at the Wuchang wharf by about 200 delegates of the Union, their picket corps (uniformed and armed), the children's organization (uniformed and drilled), and a band of musicians belonging to the Union. With them we marched through the streets, accompanied by music and fire-crackers, to the meeting hall.
This hall proved to be an American church, which was the only building in the neighborhood large enough for the gathering. The altar had been transformed with red flags, and large pictures of Lenin, Sun Yet Sen and Karl Marx. The meeting was opened by singing "The Internationale," which was joined in lustily by men, women and children; all knew the words, and in China the tune is still a matter of secondary importance; it is the spirit that is important in singing "The Internationale," and never have I heard it sung even in Russia, with greater fervor.
The Chinese workers are great believers in the committee system. They do not leave their affairs to single individuals. Even a meeting such as this was managed by a "presiding body" of five, of whom two were women. No union meeting is opened without the approval of the presiding body by the members.
After a few hours of speech-making the meeting closed in high spirits, heightened by the merriment produced when we foreign delegates cried the slogans of the meeting in Chinese language.
After the meeting we went to the Trade Union Headquarters. This occupies a modern building, near the largest factory, set in a neat courtyard. It is thoroughly modern throughout, the offices are models of neatness, efficiency, and organization, and would be a credit to any labor union in the world. We were deeply impressed by the thoroughness with which every detail was taken care of, especially when we remembered that this Union has existed only since the occupation by the Revolutionary Army, or less than six months.
From the Union offices, we went to the largest mill, the Hankow Dee Yee Cotton Spinning and Weaving Co. This is a strictly modern plant, erected in 1919, with more than 90,000 spindles, 1,200 looms, and employing 9,700
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