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<br />18 <br /> <br />j~4'" <br />F-:~zt~:fJ <br />'.WATER <br /> <br />002399 <br /> <br />RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT PRQGRAl\<I:B <br /> <br />by quantities of Soviet technicians but she herself got much of her <br />technical training in Moscow. <br />Every foreigner in China (which includes no Americans at present, <br />for currently that is against the rules) is astonished at the masses of <br />humanity toiling and the speed of accomplishing enormous tasks. <br />It was recently reported 20 million Chinese were working on their <br />river developments. <br />A simplified response to the inquiry as to "how" China develops <br />its rivers would be with billions of bare hands and feet which are <br />available with little mechanical aid beyond shovels and baskets. <br />This is the way they can do it so it is the way they do do it. They <br />say they would prefer to do it with heavy machinery but they have <br />not got it and will not wait for it. <br /> <br />20 lIHLLION WORK ON DEVELOPMENT <br /> <br />Some perspective is necessary to comprehend 20 million Chinese <br />working on river development chiefly with their hands. China has <br />a population of well over 600 million, and the river toilers include the <br />most able men, women, and children all worked into enthusiasm for <br />their task. That's some 2.4 billion Chinese hands and feet available. <br />The 20 million river toilers are only about 3 percent of the best workers <br />to be had. <br />FIRSTHAND OBSERV ATIONB <br /> <br /> <br />Things are relative and the following shows "how." In 1950 this <br />reporter, accompanied by Chief Engineer L. M. McClellan, made exten- <br />sive travels through India viewing that area's irrigation which approx- <br />imately triples that of the United States. Everywhere we saw and <br />were amazed by the vast hordes of Hindus who, by hand toil, were <br />driving the Indian program forward. We kept commenting and <br />inquiring about the quantity of humanity involved and Konwar Sain, <br />who is in charge of all India's river programs and escorted us, and <br />others, over them, saw no reason for our astonishment and politely <br />told us that was normal procedure and the way to carry forward the <br />program. <br />In the early 1950's Shri Konwar Sain made a 1,500-mile trip <br />through China viewing that area's irrigation. He was amazed by <br />the vast hordes of Chinese who, by hand toil, were driving the Chinese <br />program forward. He has not stopped commenting and inquiring <br />about it yet. <br />His own eyewitness testimony in his own words as provided by <br />himself and backed by his on-the-scene photographs, as contained in <br />his formal report on China to his own Government in New Delhi <br />follow as lifted from a chapter entitled "Speed of Construction:" <br /> <br />Remarkable speeds of construction have been attained in the execution of the <br />projects in spite of the difficulties of pr{)curing materials, transporting stone and <br />sand from long distances and want of experience in the construction of river <br />valley projects at many of the major rivers. Masses were utilized on a scale <br />unknown in recent times. All this has demonstrated that flood-control work can <br />be done even without machines if there is popular enthusiasm and coopera- <br />tion * * *. <br />One of the most important and largest irrigation canals constructed in China <br />is the main irrigation canal of North Kiangsu. The bed width of the canal is <br />large being 420 feet; 106 miles of this canal were dug in the course of 80 days <br /> <br />