Covenanter Witness Vol. 53 - Rparchives.org

Current EventsByProf. William H. RussellA COSTLY PEACEDepartment clearance, and has been transferred toAugust 4, 1954Americans can find little satisfaction in the armisticeconcluded in Indochina. Our government yielded to Frenchentreaties and sent Under Secretary of State Bedell Smith toGeneva, but we did not ratify the peace settlement. The leadMcCarthy's Senate office payroll. By these moves McCarthyheaded off, at least temporarily, a move by a majority ofhis committee for a general housecleaning of the staff.FOR BETTER ROADSers of Viet Nam also refused to ratify, for they were virtuallyignored in the negotiations. After Speaking to the 1954 Governors' Conference, Presidenteight years of warfare,Eisenhowerthe French and the Communist Vietminh agreed on a peacerecently proposed that the nation spend $50based on the partition of Viet Nam near the 17th parallel.billion over the next ten years for highway building and improvement. This would be in addition to the present federalstateThe French have 300 days to evacuate the northern city ofManoi and Haiphong, its port. Neither side is to bring in highway program, which amounts to about $4 billiona year. Eisenhower believes that the new roads could bemilitary reinforcements, and no new military bases maymade tobe establshed by any nation. Prisoners will be freed andpay for themselves through tolls or increased gasoline taxes. State authorities would be given a share incivilians will be allowed to move from one zone to another,so that, in theory at least, no one will be forced to live planning and control. The governors are to consider theproposal and reportunder Communism. Laos and Cambodia are to be independby the end of the year, so thatlegislationent, but they will be wide open to Communist aggressionmay be introduced at the next Congress.whenever the Reds get ready to move in.Anyone who has traveled this summer will grant thatsomething needs to be done. In the last ten years ourTHAILAND NEXTThe fall of Indochina brings grave danger to Thailand,the neighboring state to the west. Thailand, formerly knownas Siam, has never been a European colonial possession.She is staunchly anti-Communist, and determined to remain free. Since World War II we have sent her over $150million in economic and military aid, but much more isnow needed. The commander in chief of Thailand's armyhas visted Washington and obtained the assurance of increased military aid, both in equipment and in Americanmilitary advisers. The nation's army will be built up tonumber of automobiles has doubled, while the capacity ofthe roads has grown very little. The problem grows worseevery year. Our inadequate roads contribute to the traffictoll of about 40,000 dead and a million injured last year.They also caused a tremendous economic loss in transportation delays. But the proper way to finance roadbuildingis not easily settled. The governors of some wealthy and.heavily populated states, such as Pennsylvania, oppose anyexpansion of federal aid because their states would bearmore than their share of the cost. Some would even abolishthe Bureau of Public Roads and return the highways to100,000. Soon the U. S. may be asked to commit herselfstate control. Such a move, however, would certainly cripdefinitely to the defense of Thailand against Red aggresple interstate transportation, and could be blocked in thesion.CLOSING DAYSU. S. Senate by the sparsely populated states.THHISTY LANDAs we write, Congress is rushing toward adjournment.No more major bills have passed both houses, but many willgo through in the last few days. We will begin summingthem up in our next column. The last big debate, whichA long period of record heat throughout the centralstates in July merely emphasized that the country has neverrecovered from last year's serious drought. Some communities arethreatened to delay thealreadyadjournment of Congress, wasrationing water again, and field crops areendangered throughout the Middleover the Administration's atomoc energy bill. Our basicWest. Colorado, NewAtomic Energy Act was drawn up in Mexico, and Texas, which received federal disaster relief1946, and conditionslastsince then have changed so radically that a general over year, are again eligible. Wyoming, Oklahoma, Missouri,hauling was and Georgia have also applied forobviously in order. The new bill provided foraid, and Kansas is likelyto follow. President Eisenhower hasthe entry of private authorized an emerindustry into the atomic power field,but this was opposed on the ground that it would cater togency program similar to last summer's, whereby droughtstrickenfarmers canmonopolies. A key point in the debate was Eisenhower'sbuy livestock feed from the Comattempt to have the Atomic Energy Commissionmodity Credit Corporation at half the usual marketnegotiateprice.But even this will not be enougha $107-million contract for private power to befor thesent intofarmers andthe area of the TVA.ranchers who suffered serious losses last summer. Unlessthe plains states have good soaking rains in the next twoSTAFF SHAKEUPmonths, the whole area faces disaster.The country seems to feel little regret at the resignation of Roy Cohn as chief counsel for Senator McCarthy's WARMING UPInvestigations Subcommittee. The 27-year-old Cohn said Even the Arctic North seems to be thawing out.his resignation was necessary to enable the committee tocarry on its work, but that it represented "a victory forScientists predict that within 25 to 50 years the ice-chokedArtie Ocean may become navigable. Every year the greatthe Communists." Another McCarthy aide, Thomas W. icecaps, such as the one which covers Greenland, areLavenia, has been denied security clearance by the Pentagon, thus barring him from access to classified documents.McCarthy has protested and demanded a report on thecase. A third member of McCarthy's staff, a former FBIagent named Donald A. Surine, was also refused Defensegradually receding. Some believe that within a few generations, the melting ice will raise the level of the world'soceans enough to flood many of our seaport cities. Thismight even be as great a challenge to modern civilizationas the atomic bomb.67