Comments on Two Materials
(December 1959)

These two pieces[1] may be read. Send to the various comrades for perusal.
Return to Mao.

[1]
1. Agricultural production continues to leap forward, and diversified operations are developing as never before.
2. Income distribution is becoming more rational.
3. The distribution of grain is in good shape.
4. The ownership by the commune is rapidly expanding.
5. The livelihood of commune members has markedly improved.

The other article, "*The New York Times* Makes Reckless Comments on the 17th Congress of the Communist Party of the United States," states that *The New York Times* published an article on December 14 entitled "Communist Party of U.S.A., After Indicating a Turn to the Right, Nominates Hall, Top Leader in the Midwest, as Leader," which mentions that in his keynote address, Hall stressed the importance of taking into account the national characteristics of the United States when formulating the tactics and strategy of the Communist Party of the United States. He quoted Mao Zedong's words demanding that Chinese Communists adapt Marxism to China's conditions, and said that the Communist Party of the United States must do likewise. The article points out that this is the first time the Communist Party of this country has formulated its own line by referring to the words of the Communist Party of China rather than the guidelines of the Soviet Party.

Cheng'an County and Ci County have merged and are now the Cheng'an Commune, which abounds in cotton. I went there for a visit in September this year.

[1]

--- Notes

Refers to two telegraphic dispatches published in Issue No. 2939 of *Internal Reference*, compiled and printed by the Xinhua News Agency on December 19, 1959. Among them, the article "A Survey of the Income and Expenditure of Rural People's Communes and Commune Member Households in 1959" states that 14 provinces, municipalities, and regions including Hebei and Beijing recently conducted a projected survey of the income and expenditure of rural people's communes and commune member households in 1959. The situation is as follows:

This comment is written beside the title of the article "Cheng'an Commune Implements a Distribution Method with a Fixed Growth Ratio," published in Issue No. 2939 of *Internal Reference*. This article states that the Cheng'an People's Commune in Ci County, Hebei Province, based on the successive yearly leaps in production, changed the proportional dividend system to a distribution system with a fixed growth ratio. The advantages of doing so are: first, it can determine the ratio of income increase for commune members in a way tailored to each team's conditions, allowing teams with originally lower incomes to receive a bit more and gradually catch up with the richer teams; second, it can set aside more public accumulation.