— 13 —
This has soon made the Union the focus of fire from the enemy camp. Above all, when the „Rice Riot“ broke out in 1918, a number or members were arrested under the charge of seditious action, and then came the secession of timid members from the Union. In a short while, it remained sick and sore.
3. The „Yuai-kai“ and „The Shinyu-kai“.
I have described in some detail two Unions, the „Yuai-kai“ and the „Shinyu-kai“, because these Unions are to-day not only leading the whole of labour moyement, but also represent two types or tendencies of the Trade Unions.
It is not, therefore, without interest to make comparison, and to point out a few differences between them: In the first place, both differ in their origin. The Yuai-kai grew largely by effort of class reformers, from the above, for something „wider“ object, while the Shinyu-kai (of printers) was created by workers themselves in order to fulfil their own immediate necessities. Secondly, in the spiritual side, the former represented the compromising type of Union (however this is not the fact to-day), the latter the militant Unionism. Thirdly, the former was a General (Trades) Union or „One Big Union“ including several trades and industries. On the other hand, the latter was a Trade (or Industrial in the wider sense) Union of printing workers only.
In other words, the Yuai-kai was characterised by its constitution, organisation and number of membership, while the Shinyu-kai by its fighting spitit. Doubtlessly it is clear that the alliance of two Unions was absolutely necessary for the development of a proletarian revolutionary movement. And happily this was finally accomplished early in 1920.
4. General View of 1912–1917.
Strictly speaking, the working class movement as a whole was during the period in an embryo and chaotic condition both in practice and theory.
On the practical side, the Unions were left without strike fund, without benefit (except a small fund of sick benefit), without defined trade policy, and without concrete organisation. Moreover, on the spiritual side it was worse than that. Not merely the mass of workers, the Unions and their leaders lacked a clear idea of the class-struggle, a
