Covenanter Witness Vol. 53 - Rparchives.org

war"cats"Current EventsBy Prof. William H. RussellREAPPRAISAL UNDER WAYFrance's rejection of the European Defense Communitytreaty leaves the U. S. momentarily without an adequateplan for the defense of western Europe. Though PremierMendes-France has assured us that this country is not goingto abandon its allies or make a deal with Russia, we certainly cannot depend on France any longer as the keystoneof European defense. The other nations have no interestin a weakened version of EDC, which is the only alternativeFrance has to offer. American policy may shift toward morereliance on West Germanyand Spain. Great Britain willalso have to assume more leadership in the defense ofEurope.The U. S. and Britain will probably now grant WestGermany full sovereignty and seek her admission to theNorth Atlantic Treaty Organization. But the NATO setupis actually looser, with less restriction on the individual useof armies, than EDC would have been. There may be a meeting of North Atlantic foreign ministers soon to get agreement on West Germany's defense role. All fourteen members of NATO, including France, would have to approveWest Germany's entry. Earlyaction is important becausethe rejection of EDC is a sharp blow to the government ofChancellor Konrad Adenaur, already reeling under labordifficulties and defections to Communist East Germany.ACTION IN ASIAAsia's "cold seems to be warming up again. TheU. S. has clearly committed itself to the defense of Formosaand some of its outlying islands, but it is not certain howclose to the mainland of China we will extend our defenses.The issue became acute with heavy Red attacks on theNationalist-held island of Quemoy, just off the Chinesecoast. The shooting down of a U. S. Navy patrol plane bySoviet jets, forty-four miles from the Siberian coast, increased the tension, but war is not likelydents follow.unless other inciAmerica's Far Eastern forces are being reshuffled tosecure greater mobilityin case of new Communist aggression. Four U. S. divisions are scheduled to leave Korea bythe end of this year, and the Fifth Air Force is moving itsheadquarters back from Korea to Japan. Japanese troopsare going to Hokkaido, their northernmost island, to replaceAmericans who have been on defense duty there. Largerredeployments are expected to come later, with Okinawa asthe probable center of our Asiatic defenses.SENATORIAL MORTALITYTen days after the adjournment of Congress, SenatorBurnet Maybank of South Carolina succumbed to a heartattack. He served in the Senate thirteen years and wasprominent as a member of the Banking and Appropriationscommittees. He was also a leader in the field of housinglegislation. His successor will of course be a Democrat. Maybank'sdeath brings to eight the number of Senators whohave died in the 83rd Congress four others this year, andthree last year. The Republicans and Democrats have eachlost four Senators. A few of these were aged men, butseveral, such as Maybank who was 55, must have had theirlives shortened by the strain of their work.September 15, 1954THE BIG BLOWThough we have been spared the tornadoes of lastsummer, the Northeast has been hit by a disastrous hurricane, the worst since the great storm of 1938. This timethere was more adequate warning, and the death toll didnot approach the mark of 317 set in 1938. But property damage may be greater, with estimates ranging from $300 to$500 million. Not only were buildings, boats, and otherproperty destroyed, but more than three and a half millionpersons found themselves without electricity. Industrieswere forced to shut down for lack of power, and at leasta million pounds of food spoiled due to the failure of refrigeration equipment. We seldom realize our depdendenceon electricity until it goes off.SEGREGATED CLASSROOMSEarlyestimates place the nation's school and collegeenrollment at 38 million this year, a new record. Enrollments have increased steadily for the last ten years, but thepeaks are yet to come, because of the high birth rates duringand since World War II. As schools reopened, interest centered on the effect of last May's Supreme Court decisionoutlawing segregation. In eight states and the District ofColumbia, which had segregation, it is on the way out. New-Mexico is the only state to end segregation completely and immediately, but the others are taking gradual steps toward!that end. Ten states in the deep South are holding out, atleast until the Supreme Court brings in its final decree,sometime next year,on federal procedures for the enforcement of de-segregation. However, the NAACP is taking immediate legal steps to test the continuation of segregation inthese states. Thus far there have been no reports of violence,either where schools were integrated or where Negroeswere denied admissionPACHUCO OUTBREAKThe latest development in the annals of American crimeis the wide spread of the "Pachucos," who began as a secretorganization of young hoodlums among the Spanish-Americans of the southwest. They have already gone out of stylein Los Angeles, but have now reappeared all over the country. Pachuco tattoos or other marks have been found onmany airmen, and on young civilians in several cities. Theyfollow no racial or nationality pattern. Most authorities donot believe that there is actually a widespread secret terrorist organization; rather, the pachucos are young "copywho want to seem tough. But many of them carryvicious weapons and use narcotics. What else can we expectwhen we glorify criminals through every medium of popularentertainment?MORE MOUTHS TO FEEDThe world's population is increasing at the rate of100,000 every 24 hours, according to experts attending aseventy-country United Nations Conference on Population.The annual increase is thus about 36]/2 million. At that rate,the world's present population of 2% billion will be doubledwithin the next century. The conference went on to consider some of the problems this will raise. The use of atomicand solar energy, with the development of new sources offood supply, will be essential to support such a population.163