Covenanter Witness Vol. 54 - Rparchives.org

ealistic."
Current Events
By Prof. William H. Russell, Ph.D.
BARGAIN FOR AUSTRIA
Soviet Russia and Austria have agreed on the terms of
an Austrian peace treaty, which would end the foreign oc
cupation of Austria and restore her to full sovereignty. After
blocking this settlement for ten years, Russia has made un
expected concessions. She agreed to the immediate with
drawal of occupying troops, and to the payment of $150
million reparations in Austrian goods rather than cash. Rus
sia promised to sell out her holdings in Austrian shipping
facilities and oil installations. She also agreed to return all
Austrian prisoners of war.
This development will stimulate the calling of a Big
Four conference. It should be easy to settle the Austrian
treaty, but Russia also is likely to bring up the question of
Germany. The Soviets stipulated that Austria must not join
any military alliance, and Russia probably expects the
Germans to believe that they too can be united if they will
remain neutral and unarmed. If the Russians should make
a genuine offer to free and unify Germany provided she did
not rearm, Western strategy would be severely tested.
POLIO VICTORY
One of the happiest items in the recent news is the suc
cess of the Salk polio vaccine. Thorough evaluation showed
that the vaccine was 80 to 90 per cent effective against the
paralytic form of polio, and at least 60 per cent effective
against other forms. Its value may be increased by better
methods of application; most vaccines are 90 to 95 per cent
effective when fully
perfected. Out of last summer's test
group, less than one child in 200 suffered any unfavorable
reaction.
Polio will not immediately be eliminated as a health
threat, for this would require vaccination of most of the
population. The National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis
has already ordered enough vaccine for 13.5 million persons,
and more will soon be available for private distribution. By
late summer there should be enough to meet any polio epi
demic. In many states, children in the first two grades of
school will be offered free inoculations.
OUT OF THE RUNNING
Chief Justice Earl Warren has removed himself from
the political arena by announcing that he intends to spend
the rest of his life on the Supreme Court. He made this
declaration after a public opinion poll indicated that he was
second only to Eisenhower as a favorite for the 1956 Repub
lican nomination. In language which was about as positive
as he could make it, Warren said that he would not change
his mind "under any circumstances or
conditions."
His state
ment will increase the pressure from liberal Republicans for
Eisenhower's renomination. Such declinations are not very
common, and a few more would help to clear the air.
SPENDING MONEY
The chairmen of both the Democratic and Republican
national committees have told a Senate subcommittee that
the limit of $3 million on their campaign expenditures should
be raised. Democratic chairman Paul Butler said that the
ceiling should be increased to at least $6 million. Leonard
W. Hall, Republican chief, did not name a specific amount
April 27, 1955
but testified that the present limit was "outmoded and un
and television.
Both pointed out the high cost of airplane travel
There are many loopholes in the present laws on cam
paign spending. They do not apply to primary elections, or
to spending by state and local committees or temporary
groups. The Senate Privilege and Elections subcommittee is
considering
a bill which would let the national committees
spend $12 million apiece, but place limits on subsidiary
groups and also extend the controls to primary elections.
Next year's Presidential campaign will be shorter but more
intensive than 1952's and probably just as expensive.
POWER NEEDED
The Office of Defense Mobilization would like to in
crease America's electric power production by almost 50
per cent in the next three years. It has presented a Congres
sional committee with a program which would add 46 million
kilowatts to the 104 million available at the end of 1954. In
1953 and 1954 our utilities added 21 million kilowatts, the
largest increase in any two-year period. The need would be
much greater, however, in case of full mobilization. One
method by which the O.D.M. would encourage expansion is
by allowing fast tax write-offs on new plants. Congress will
soon be asked to extend for two more years the Defense
Production Act which expires on June 30. This gives the
O.D.M. extensive powers over production in case of war.
CANCER DRIVE
The annual fund-raising drive of the American Cancer
Society centers attention on America's second most deadly
disease. Cancer takes more than one hundred times as many
lives as polio, and is outranked, as a killer, only by heart
disease. At current rates, one person in four is likely to de
velop cancer sometime in his lifetime. Modern research
indicates that some viruses may be associated with the be
ginning of cancer, in which case the Salk polio research may
help in the discovery of a cancer remedy. At a recent meet
ing of the American Association for Cancer Research, sev
eral reports dealt with the relation between cigarette smok
ing and lung cancer. The cancer-causing ingredient seems
not to be nicotine, but some other unidentified substance
in cigarette tar.
SAFE DRIVING
America's highways are gradually getting safer, the
National Safety Council reports. The record number of
traffic deaths, nearly 40,000, was set in 1941. Last year there
were 36,300 deaths, but a great many more automobiles
were in use. The deaths per 100 million car-miles have fallen
steadily in the last 25 years. In 1930 the rate was 16, in 1940
11.4, and in 1950 7.6. Last year there were only 6.5 deaths
per 100 million car-miles, a new low. Cars and highways are
gradually being improved. Modern freeways and super
highways usually have a low accident rate. Drivers also are
gradually getting more sensible and skillful. In most areas,
however, the best accident preventive is still a strict pro
gram of law enforcement. Thorough tests for licensing dri
vers, and automobile inspection systems, have also contribu
ted to the general improvement.
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