Covenanter Witness Vol. 54 - Rparchives.org

Current Events
By Prof. William H. Russell, Ph.D.
WESTERN ALLIANCE MOVES AHEAD
The Bundestag, lower house of the West German Parlia
ment, has formally ratified the Paris treaties which will
bring the Bonn government into the Atlantic alliance. The
Germans also ratified the unpopular Saar agreement with
France, a necessary condition for the other pacts. Social
ist leaders claimed that the agreements would end all
hope of the reunification of Germany. The bitter struggle
seems to have weakened Chancellor Adenauer's cabinet and
parliamentary coalition. Another problem is that West Ger
many and France seem to have different interpretations
of the Saar pact, especially as to whether it is temporary
or permanent. It is hoped, however, that final French ap
proval of the Paris pacts will now follow quickly. Debate
in the French upper house is scheduled to begin March
22, and Premier Faure has promised to press for immediate
action. Our Senate has not yet begun to consider the Paris
agreements, but will probably do so by the end of March.
JEWS FIGHT ARABS
Gaza, a Philistine stronghold in the days of the Judges,
is back in the news as the scene of a sharp clash between
troops of Egypt and Israel. Each country charges the other
with starting the attack, but the Israelis took the of
fensive and killed thirty-eight Arabs. There has never been
real peace between Egypt and Israel since their full-scale
war was ended by an armistice in 1949. Egypt has controll
ed the 16-mile "Gaza
west of Israel,
strip"
along the Mediterranean coast,
since 1948. It is packed with a quarter of a
million Arab refugees from Palestine,
and there have been
many truce violations along its border. Tension between
Egypt and Israel has mounted in the last few months. On
January 31, Egypt executed two Jews accused of spying
for Israel. A week before the Gaza clash, David Ben-Gurion
came out of retirement to take the post of Defense Minister
for Israel. He is considered a leading advocate of a "gettough"
policy toward the Arabs. The U. N. Security
Council is investigating the Gaza incident but it is doubtful
if it can accomplish much while both countries are so ag
gressively hostile.
JAPAN KEEPS HATOYAMA
The Democratic party
of Premier Ichiro Hatoyama
won the recent elections for the Japanese Diet, gaining 185
of the 467 seats in the lower house. The Liberals, who
were formerly the largest group, dropped to second place
with 112 seats. They promised, however, to support Hato
yama as premier. Hatoyama's Democrats favor continued
collaboration with the U. S., but also want to establish
economic relations with Russia and Red' China. Japan's
two Socialist parties gained enough places in the Diet to
block constitutional amendments, which requires a twothirds
majority. This will make difficulties in Japan's re
armament. The Communists made a very poor showing,
winning
one more seat for a total of two. The election
was orderly and the new government should be stable. Althought
Hatoyama considers trade with Communist Asia
an ecomonic necessity for his country, as a wealthy busi
ness man he is strongly anti-Communist, and American
officials are not seriously
power.
March 16, 1955
alarmed at his continuance in
COMMUNISTS LOSE IN INDIA
Elections in the large Indian state of Andhra resulted
in a huge majority for a coalition backed by Prime Min
ister Nehru. Andhra is a tropical state in southeastern India.
Most of its 21 million people are poor peasants, easily at
tracted by Communist promises of land reform. Andhra has
been considered one of India's main Communist centers,
but in the recent elections for the state legislature the
Congress party cooperated with other non-Communist
groups and matched the Red campaign in intensity. Nehru
himself toured the state. The result is considered one of
the biggest setbacks for Communism in southeast Asia in
recent years. The Communists are still the second largest
party in the Indian Parliament, but their power is declining.
SALARY BOOST
After much maneuvering, Congress has passed a bill
to raise its own pay. This is the first major legislation of
the new session. The pay of Representatives and Senators:
is increased 50 per cent, from $15,000
(established nine
years ago) to $22,500. Provisions for new expense allowallowances
were dropped, however. There are also raises for
the federal judiciary
and some officers of the Justice De
partment. Associate Justices of the Supreme Court are
boosted from $25,000 to $35,000,
with the Chief Justice
getting $500 more. Lower levels of the federal judiciary are
raised 50 per cent. Of course all these officials pay income
tax on their salaries, so the raises are not clear gain. The
total cost of the increases will be only about $5 million
per year, but they will probably lead to strong demands for
raises for other federal workers.
RED CROSS DRIVE
The annual fund-raising campaign for the Red Cross fs
again under way, with a national goal of $85 million. The
most dramatic work of the Red Cross is in disaster relief.
Last year, for example, it spent over $3 million in helping
hurricane victims. About 40 per cent of its budget, how
ever, goes for aid to American servicemen and veterans,
especially those who are hospitalized. The Red Cr"oss also.
provides blood for civilian and defense use, totalling nearly
three million pints last year. In addition, it gives first-aid.
training and safety education to hundreds of thousands of
Americans every year. All this is done on a very small'
administrative budget, for the Red Cross depends mainly
on its two million volunteer workers.
COMMUNIST PRISONERS
The U. S. has again asked Peiping to release 41 Ameri
can civilians held in Red China. Of these, 26 are in jail,
3 under house arrest, and 12 others are denied permission
to leave the country. The latest move was made through
the U. S. and Red Chinese consuls at Geneva, Switzerland.
by a procedure set up at the Geneva conference last June.
The consuls have held eleven meetings in Geneva on theprisoner
question, paralleling the continued efforts of U. N.
Secretary General Dag Hammarskjold to secure the release
of fifteen U. S. airmen. Since last June the Reds have re
leased eighteen Americans. However, two of those recently
set free seem to have been thoroughly converted to Com
munism.
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