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<br />RESOUROE DEVElLOPME:NT PROGRAMS
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<br />WATER
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<br />involving an earth work of 247 crore cubic feet. (Which is 2 billion 470 million
<br />cubic feet of earth, the. Indian unit crore equaling 10 million.) That is every
<br />day 3 crore (30 million) cubic feet were done. There was no machinery and the
<br />entire earthwork including excavation, transport, and tamping was done by
<br />human labor amounting to 13 lakhs of men (which is 1,300,000 men the Indian
<br />unit lakh equaliinglOO,ooO).
<br />The finished work is neat and the canal is functioning efficiently. Such speed
<br />of construction of earthwork on canals has not been achieved anywhere even
<br />with the help of mecJ1anical equipment * * *.
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<br />. Konwar Sain goes on to five similar reports on earth dams, concrete
<br />dams, sluices, and regulators, compares them with parallel Indian
<br />construction and concludes:
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<br />In India, where similar human force is available, it should be possible to.
<br />attain similar speed with respect to canal systems by proper organization of"
<br />enthusiasm amongst the people.
<br />Konwar Sain's Chinese and subsequent Russian assignments were
<br />not dissimilar to this study, but he naturally reported on the relation-
<br />ship of the Indian river program to those of the Communist leaders
<br />and made Indian comparisons. While obviously there is no "similar
<br />human forc~ ~vailable" .for. canal digging in the United States, an.d
<br />the prereqUIsIte "orgamzatIOn of enthUSIasm among the people" IS
<br />not noted, still a dIrect relationship between the North Kiangsu
<br />Canal Chinese performance and an American endeavor can be
<br />reported.
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<br />GREATER THAN ALL-AMERICAN CANAL
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<br />The nearest equal United States canal to the North Kiangsu works
<br />may be the All American Canal bUilt by the Bureau of Reclamation
<br />in southern California. The All American Canal is smaller on all
<br />specifications. The California canal is 80 miles long; Kiangsu is 106.
<br />miles. All American's bed width is 160 feet; Kiangsu's is 420 feet.
<br />~ll American's ini~ial capacity is 15!155 ~mbi~ secon~ ~eet; Kia~g~u's
<br />IS 25,000c. s. f. Klangsu's purpose IS primarIly to Irrigate 4 mIllIon
<br />acres and All American's is primarily to irrigate the Imperial Desert,
<br />and both have secondary multiple purpose benefits. The Chinese.
<br />dug Kiangsu in 80 days.
<br />The United States dug All American in 5 years and 4 months be-
<br />tv:een 19!34 and 1940. Approximately 1,300,000 Qhinese dug Kia~gsu
<br />WIth then' hands, shovels, and buckets. ApprOXImately 11500 Umted
<br />States citizens dug All American with all the huge machmery in the.
<br />way of draglines, bulldozers, carryalls, diesel trucks, and belt con-
<br />veyors available. Costs in different monetary units are uncomparable,.
<br />unavailable, and meaningless. In both instances as Sain, who has.
<br />seen both canals built, re~orts "the finished work is neat and the canal
<br />is functioning efficiently.' That is the best actual case history devel-
<br />oped responSIve to the. request to report pertinently. on "the relative
<br />slZe, scope, and velOCIty of these programs," and. how they were.
<br />accomplIshed. .
<br />Such vast amounts of hard labor as were utilized on the Kiangsu
<br />are unavailable in the United States now, considered undesirable,
<br />and also against the law at anything like the Chinese equivalent wage.
<br />The questIOn naturally arises as to how they can be mobilized any-
<br />where and whether or not the Chinese army goes out, rounds them up,.
<br />and marches them to work by force. It appears instead that in Com-
<br />munist China, where vast unutilized manpower is available, the mobi-
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