d." Undoubtedly the factory life was pictured in
glowing colours by the _kemban_.

In a third factory there were more than 200 girls and only 15 men. The
proprietor and manager seemed good fellows. I was assured that it was
forbidden for men workers to enter the women's quarters, but on
entering the dormitory I came on a man and woman scuffling. The girls
of this factory and in others had running below their feet an iron
pipe which was filled with steam in cold weather. On some days in
July, the month in which I visited this factory, I noticed from the
temperature record sheet that the heat had reached 94 degrees in the
steamy spinning bays, where, unless the weather be damp, it was
impossible, because of spinning conditions, to admit fresh air. I saw
a complaint box for the workers. As in other factories, there was a
certain provision of boiled water and ample bathing accommodation. Hot
baths were taken every night in summer and every other night in
winter. Here, as elsewhere, though many of the girls were pale and
anaemic, all were clean in their persons, which is more than can be
said of all Western factory hands. Work began at 4 a.m. and went on
until 7 p.m. From 10 to 15 minutes were allowed for meals. The winter
hours were from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.

In this factory, as in others, there was a system of tallies, showing
to all the workers the ranking of the girls for payment. The standard
wage seemed to be 20 sen a day, and the average to which it was
brought by good work 30 sen. There were thirty or more girls who had
deductions from their 20 sen. Apprentices were shown as working at a
loss. Once or twice a month a story-teller came to entertain the girls
and every fortnight a teacher gave them instruction. When I asked if a
priest came I was told that "in this district the families are not so
religious, so the girls are not so pious." Two doctors visited the
factory, one of them daily. Counting all causes, 5 per cent. of the
girls returned home. The owner of the factory, a man in good physical
training and with an alert and kindly face, said the industry
succeeded in his district because the employers "exerted themselves"
and the girls "worked with the devotion of soldiers." I thought of a
motto written by the Empress, which I had seen at Ueda, "It is my wish
that the girls whose service it is to spin silk shall be always
diligent." Behind the desk of this factory proprietor hung the motto,
"Cultivate virtues and be