THE SUNDAY OREGOXTAX. POHTLA'NT, XOVTDIBEIt 15, 1903.
CHINESE MINEISS1 WILL'KQl?
BE ALLOWED TO COME
IN NATIVES ARE INFER -
I OR AS" UrDiiKC3KUAIJ
WORKERS JS)W()
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BT FRANTC G. CARPENTER.
JOHN CHIXAilAN must get out of th
Transvaal. GenerI Botha' hand
has written that decree on the Indus
trial wall of South Africa. No more
coolies are to be Imported. The first
shipment of S000 bade to China was
made, now more than a Tear ago. and
others will be exported at Intervals until
these yellow slaves, as they are called.
re eliminated from the sol den treasure
vaults of the Rand.
Trie ChLnese and the World's Gold.
This movement will affect the whole
world. It will, for a time, dam tho enor
mous 'streams of the yellow metal which
have been following out of these mines and
will cut down the gold supply of the na
tions. Within the past 20 years South
Africa has produced a billion dollars'
worth of bullion, and about half of this
has been turned out since the Boer war.
It has been mined largely by Chinese
cheap labor, and now that the Chinese
are to go the mining nabobs are in de
rpair as to getting others to take their
places.
Gold mining in the Transvaal Is a low-
fcrade proposition, and it must be carried
cn at low wages. Out of the 66 or 70
mines now on the Rand more than one-
third do not yield over t7.50 worth of
gold to the ton. and in some the yield is
still less. The quantity of ore is prac
tically inexhaustible, and the output is
limited, almost entirely, by the amount
of labor at hand. Last year It was about
JI30.000.0"0. or between one-third and
one-fourth of the whole gold supply of
the world. It could be doubled or trebled
If the Rand had the labor, and If it
4is It not tt must fall. There are more
than 60.000 Chinese here at work, and
they form the best of th unskilled labor
Xhat the Rand has ever had.
The Native Labor Supply.
But first let me tell you something
mbout the native labor of South Africa.
There are about 6.000,000 negroes In the
British possessions south of the equator,
and there are perhaps 1,000.000 more In
Portuguese East Africa over the way.
Of this, however, a large number are
comprised of old men. women and chil
dren. Tha men employed in the mines
range In age from 16 to 40. and it Is esti
mated that there are only something like
00.00 available employes In the whole
population. Moreover, the natives will
not work kingur than six months at a
time, so this cuts the constant supply
drnro to a possible 200. 000. which, even
1f It could be relied upon. Is far less than
the wants of the country.
Before tb,e Boer war there were 111.000
natives employed In the gold mines. This
number dropped to almost nothing dur
ing that struggle, and the high wages
then paid by the armies and others so
disorganised the Industry that when the
war closed and the mines again began to
work the ahortage in the labor aupply
was S0.0i0 arid mora. It was then that
the possibility of getting Chinese was
discussed, and. aa a result, the Celestials
were brought here by the shipload.
How the Chinese Came to Africa,
The Importation began In 1904. The
flnrt shipment came In July, and by the
close of that year S0.CV0 of these almond
eyed, plg-talled workmen were getting
out gold. Sines then about 80 or more
steamer loads have been brought, and
the total invasion has amounted to 60.-
000 or more. This has been decreased by
exportation and In other ways until at
1he first of last year there were about
IS.OOO. and at present there are 60.000
or less.
The cost of brLnging the Chinese was
about S- per head. They came for terms
of three years, with a possible extension
to six years, but no longerr and they
were to be paid at the start $15 a month.
It was providod that they were to live
In compounds, or walled yards, durirnt
(heir stay In South Africa, and that no
one could employ them except under li
cense. The most of them came from North
China, and more than half were shipped
from Tien-Tsin. They were brought in on
a contract between the British and Chi
nese governments, and were washed and
scrubbed, vaccinated and photographed
and medically examined before leaving.
They got two months' pay at the start,
and they were so well cared for that
very few died on the way. It was a
part of the agreement that they were
to be carried back home, and the Trans
vaal was assured that the Chinese would
not be allowed to obtain a foothold In the
land.
With the Chine a Miners.
During my stay bora 1 1 have srone
through the minea and watched these
Chinese ax work. They are far mora
Indus ti-lous than the negroes and form
a much better labor supply. While
going through the underground workings
of the Simmer and Jack, the greatest
oroducing mlna of South Africa. I was .
. S r r--
'4
i
told by Mr. Searraves, the manager,
that the Chinese will do at least one-
third more woraj than the native Afri
cans. Said be: .
"We have Increased our output that
much with 10 per cent less men, than
when we worked negroes only. It Is
only a few years since that we had 6000
native Africans. we nave now vmj
Chinese to take their places and our
product la one-third greater and the
work more satisfactory. The Chinese are
more easily, handled and are mora re
liable." Speaking of the teachability of the
Chinese as we watched them drilling the
holes for blasting and loading the ore
Mr. Seagraves said:
"Those men came to us green. Their
homes are not far from the Chinese wall,
and they probably never heard of dyna
mite until they reached here. Notwith
standing that they were doing efficient
work within two months after their ar
rival, and at the end of six months they
were equal to our best white miners at
home. To glv you an Idea of their re
liability In comparison with our ordi
nary labor supply we had to have white
overseers with every nogro gantr, and
we have thorn-still. The Chinese could
get along by themselves. I have some
thing like 6ty white men employed In
these underground workings, and I could.
If necessary, dismiss them alL"
"Is it not uncommon to get labor from
North China. I thought most of the
emigrating coolies were from the
south?"
"Tea, that Is so as a rule." replied the
mine manager. "The Chinese of the
United States come largely from Canton,
while those of the Philippines are from
about Amoy. We tried the Cantonese,
but we And them hard to handle, and.
not efficient as these men from the
north. Our Chinese are happy and con
tented. They do not smoke much opium,
and, as a general thing, they are orderly
and law-abiding. Their chief vice is
rambling. They will bet on anything.
and they spend their holidays in playing
fan-tan. Now and then we have a sui
cide from a man who has played away
all his savings. Sometimes the men hang
themselves, and others take enough
opium to cause death."
Do Not IilVe Native Miners,
"Hyw wiU you get along without the
Chinese?" I asked.
1 really do not know." was the re
ply. "Ton see. tt takes some time to
teach the native how to work, and he
will not contrast lor mora than a few
months. Half of his term is spent in
learning, and as soon as we have mads
him thoroughly efficient he wants to
leave. The negroes here will not work
more than one-third of the year, and we
cannot be sure of more than three or
four months from any of them. The
Chinese works right along year in and
year out. The native when he has four
months' wages ahead. like as not, goes
home and buys a wife, and we see hint
no more. It would take 160.000 or 300,-
Ono negroes, supposing each man worked
-only tour months, to eaual the steady
work of the Chinese, who are now .to be
shipped back home." '
In the Chinese Compounds.
During my visit to the various mines I
have gone through many of the Chinese
compounds and have watched the men
both at work and at play. They are
healthy looking fellows, taller and more
muscular than the Chinese of the
United States, and. as a rule, better clti
sens. The compounds are wailed lnclos
ures, entered only through turnstiles,
so that every man who comes in or
goes out leaves a record. Each China
man has his number, and this is taken
when he comes In. He Is paid by his
number, and by It he gets his food and
supplies. In fact, the 4000-odd Celestials
In the Simmer and Jack mine are not
known to their employers by name.
Each Individual Is only a number. He
may have been Wun Lung before he
came In, but now he Is 1876 or something
else. It Is by these that he gets his
bed. his clothes, and. strange for a
Chinese, his bath.
In the Bathrooms.
I understand that many of these Ce
lestials never had a bath until they were
stripped naked and scoured at Tien-Tsin
before they took ship for South Africa.
Since then they have enjoyed this luxury
regularly, and they now wash them
selves quite as much as the whites. The
bathroom of the Simmer and Jack must
cover about a quarter of an acre. It
is filled with gTeat tuba and vats, and
during my visit to it I saw at least 60
of these yellow-skinned men splashing
about in the water.
1 then went on to the kitchen, where
hundreds of great kettles of steaming
beef stew were ready for distribution.
Each kettle contained about' as much as
a cider barrel and the aroma was ap
petizing. There were also great pots of
rice and vegetable, the whole compris
ing the rations for about 4000 men.
As I looked tlie Chinese came in to
get their food. They marched in in reg
ular order, each being known by his
number. I saw many of them eating
and observed that they used knives and
forks. At first they would eat -with
nothing but chop-sticks. Now many
are adopting Western clothes and West
ern ways. The rations allowed each
man are one and one-half pounds of
rice, one pound of meat, one pound of
white bread and one-half pound of vege
tables per day. They drink a great
deal of tea and the managers supply
them with all the urns Juice they, will
consume.
The men sleep In bunks. In rooms about
40 feet square and 30 feet high, with
nothing but a ino roof overhead. Such
a room is supposed to accommodate 80
Chinese, although it has seldom more
than 4S.
Daily Idle of a Chinese Miner.
The dally life of one of these Chinese
may interest you. He wakes about 4
o'clock in the morning at the sound of
the bugle, and takes his place In a gang
of which is to charge of a ttse boy
who leads them Into the dining hall for
breakfast. v
He eats under the electric light, sitting
at a table. At the close of the meal a
bugle again sounds and the men march
out gang by gang. The roll la then
called and it Is ascertained Just exactly
what coolies are working, and the reason
for the absence of those who are not
in the gang. Then the bugle blows
again and the Chinese move off to the
shafts and go down underground. Each
takes a half loaf of white bread along
for hiB luncheon at midday.
As to 'the time the men stay in the
mine this depends on their skill and on
the Jobs on which they are working. If
on piecework! they can depart when they
have done a certain amount. For in
stance, the hammer boys, who drill holes
for the blasting, are supposed to make
two feet in a day, but if they can drill
that in three or four hours, they are at
liberty to return to the surface, or they
can stay and work on at the rate of
one cent per inch for all above that.
The most ever made by any one In a
day Is 78 Inches, and one of the Chinese
gangs here has art average of 54 inches
per man, which means that they make
about 56' cents per day in addition to
their board and lodging. As a rule the
men work on until 6 o'clock, when they
march back to the compound for dinner,
thus closing the day.
The New Labor Supply.
The question as to how the loss of the
Chinese is to be repaired is discussed
everywhere in the Transvaal. At pres
ent there are in the mines about 18,000
whites, 98,000 natives and in the neigh
borhood of 60,000 Chinese. The number
of mining companies employing Chinese
is over 30, and these companies produced
in 1906 more than $60,000,000 worth of gold.
They paid out in wages and salaries
something like 325,000,000, and in addi
tion considerable in the way of food sup
plies and other stores. Their dividends
were between $7,000,000 and $8,000,000.
When the Chinese have gone it is sup
posed that . their places will have been
filled by natives. There is a great preju
dice here against the Hindu, and it 1s
hardly probable that he will be imported.
As to the negro labor supply, a large
part of that now In the mines is from
Portuguese East Africa. It was brought
here by contractors, who pay the Portu
guese government $4.25 per head and
agree to give the natives good waces and
good treatment. Indeed, it is said that
before the Chinese came more than 80
per cent of the colored labor was brought
In from outside the Transvaal.
On my way down the Coast I met the
agent of a labor organization who had
been drumming British Central Africa for
labor. He had contracted for a large
number of negroes of various tribes,
whom he marched down to the port of
Chinde and there loaded them on the
steamers. Central Africa is not thickly
populated, but I am told here that about
10,000 natives can be annually brought
from there to the Rand if the proper in
ducements are offered. At present the
wages in that part of the world are about
3 or 4 cents a day, so that the 50 tents
or a dollar paid in the mines seems
riches.
Men From Rhodesia.
Another possible source of labor Is
Rhodesia. There are now many negroes
from Basutoland and Bechuanaland here.
During my stay in Rhodesia I was told
that the negroes of that country nRke
fairly good workmen, and that if rightly
superintended they will form an effi
cient labor supply. They move slowly,
but they work steadily and do not "loaf
on the Job." The ordinary working day
is about 11 hours long, and the wages
In the mines there Is $10 per month. In
cluding the cost of feed. On railroad con
struction ordinary workmen are paid $3
a month, and receive their food In addi
tion. The extension of the Cape to Cairo
railroad Is being constructed with native
labor, and I am told that these negroes
can lay track almost as fast as the best
track-laying machines of the United
States when manipulated by our white
labor. During the last stretch of the
railroad which ends at Broken Hill they
laid 5V4 miles In 11 hours, and on the
average they laid more than a mile of
track per day for something like 400
miles. In this work the rails and steel
ties were brought along on the cars aa
took the rails from the cars and carried
took the rails fro mthe cars and carried
them to the ties. About 16 men were re
quired to each rail, and the stream of
carriers went on continuously from day- ;
light to dark. I doubt not they could
do equally well in the mines.
Johannesburg, South Africa.
How Disease Germs Spread and Are Killed
Some Simple DirectUons for Protect ign Exposed Person From Contact With Deadly BacllL
BT CHARLES WILLIAMS, M. D.
THJ3 demonstration of the germs as
being the causative agent in many
of the ailments to which the human
family Is subject, has enabled scientists
to provide means . of protection in most
instances.
Tne.e measures are grouped under the
head of prophylaxis, and include quar
antine, vaccination for smallpox, anti
toxin injections for diphtheria, disinfec
tion and other protective measures.
All have witnessed the growth of the
yeast plant In starch. Under favorable
conditions, with a proper amount of heat
and moisture, the yeast plants rapidly
Increase In numbers and general mani
festations until they reach a maximum,
after which evidences of their existence
become fewer and fainter, and they rap
idly die in the very substances their own
existence has produced.
Several germs by their growth produce
a substance that limits their time of ac
tivity. These substances, because of
then- opposition to germ life, are called
anti-toxins. They manifest themselves
in typhoid fever, measles, smallpox,
diphtheria and other diseases, by inhib
iting the germ activity after a definite
period, and thus terminating the disease.
Unfortunately this is not true of the ba
cillus tuberculosis in the human body.
The object of the quarantine is gen
erally accomplished when the Infected
person Is Isolated and precautions taken
to destroy the germs thrown off by him.
In yellow fever and malaria, where the
mosquito is the carrier, it Is necessary to
screen infected persons, to prevent the
mosquitoes from becoming infected by
biting them, and In turn Infecting others
by a second hlte. Like measures are
taken for protection against the bubonic
plague where the flea is the Intermediate
host of the germ. The flea is assisted
In his migration by the rat, who may
himself be infected, or may be only a
carrier for the flea that may have be
come infected by biting another infected
rat or person.
Vaccination and dlphtheretic antl-toxln
need no defense. Disinfection in prac
tical terms means nothing more than
killing the germs. How easiest to kill
them depends on where they are found.
Those on walls, furniture and other
things not washable Are easiest killed by
formaldehyde vapors. All surfaces of
articles to be disinfected should be freely
exposed in a tightly-closed room. One
half pint of a solution of formaldehyde
is sufficient for a room 10x10x10, or 1000
cubic feet; for larger rooms use a pro
portionate amount. The solution should
be placed in a pan on a hot stove or
over an alcohol lamp, and the room left
closed for at least six hours. For per
sons afraid of the fire, one-fourth the
weight of permanganate of potash may
be added to the solution of formalde
hyde. It will be necessary to make a
rapid exit, as the gas is liberated very
rapidly. Clothing and other articles that
can be boiled should be boiled at least
15 minutes.
For the hands, body and floors, a so
lution of bichloride of mercury 1 to 7
grains to the pint, or carbolic acid one
teaspoonful to the pint, should be used
freely and vigorously as a wash. Solu
tions of mercury will corode metals.
They should be used In granite ware,
earthen or glass containers.
Three-fourths of the streptococci Infeo
tions commonly known as blood poison
might be prevented If scratches and
abrasions were well cleansed with the
carbolic solution and a cloth wet with
the same, bound on the injury shortly
after the accident.
Let us for a few minutes consider
whether it is worth while to attempt to
apply some scientific facts to some
every-day horrors. With a single germ
the Death Angel slays, in the United
States alone, each year 150,000. That
germ Is the tubercle bacilli, and the re
sult of its Invasion Is named consump
tion, or tuberculosis. The bacillus of tu
berculosis Is a red-shaped germ, about
1-10,000 of an inch in length and very
slender. They are so small that if they
were cows and the head of a pin the
pasture, a thousand of them might have
abundant range. A dozen might ride
on the small particle of dust that we so
Indifferently Inhale. An infected person
may at a single expectoration throw off
millions. A careful estimate for an or
dinary advanced case places the num
ber of bacilli at 1.000,000 dally. These ba
cilli are colorless and Invisible even with
a microscope unless stained. They are
very difficult to stain and only visible
with the higher power lenses.
The breath of a tubercular person car
ries but few If any bacilli, but the small
particles of sputum that are thrown out
in coughing are often full of them. They
are further scattered by drying and mov
ing about on particles of dust.
When inhaled, they frequently find
conditions favorable for their growth,
and manifest their success by marking
another victim for the great white
for most persons, those
white blood corpuscles that are desig
nated as phagocytes destroy the germs
that gain entrance into the lungs.
Since post-mortem examinations have
become more common, it has been
proven that many cases with a former
pulmonary tubercular Infection bear
mute evidence of the Invader.
There are tubercular Infections of
many other parts of the body, but for
the present purpose they do not need
mention.
The whole wotH was horrified at the
great loss of life during1 the Civil War;
yet the annual death loss to both the
Confederate and Union Armies was not
equal to the present annual death loss
to the gTeat white plague.
All that is done in most cases to pre
vent Its horrid repetition is to pin on a
piece of crape and fearfully wait the
next victim.
The loss in the United States in earn
ings and by expense for caring for the
sick of tuhercujosis reaches the enor
mous total of $1,250,000,000 annually.
It would take the total wages of an
army of 126,000 teachers at $600 per
year to pay 6 per cent interest on the
death loss for a single year.
No estimate Is possible of the sorrow,
and the social loss caused by the great
white plague.
In spite of the enormous loss not 1
cent has been expended by Congress to
exterminate the cause.
Millions have been spent fighting po
tato blight, beetles, tuberculosis in cat
tle, cotton weevil, and hog cholera, but
to save annually 150,000 lives, not 1
cent.
An organization of some of the ablest
persons in the United States known as
the Committee of One Hundred, with
headquarters in New Tork, are doing
much to secure influence and legisla
tion for a National Department of Pub
lic Health for the proper supervision of
all diseases.
To get rid of thistles we only need
to get rid of the seed and their source
of supply. To get rid of tuberculosis,
we need only to provide suitable sana
toria for the care of the infected and
destroy the germs from the same. Such
an expenditure by the United States
Government would save more to the
people for the amount Invested than
any appropriation save that for quar
antine. With the Department of Public
Health given prominent mention in the
platform of both parties, let us hope
that the time is not tar distant when
the annual death loss to the great
white plague of 150,000 lives shall be a
matter of history.
Let us hope for the time and hasten
the day when the air we breathe in
school and church and theater shall be
free, from this most destructive of
germs, the most powerful ally of death.
M'Minnville. Or.
. A Pair of Sheets.
Every good housewife is Interested In
the care of sheets and many of them
will like to hear a few suggestions made
by an economical and clever woman.
She says: "I never have my sheets
made with a small hem on one end.
There is always a three-inch hem on
both ends so there is not top or bottom
and the sheets were Just twice as long
as they otherwise would. It is not diffi
cult to do, for I always have my sheets
made in the house by a seamstress, so
they will be the right size. And, speak
ing of size, do you know what to do
when ready-made linen sheets are too
short for the beds?"
Of course I did not, BO she told me
that a false hem might be added, and
either fagoted or hemstlched to the one
already on the sheet. In this way the
sheet could be easily made as long as
desired and the embroidery only added to
the beauty of the sheet.
This is certainly very useful Informa
tion, for many a mother has a tall boy
who is constantly complaining that the
sheets are too short. The addition of
the false hem is quickly done and the
exra material required does not form a
very large item in the family expense
account.
for
Diana of the Il recto! re.
Chicago Evening Post.
Bring me my new felt hat, mamma.
I want to put it on
It is wider than the widest tuUs we wore
in years agone,
It is three feot wide and the brim is thick
and It has lots of weight.
And It makes me -wear three headt of hair
Just to keep it sitting straight.
My shoes? Ah. yes, I have put them on.
and the heels are good and hiKli
And they press against my tender feet till
1 feel that I must dfo;
Yet I wear them so as I come and go and
I force a pleasant smile
For one has to be In style, mamma, ons
bas to be in style.
And now my dlroctolre gown, mamma;
I've managed to don my stays;
Tou will have to slip mo Into tt, for my
arms I cannot raise,
And I'm willowy as you may see. with the
-wlllowness of atssl
It will' be tonight ere I take a bite, for
I cannot hold a meal!
And now I go for a little stro. and I go
to make a call
And I shall not sit upon a ehalr. but shall
lean against the wall.
For I can't sit down In my ntee new gown,
for I know that If I do
Til be certain to break In two, mamnta,
I'll certainly break in two!
The answer to the question: "At we a
h.,r-eatm-. nation?" is given In the fju:t
that Swift Co. sold $250,000,000 worth of
Deef IrTa Kr: Armour, 270.0VX0. and
others $2S0,0no,0O0. bringing the total te
$770,000,000 tor beef alone.