Covenanter Witness Vol. 55 - Rparchives.org

saucers"able"saucer."Current EventsProf. William H. Russell, Ph.D.BORDER TROUBLEThe Middle East seems closer to war than at any timesince the signing of the armistice between Egypt and Israelin 1949. Due to the East-West split in the U. N. and the implacable hostility of the Arab states, no formal peace treatyhas even been considered. In spite of occasional clashes alongthe border, neither Egypt nor Israel seem anxious to renewthe war. Now Russia's decision to arm the Egyptians hasupset the balance of power. Since the first agreement withCzechoslovakia last August, Egypt has received at least tenshipments of arms, including some jet planes. Soviet militarytechnicians also have arrived. At the end of October, heavyfighting began in a demilitarized zone along the border inthe Sinai Desert, with several hundred troops engaged. Thereseems to be no good prospect of a settlement through theU. N., and the U. S. and Great Britain are afraid to reinforce Israel on a large scale for fear all the Arab states willline up with Moscow. The role of the peacemaker has seldombeen more difficult.GOING WESTThe Census Bureau has released a detailed analysis ofthe national population at the end of 1954. During the fiveyearperiod since 1950, the total rose from 152 to 162.4 million, a seven per cent increase. All regions showed increases,the greatest in the southwest. Nevada and Arizona had thelargest percentage increases. The only states showing a netloss of population were Maine, Vermont, Alabama, Mississippi, West Virginia, Arkansas, and Oklahoma. In continuation of the modern trend, farm population declined, from25 million to less than 22 million. This is largelysteady increase in the efficiency of farm production.ROYAL, CHOICEFor three weeks the English-speakingdue to aworld waited tolearn whether Princess Margaret of Great Britain wouldmarry Group Capitan Peter Townsend. The situation hadelements of tragedy, for no happy ending seemed possible.Margaret's final decision, not to marry Townsend, was basedprimarily on the laws of the Church of England against theremarriage of divorced persons. Margaret also would havehad to give up most of the privileges of royalty. The Britishroyal family is expected to set an example for all its subjects, and many felt that the marriage would have seriously weakened its prestige. Others were less sympatheticbecause Townsend was a commoner, and sixteen years olderthan Margaret. On the other hand, many Englishmen feltthat Margaret should be free to follow her own wishes, especially since she has only a remote chance of succeeding tothe throne. The case certainly proves that royalty is stillimportant in Great Britain. It was unfortunate that thematter could not have been settled earlier, before it becamea public controversy.SAUCERS AND SPACE SHIPSFor several years the Air Force has painstakingly investigated all reports of "flyingor other unusualobjects in the sky. A detailed study of nearly five thousand322such "sightings" has been released. The majorityof themwere identified as balloons, aircraft, meteors, or other natural phenomena. Less than 9 per cent could not be explained, and the descriptions of these showed no commonpattern. The Air Force concludes that it is "highly improbthat anyof the objects sighted represent more advanced types of aircraft than we have. Actually, there soonwill be experimental planes flyingwhich are very close tothe popular conception of the "flyingSULTAN'S RETURNFrance has agreed to reinstate Mohammed ben Youssefas Sultan of Morocco. Two years ago the French ousted himbecause of his sympathy with Moroccan nationalists, andput in a puppet, ben Moulay Arafa, in his place. This merelyinflamed nationalism and made ben Youssef a martyr. Following heavy fighting last summer, ben Arafa stepped downin September and a regency council was established to forma new government. Still not satisfied, the nationalists demanded the return of ben Youssef. When the leading nativeprince, the Pasha of Marrakech, turned against them, theFrench gave in. Morocco is to become a "democratic constitutionalyet to be defined.POLIO CONQUESTmonarchy,"with the degree of French controlThe Public Health Service predicts that this will be thelightest year for polio since 1951. So far there have beennearly four-fifths as many cases as last year, but the mortality rate is only half as high. About 29,000 cases are expected for the whole year. The Salk vaccine is not creditedwith this improvement, for not enough persons received thefull inoculation of threeshots'to change the national rate.However, the seven million children in the five-to-nine agegroup who did receive Salk vaccine showed 25 to 50 per centfewer cases than among those not inoculated. Next year,when the Salk vaccine gets a full trial, the evidence may bemore conclusive. An official of the National Foundation forInfantile Paralysis predicts that the paralytic form of poliomay be virtually eliminated in seven to ten years.DICTATOR'S LEGACYEx-President Juan Peron of Argentina is visiting Nicaragua as the guest of President Anastasio Somoza, an oldfriend. General Somoza has been dictator of Nicaragua since1933 and might give Peron some political lessons. Peron,however, has accepted internment in Paraguaythat he has no intention of returning to Argentina. Meanand claimswhile, his successor, President Eduardo Lonardi, has hishands full at Buenos Aires. In the last five years underPeron, Argentine foreign trade dropped to half its previouslevel. Reckless inflation also contributed to the economicchaos. In order to correct the balance of trade by encouraging exports and discouraging imports, Lonardi has devalued the peso. When Peron's stronghold, the national confederation of labor unions, threatened to call a generalstrike, Lonardi promptly suspended every union official. Argentina has hard days ahead before she can regain eitherdemocracyor prosperity.COVENANTERWITNESS