Cabinet 9 to 10:30 a.m., followed by a long discussion on the textile industry, with a cotton mill entrepreneur presenting a scheme of his, that the government should organize a new textile committee to operate the spindles formerly owned by the Japanese, as a temporary measure. The number is about two million; in addition, we have 2,700,000 owned by private Chinese. The entrepreneur stated that to be self-sufficient in cloth, China would need about 7,000,000. He said we should aim at 10,000,000, so as to build up an export trade.
Transmitted my proposal on budgetary provisions for R. & R. during the next 15 months to T. V. 【宋子文]; also proposal on a special cabinet committee.
Ma Tze-mi 【馬子敏(開衍)], a Shansi man, came to tell me that his fellow provincials were dissatisfied with my scheme to include Suiyuan, Chahar, and Shansi in one regional office, afraid that the two smaller provinces would share equally with Shansi. Told him that both Chahar and Suiyuan people were dissatisfied too, being afraid that bigger Shansi would get everything.
Cheng Tao-ju 【鄭道儒] proposed Wang Kia-chin 【王家楨?] for Regional Director of Manchuria.
鄭震宇 came to propose 郭悌儀 for Honan as did C. M. Chang 【張純明].
Governor Wang 【王東原] of Hupeh wired that 周蒼柏 would be acceptable; that 周 was on his way to Chungking.