becomes active in the Socialist movement. Fusatoro Ota, a resident of Seattle, Wash., was thus suspected to be a Socialist; the Vice-Consul notified his government and was instructed to send Ota home. The Consul found a pretext to have him arrested by the United States Government and had him deported to Japan, where he now awaits trial in Yokahoma. That is a fair sample of the anti-socialist activity of the Japanese government.

CANADA.

The Government of Canada is federal, centred at Ottawa, which city is the capital of the Dominion, while the provinces have their respec, tive local Legislatures. The head of the Federal Government is the Governor-General, representing the British Crown. The Lieutenant-Governors of the several provinces are appointed by the Federal Government. The Legislatures are elected by the people of each province. The Senate (Dominion Parliament) is composed of 87 members. The House of Commons is composed of 234 members. The members of the House are elected under the several provincial franchises, in accordance with a Federal act passed in 1898. The Senators are appointed for life.

Canada with its vast territorial extent is still thinly populated, which fact alone would place it among the great agrarian nations. It is rightly called the granary of the world. The Canadian government and a number of organizations have been vigorously conducting an immigration campaign, which has attracted many thousands to its promising lands, not only from European nations, but even from the United States. This immigration has likewise encouraged the growth of industrial centers in certain parts of Canada, some of which rank to-day with the large manufacturing cities of the American continent. Yet these are only the beginnings, which are certain to become of international importance. It was inevitable that the industrial workers who came to Canada from other than the English shores should inject into Canadian politics a new element of dissatisfaction with the traditional method of supporting one or the other of the two old parties. This dissatisfaction led to the founding of Socialist organizations. In 1890, there were branches of the American Socialist Labor Party in Montreal, Toronto and Winnipeg. A short time before the split of the S. L. P. in the U. S. in 1899 a Canadian Socialist League was organized, because there was lively dissatisfaction with the methods and tactics of the S. L. P. In a short time 60 Leagues had been organized in the Province of Ontario, which were followed, two years later, by the Socialist Party of British Columbia. In 1905 all existing Socialist organizations of Canada were united in the Socialist Party of Canada. The Western Clarion became the official party organ.

The way of the Canadian Party is a stony one, for the labor unions are almost wholly followers of the old capitalist parties, who reward them by occasionally putting one or the other of the union leaders into public office. But the Party is progressing, nevertheless, as the following table will show:

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The Canadian Socialists have not yet succeeded in sending representatives to the Dominion Parliament. They did

succeed, however, in electing Comrade O'Brien in Alberta in 1909 and Comrade Rigg in Manitoba in 1915 to the provincial legislatures.

In 1911, a second Socialist Party came into existence, the Social Democratic Party of Canada which on January 1, 1915, had 230 Locals, 82 in Ontario, 46 in British Columbia, 45 in Alberta, 20 in Saskatchewan, 28 in Manitoba, 8 in Quebec and one in Nova Scotia, with a membership of 5,380, a paid secretary and two representatives, Jack Place and Parker Williams in the House of British Columbia. Three years ago the Party had several weekly and monthly papers in the English and other languages. Today only The Forward is still published; it is the official -paper of the Party. This Party joined the International in 1912, while the Socialist Party has no international connections. The latter has refused to join so long as the Labor Parties of Great Britain and Australia are admitted to the International.

In the Provincial election in Ontario in 1914 the S. D. P. polled over 6.000 votes (14 candidates) and in the municipal election in Winnipeg 2.000 votes were polled for its candidate against 2,500 for the Liberals and 3,000 for the Conservatives.

The Canadian Socialists have made heroic efforts to stem the tide of jingoism, but in vain. Nevertheless the majority of the Socialists still continue their agitation, even if the most active Socialists have been scattered far and wide.

The general Labor movement in Canada stands strongly under the influence of the American A. F. of L. This may be the reason why the Labor Party, founded by the labor unions of Canada, has progressed far more slowly than those of England and Australia. The nationalist spirit of the Canadian worker resents what is called the dictatorship of American leaders, and, therefore, opposes the pure and simple labor movement. The Labor Party has elected one representative, Mann, to the Dominion Parliament, another having been elected as Liberal-Labor member. Canada has altogether 166,163 trade unionists, 104,482 of whom are affiliated with the A. F. of L.; 23,813 belong to exclusively Canadian unions, while of the remainder some are affiliated with branches or parts of the A. F. of L., and others are entirely independent. The labor unions had in

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The decrease in membership in 1914 was caused by the war, for on December 31, 1914, 3,498 union men had already resigned to join the army, while several thousands did so without resigning from their organizations. On December 31, 1915, the number of resignations had risen to 12,411.

Among the labor laws of Canada the Lemieux Act is well known. It was passed in 1907 and is intended to prevent strikes and lockouts in mines and industries connected with public utilities. The great miners' strike in Alberta in 1906, was the immediate cause of passing this law. It provides for a board of conciliation and investigation, one member to be appointed by the employers and one by the employees, and a chairman to be appointed by the government, wherever a strike is threatened. No strike or lockout shall be declared, until this board has rendered its report. When the report has been rendered it may be accepted or declined by both sides. The purpose of this law, is clearly, to influence public opinion in favor of the compromises which are usually the result of the investigations and so to injure the cause of strikers, who do not follow the paternal advice of the Board.

LATIN AMERICA.

The government of all Latin American countries is republican and is framed more or less on the model of the United States Constitution, the executive power being in the hands of a president, while legislation is enacted by a national congress consisting of two houses. Porto Rico, however, is under the jurisdiction of the United States. It enjoys representative government under an Act of Congress, but the appointment of the execuuve is reserved to the United States Government.

Neither economic nor political conditions have hitherto favored the rise of a proletarian movement in Latin America. Even where modern industry has to some extent grown up, it has largely been owned abroad, and this exotic character of capitalism in these countries has hampered the normal development. The mass of the people are uneducated, have a low standard of living, are widely dispersed, and so lack political initiative and cohesion. Under nominally liberal republican constitutions in most of the states, a small oligarchy of landowners, merchants, and bankers has generally held power through the free use of corrupton and ́military force; and this oligarchy has in many cases made matters yet worse by selling out the economic resources and opportunities of their countries to European and American capitalists. Yet within the last two decades the Socialist and Labor movement has got some foothold.

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