Covenanter Witness Vol. 55 - Rparchives.org

Current EventsISLAND TROUBLERepresentatives of Great Britain, Greece, and Turkeyrecently met in London without reaching agreement on thefuture of the island of Cyprus. The British have offered togive Cyprus constitutional home rule, but the Greek government insists on self-determination by a plebescite, whichwould probably result in Cyprus joining Greece. ThoughGreece has never controlled Cyprus, 80 per cent of thepeople are of Greek ancestry and language, and belong tothe Greek Orthodox Church. The remainder of the population is mostly Turkish. Turkey held Cyprus up to 1878, andwants it back again if the British withdraw.When the Turkish consulate in the Greek city of Salonika was dynamited, violent anti-Greek riots broke out in theTurkish cities of Istanbul and Izmir, which have large Greekpopulations. Greek-owned homes, shops, and churches weredestroyed by angry Turkish mobs. It is estimated that 300people were injured, and property damage amounted to $35million. The Turkish government moved quickly to restoreorder, but her relations with Greece are still strained. Meanwhile terrorist outbreaks continue in Cyprus, and we anxiously await word of the effects on our mission personneland schools.FREEDOM GAINEDCommunist China has promised to release all U. S. civilians whom it has been detaining. Forty-one Americans areexpected to gain their freedom from this move. Our government has also given Peiping a list of nearly five hundredAmericans missing from the Korean War, in the hope thatsome of them may turn up in Red prisons and be released.The U. S. reaffirmed the right of any Chinese now living inthis country to return to mainland China if they wish. If anyfeel their departure is being obstructed, they may apply tothe Indian Embassy for assistance. These agreements cameafter fourteen meetings at Geneva, extending over a periodof six weeks. The meetings will continue and the Chineseprobably will seek diplomatic and economic concessions,which we have thus far refused to grant.TYRANNY RESTOREDPresident Juan Peron of Argentina has ended theperiod of "pacification" which began after last June's military revolt. He offered to resign, then quickly withdrew theoffer and launched a fierce attack on his enemies. Declaringa state of siege for Buenos Aires, Peron announced new security regulations giving his police almost unlimited powers.Authorities announced the suppression of two terrorist plots,one including five generals. There is still talk of resistanceto Peron by the army and navy, but he seems to have theloyalty of the street crowds in Buenos Aires. If Peron wereoverthrown by the military, there probably would be littlechange in the government, and perhaps a period of terribledisorder. The iiberal politicians who were active in the pastfew months do not seem to have attracted many of theworking class away from Peron.178MAN VS. NATUREFollowing the floods in the Northeast, the other end ofthe country suffered from freaks of the weather. The LosAngeles area had over a week of 100-degree heat, whichcaused or contributed to the death of nearly one hundredpersons. Then California was struck by a series of forestfires. Over two hundred square miles were burned, and theloss in timber alone was estimated at over $15 million. Eightdays of exhausting work were required to save the greattrees of Sequoia National Forest. Meanwhile India has hada disastrous flood, and Egypt was hit bymay be next.AUTO PEACEan earthquake. YouChrysler Motors ended a brief walkout by signing athree-year contract with the United Auto Workers, including a guaranteed annual wage plan similar to those of Fordand General Motors. Chrysler's 139,000 workers are promised65 per cent of their regular pay for 26 weeks. American Motors (Nash and Hudson) also agreed, after a short strike, toa guaranteed wage system. Because of its precarious position in the automobile market, American Motors won easierterms than the "Big Three," and will not begin paying intothe wage fund until September, 1956. These agreements seemto ensure labor peace for the 1956 production year, which isexpected to set even higher records than 1955. The publicwill be watching with keen interest, the next few weeks, asthe new models appear. There is promise of more attentionto safety features, but higher price tags also are likely.KEEPING FITPresident Eisenhower has called a national conferenceto find ways ofbuilding up the physical fitness of Americanyouth. Leaders in health, athletics, and education will meetat Denver September 27-28, with Vice-President Nixon presiding. America's young people have a high average in general health, but are not outstanding in strength or endurance. Automobile riding and spectator sports are commonlyblamed for this. Our high schools and colleges already giveample attention to competitive athletics, but could do moreto promote general participation in activities which willcarry over into adult life. We hope that our youth will notbe driven into mass calisthenics, or anything like Hitler's"Strength Through Joy" movement.CRUNCHY BUSINESSPopcorn, once considered old-fashioned, has popped backinto style and sales are setting new records. Last yearAmerica's popcorn business amounted to $375 million, fourtimes the level of ten years ago. Nearly all movie theaterssell popcorn, and often make more profit from it than fromtheir films. Home popping also has revived, partly due to thedisposable aluminum-foil package combining popcorn, oil,and salt. The Midwest is the best popcorn market, and salesreach their peakduring the winter months. The early American colonists learned the use of popcorn from the Indians.Many kinds are now available, but the most popular is ahybrid variety introduced about twenty years ago.COVENANTER WITNESS