RED CHINA THE CHILLY SEASON RED CHINA'S MASSES LAST WEEK HAD MUCH 
IN COMMON WITH THE SUBJECTS OF THE FAMOUS FAIRY-TALE EMPEROR : 
EVERYBODY WAS TALKING ABOUT NEW CLOTHES, BUT NOBODY COULD ACTUALLY SEE 
THEM . AFTER THREE YEARS OF BAD COTTON CROPS, THE ANNUAL 
CLOTH RATION HAS SHRUNK TO AS LITTLE AS 2F FT . 
PER PERSON IN SOME REGIONS " JUST ENOUGH, " SAID ONE 
REFUGEE, " TO PATCH OUR RAGS . " SO SEVERE IS 
THE SHORTAGE, ACCORDING TO THE OFFICIAL PEKING PEOPLE'S DAILY, THAT " 
CLOTHES HOSPITALS " ARE MAKING " SHORT-SLEEVED SHIRTS OUT OF LONG-SLEEVED 
SHIRTS, A VEST OUT OF A SHORT-SLEEVED SHIRT, AND UNDERWEAR OUT 
OF A VEST . " IN TIMEWORN STYLE, COMMUNIST PARTY CHAIRMAN 
MAO TSE-TUNG'S LIEUTENANTS BLAME DROUGHT, HAILSTORMS AND INSECT BLIGHTS FOR CUTTING 
THE RATION FROM A MANAGEABLE 20.65 FT . IN 1957 TO 
ITS PRESENT HANDKERCHIEF SIZE . BUT RED CHINA'S FRAYED LOOK ALSO 
OWES MUCH TO A DELIBERATE DECISION BY ITS LEADERS . " 
WHEN THE BAD CROPS BEGAN IN 1959, " EXPLAINS ONE WESTERN 
EXPERT IN HONG KONG, " COTTON AND CLOTH WAS ONE PLACE 
WHERE YOU COULD SQUEEZE THE PEOPLE . " PEKING SQUEEZED HARD, 
CUTTING BACK COTTON ACREAGE AT LEAST 20 PER CENT SO THAT 
EVERY SPARE CLOD OF EARTH COULD BE SOWN TO GRAINS . 
THE RESULT : CHINA'S 1962 GRAIN HARVEST WAS UP 10 PER 
CENT TO 182 MILLION METRIC TONS, WHILE THE COTTON CROP MAY 
HAVE FALLEN TO AS LOW AS 1,200,000 METRIC TONS, DOWN ONE-THIRD 
FROM 1958 . FURTHER AGGRAVATING THE SITUATION AT HOME, PEKING SOLD 
HUGE AMOUNTS OF COTTON ABROAD TO BRING IN BADLY NEEDED FOREIGN 
EXCHANGE . WITH THE ONSET OF THE CHILLY SEASON, EVEN THE 
CLOTH WRAPPING ON GIFT PARCELS FROM RELATIVES ABROAD IS USED TO 
PATCH THREADBARE GARMENTS . SAID ONE REFUGEE IN HONG KONG : 
" WE ARE USED TO GETTING COLD IN THE WINTER . 
