K. This is the 1st working draft of vol. VI. It still ... - From Marx to Mao

ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL PROBLEMS IN THE ANTI-JAPONESE WAR
people’s co-operatives in all places must closely co-ordinate with
the people’s transport co-operatives and teams, and strive to ensure
that the animals used by the people to transport salt are able
to transport other goods on their return journey. Only then can
the people’s salt-transport undertaking expand and the whole of
salt transport develop, and only then will the whole salt-transport
plan be completed.
(5) The key sector in developing the salt industry is transport,
and the major condition for transport is communications.
In 1943 the government should allocate 2 million yuan under the
direction of the Reconstruction Department for the building of
two cart-roads between Yanan and Dingbian, and Dingbian and
FROM MARX
TO MAO
Qingyang, and for repairing the road from Yanan to Fuxian.
⋆
Furthermore, the Commodities Bureau should set up inns with
stables and trans-shipment warehouses along the main salt transport
routes, and dig water-storage holes in places lacking water.
The Reconstruction Department and Commodities Bureau together
should plant alfalfa widely along the routes and also provide
fodder in other ways. So long as there are roads, inns, grass
and water, transport costs can be greatly cut, the volume of transport
can be greatly increased, and the three forms of transport
— porters from outside, people from the area and the Salt Company
— can all develop. NOT Plans FOR to improve the means of transport
should also be directed by the Reconstruction Department.
Carts and handcarts should be built according to road conditions
in order to increase COMMERCIAL
salt transport. Provided the roads are well
built, it is much better for the government to use more carts and
the people to use more handcarts than to use pack-animals.
(6) In 1943 the salt tax is fixed as 100,000 packs. Those
who live near DISTRIBUTION
will provide transport, those who live far away
will provide a substitute, and some will provide a mixture of
both. However, the salt tax and the development of the salt industry
are two different matters. So long as we can definitely
export 300,000-360,000 packs, it does not matter whether we
accept actual salt or substitute payments for the salt tax.
If we can complete our plans for planting cotton and spinning
and weaving in 1943, we can reduce our imports of raw cotton, cotton
yarn and cotton cloth. If we can export 300,000-360,000 packs
of salt in 1943 at an average value of 10 yuan Border Region cur-
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