Covenanter Witness Vol. 53 - Rparchives.org

services"Current EventsBy Prof. William H. Russell, Ph.D.STRONGER RESERVESThe Defense Department has announced the new militaryprogram which it will present to Congress for action. Itaims at providing a reserve of five million men by 1959.Three million of these would be in organized, trained forces,subject to first call in case of a general mobilization. Twomillion more would be in a non-organized, non-paid reservepool which could be called if needed. We now have areserve force of three million, but less than half of theseare taking any training, and there is no way to compelthem to do so under the present law. The new programwould make reserve training mandatory after two years ofactive duty. The draft and the National Guard system areto continue without major changes. However, 100,000 youngmen under 19 could volunteer each year for six months ofactive training, to be followed byreserve status for aslong as nine and one-half years. This idea will probablybe attacked as the entering wedge for Universal MilitaryTraining. Building up the reserves may allow some reductionin the active forces and thus cut defense expenditures, butthe Pentagon will also ask Congress for a general payincrease for the armed forces.FOUNDATIONS UNDER FIREA special House committee has brought in a reportsharply criticizing the nation's tax-exempt foundations.The foundations, the committee said, control about $7.5billion with an income of $675 million a year, and havebecomethe government"a force in our society second only to that ofitself."The committee divided on partylines.- The three-man Republican majority acknowledgedthe many "magnificentof the foundations in suchfields as science, medicine, public health, and education,but it found "graveabuses"in their administration. Insome cases, it claimed, foundations have been createdmainly to secure exemption from federal income and inheritance taxes, and to perpetuate family control of largeenterprises. The majority also charged that the foundationshave promoted world government and other"leftist"political views, and that the major foundations have combined to exercise control over public opinion.The two-man Democratic minority attacked the majorityreport as biased, and asserted that the foundations mustbe left completely free. The presidents of the Rockefeller,Ford, and Reid Foundations, three of the largest, havealso called the majority report unfair. They claim thatthey were not allowed to testify at the hearings, and thatthe committee accepted many charges against them without supportingevidence. The foundations have become oneof our major supports for social improvement, and it willbe very unfortunate if this report should lead to attemptsat political control of their work.HOUSING REPORTAnother Congressional report comes from the SenateBanking Committee, which has been investigating the FHAscandals. The grouprental projects,examined 543 out of a total of 7,045and found FHA-guaranteed mortgage loanstotalling $75 million more than the true construction costs.This represents"windfall"December 29, 1954profits, which the builders couldtake from tenants through excessive rentals. The committeesaid that it might be better for the government to buildthe projects itself than to allow such practices to continue.The report bitterly denounced Clyde L. Powell, former assistant FHA commissioner in charge of the rental housingprogram. It also blasted some of the builders, and recommended continued investigation by the Internal Revenuebureau and Justice Department.VIOLENCE IN CYPRUSThe U. N. has shelved Greece's demand for a plebescitein Cyprus to determine whether the Mediterranean islandshall remain a British colony or be given to Greece. Thisdecision resulted mainly from our announcement that theU. S. would not support the Greek resolution. The resulthas been anti-British and anti-American rioting in Greeceand Cyprus. At Nicosia, British police and troops used teargas to drive back the mobs and set a police guard over theU. S. consulate. Angry demonstrations also broke out inother towns in Cyprus, showing the strong feeling of theGreeks who make up a majority of the population of Cyprus.Covenanters are anxiously awaiting word of the safety ofour people and property in Cyprus, but until news comes wecan only pray for their safekeeping. The work of our schoolat Latakia, Syria, has also been interrupted by anti-American demonstrations.NATO STRENGTHThe foreign ministers of the fourteen NATO countrieshave met in Paris and agreed to the use of Americanatomic weapons for the defense of western Europe. Militaryauthorities will immediately begin to incorporate suchweapons in their defense plans, but the final decision ontheir use in a particular case will be made by the civiliangovernment of the member nations. The U. S. can still deliver atomic attacks from American bases without NATOapproval. In line with the adjustment of atomic warfare,emphasis was also shifted from sheer quantityto maintainingfor immediate combat.of troopsa smaller number of divisions in readinessThe annual review of NATO's military plans and accomplishments showed nearly every country except theU. S. easingup. Estimated defense expenditures for thisyear were less than for 1953, in spite of Europe's increasedprosperity. Plans for the next three years do not call forany increase in NATO armies, except the addition of twelveGerman divisions if the Paris agreements are ratified. NATOnow has about 48 active divisions assigned to it in Europe,whereas Soviet Russia has 175 and the satellite states 80more.SELF-PRESERVATION AT WORKSafe Driving Day, proclaimed by President Eisenhowerfor December 15, proved a worthwhile experiment. For thewhole country, there were 45 traffic deaths, less than halfthe dailyaverage of 97 for the first ten months of thisyear. These results show what can be accomplished by publicity, extra measures of law enforcement, and special careby drivers. However, some areas reported little or no improvement, and the number of accidents was still far higherthan necessary.403