China’s Commune System

Press, Volume XCVIII, Issue 28906, 28 May 1959, Page 3

China’s Commune System

Sir, —People of goodwill will see only good in the Qhinese communes. I have just’ received the following poem by Rewi Alley about the Liang-ba Commune Baisui: Families around tables in the commune restaurant with a great spreading tree covering the courtyard; out in the fields, sugar cane being planted; Yao folk, wide-eyed and trusting, down from their hills working freely with Chuang and Han, languages mix, but the things that count—common interests, hopes, all that affects . livelihood —these stand. The old fears of starvation, pestilence, guns, landlords, all well removed; and a child comes in with a huge bunch of outsize bananas; slopes of hills, once jungle, thrown up pineapple to the light of the sun, and long ridges sweep down to the dam —made in twenty days near Tienlin— that brings glad water to thirsty terraced fields lying expectantly along the wide valley below. —Yours, etc., P. J. ALLEY. May 24, 1959.

Sir, —I doff my hat to any person whQ, after a short trip to China, can expound expertly on problems which even that country’s leaders approach on a “trial and error” basis. It would become Mr Wheeler more to tackle this problem if not with intelligence then with objectivity and modesty The other writer, “D.H.C.,” is inclined to treat the humans on the same basis as ants. For mass psychology to be successful the principal requirement has to be the suppression of individualism and imagination. China’s population of 650 millions is not due to a spontaneous growth. Would “D.H.C.’s” conclusion from this be that too many survived the “bad old days” or not enough.—Yours, etc., GEDEL. May 27, 1959.