Covenanter Witness Vol. 54 - Rparchives.org

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Current Events
By Prof. William H. Russell, Ph.D.
OPENING THE DOOB
Our State Department has announced that
seventysix
Chinese students who had been refused permission to
leave this country may now return to Communist China.
At the time the Chinese Reds overran the mainland, there
were about five thousand Chinese students training in this
country. Only
a small fraction of these were forbidden to
return, because they had acquired scientific or technical
skills which would be of special value to the Communists.
The ban originally affected 124 students, but not all of these
wanted to return to Red China.
In removing this restriction, our government hopes to
aid in the release of the fifteen airmen and forty-one U. S.
civilians who are now held in Communist China. At the
Geneva conference last summer the Reds gave the matter
of the Chinese students as one justification for their de
tention of Americans. The U. S. denied any direct connec
tion between the two issues, but allowing the students to
return should strengthen our moral position, particularly
in the eyes of'other Asiatic countries.
STOCK SPECULATIONS
Senator Fulbright's investigation of the stock market
seems to have accomplished little except to demonstrate
that the market is very sensitive. No one seems able to state
with authority whether the market is too high or whether
there is likely to be a serious collapse. Fulbright uncovered
no major abuses and the study
seemed to make little po
litical capital for the Democrats. During the first two weeks
of hearings, stock prices took their worst drop in fifteen
years; but most of the loss was recovered in the next two
weeks.
Figures for the first three months of this year seem
to justify
economic optimism. Automobile production and
sales set new records. Steel production was also at an alltime
high, and other metals were in short supply. The federal
Reserve Board's index of industrial production tied the
record set in May, 1953, and wages and department-store
sales reached new peaks. One of our unsolved economic
problems however, is a continued lag in farm income.
REENLISTMENT PAY
Congress has carried out a request of President Eisen
hower for raising the pay of men who reenlist in the armed
services. This is designed to counteract the alarming drop
in the reenlistment rate since the Korean War. In 1949,
41 per cent of the Army personnel reenlisted at the end of
their first term of service, but in 1954 the rate was down
to 11.6 per cent. In some cases half the original enlistment
period is taken up by expensive technical training,
which is
lost when the man drops out of the service. The new pay
raise applies to enlisted men with at least two years service,
and officers who have served three years. The greatest in
creases are for the lower ranks of officers, where the drop
out rate has been most serious.
AID FOB LIBBAB1ES
One modest but worthwhile bill now before Congress
would give federal aid to the states for the improvement
of public library service in rural areas. Libraries are ex
pensive to maintain in sparsely-populated regions and it is
April 13, 1955
estimated that about 26 million Americans do not have
access to any adequate public library. The bill calls for
the appropriation of $7.5 million a year, for the next five
years. To receive the aid, each state would have to submit
a plan approved by the federad Commissioner of Education.
The bill is backed by the American Library Association and
would be an excellent investment of federal funds.
BACK TO THE SOUTH POLE
Next November Rear Admiral Richard E. Byrd will
lead his fifth expedition to the Antartic. Last winter ("sum
in the Antartic) the icebreaker Atka conducted pre
liminary explorations along the coast. Byrd will establish
three observation stations, one directly at the South Pole.
This will be by far our largest and costliest Antartic expedi
tion. Admiral Byrd will use fourteen planes, including three
of the biggest transports which will land supplies on the
polar icecap. He will also have a large number of tracked
vehicles for crossing the snow. The main purpose of the
expedition will be to prepare the way for astronomical and
geological observations during the International Geophysical
Year of 1957-1958. Thirty-nine countries, including Soviet
Russia, will participate in world-wide observations during
that period.
KREMLIN HEADACHES
Recent reports from Russia indicate that the Soviets
are seriously troubled with inflation. An article in Pravda,
the Communist party newspaper, states that the money
income of the Russian people rose 25 per cent from 1952 to
1954. This was much more than the rise in the production
of food and other consumer goods, and the natural result has
been a boom in black markets. The Reds would like to raise
the prices in state stores, but dare not do so for fear of
the popular reaction. Last year's poor harvests have made
the situation worse. One measure against inflation is com
pulsory bond sales, which have almost doubled this year.
Factory managers are also under pressure to reduce their
labor force and increase production. Thousands of collectivefarm
chairmen are being replaced. Russia has also cancelled
over $12 million worth of orders for British textile and
shoemaking machinery.
TAXPAYEBS STEIKE
One of the strangest forces in modern French politics
is a group known as the Poujadists. They
are named for
their leader, Pierre Poujade, a small-town bookseller who
heads a "Union for the Defense of Shopkeepers and Arti
with about 800,000 members. They refuse to pay any
taxes until the whole French tax system is reformed. In
some districts tax inspectors and collectors have been forced
to abandon their work. Poujade recently went to the Na
tional assembly and threatened to overthrow Premier Faure
unless the government removed all penalties for tax evasion.
The government agreed only to stop tax inspection for the
smalest businessmen. The Poujadists have some legitimate
grievances, for France's personal income tax laws are not
properly enforced, while businessmen have been strictly
taxed by inspection of their books. The movement has
alarming Fascist tendencies, however, and indicates a
serious lack of confidence in the French government.
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