Covenanter Witness Vol. 55 - Rparchives.org

paper"Current EventsFRANCE WALKS OUTColonialism has caused an unexpected crisis in theUnited Nations. The Assembly's steering committee votedagainst including the problem of Algeria on the agenda. Butwhen the committee report came before the whole Assembly,this recommendation was reversed, by a vote of 28 to 27.Since the government of Algeria is united with that ofFrance, the French government calls it an internal problem,beyond the jurisdiction of the U. N. The U. S., Great Britain, and most of the western powers respected France'swishes by voting against the Algeria debate. The Communiststates and the Arab and Asiatic countries, sensitive to colonialism, were the ones who insisted on putting the questionon the agenda.The French delegates promptly walked out, and the nextday were instructed to return to France. It seems unlikelythat France will withdraw permanently from the U. N., forit would lose far more than it could gain thereby. Theprestige of the U. N. suffers sharply, however, when anygreat power defies it. French resentment over Soviet support of the "anti-colonial" position will also help to destroythe good feeling between East and West which has arisen inrecent months. The U. N. vote, in addition, will strengthenNationalist sentiment in Algeria and Morocco, makingFrance's problems there all the worse.MOROCCAN TURMOILThe French cabinet may break up at any time over thequestion of Morocco. This summer hundreds of lives werelost in nationalist riots, centering on demands for the returnof the former sultan. Premier Faure favored negotiatingwith the nationalists for reforms, but the die-hard Frenchcolonials in Morocco, backed byother conservatives inFrance, opposed any concessions. Recently the cabinet announced that it had agreed to remove the present sultan,but Foreign Minister Pinay and high-ranking military officers immediately objected. Finally the sultan left Morocco of his own accord. Full-scale fighting began at once, andagreement is unlikely as longas the French insist on apro-French council to govern Morocco. The French cling toMorocco not only for its economic value, but as a symbolof the great empire which they once ruled. Any Frenchcabinet which gave up North Africa would fall from powerimmediately.OIL FOR ISRAELOil has been found in the southwestern part of Israel, onthe edge of the Negeb desert. The strike seems to indicate amajor field, with petroleum of better than average quality.It is expected to save Israel $50 million a year in oil imports. The discovery will weaken the effect of the Arabblockade, and decrease Israel's dependence on the West.The Arab states have never recognized Israel's title to theNegeb since the armistice of 1949, but Israel certainly willnot yield anyof the territory now.SUPERCARRIER IN SERVICE226The giant aircraft carrier Forrestal has been formallycommissioned. It cost almost $200 million, and will carry acrew of 3,500. The Forrestal is the world's largest warship,and the first of a new class of carriers which will displace70,000 to 80,000 tons each. All will have angled flight decksand handle jet planes. Four others besides the Forrestal havebeen begun or authorized, and the navy wants several more.The building of these supercarriers caused great controversyduring the Truman administration, due to the fear thatthey could be too easily sunk by enemy planes. Some navyairmen have high hopes for the revival of seaplanes. Onenew water-based plane which has proven highly successfulin flight tests is the SeaMaster, a bomber using four jetengines. It can reach speeds above 600 m.p.h. and has arange of 2,000 miles. The SeaMaster could alight on anysheltered body of water and be serviced quickly by submarines, making it difficult for enemy patrols to discover.STOCK BREAKPresident Eisenhower's illness sent a serious shockthrough the American stock market. On the following Monday, prices took their biggest break since the crash ofOctober, 1929. In a few days, however, most of the loss hadbeen regained, and some experts felt that the break hadserved a good purpose by shakingout speculators. Government officials announced that there would be no change inbasic policies and that there was no cause for apprehension.The Ford Motor Co. backed up its confidence in the economyby announcing a $500 million expansion program for 1956.TRAITOR'S STORYABritish "whitehas revealed more ofstory of Guy Burgess and Donald MacLean, the ForeignOffice employees who disappeared behind the Iron Curtainin 1951. Both became interested in Communism during the1930's. By World War II they were already carrying on espionage for the Soviet Union, yet had access to many secretdocuments in the Foreign Office. They first came undersuspicion because ofdrinking andimmorality, and were notsuspected of espionage until 1949. Even then their activities were not curtailed. When they learned in 1951 that theywere being investigated, they left England without hindrance. Mrs. MacLean joined them in 1953. These disclosures have aroused protest against the lax securitymeasures, even though the government says that all employees have been carefully screened since 1952.UNPREDICTABLE WINDSPity the poor weatherman! After elaborate warningsand precautions, Hurricane lone veered out to sea withouthitting the Northeastern seaboard. Many persons were justas angry as if a big storm had struck without warning. Thenext hurricane, Janet, proved more serious. It killed morethan 100 on the Caribbean island of Barbados, then swervednorthwest across the Gulf of Mexico. Blasting the Mexicancoast around the city of Tampico, Janet left nearly 300 dead,1,000 injured, and 100,000 homeless. With nearly threemonths yet to go, we have already had more than the average number of hurricanes for a year.theCOVENANTER WITNESS