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
good. We could weave 100 feet per day [Chinese measurement] and
costs worked out one-third cheaper than buying cloth.
Since there were weavers among the troops we decided to set up
a factory and undertook the following: (i) we bought wood and built
nineteen small looms in our own machine-repair shop, and we bought
four metal looms from Shanxi; (ii) we bought yarn from local merchants
on credit; (iii) we selected twenty skilled men from places
like Gaoyang in Hebei who were among the troops.
In this way the factory got going. It was not only profitable and
convenient, but also solved problems in buying cloth.
In December 1940 we decided to enlarge the factory in order to
achieve self-sufficiency in cloth for the whole brigade.
FROM MARX
TO MAO
Early in 1941 we abolished service personnel at all levels through-
⋆
out the brigade, and collected together over a hundred youths as apprentices
to study weaving.
We again bought two iron looms from the northwest of Shanxi
and made a further eleven large wooden ones ourselves. In February
and March we made another sixteen large wooden looms, and
fourteen more towards the end of March. We thus had sixty-six
looms of all kinds. At the same time we made spinning-wheels and
other essential small implements.
As regards raw materials, in 1941 the government issued the brigade
with 400,000 yuan NOT capital for FOR production. Of this, 250,000
yuan was divided among the regiments. Of the remaining 150,000
yuan, 100,000 was spent buying 300 bales of yarn (each bale was 7
jin 14 liang and COMMERCIAL
cost 280-90 yuan) and some things that had to be
bought (such as the wire for the looms which we could not make
ourselves and had to purchase outside).
Administered by the supply department accountants, the workers
divided into DISTRIBUTION
yarn-starchers, weavers, thread-joiners [luoxian],
and threaders [daxian]. Each group had twenty to thirty men. About
ten skilled men became master workmen and took charge of the technical
work in starching and reeling the yarn. Intelligent youths studied
weaving, and the less bright and the younger did threading and
thread-pining.
As soon as the looms started working, we became aware of a
need for more labour power. So taking the name, the Daguang Textile
Mills, we employed fifty young boys and girls from the Suide
areas as apprentices. We also took captured bandits and people who
had committed mistakes from the military courts. In this way we
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