Civil Affairs Handbook French Indochina Section 9

8/4/2019 Civil Affairs Handbook French Indochina Section 9

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ARMY SERVICE FORCES MANUAL LJ

CIVIL AFFAIRS HANDBOOK

FRENCH INDO -CHINASECTION 9: LABOR

Dissemination of restricted matter. - The information con-tained in restricted documents and the essential characteristics of restrictedmaterial may be given to any person known to be in the service of the UnitedStates and to persons of undoubted loyalty and discretion who are cooperatingin Government work, but will not be communicated to the public or to the pressexcept by authorized military public relations agencies. (See also par. 18b,AR 380-5, 28 Sep 1942.)

HEADQUARTERS, ARMY SERVICE FORCES,

~59-- -I - C I-e II L- ~L - -- 1 II I-

a 4J

16 MAY 1944


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i 359-9Civiil Afairs

Siam . Dissemination of restricted matter. The information contained in restricted documents and the essential characteristics of restrictedmaterial may be given to any person known to be in the service of the UniteStates and to persons of undoubted loyalty and discretion who are cooperatinin Government work, but will not be communicated to th e public or to the presexcept by authorized militarypublic relations agencies. (See also par, l8bAR 380-5, 28 Sep 1912.)

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ARMRY SERVICE FORCES MANUALE

CIVIL AFFARS HANDBOa

16 MA~Y .1944EABQABTEW, B Y. SERVICE 'FORCS,


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INUMBERING SYSTEM OFABMY SERVI C1 FORCES MANUALS

ThA main subject matter of each Army Service Forces Manual is indi-cated by consecutive numbersn within the following categories;Ml - M99

M10O - M1'99M200M300M400-M500M600-1470014800-14900-

429914399144991459914699M4799M899up

Basic. and Advanced TrainingArmy Specialized Training Program and Pro-Induction Training

Civil AffairsSupply and. Transpo'rtationFi scalProcurement and ProductionAdministrationMi scellaneousEquipment, Materiel, Housing and Constructiorn

HEADQJARTERS, ABMY SERVICE FORCESWashingtof, 25, D. C. 16 May 1944.

AryService Forces Maual M43599, Lbor in French Indo-China hasbeen prepared under the supervision of the Provost Marshal General and ispublished. fo r ' the informtion and guidance of all concerned,

i .461 (21 Sep .43)JBy commnd of Lieutennt General SOM VELL;

W, D. TY ,Major General, General. taff Corps,Chief of Staff,WOFFICIAL:J. A. VIOCMajor General,Adjutant General,


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This study on Labor in French Indo-China was prepared for theMILITARY GOV3I1MENT DIVISION, OFFICE OF THE PROVOST MARSHAL GENERAL

by the

U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS, Dk ARTMAENT OF LABOR

OFFICERS USING THIS MATERIAL ARE RBQUESTE) TO MAKE SUGGESTIONS ANDCRITICISMS INDICATING THE REVISIONS OR ADDITIONS WHICH WOULD MAE THISMATRIAL MORE USEFUL FOR THEIR PURPOSES, THESE CRITICISMS SHlOU BESENT TO THE CHIEF OF THE LIAISON AND STUDIES BRANCH, MILITARY GVPUDIVISION, P , 280, MUNITI-ONS BUILDING, WASHINGTON 25, D.~C,


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l v

r se of the Civil fairs ud

The basic purposes of cii affairs offirs are(1) to assist theCommanding General b quickly establishing those orderly conditions whichwill contribute most effectively to the conduct of m ilitary operations,(2) to reduce to a minimum the hu ' suffering and the material damageresulting from disorder and (3) to create the conditions which will makeit possible for civilian agencies to funct ion sffectively.

The preparation of Civil Affairs Hndbooks is a part of the effortto carry out these responsibil i t ies as efficiently and humanely as possible,The Handbooks do not deal with plans policies (hich ill depend uponchanging and unpredictable developments),, It should be clearly understoodthat they do not imvlv an y iven officif roam of asctis ,They arerather ready reference source books containing the basic factual informationneeded for planning and policy making


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C IVIL A! AI S A1D LO Q STOPICAL O -T- -

1, Geographical and Social Background2. Government and Administration3. Legal Affairs4, Goernm~ent Finance5. Money an~d Banking6, Natural.Resouree7. Agriculture8. Industry and Commerce9. Labor

10, Public Works and titie11 Transportation Systems12, Communications13, Public Hel~th and Sanitation14, Public Safety15. Education16. Public Welf'are17, Cultural Institutions

This study on Labor in ?rench Indo-China was prepared f'or the MILITARYGOVERMENT DIVISION, OFFICE Or THE PROVOST MARSHAL Gff.L by the U.S.BURFAU OF LABOR STATISTICS, DEARTMENT OF LABOR.0


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PageIV. LABOR LEHGISLATION AND LABOR POLICIES' 38

A. Labor Administration 38B. Labor Laws and Regulations 39

1. Labor Code for Indo-China 39V. LABOR ORGANIZATIONS 49

VI. INDUSTRIAL RE1LATIONS 50A. Strikes 50B. Conciliation and Arbitration 51C. Labor Inspection 52

VII. COCIPERA.TIVES 54VIII. SOCIAL INSURA&NCE 5

A. Workmen's Compensation 54IX. SUPPLEMENT: LABOR AND INDDUSTRY UTNDER JAPANESi CON7?ROL 55X. TABLES1. Area and. lumber of Inhabitants of the Different States

of the Indo-China Union .72. Average Daily Wages in _North and South Indo-Ohina-'31, '34, '38, '37 293. Daily Wages of Native W'orkers in Different Industries

in Cochin-China - October '38 304. Average Daily Wages Paid by Coal Mining and Mdetal

Mining Companies is Tonking and Laos '31, ' 3, 1.345'63

XI. MAPS1. Prench Indo-China Vitt

XII. SELECTED LIST OP REFERENCES 59


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TONKIN

THAILAND

Ban kok.

Pnom Penh &:

SCALE100 50 0 10

KJ LOME TE 25FRENCH

INDOCHINA

vii


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ix

SUMMARY

French supremacy over the several kingdoms of Indo-China wasestablished between 1862 and 1884. The Indo-Chinese Federationor. nion was created in 1889 by a French decree which placed thecolony of Cochin-China and th e three protectorates of Annam,Tonking, and Cambodia under the authority of a Governor-General.Two years later Laos was added to the Union and th e concessionof Kwangcbowan in 1900.

Racia l ; roups .-- The popula t ion of Indo-China is very varied;physical characteristics, language, religion, th e degree ofcivilization and the mode of life vary from district to district.The three main groups of the population are the Annamites whoform much th e largest group-about 16i million--the Cambodians-about 24 m ill ion-and th e Thai numbering about 1,400,000. Thereare also various groups of mountain peoples whose social organiza-tion is extremely rudimentary and a numerical ly smal l Chineseelement-about 326,000--which is quite important, however,particularly in commerce.

Chief products and occupat ions -- In ,keeping with thetraditional French colonial policy, Indo-China was developedstrictly as an appendage to the economy of France and has long beenknown as one of the most intensively exploited colonial areas inthe world. Rice is the chief agricultural product although aconsiderable amount of corn and rubber are grown.

The country possesses valuable natural resources. Thecoal reserves, chiefly of high grade anthracite, are very large andthere are many valuable forests... Although only a limited degreeof industrial development was possible-under a French administrationthat was strongly opposed to any attempt by French, as well asnative or Chinese capital, to develop secondary industries, therehad been some industrial development particularly after the depressionof th e 1930's..

Alo2yment and unemployment .- French Indo-China had apopulation in 1936 of approximately 23,030,000, including 42,260Europeans and assimilated persons and 326,000 Chinese. The peasantsnumbering more than 18 million depended for their meager livelhoodprincipally on rice growing an d handicraft industries. About1,350,000 persons were dependent upon traditional handicraftindustries, while a very large proportion of the farming populationwas forced to seek some supplementary income from handicrafts.The wage-earning group was very small1 numbering only about 220,000.


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In general, the masses in Indo- ka live in the greatest poverty.The farmer lives off his land and at best he can merely satisfy hisimmediate needs. He is faced with starvation if the harvest ispoor, or if any unexpected event such as illness or accidentinvolves him in unforeseen expenditure, his only alternativebeing to supplement his income by some handicraft industry or byrecourse to the money lenders,

a jsnd hors of labor,--In general, wages are made upof cash wages and payment in kind; rice, or rice and living'quarters- requently being supplied to industrial and commercialemployees as well as agricultural workers. Wages are somewhathigher in the southern part.of the country because of thescarcity of labor as compared with the overpopulated Tonking delta,but at best they are very low,

In 1937, the average daily wage of-skilled workers in theNorth was 0.63 piaster, of male laborers, 0.29 piaster, andof female laborers, 0.19 piaster, In the South the average was1.17 piasters, 0,61 piaster, and 0,4 piaster, respectively,The piaster which was equivalent to 10 French francs was worthabout 39 cents in United States curency at tnat time' o thatdaily wages 'ofmale workers ranged from about 11.to 24 cents inthe North and from 25 to 4+6 cents in the South. The averagefor female workers was from 7 to 16 cents.

The 10-hour day and 60-hour week prevailed in Indo-Chinauntil the enactment of th e French law in October 1936 whichprovided for a progressive reduction in hours to S per day as:, f January 1, 1938. After war broke out in Europe hours inFrance were increased to 60 per week and 10 per day and thislegislation was applied in Indo-China by local orders,

Labor administration.--General supervision of labor wasplaced under the General Labor Inspectorate established in 1927.The duties of the head of this office included coordination ofth e measures for the regulation of labor, conditions ofemployment, and of savings and social welfare; control of the move-ment of labor; inspection of the different services and agriculturalundertakings in which labor is employed- and the carrying outof necessary inquiries. In 1932, the General Labor Inspectoratebecame th e first Bureau of the Department of Economic andAdministrative Affairs, and, therefore, ceased to be an independentorganization.

O~g~;~i~~31


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Industrial relations.--There. as been little opportunity fora trade-union movement to develop in Indo-China, principallybecause the formation of a wage-earning class has been very recentand forms only a very small part of the population and alsobecause the French Acts granting freedom of association were notextended to Indo-China and the right to strike was closely limitedby the system of penal sanctions. In spite of these restrictionsthere wa, prior to Japanese control, a movement toward solidarityamong the workers which was expressed by collective work stoppagesin 1936 and 1937. These affected a fairly large number of persons.Conciliation boards were established in 1930. These were madeup of French and native employers and workers but they were notvery effective and were reorganized and strengthened in 1937.

Cooperation.--There was no general cooperative movement inIndo-China but prior to Japanese control there had been someattempt at organizing cooperative credit facilities. Cooperativeproducing societies were attempting to improve agriculturalproducts and a propaganda section had been set up by thecooperative agricultural office to promote cooperation among thepeasants.

Social insurance.--The only system of social insurance knownto be in effect in Indo-China was workmen's accident compensationintroduced in 1934 for Europeans and in 1936 for natives. Thelaw provided for compensation in case of accident to workersemployed in industrial, commercial, and agricultural and forestryundertakings, whether public or private. Benefits, paid by theemployer, re payable for incapacity lasting more than four days.

Conditions under Japanese domination.--After the collapse ofFrance in June 1940 the Japanese by successive encroachments andthrough agreements concluded with the Vichy Government secureda wide measure of control over the material resources of the countryand over the people. The Annamites, the predominant raceboth in numbers and ability, were reduced virtually to theposition of slaves who must work for the establishment ofJapanese control over Asia. -In the latter part of 1941 anAmbassador-at-large appointed by the Japanese was charged withcoordinating all Japanese military, economic, political, andcultural activity in the colony. It was apparent that Japan'sintention in this'appointment was to convert Indo-China into avirtual colony of the Japanese Empire. A Japanese mission chargedwith the investigation of Indo-China's natural resources hadbeen dispatched previously and private Japanese interests werereported to be acquiring large tracts of land suitable for thecultivation of rice, rubber, and cotton.


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Recent reports indicate that the French Governor-General whohad apparently been an active collaborator with the Japanese, wasengaged in, propaganda battle with the Japanese for th e support'of native, -particularly Annamite, groups in a campaign topreserve the pre-war status of Vichy France as protector of theFederation. One of the measures taken by th e government to secureth e cooperation of th e Annamites was the removal of restrictionson holding - important adninistrative posts by natives and th eappointment of two Annamites to higher government positions, whileother measures taken by th e Governor-General included increasededucat ional opportunities, improved housing condi t ions in the largercities, and increased and improved medical and health facilities.


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French Ind aincludes the Colony-of Coohi-hina, theprotectorates of , bda. To j, and Laos, and th eterritory of Kwangchowan. n the coast of the peninsula leased fromth e Chinese Government in 198 under a 99-year lease. The Frenchoccupation of the c ountry began in 1862 when the KiLng of nmamaceded Cochin-China to France French intervention in th e affairsof Annam,, aiich began as early .as 1787, culminated in a treatysigned in 1884E by wich a French protectorate was establishedover that section of th e country. The protectorate of Cambodiawas established in 1863, that of Touin in 18814, and the Laosterritory in 1893. The Inid ese Federation or Union was created.in 1887 by a decree placing t colony of Cohin-China and t hethree protectorates of ., To g, and bodia under theauthority of a Governor General. Two years later Laos Joined theUnion and th e concession of K angchowan was added to th e Unionin 1900.

The French position had been won by successive encroachmentson th e local, kingdoms. As these kingdoms had previously acknowledgedChinese suzerainty thefr occupation had ventually led in 1884-5to war with' China which ended with China's defeat. In 1893, more--over, France had wrested from Thailand extensive areas lying alongth e Mekong River in th e west and incorporated them in ndoChina.

Practically th e whole of Cochin hina, the center of Cambodia*,th e coastal. plains of th e center and north of Annam, and the wholeof lower Tonking are unrelievedly flat' never rising to more than a.few :meters above sea level. These low-lying districts are the' ziewhere th e soil has been cultivated to the best advantage and whereth e population has become more dense and more civilized. The restof th e country, constituting th e greater part of Indo-China,is split up by mountain ranges and by rivers with many rapids whichkeep the different parts in comparative isolation. Indo-Chinais a tropical country with a warm moist climate, but its area is 'solarge and th e variety of alt i tudes so great that it has a widerange of temperatures.

%;


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In keeping with traditioal French colonial policy, Iudop-Chinwas developed 'strictlyasa appendage to the economy of France, an dhas long been known as one of the most extensively exploited colonialareas in th e world, The colony forms part of the region known asthe 'rice granay of th e Orient." French -capital. investmentin the colony was concerned with the production of agriculturaland mineral raw materials and ruled ou t th e develoment of any-local industries which might in any way compete with th e productsof French manufacturers. As a result the great majority ofIndo-China'a. population remained in a state of extreme poverty,dependent fo r their meager livelihood on rice growing and handicraft,industries, th e only market for imported manufactures being providedby th e European residents, the wealthy Chinese, th e small groupof Europeanized natives.

In spite of ,the,opposition to the development of modern machine,manufacturing, a number of industries have developed in recentyears, several of them introducing etern meohanical techques forthe processing of certa.in agricutural products~ Coa ming 'whichhas been concentrated mainly in the hads of two large corni~es iscarried on in these companies with modern equipmnt althog theuse of machines in minin the coal had only just begun before thewar broke out.

A umber. of mechanized rice .mills were established as well assugar refineries, and factories for the distillation of rice liquorsand some of the by-products such as industrial alcohol., ricevegar,. glucose, and rice flour. Several large textile mlsand a few large Western-style silk mills manufacture textiles forthe local market, care having been taken to see that the productsdid not compete with fabrics which could be imported fro France.

Another important group of modern inustries which have beenable to develop in Indo-China, in spite of the opposition of theMetropolis to colonial industrialization, incl.des those whch havegrown up in response to the demanud for bidi materials" createdby the growth of great modern comunties. The most iprtantof these is the manufacture of cement. Mnother inutry whichdvlpdaareutothgrthothciis tewsestablishment.f electric power plants. The larger sities areelectrically lighted, and served by electric 'street riwhile the demand for, electric power for industrial pupses isconsiderable,


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- 3 -The forest resources of the colony provide the basis for industrial

enterprises catering mainly to the local market and not competitive withimports from France. These include sawmills which are scattered over thecountry (often owned and operated by Chinese, especially in the South),match factories, and paper mills. Other industries based on the existenceof plentiful supplies of local raw materials include the manufacture ofoils and soaps from such raw materials as copra, cotton-seed, kapokseed, palm seeds, etc. This type of manufacture has remained pre-dominantly in native hands, although there are a few modern French-owned establishments and one Sino-Annamite concern operating a modernsoap factory at Cholon. Manufacture of matting from locally grownfibers has been left mainly to native craftsmen, but several modernmatting factories have been established in recent years in Tonking.One industry which developed rapidly in the 1930's is the manufactureof cigarettes and package tobacco.

Although only a limited degree of industrial development waspossible under a French administration that was strongly opposedto any attempt by French, as well as by native or Chinese capital,to develop secondary industries there was an increasing recogni-tion in France after the world depression that some form ofindustrialization program was essential for the solution of theacute problem of unemployment in the densely populated delta regions.Also, it was argued that such a program would raise the purchasing powerof the Indo-Chinese people and thereby enable them to buy more Frenchgoods. French manufacturing interests, however, maintained that themarkets for the proposed new industries would not be sufficiently largeto justify the capital investment required and that industrializationwould increase rather than lessen unemployment by wiping out nativehandicraft industries.

By 1938, the French Government had slightly modified its attitudetoward industrialization in Indo-China, to the extent of approving aprogram for the economic development of the colonial empire formulatedby the Minister of Colonies, but, as finally adopted, the plan forIndo-China was an extremely limited one; proposals for expanding thelocal production of the colony's four major imports-metals, machinery,textiles, and chemicals-being ruled out. Official encouragement wasgiven only to the expansion of existing light industries such as paper,cigarette, silk, cement, and glass manufacture, and to the initiationof industries producing silk thread, jute bags for rice exports, andrubber tires, and to the encouragement of native handicraft industrieswhich were officially described as "one of the best methods of combattingthe rural pauperism resulting from over population."

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B. CHIEF PRODUCTS AND OCCUPATIONS

The most important agricultural crop, as already stated, isrice. The area under cultivation had grown from about 9 millionacres when the French came to nearly 14 million acres in 1937,Indo-China'having become the third rice-growing country in theworld. The total production in that year was 6,310,000 metrictons. The area under corn had grown from about 25,000 acres in-1900 to over 1,200,000 acres in 1937 as a result of theefforts of the French Government to ward off the dangers whichwould develop from dependence on a single crop, and the nativecrops of tapioca, soy beans, and sweet potatoes also had a remark-able development. One important step toward diversification wastaken when rubber planting was established, production havingrisen from 35 tons in 1911 to 50,000 tons in 1936. In 1937,127,200 heetares (314,300 acres) were under cultivation. At thebeginning of the century no pepper, tea, kapok, or cotton wasgrown but before the war they amounted to 10 percent of the totaltrade of Indo-China. Other agricultural products produced inthe different areas include copra, cotton,silk, jute, ramie andhemp, various cereals, indigo, sugar cane, tea, coffee, andfruits. There was also a considerable development of lumberingbefore the war and of the fishing trade.

The country possesses valuable natural resources. The coalreserves, chiefly of high grade anthracite, have been estimated tototal 20 billion tons. There are substantial tin deposits inTonking and Laos, and smaller amounts of iron, tungsten, manganese,antimony, zinc, and lead. The mineral resources of Tonkingwere known and worked by primitive methods by the Annamites andChinese for centuries before the coming of the French. The earlyyears of the French occupation saw the investment of large sums,first in the search for deposits,and then in their development.However, coal has always held the dominant position in Indo-Chinese mining and the exploitation of the other mineral resourcesof the country has been carried out on a relatively small scale.In 1937 coal production amounted to 2,265,000 tons of which morethan half was exported. The production of zinc, first undertakenby Europeans in 1905, has fluctuated markedly without everattaining very great proportions. Since 1928 tin has become muchmore important to Indo-Chinese economy, comprising 29.5 percentof the colony's mineral production in 1937 when zinc had fallenoff to only 2 percent. None of the other mineral deposits have beenexploited on any considerable scale, with the exception of tungsten,lead, and silver produced as by-products in the refining of zinc andtin ores,


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-5-Mining ranks-with agriculture as a legitimate colonial activity,

even among those who oppose industrial development in colonialareas, and there is thus nothing surprising in the fact that somuch French capital and enterprise in Indo-China should have beenapplied in the exploitation of the country's very considerablemineral wealth.

Indo-China is divided into three main economic areas:- (1)The territory tributary to Saigon (Cochin-China, Camboda., SouthernLaos, and Axinam south of Cape Varella), which apart from thefisheries on the coast and the interior lakes, is almost entirelyagricultural, being one of the great rice regions of the world.(2) The region tributary to Haiphong (Tonkng and the threenorthern districts of Annam) which is devoted to agriculture,mining, and manufacture. (3) Central Annam (the region betweenPorte d' anem and Cape Varella), with Tourane as the principalport, which is mainly agricultural but is not a great rice-growingdistrict.' High mountain ranges in the north provide valuabletropical hardwoods, bamboo, lacs, herbs, and essential oils.Fising is a secondary but important native occupation, as fishforms a major article of diet, while a considerable surplus isoxported to neighboring areas.

The principal articles produced in Cochin-China, in additionto rice which is the chief culture, are sugar cane, tobacco,coffee,'rubber, conts, betel nuts, pepper, oranges, bananas,sweet potatoes, cotton, pineapples. There are many farm animalsand river and coast fishing is actively,carried on. Saigon andCholon have 'a number of rice mills, sawmills, soap factories, avarnish factory, several rubber factories, fruit preserving factories,and 2 cigarette factories.

In Annam, rice is the most important product. Others arecotton, corn and other cereals, the areca nut, mulberry, cinnamon,tobacco, sugar, betel, tapioca, bamboo; excellent timber abounds,also rubber, cardamoms, coffee, dye and medicinal plants, andraw silk is produced. Cattle rearing is of some importance.Minerals..found in the protectorate are gold, copper, zinc, coal,and iron ore.

Only a part of th e soil is under cultivation in.Cambodia owingto shortage of labor although th e soil is fertile. The chiefproduct is rice, Among the other products are tobacco, ' kapok,cotton, pepper, corn , palm sugar, rubber and silk. Cattle breedingis a flourishing native industry. Other native industries areweaving of silk and cotton, pottery, and making of rush mats.There is a cotton-ginning mill and rice mills at Phn6 n-Penh and asilk factory at Kampot. Valuable forests cover about 20 millionacres and phosphate, which is not worked extensively, s the principalmineral, There are also precious stones and jet workings.


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Rice is also the principal product in Tonking while otherproducts are corn, arrow-root, sugar cante', coffee, tea, tobacco,and various fruits. A large quantity of raw silk is produced,most of which is used in native weaving. There are rich limestonequarries and hard coal beds, and calamine ard tin mines.

The soil is fertile 'in the Laos territory, producing rice,cotton, indigo, tobacco, benzoin, cardamom, fruits, and teakforests. Gold, tin, lead, and precious stones are also mined.

Of the 221,052 wage-paid workers reported by the General LaborInspectorate in 1929 there were 81,188 (70,323 males and 10,865females) employed in agricultural undertakings, 86,624 in,commercial or industrial undertakings, and 53,240 in miningestablishments.

C. DISTRIBUTION OF THE POPULATION

French Indo-China has an area of about 740,400 squarekilometers and a population in 1936 of approximately 23,030,000including 42,260 Europeans and assimilated persons, 22,655,000natives, 326,000 Chinese, and 5,400 Indians and other Asiatics.In 1937, the Europeans and naturalized persons numbered 38,880of whom 23,903 were males and 14,977 females. In additionthere were'3,465 'foreigners of whom 231 were Japanese, 138British, 94 Americans, and 3,002 other nationalities.

Tonking and Cochin-China are the most densely populated areas,averaging 75 and 71 inhabitants per square kilometer, respectively;,while the average in Annaza is 38, in Cambodia, 17, and in Laos, 4.However, certain areas particularly North Anam and the Tonkingdelta are greatly overcrowded. In the delta lands of Tonking thenumber of inhabitants exceeds 500 per square kilometer.

The area and population of' the Colony of Cochin-China and th efour protectorates oI Annam, Cambodia, Tonking, and Laos areshown in the; foiowing table, by principal racial groups.


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!.able No iArea and Number of Inhabitants of the Different States of they Indo-Chinese Union, 1936

States Area Re ional distribition(square Europeans Indians andkilometers) and Natives Chinese other Totalassimilated ~/Asiaties.AnnamCambodiaCochin-ChinaLaosTondking

147,6001100064,700

231,400115,700

4,9852,265

15,49538

19,023

5,640,0002,935,0004,*427,000O1,008,0008,645,000

11,000106,000171,000

3,00035,00

2002,8001,700

200500

5,656,0003,046,0004,616,0001,012,0008,700,000

Total 740,40 42,260 22,655,000 326,000 5,400 23,030,000

j/Includes old French.colonists, mixed Europeans, naturalized natives, Japanese,,10,574 Europeans in the Army and Navy.and' Filipinos;

aS


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The two largest towns of Cochin-China are Saigon and Cholon;eu is capital of Annam; the chief towns of Cambodia are, PhnSm-Penh,the capital, and Battambang; Hanoi and Haiphong are the principal townsof Tonking; Vientiane is the capital of the Laos territory; and Tch~kam(entirely Chinese) is the commercial center in Kwangchowan andFort Bayard is the seat of the local administration.

D. RACIAL ELEMENTS

1. ti;%

The population of Indo-China is very varied; physicalcharacteristics, language, religion, the degree of civilization,and the mode of life vary from district to district. The lack ofunity is largely accounted for by the topography of the country whichpresents a striking contrast between lowlands and highlands, Thelack of any easy means of communication between the mountainous sectionsand the lowlands has had the result that every part of Indo-China livesmore or less its own life, and local interests are of much more imporancethan the general interest.

The three main groups of the population are th e Annamites whoform much th e largest group-about 161 m ill ion-the Cambodians--about22 million-and th e Thai who are Mongoians, originally coming fromChina, and numbering about 1,400,000.

The Annamites occupy the plains of Tonking, Annam, and Cochin-China along the eastern seaboard. They are the most intelligentelement of the population of the Indo-Chinese Union and still bearthe impress of Chinese civilization, their territory having beenoccupied by the Chinese for a thousand years, although they have notlost their ethnic characteristics and their language. The Cambodians,like the Annamites are not a pure race but are a product of Indiancivilization. They inhabit the whole of modern Cambodia, and thewestern province of Cochin-China. The Thai came from China andformed various groups including the Laotians. They are th e predominant .group in Upper Tonking. The mountain peoples o f Tonking and UpperLaos fall into four groups--the Man, the Meo, the Lob, and the Muong--whose social organizat ion is extremely rudimentary, and the highlandersof the Annan Range are a group of primitive peoples whose political organi-zation has not progressed beyond the clan stage. They are estimatedto number between 400,000 and 600,000. In addition there is anumerically small Chinese element-about 400,000--which plays animportant part, however, particularly in commerce.


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2. The Chinese

The earliest authentic record of Chinese immigration intoIndo-China dates back to the end of the 17th century.

There was a constant stream of Chinese immigration between theports of China and Annam for a great many years. In most cases theseimmigrants arrived in groups and then proceeded to spread throughthe towns and district markets, to which they were attracted by thegrowing trade. The Chinese showed remarkable aptitudes for tradingand money lending, and these characteristics,which contrasted sharplywith the carelessness and simplicity of the Annamite in money matters,made it all the more easy for them to do business. Before the arrivalof the French in Indo-China, they had established a hold over thewhole country, owing both to their capacities and to the favor withwhich they were received and treated. They received the same civilrights as the Annamites and were entirely free to acquire and disposeof property and to carry on business.

The Annamite Government, moved by political reasons and the desireto facilitate its administration, grouped the Chinese in communitiesor "bangs" under the orders of chiefs who were responsible for keepingorder and paying taxes.

The largest number of immigrants settled in Cochin-China whereconditions for the development of trade were favorable and in Cambodia.In Annam the Chinese formed a floating population but in Cambodiawhere they were permanent settlers they devoted themselves toagriculture or fishing, the two main trades of the country. They hadthe same civil rights as the natives and the laws of Cambodia appliedto them in all respects.

In Annam, where the Chinese had intermarried with the Annamites,the children of these marriages who were first considered as Chinesewere treated as Annamite subjects from 1829 onwards, although theywere grouped in separate communities in each province. They weregiven the same political rights as the Annamites and were allowed tohold office in the kingdom, a right which had not previously beenaccorded them.

The Chinese were quick to take advantage of the Annamite'sperpetual need for credit facilities. They lent money at 60 percentper annum and took over the rice crops of defaulting debtors. They soonhad a monopoly of the salt, alcohol, and opium markets and almosta monopoly of the export trade in rice. By entangling the Annamitepopulation in an inextricable state of indebtedness, they soonsucceeded in capturing practically the entire trade of the country.

a*M||-B-


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- 10 -The French occupation did not change this state of affairs to any

appreciable extent. The Chinese, firmly established in the country formany years and speaking the Annamite language, seemed in many respectsto provide a useful link between the victors and the vanquished.They thus became the caterers to the French army of occupation, andthe French Administration even farmed out indirect taxation to them.The framework of the communities (the former "bangs") was retained bythe French, as this system had the advantage of simplifying therelations of the authorities with the Chinese. Even up to the war thecommunity constituted the basis of Chinese settlement in Indo-China.The community system was intended to make up for the lack of charitableand mutual associations on which the immigrant was-accustomed to relyin China and various forms of assistance were provided for thesemembers of the community.

The community system was officially recognized and regulated byan order issued by the Governor-General in Cochin-China in October1906. Similar regulations were issued in Tonking in 1913, n Cambodiain 1919, and in Annam in 1928. In general, these orders establishedthe regulations governing immigration, and the method of electingchiefs, as well as the latters' functions. They also imposed apoll tax on the Chinese, which has been protested by the Chinese butih 1920 a similar tax was imposed on Europeans in Indo-China, in lieuof the personal tax. Moral satisfaction regarding the tax was giventhe Chinese by orders issued in 1935 which stated that the poll taximposed on them would be called the "poll tax on aliens granted a privi-leged status."

During the first of the French occupation, the administrativeauthorities were inclined to consider Chinese immigrants as a possiblesupply of labor to be used to make up any local shortage of workers;but it was soon found that as soon as they had saved a little moneythe Chinese set up as traders--a change which was made easy for themby the spirit of mutual assistance reigning in their communities.It is as traders and commercial go-betweens, therefore, that theChinese have played an important part in the economic history ofIndo-China.

There are differing opinions as to the influence of the Chinesein Indo-China, their hold on the commerce of the colony being consideredby some as a danger because so much of the profits on business wasreturned to China, while others considered that although the Chinesemade money their economic activities also increased the wealth of theColony.

14RRRIR


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A Franco-Chinese Treaty of 1930, effective in August 1935 guaranteedte Chinese in Indo-China treatment at least equal to the most favored

nation here. As a result they were entitled to the same rights inthe ..aw courts as the British or Americans. This placed them in a morefavor'ble position than the Annaites particularly in regard to laborlegislation. The community system was strengthened by an order of theGovernor-General of December 1935 which recognized the communities as in-corporated institutions, a right which haid not previously been conferredon them.

E. LAND 0 SIP AND CUSTOMS

The system' of property ownership in te te countries resultsfrom the . organization of the commune and the family. In theory th eEmperor owns all th e land. He transfers possession of the land tothose who cultivate it and-pay the land tax, but the land may betaken back if it is left uncultivated for a long time and th e taxceases to be paid. In practice, however, this r ight was rarelyexercised during the last century and the person who works the landhas the right to uase, sell, and bequea h it, The village communiHty, .whioh is the basic ad tistrative unit of the country,, is a verystrong corporative body and owns part of the land constituting itsterritory. The communal land, aside from the land used for pagodas,is distributed in equal shares and according to their qualificationsto each member of the collective association which forms the village.The land which does not form part of the property of the villageis divided among the registered hbers of the community and eachhead of a family possesses authority and prerogatives in his ownfamily but is limited as regards the administration of his propertyby restrictions ar to those applying to communal lnd,. Hemay not dispose of the family pagoda (huong hoa) which is devoted toancestor worship and is left to the eldest son. The remainder ofthe land is divided equally among all the male children, Thefact that the registered members of the community are obliged toperpetuate the worship of their ancestors and to care for their.tombs makes it very difficult to acquire land 1n prosperouscommunities. The head of a family who becomes insolvent and isdispossessed of his land prefers to remain there as a share farmeror in some other capacity rather than to. emigrate to some morefertile district. In order to remain in his t radit ional home he isprepared to accept all the exactions of money-lenders and of otherextortioners.


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Those those names ,are not on the village register do not possessany l&.nd of their own. They merely have the right to use their shareof the village land whic is distributed every three years . Thesepersons and any strangers ctstitute a floating population from whichare recruited the craftsmen the workers for industry and public works,and some of the agricultural workers for th e concessions.

F. INDEPENDENT WO1RKERS

1. Hand icraftsmen

Before the French occupation the craftsman played an essentialpart in the Indo-Chinese communities. The communities were pre-dominantly agricultural, and then, as now, the cultivation of ricevas the basic economic 'activity of> th e country. As there was very

little division of labor, and the requirements of the inhabitantswere few and easily satisfied, every peasant was at the same time,to some extent, a craftsman. He could make all that he requiredfor his personal needs, A ll the work was done in accordance withreligious rites, and the technique was so simple that a very shortperiod of training was sufficient.

In addition to these rural craftsmen, however, there was a bodyof more definitely specialized craftsmen, whose existence was due tothe need for greater technical skill or the localization of the rawMaterials in particular geographical areas. These craftsmenproduced such articles as parasols, coffins, hammocks, pot tery,tools, etc

Another group of skilled craftsmen, of higher but equally ancientstanding, and equally bound by tradition, existed in several townswhere their work was closely connected with certain religious orsocial activities It was the artistic industries, particularlyflourishing in Cambodia, which were carried on by these craftsmenwho were either monks or retainers of the aristocracy.


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- 13 -

The set t lement of French colonists in Indo-China had practicallyno influence on the life 'of th e rural inhabitants, who continued torely on their home industries for their household needs and clothing.The survival of th e t radi t ional handicraft industries must be viewed,therefore, as th e result primarily of their suitability to localneeds and the inability of the masses of the population, especiallyin rural area.s, to afford the substitutes for native wares offeredby oversea industry. There has been a good deal of industrialspecialization, principally in the deltas of the north, where it wasencouraged by the excessively dense population. Most of thesecraftsmen own land, which they cultivate themselves so that theirindustrial work is considered as temporary work and as soon as theycan acquire enough land they devote themselves,entirely to agriculture.

In the celta regions of the north the preparation of certainfoodstuffs was found, according to a study made in 1939, to rankfirst among the rural industries so far as th e number of personsemployed was concerned Under this category dame such operationsas the husking and polishing of rice, the making of rice cakes andpastries, of cheeses and starches, oils and molasses, and thedistillation of spirits,

The textile industries were the next most important of the ruralindustries in terms of the number of persons employed, and evenmore important than the foodstuffs industry in terms of the value ofcommercial production. In the Thanh-Hoa villages local, cottonfiber is spun, and over a wide region coarse but serviceable fabricsare woven, very largely by women, for the use of the peasants.Silk weaving from local raw materials is practised and lace workand embroidery th e manufacture of apparel, th e making of fishingnets, ha ocks, ropes and twines from local fibers such as jute andramie are other importan local industries. In other villagesbamboo, palm leaves, rushes and certain vines are plaited to makea wide variety of articles such as mats, hats, baskets, fish-traps,and raincoats.

Ever? village has one or more carpenters and cabinetmakers and there are also groupa of specialized workers in stone andmetal and wood, masons, builders and. maskers of furniture and toolswho move from place to place doing more specialized work. Occasionally,a whole village will be found to specialize in one type of productionsuch as iron, brass or copper work or in the making of pottery. Theseare the principal traditional industries of the northern delta areas-ndustries employing large numbers of workers--though there are inddition many more specialized crafts employing smaller numbers of

persons. Among such minor industries are the making of jewelry,!certain types of papers, fans, religious objects, etc.


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-s14-m

In general th e t radi t ional industries of the delta districts ofnorthern Annam and Tonking are similar to those found in other partsof Indo-China, though village specialization is less intense and asa rule handicrafts occupy a less important place in the life of villagecommunities in regions where population is less densely concentrated.A wide-variety of t radi t ional industries is also found in CochinChina and Cambodia, although in these regions the abuxdance of landan d the relatively, better economic status of the farmers makes thesupplementing of rural incomes through handicraft work less necessary.The weaving of cotton cloth is important in the region south ofSaigon while silk weaving, the plaiting of reeds and palm leaves intobaskets, mats, and numerous other articles are carried on in otherCochin-China communities. Certain districts around Saigon are famousfor their furniture makers, metal workers, and potters, while inCambodia there are a number of important metal-working centers.Over the greater part of Cambodia, however, and among the mountainpeoples of Laos, purely domestic industry predominates, each family,or at least each village, supplying its own simple requirements of"manufactured" goods.

It was estimated in 1938 that approximately 1,350,000 personswere completely dependent upon traditional handicraft industries fortheir livelihood while a very large proportion of the farming popula-tion was compelled to seek some supplementary income from householdor handicraft industries.

The French authorities except in rare instances had done nothingto improve the conditions of the rural craftsmen but a circularissued in-May 1939 provided for the organization of traveling teachingstaffs o improve indigenous handicrafts on the spot and loans forhandicrafts were under consideration. A "Supervisory Council forAnnamite Arts" was set up in Hanoi by an order of September 1939.

Early in 1939 an "Office Indochinois dui Credit Artisanal"'was established "to support existing handicraft industry andpromote its development wherever possible by means of advtances,"in order to free the native handicraft workers from their dependenceon usurers. Native workers were also to be encouraged to formcooperatives to organize the marketing of their products and assistin the development of improved techniques.


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15-

2. The PeasantsThe importance of the peasants in Indo-China will be understood

when it is remembered that th e economic system of the country isgoverned by the production of rice, which is still almost entirelyin the hands of the indigenous inhabitants, In Tonking rice growingcovers practically the whole agricultural area of the delta in therainy seasons and from 60 to 70 percent in dry seasons, In otherStates of the Union it is by far the most important indigenous crop,About four-fifths of the rice produced is used by the inhabitants andthe reminder, constitutes the main export product of the country.The preponderance of agriculture is shown by th e fact that up to1938 only about 220,000 -wage earners were employed in coimercial andindustrial undertakings while more than 18 million persons were engagedin agriculture,

Under th e influence of 'French penetration and recent economicevolution, th e existing agrarian system varies considerably froin thenorth to th e south of Indo-China, as regards both the distributionof land and the methods of cultivation, Owing to the Annamite systemof dividing property among th e children the holdings in th e deltasof Tonking and Annam have become very small. In Cochin-China on the,other hand there is a preponderance of very large holdings, 45percent of the rice fields forming estates of from 50 to severalthousand hectares. /In Cambodia th e family holding is the rule,and in the Laos an d Mois districts,. which are sparsely populatedand where there is an abundance of unoccupied land, rules of land tenureare much less strict,

Thus, agriculture in Indo-China has gradually evolved,, bydifferent methods in different districts, to a position where thereare two very distinct elements: on the one hand the large andmedium-sued landowners- mites or French--who exercise theirinfluence through the mandarins, the local councils and chambers ofagriculture, etc., their associations, and the credit system;on the other hand the working msses; smilholders, tenant-farmers,share-farmers, and wage earners, all more or less subject to th eother group.

j 1 hectare 2.471 acres,


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-. 16 40

In general, the masses of Indo-Chim live in th e greatest poverty.The farmer lives on his land .nd that is all he can hope to do; atbest he can merely satisfy his most immediate needs. He is faced,with the problem of starvation if the harvest is poor or if anyunexpected event, such as illness or accident, involves him inunforeseen expenditure. This is true in all sections of the countrybut it is in the teeming deltas of the north that life is mostdifficult. Many families find it difficult -,to live tbrough theperiod from one harvest to the next, The average quantity of riceconsumed by the Annamites in these deltas is estimated at 95 kilogramsa year which is far from adequate.. Many small landowners possess inaddition .to their tiny field and their rudimentary hut, only a fewrougei tools, a pig and some hens, worth a few piasters in all; mostof them have no draft animals and cannot afford to hire any. Themoneylenders do a flourishing t rade among these masses--high ratesof interest are,,charged and the interest which is paid in the formof a fraction of the harvest still further reduces their assets.If th e yield-is insufficient th e land itself provides security forthe claim.

Measures which were taken n later years to improve the lot ofthe Indo-Chinese peasants by the French authorities, but with in-complete success, were improvement of the condi t ions of land tenure ,increasing th e productivity of th e soil by dredging and th e constructionof dikes and irrigation systems, and the organization of agriculturalcredit at moderate rates,

An attempt was made by the Government of the Colony to establishindividual land ownership on a stable basis by gradually introducinga normal system of land tenure which would do away with the existinguncertainty of title deeds and enable cheap credit to be given-against good security but the Amnamite system was so different thatnot much progress was made, The Government was more successfulin thne land . reclamation and flood control and irrigation schemeswhich had had considerable effect in increasing rice production

The Annamite peasant suffers from a permanent need of money throughouthis life, Before the French authorities provided farmers with cheapcredit by establishing native mutual agricultural funds, agriculturalcredit was granted solely by certain Annamites who had large estatesor by the "chettysn or Indian bankers. Interest rates were extremelyhigh. The usual rate in 1933 was from 3 to 5 percent per month forsmall loans- but a rate of 3 percent per day was reported to be notunusual. A decree issued in May 1934 fixed the legal rate of interestat 5 percent per annum and th e maximum rate which could be acceptedby agreement at 8 percent,, and a supplemental decree of December :936provided for recovery of interest illegally charged. It is not known'to what extent these measures improved the situation. The mutual-agricultural credit systems set up in the country had not been success-ful in reaching the small producer who was the most in need of such aservice,


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During 1938-39 the agricultural credit system, which was atfirst almost exclusively a State institution became, under the influenceof the administration, more and more cooperative; measures were beingtaken through the cooperative producing societies to improveagricultural produce and a propaganda section was set up by thecooperative agricultural credit office to promote cooperation amongthe peasants.

G. REGULATIONS REGARDING FOREIGN WORKERS

The recruitment of contract labor which was regulated by theorder of the Governor-General of October 1927, provided that anyemployer in agriculture, industry, or mining who wished to introduceworkers recruited outside Indo-China into any country of the Unionmust first secure authorization from the Governor or the ResidentSuperior of the Colony or Protectorate in question. This requesttransmitted to the head of the local administration had to be endorsedby the Inspector of Labor., Upon their arrival in the country suchworkers were subject to the local regulations upon the admissionand travel within the country of Asiatic foreigners. The immigra-tion service was responsible for their reception, for having themfingerprinted, and for providing them with an identification card.

Prior to 1906 the Netherlands Government refused the applicationsfor Javanese labor by the planters of Cochin-China, but in thatyear the emigration of these workers was authorized by theNetherlands Government on the understanding that certain guaranteeswould be given them by the employers. Indo-Chinese legislationapplicable to Javanese workers was embodied in orders issued between1910 and 1916 fixing the details of the employment contracts ofthese workers and guaranteeing to them and their families certainworking and living standards. However, as Javanese labor was foundparticularly expensive in times of depression Indo-China graduallyceased-to reengage these workers when their contracts expired and atthe end of 1934 there were only 79 in the country.

Because of the depression in the 1930's the French Minister ofColonies extended to the colonies restrictive measures on the employmentof foreigners similar to those adopted in France. A French decree ofJune 1933 for the regulation of employment of foreigners was promulgatedin the Colony in April 1934. This act was intended to relieveunemployment among French citizens by reserving for them the greaterpart of the posts in Indo-Chinese undertakings. The regulations,applicable to all public and private undertakings, limited theproportion of alien workers to from 10 to 50 percent for differenttypes of public and private work,


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- 18

A similar order fing the maximum proportion of foreign workers,either Europeans or Asiatics, with the exception of those enjoying aprivileged status-Chinese, and Indians of the British and Frenchcolonies-was issued in March 1940. The proportion of such epmployeesto French workers' was fixed at 5 to 20 percent in different classesof undertakings but exceptions could-be made to permit theemployment of specialists on special authorization by the Governor-General. Violat ions of th e order carried the loss of permission toreside in Indo-China.

He GLaTICN OF SPECIAL GROUPS1,F rc Lpbor

Forced. labor which is defined in the International Labor Con-vention as "ali work or service which is exacted from any person

*,under the menace of ay penalty and fo r whichi th e said person has notoffered himself voluntarily" is in general no t admitted by the Indo-Chinese Government However, forced labor on th e behalf of certainchiefs of the Muong tribes in Laos has been allowed to continue asthe tribesmen derive certain advantages from the system and theGovernment felt that it was impossible for the authorities, bythe mere issuance of an .order, to abolish a custom which dated backto the very earliest days of the Muong tribes.

The physical conditions of Indo-China impose certain obligationson the inhabitants in connection with the protection of dikes. Thistype of work is not considered as forced labor by the Geneva'Convention but as emergency work. The protection of the dike systemsis of capital importance throughout the whole of Annam and Cambodia,and especially so in Tonking where the height of the Red River betweenbanks during sudden floods is often above the l'evel of the land.

The corvde system by which persons liable for labor dues wererequired to provide the State with a certain number of days of labora year for work of public interest dates back to ancient times inIndo-China. Under a decree issued about 184+0 by the Emperor of n ,persons.liable for labor dues had to work 48 days a year for work ofpublic interest such as the digging of canals, building royalroads, and their upkeep. Each community had to provide workers inproportion to the number of able-bodied persons on its register.This system also existed in Cambodia and Laos but in 1881 the corv~ewas converted into labor dues with provisions to curtail this form oflabor and render it more humane. The French authorities made use ofrequisitions mainly for the construction of railways.


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The French Government issued a decree in August 1930, definingthe general principles of compulsory labor for public purposes incolonies and protectorates which was applied in Indo-China inFebruary 1932. This order provided that with the exception of casesof force majeure and of labor for communal services recourse mightnot be had to compulsory labor except for public purposes and by wayof exception. The order fixed the conditions under which the levyingof workers might be authorized. For new work or maintenance workrequiring less than 3,000 days work the heads of the local governments(Governors and Residents) may authorize the subordinate authoritiesto levy compulsory labor but for longer periods a special authorizationof the Governor-General is necessary.

Porterage which was imposed, particularly in the mountainousareas, where there was a lack of means of transportation wasregulated by an order issued by the Governor-General in February 1932.This order fixed the maximum loads which could be carried by cooliesand provided that compulsory porterage must be forbidden wheneverit was possible to use animal or mechanical transport.

An order issued in May 1933 fixed the local scope of the generalprohibition of compulsory labor introduced by the 1932 order;compulsory labor for public purposes was prohibited in the whole ofCochin-China and Cambodia and a considerable part of Annam and Tonking.In the other areas the maximum period of compulsory labor was fixedat 30 days for Tonking and 60 days for Annam and Laos.

Compulsory labor in the service of private persons is notpermitted.

Labor dues are not considered by the administrative authoritiesas a real form of compulsory labor but as a special form of taxation.These dues have been included in the personal tax in Cochin-China,Tonking, and Annam, but throughout Cambodia labor dues still existas a separate tax and exception to the general right of commutationare found only among the primitive "khas" of Cambodia who are exemptedfrom taxation in exchange for 16 days compulsory work. In general,compulsory labor levies are permitted only in remote districtswhich have no regular means of communication and even in suchdistricts only the porterage and transport of Government stores maybe imposed and then only subject to clearly-specified conditions.

In August 1937, the Forced Labor Convention adopted by theInternational Labor Conference in 1930 and ratified in France bylaw of June 17, 1937, was promulgated in Indo-China. Certainreservations were made in th e order by the Governor-General insofaras forced labor for military works, payment of taxes, public works,and teaching agriculture were concerned.

* . , < '


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S .i g of agricultuPral labor under long-term contracts beganin 1905 when large areas of fertile '.but uncultivate4 land were openedup in Cochin-china and Cambodia. Since these areas 'were to o sparselysettled to provide th e necessary labor the planters,,turned to th enorthern par s f L doChina and more especially to th e Delta wherethere was an audant labor supply. Recruiting on a large scale beganin 1919 and by 1927 more than 20,2000 workers were employed on therubber plantations in th e southern part of the country. From a4 studyof the potential labor requirements and of the labor reserves in 1927it was estimated that it would be necessary to recruit 39,000 workers'for Cochin-China and Cambodia for the rubber plantations alone andit was decided : therefore, to carry on recruiting in Tonking andAnnam. In ;Ton ng..pe ts fo r recruiting were granted by theGovernor-General for employment outside Indo-China (FrenchEstablisamts in the-Pacific) and by th e Senior Resident foremployment in other parts of the Union. No limit was set on thenumber of workers recruited but in Annan a limit of 8,000 workersannually was set of whom 7,000 would go to Southern Indo-China and1,000 to the Pacific Islands.

In order to carry out the proposed mobilization of nativelabor successfully, orders were drawn up by the, General LaborInspectorate (established July 1927) concerning the conditions ofremuneration of workers from Tonking".and measures: for protectingplantation coolies, including provision for deferred pay. Theseregulations ohchwere put in force .in ctober -1927 were amendedin August 1928 to concentrate as far as possible all the operationsfor the engagement o workers from Tonking and Northern Anna, underthe Workers' Emigrationupervision Office in the port of Haiphong.Controversies ose, however, between the authorities and the'plantation gers over recruiting methods and the terms of thecontracts., and-an erder was issued in July 1930 regulating theprofession of private emgration agent.

The._. contract period under a written contract was 3 yearswithin the country ad 5 yeas in the South Pacific, with penal

ctions, but rder isue in 1935 provided that contractsmi he forl1 2,9 or 3 yeare


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About the middle of 1929, the world depression had caused a dropin the quotations for colonial products and especially for rubber.Thi decline became morem arked in 1930 and 1931, and led the plantersto suspend their development work and to cut down their overheadexpenses by reducing the amount of labor to the minimum necessaryfor maintaining their plantations. Consequently the recruiting ofcontract labor declined, and had practically stopped between July1931 and June 1932. The General Labor Inspectorate then took stepsto lower labor costs, more especially by revising the conditionsof engagement of workers. The minimum wage under new contractswas reduced from 40 piasters }/ a day to 30 piasters for men and30 piasters to 23 piasters for women, with a supplementary rice allow-ance for children. As a result of the wage reductions there was arevival of recruiting from 1932 onwards. Between 1923 and 1934the greatest number of contract workers recruited for work inSouthern Indo-China left in the 3 years 1926, 1927, and 1928 when16,861, 17,606, and 17,977, respectively, were sent to theplantations in that area. The number leaving had fallen to 206 in1932 but had increased to 6,068 in the first 10 months of 1934.In 1931 and 1932 when only 2,771 were recruited, 17,601 were repatriated.During 1935 there was an appreciable decline in contract employment.

Under the 1930 order recruiting is carried out in the areasspecified by the head of the local government by authorized privateemigration agencies acting for the employers or by their agents.The employees of recruiting agencies are subject to rather strictcontrol by the local labor inspection office or service. Workersbefore signing a contract were required to produce an identity cardwhich was required by an order issued in 1918 for every person passingfrom one country,of the Union to another. As this document wasoriginally intended for individual movements and not for the transportof groups of emigrant workers an order was issued in July 1928which facilitated the engagement of workers under contract by intro-ducing a special card for contract workers which takes the place oftheir identity card during the period of their engagement. Thiscard had the advantage of enabling the worker to offer his servicesin any area in which recruiting is taking place without being compelled,as formerly, to apply to the authorities of his native province andvillage.

/ Piaster equal to 10 French francs; exchange rate of franc inU. S. currency in 1932 = 3.72 cents.


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S22 ~Workers applying for contrat work first have to have a physicale tion and if foumd healthy are vaccinated against s ll~poxand ainst su h' other eidec dieses as th e mdical authoritiesConsider niecessa ter th signig of the cantract, the workeris fed and housed at th e eense of the recruiting agent until he,

is sent to th e concentration area at the point of embarkation.Each prate_,.6 emigration agency is required to maintain an "isolation"camp-with pr per hygienic facilities where the necessary medicaland administrative measures an b carried out, If the workersare accepted they are given an advance from the recruiter in thepresence of th e representative of th e authorities which is subsequentlywithheld from the worker's wages. Those who are found unfit aresent back t eir vllage origin at te nee of the recruit-inig agent, Equal care is taken in the inspection of vessels intendedfor the trnsort of emigrnts and in insuring that they have adequatequarters and the quantity and quality of the food is satisfactoryduring e .voyage Worke. are agai ezaned upon their arrivaland any suffering from either contagious or other diseases are eitherisolated or hospitalized or, if necessary, they are returned to theircountrys of origin at the exee of the employer,

The re ulations of October 1927 es tbi she the principle thatfamilyld not broken ups

Persons, permitted to emigrate include married or single men over18 years of age; married women over the age of 18 years providing theyare accompening or rejoinig their husbands who are employed in thesame undertaking; adult women over the age of ' 18 years who are single,widowed, or divorced--if under 21 years the authorization of theirparents is required; and young persons between the ages of 14 and 18years who are accompanying or rejoining their parents, proded theywork in the same under ig, A contract is not required for marriedwn accopyin or rejoining thir hu bds or for childrenaccompanying their arents, but the- recruiting agent is responsiblefor the eenses and the food of the double journey,

Workers recruited i Tonking or Annaim for employment in anothercountry of the Union or in the French Oceanic Establishments aeengaged under a written contract guarat seing certain imstandards of treatment, e In o-hinese authorities tae no directpart in recruiting operations ut merely spe vise s d protect, Thecontract, accoridng to a rer of Spteiber 1935, Must provide fo rthe free transportation of the cantr worker and members of hisfamily from the place of recruitment to th e undertaking and fo rtheir repatriation to the place of recruitment, The contract must besigned in th e presence of an official who-, ust make, certain that th eworker has fly understo the conditions


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.The contract may be terminated by mutual consent of th e parties;in case of physical unfitness of the worker; by the worker after18 months' service if he gives 3 months' notice and repays alladvances and'his recruiting and transport expenses, including cost ofrepatriation; by th e employer for bad conduct or offenses againstdiscipline or against ordinary law. On the death of th e husband orhead of th e family th e wife and dependent children have th e right tocancel their contracts without payment of compensation and toclaim repatriation. An order of September 1935 provided that aworker terminating his contract after 18 months' service retainshis right to repatriation if th e required 3 months' notice was given.

The hours of work carried out on a daily basis are 10 a day,including the time going to and from work. In work organized ona task basis the amount of work assigned may not exceed what canreasonably be performed in the maximum hours fixed for work on anhourly basis. In addition to his daily work every worker must spend2 hours a week without pay in cleaning the encampment. Necessaryovertime work is paid fo r at lj times th e normal rate. A two-hour-rest period must be given during th e hot tes t part of th e day andshelters must be provided, f th e workplace is far from th e camp.One day of rest must be given a week and certain religious holidaysare given but no food or wages are paid for these days. Wagesmust be paid at least once a month and within 10 days of the periodfor which they are due. Although wages were reduced in September1932 wages of 0.20 piaster per day for young persons, which were notformerly provided for , were included in the new rates.

In 1927 a system of deferred pay was instituted by which 5 percentof th e pay was deducted and an equal amount paid by the employerinto a general fund centralized under th e Direction of Posts, Telegraphs,and Telephones. The aim of th e Governor-General in institutingthis system was to protect th e workers against improvident habitsand their tendency to squander their earnings on games of chanceand to borrow money at exorbitant rates of interest so that in toomany cases they returned home destitute at th e expiration of theircontract. As a rule the deferred pay is refundel to th e workerswhen they are repatriated, but half th e amount may be paid. out duringtheir service either to enable them to meet the. expenses connectedwith various rites and customs on th e death of a parent, wife, orchild, or for their legal marriage.


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W 24

The 1927 order provides that if: the contract provides that theemployer shall furnish all of the food the daily ration for an adultman must provide 3200 calories. The ~inimu ration must contain700 ,grams (later raised to 750 grams) ,ofd rice or 5-0 grams of -dry rice and 200 grains of bread together with specified amounts offresh. meat or .preserved or dried fish or fresh fish, green or dried.vegetables, salt, tea, and fats. Half the' ation is provided forchildren under th e age of 14 years, and for infants under,-the ageof 18 mnths, if th e mother does not nurse them, 400 grams ofcondensed milk every two days. The ration must be composed ofhealthful foods of good quality and mst be -issued daily. Theemployer must supply th e workers with water fo r drinking, cooking,and washing, sterilized when necessary-

Special regulations for Cambodia issued November 6, 1928,provide .that f the workplaces are at such a distance that the workers;must eat their midday meal there, the cooking must be done by workersspecially detailed fo r this duty. If they are-moving from one work-place to'another their food must be served ready prepared by theemployers. When th e employer is responsible for preparing their food,fresh meat must .be given at not less than 3 meals weekly and freshvegetables at not less than 6 meals a week but fruit may be subsitutedfo r vegetables three times a week; th e fat should be fresh pork fat .

Contract workers are supplied with a few necessary clothes atthe time of embarkation but during the whole period of their engage-ment they must supply their own clothing.

The workers are entitled to free housing accommodations forthemselves and their families. Most of the workers employed inCochin-China and Cambodia are housed in individualhuts built of brick,or wood and roofed with tiles or corrugated Tron.he huts aregrouped together to form a camp or village, but the employer mustprovide separate groups of buildings for th e different nationalities.

Apart from th e medical inspections and vaccinations which thewdrkers must undergo when they are recruited and repatriated, theyremain under th e supervision of the chief medical officer of the districtduring their term of contract. This officer is responsible for allmatters of hygiene and protection of th e health of the workers andtheir families, 'When workers are seriously ill they must besent to a hospital and th e head of the Il Government fixes th epayment to be made by employers to local funds to cover th e cost ofhospital treatment of the.r,workers.


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- 25

The supervis ion exercised by th e administrative authorities forthe purpose of :protecting the workers is in the hands of the laborinspectors, the administrative officers, .and th e labor supervisorsworking unider the direction of the head of the Local Government(Governors or Senior Residents) , In practice, the actual work on th eplantations is carried out by the labor supervisors, whose main dutyis to see that the employers and workers carry out ,heir contractualobligations,

Fines,or imprisonment may be-imposed on the workers fo r variousoffenses, and fines are also payable by employers 'for infringementsof the labor contract, According to a 1929 order, labor inspectorshave power to impose ordinary police penalties (fines of from 1 to15 francs or imprisonment for from 1' to 5 days) in the case ofbreach of contract by workers, More severe penalties were fixed byorders issued in 1932 and 1933 fo r fraudulently retaining advancesof wages, or any type of engagement bonus, or for not carrying ou tth e terms of th e contract,

3, Noncontract LaborUnti l 1930, noncontrac t labor in Indo-China was th e object

of very fe w regulations, The administrative authorities had made anattemp t to define th e legal status of noncotract labor by issuingworkbooks to certain classes of workers and establishing mnachineryfor the regulation of individual and collective labor disputesoccurring between workers-and employers , They ha d also promulgateda number of laws organizing protective measures for th e workers'health and welfare and in January 1933 steps were taken to regulatecondit ions of work,

The condit ions of short-term agreements between European employersand Asiatic workers and servants were fixed by an order issued in1899 which was originally applicable only in Tonking but was laterextended to Cochin-China. and th e Protectorates. The order limitedth e period for which workers could hire their services to 1 year ,apart from re-engagement, and provided that all indigenous personsworking for European or assimilated persons should have workbooks.These provisions were not strictly observed, however, and measureswere taken in Tonking to apply th e regulations more strictly, firstto skilled workers and, by an order of January 1930, to all indigenousor assimilated Asiatic employers and workers with the exception ofdomestic servants and indoor staff, who in an indigenous society areconsidered more as members of the family than as ordinary employees.An order of February 1936 extended these regulations to the whole ofthe union, with the exception of servants and seasonal agriculturalworkers,


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* .

A system of control has grown up with the development ofindustry, resulting from the ignorance of European employers of thenative language, by which native intermediaries called "cais" areemployed s agents of the employer in various capacities. Insome cases the cai is appointed by the manager of an undertakingto carry out certain duties agreed upon in advance, but on his ownaccount and his own responsibility. He may be responsible for theengagement of the workers, the organization of the work, thepayment of wages, etc. In this case the cai is really an employerand is known as a cai-subcontractor.

In some cases the cai is hired to recruit workers in thevillages and his job ends when he has conducted the workers to theundertaking. In other cases the cai continues to supervise theworkers recruited by himself or others in which case he is reallya foreman and responsible tothe employer for the disciplineof the workers under his orders. In still other instances,the cai may simply be responsible for providing and cooking food forthe workers.

Many corrupt practices grew out of this system varyingaccording to the nature and the duties of the intermediary. Someof the subcontractors deduct such a high percentage from the paymentfor each job that the workers receive only a small part of theirearnings. Among other dishonest practices of the recruiting caisare failure to give the workers full details as to wages and livingconditions prevailing at the place of employment, or to give sufficientattention to the working capacity of the workers they engage, as wellas making a profit on the various operations they carry on suchas catering, transport, etc. An order aimed at securing moreresponsible agents issued in July 1930 provided that eachrecruiting agent must be provided with an identity paper, a personaltax card for the current year, and special authority from hisemployer endorsed by the Resident.


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- 27 -

II. EMPLOYMENT AGENCIES

The earliest regulation of labor employment was in connectionwith the recruiting of labor for work on the plantations underlong-term contracts in the southern part of the country. Recruit-ing started as early as 1905 but it was not until 1927 thatregulations were issued defining the form and the conditionsof the contract and providing for supervision of the workers on theplantations as regards the methods of wage payment and the materialconditions of food and housing.

It was proposed that public employment exchanges should be se tup in Tonking but the Governor-General did not consider the ruralpopulation was sufficiently developed to enable such organizationsto work effectively, although it was recommended that recruitingby professional agencies should be regulated in order to prevent abusesby indigenous recruiting agents. This reform was not carriedon until July 1930 when an order was issued regulating the professionof private recruiting agents although recruiting had alreadyfallen off owing to the world depression which had caused the plantersto curtail the work on the plantations.

Employment exchanges were set up in the commercial centers ofSaigon and Hanoi by an order of November 1929 for the purpose ofassisting discharged soldiers and other unemployed Europeans to findwork. These offices were not very successful in placing th eunemployed and as a result the Government did everything in itspower to facilitate the repatriation of unemployed Europeans toFrance.

There is no information as to whether there was any furtherdevelopment of employment exchanges.


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28-III. WAGES, HOURS, AND WORKING CONDITIONS

A, GENbEAL LEVEL OF PaE-WAR. AGESIn general, wages in Indo-China are made up of cash wages and

payment in kind, rice, or rice and living quarters frequently,being supplied to industrial and commercial employees as well asagricultural workers; In some cases the entire payment is in kind.There is quite a wide difference in wages paid in the northernand southern parts of the country, the higher wages paid in theSaigon-Cholon district being due to the scarcity of labor ascompared with the overpopulated Tanking delta. Workers in agriculturaland industrial undertakings are paid by the day while servants, andsalaried employees are paid on a monthly basis. The wage income ofthe workers is actually much lower than the wage rates wouldindicate. /Low as they are, the wage rate figures give an exaggeratedidea of the real wages of the Indo-Chinese workers who earn moneyonly a part of the year. Moreover, the wages in addition to beingmore reduced by the long periods of unemployment are still furthercut down by payments to the cai (foreman) to keep in his good gracesand by undue deductions by the employer.

In 1937, the average daily wage of skilled workers in the Northwas 0,63 piaster, of male laborers, 0.29 piaster, and of femalelaborers, 0.19 piaster; in the South the average was 1.17 piaster,0.61 piaster, and 0.42 piaster, respectively. The exchange value ofthe piaster prior to the devaluation of the French and United Statescurrencies which was equivalent to 10 French francs was about 39cents in United States currency, so that daily wages of male workersin. the North may be said,. roughly, to range from about U to 24 centsand in the South from 25 to 46 cents. The average for female workerswas from about 7 cents to 16 cents.

Tables 2 and 3 show the average wages of skilled workers andlaborers in the North'and South of Indo-China, 1931 to 1937, andthe average daily wares in different occupations in Saigon inOctober-1938.


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Tabe N. AveageDaiy Wgesinorth and South Indo-China, 1931, 1934, 1936, and 1937

Class of' Workersand Year

Skilled workers*1931193419361937

Laborers,1931.193419361937

Laborers,1931193419361937

AverageHanoi Haiphong

Plaster Piaster0.63.615 4.59

male036029.28

.22

.20,.18.20

f'emale

0.79.5856.55

.37.30026.30

.31

.21.17.21

centersin TonkingPiaster

0.62.5345.53

.31.26.27.29

.18.15.15.18

in Saigon-'Arna Cholon .(SouthernIndo-Chinxa)Piaster Plasters

0.81.69.59.62

.37

.25.2.4

.25

.25.9

.15.19

1,501.221.131.20

.7456.54.62

.45

.43

.38

.42

2/Including railroad and street railway workers.

TotalSouthernIndo-ChinaPiasters

2/1.19/1.a10

TotalNorthern.Indo-ChinaPiaster/0.74.x1.622/.562/.63

.38.29.26.29

.22.19

.18.19

te/ 7e ra55./3~/.61

0

.45

.43

.38.42

Table No 2 Average.Daily,,Vages


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Table o. 3 Daily Wages of Native Workers in Different Industries inCochin-Chins. October 1938

Average dai1X wages inoccupation Railway-, streetrailway, ai~other trans-

ortationPiaster

Build- Printinging, and book-binding

Piaster Piaster*Saw~yersCarpenters,JoinersPaintersOther wood workersFittersFoundrymenBoiler makersBlacksmithsTinsmiths

Turner~sRivetersCoppersmithsSolderer'Other metal workersLocomotive engineersLocomotive firemenMotor track driversElectriciansRivet, heatersMasonsMillersForemenCoolies, skilledLaborers, skilled, femaleCooliesCement makersFiremenPrinting machine operatorsCompositorsType foundersBook binders and sewersDraftsmenLithographers

0.80-1.40S80-1.50.75-1.40.55-1,20.70-1.10* 0-1.90

.50-2.10.80-1.90.55-1.20*6-.90

1.20-1.30.90-42.10

1.20-1.80.50-1.501.30-1.50*65-1.30.70-1,.40.65-1.80.80-1.00.85-1.30.50-1.60

1.00-1. 50.90-1.5065- .95.65-1-40

.60-1.40.80-1.00

1.10-1.65.85-1.40.50-2 00.50-2,00.90-2,00.

.55._l.75

.75-1.35

.90-1.601.20-1.301.00-1.60.50-1,6.90.90-1.20

1.10

.60-1.10

.60-2.20

.60-2.101.00-1.6060--2.301.20-1.802.20

NNW


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I. ai~e in MI iIn 1936 there was a total of 43,850 miners employed of whom

37,205 were engaged in coal mining and 6,645 in metal mining. Mostof the mining labor is Annamese or Chinese, the latter representingabout 10 percent of the mine workers.' Chinese are regarded as thebetter workers and are paid about 40 percent more than native workers.Women, in genraela, earn about 10 percent less than men. There was ageneral reduction in mining wages-between 1931 and 1935. During thisperiod the price of rice dropped considerably, but there was animportant increase in the cost of living at the end of 1935, whicha wasfollowed byr a small increase in wages in 1936 in most occupations inthe different mining areas.

'The average wages paid in coal mines and metal mines by' differentcompanies in Tonleng: and Laos between 1931 and 1936 are shown in thefollowing table.


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33

]No. 4 verage Daily Wages Paid by Coal Mining and Metal MiningCompanies in To gand Laos, 1931 and 1933 to 1936

Coal MinesOccupation Average Daily Wages in-- 13 131931 1933 1934 195 93

Piaster Plaster Piaster Piaster PlasterSocietd Fran aise des Charbonna es du onkin

Miners 0.59 0.45 0.35 0.32 0.38Timbermen .66 .45 035 .32 .38Trammers .45 .36 .26 .23 .29Blacksmiths 1/.2O .72 ~/.70 ~/.63 ~/.69Laborers ~.36 .28 .28 .24 .26

oite du Crbo e i uynqunMiners .42 .42 .41 .40 .38Timbermen .48 .48 .36 .35 .38Trammers .32 .33 .27 .22 .27Blacksmiths .52 .50 .67 .60 .58.Laborers .38 .30 .27 .23 0'23

.70 .50 .40 .35 .38Timbermen .60 .50 .40 .35 .38Trammers .50 .40 .20 .20 .23Blacksmiths .85 .70 .50 .45 .50Laborers .36 .28 .20 .20 .22Metal Mines

Mins e Coden fToi.40 .39 -.28 .28 _.30Timbermen .40 .39 .28 .28 .30Tramiuers .36 .37 .28 .28 .30

Blacksmiths 1.00 .80 .80 .60 .70Laborers .34 .34 .27 .27 .30Mines of Tinh-Tuw (Toms n)-- .38 .42 .38 .38Timbermen - .41 .60 -- -Trammers -- .34 .35 .35 .38Blacksmiths -- .77 .74 .65 .85

Laborers -. 31 .35 .30 .34-Chinese blacksmiths employed at this mine.


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-- -- UN CILASSI FIE D.

The 10-hour day and 6O-hour week prevailed in Indo-Ohina up toth e enactment of th e French law in October 1936 providing for aprogressive reduction in hours to 8 per day as of January 1, 1938,in industrial and commercial establishments. At the beginning of1938 it was-reported that 29,Q9O mine employees of the Soci tgFran9aise du C arbo nages du Tonking were working 8 hours per day.

It was reported in 1939 that large and mi.ddlesized under-takings had had no difficulty in applying the 8-hour day although theyhad found it necessaxy to increase their staffs and train new workers.

'After the outbreak of war in europe hours of work were lengthenedin France by a decree of Septemaber 1939 and an October decreeprovided tat no increased wage was- "Vo. e paid for overtime eheedecrees were, app) ied inIndo-China bylocal orders 'which provided thathours, in industrial and commercial establishments, could be Extendedup to 60 per weck and 10 per day,, the no 1 hours of women to be 9 perday a~ d 54 der weekg~~g~

C TREND OF~iCST G AND WAGESB~i

Comparison of the chanes in wage rates with changes in the costof living shows that the rise in wages between 1925 an d 1930 wasaccompanied by a nearly equal rise in liven s s. wge indexes accord-ing, to figures pbihed in the, Bletin Economique de 1w Indo-Chnbased on 1925 as

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Civil Affairs Handbook French Indochina Section 9

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