The potters herald. [volume] (East Liverpool, Ohio) 1899-1982, 1941-09-18
! COMMENT ON WORLD
EVENTS

All over Free China today, and to
some extent even behind the Jap
anese lines, are found the familiar
signs of red triangle containing
two Chinese characters: kung no.
These signs refer to the Chinese In
dustrial Co-operatives, or the Indus
co, a movement first launched in the
fall of 1888 in Hankow under the
chief sponsorship of DR.. H. H. Kung,
Minister of Finance.
Objectives of the Chinese Industrial
Co-operatives are to assist in military
and economic resistance to aggression
by the production of daily necessities
to help in national reconstruction by
the establishment of sound cooper
ative basis for small industries scat
tered throughout China; and to
hasten the full realization of DR.. Sun
Yat-sen's Principle of Peoples Live
lihood.
The development of the Indusco
can be divided into three stages,
namely, the planning stage, the big
offensive, and consolidation. By the
spring of 1888 japanese big guns and
incendiary bombs had destroyed 80
per cent of Chinese industries, and
there were thousands of destitute,
homeless people, among whom large
number of skilled workers were COM
PEELED to lie idle in refugee camps.
The best way to meet the situation
was to found flexible, decentralized,
small industries, it was reasoned.
Through such an industrial move
ment, not only could skilled Chinese
workers in refugee camps be prevent
ed from working for the japanese but
they could be induced to move into
the hinterland of China to become
self-supporting and self-respecting
citizens to man the new economic bull
wark against the japanese invasion.
X X x
The most far-reaching significance
of the Indusco lies in the belief that
such a movement can do much to lay
the foundation of a new industrial de-
mocracy for China both during and
after the war, thus Fastening the
realization of DR.. Suns plans for q
modern China.
The organizers of the Indusco have
established three zones of industry.
They are: /. The rear zone. 2. The
middle zone stretching from Kansu in
the Northwest in a huge arc round
the fighting line to Fukien in the
Southeast. 3. The zone of guerrilla
industry" in the fighting areas and
even behind japanese lines.
Following the planning stage, the
"big offensive" set in, and in the
course of less than year more than
1000 Industrial cooperative societies
were organized The outstanding
characteristic of this stage of de-
velopment was speed-speed in res
cuing machinery and other tools of
production from areas threatened with
imminent invasion, and speed in Civ
ing refugees, particularly skilled
workers, productive employment.
The stage of consolidation calls for
the reorganization or combination of
many co-operatives. The number Of
co-operatives in a given locality may
be reduced, but the size and quality
of the membership as well as their
efficiency is improved by consolida-
| ton.
X X X
AS far as guerrilla industry" is
concerned, the lndusco is at its best
in southeast Shansi where it's units
| Operate in q hit-and-run manner close
to or behind enemy positions. "Stay
as long as possible" is the policy
adopted by the industrial cooper
atives which keep their machinery
busy even to the accompaniment of
gunfre.
Often the members have to move
bag and baggage when their plants
are threatened by military engage
ments. Frequently they have to trek
across hills with their equipment, raw
materials, and personal belongings.