Covenanter Witness Vol. 55 - Rparchives.org

evils."citizens."war"Current EventsProf. William H. Russell, Ph.D.DEADLOCK AT GENEVAThe recent foreign minister's conferenceat Geneva,Switzerland, has chilled last summer's hopes of worldfriendship. Three weeks of negotiations ended in completefailure to solve any of the major issues on the agenda. TheSoviet Union once more refused to allow free elections asthe basis for reuniting East and West Germany. In thefield of disarmament, the Russians brushed aside PresidentEisenhower's proposal of air inspection to enforce atomicdisarmament, and revived their own "comprehensive" program of disarmament without adequate safeguards. Neither did Molotov show any sincere interest in improving East-West cultural contacts, which had been another purposeof the conference. The meeting broke up with no attemptto conceal the disagreement or to plan another conference.Secretary of State Dulles reported his satisfaction thatthe Western states had demonstrated their unity and exposed Russia's determined opposition to necessary measuresfor world peace. Apparently we can expect another longcoexistence,"period of "Competitivealso known as the "coldwar."Russia's arming of the Arab and. nations, a goodwill tour by Bulganin and Khrushchev to Afghanistan, India,and Burma, indicate some of the new lines of Soviet diplomacy.IN THE RINGAdlai Stevenson has become the first. Democrat to announce his formal candidacy for the 1956 Presidential nomination. He now shows none of the reluctance he.had in1952, when he had to be "drafted." During the 1952. campaign Stevenson made a go6d impression as an intelligent,middle-of-the-road candidate, and he stands in well withmost professional Democratic politicians. Next March hewill enter the Presidential primary in Minnesota, where heis strongly backed bySenator Hubert Humphrey. Stevenson also will go on the. primary ballot in Pennsylvania,California, Oregon, and perhaps a few other states. Senator Estes Kefauver, a leading rival, is expected to announcehis candidacy in December. New York's Averell Harrimanwill not enter any primary contests, but will remain available as a compromise candidate.NEW BLOODEver since 1950, the membershipof the United Nationshas stood at sixty. Twenty-two nations have applied sincethen, but none have been admitted because of the East-West deadlock. New members must be approved by theSecurity Council, where the big powers have a veto power,and also must secure a two-thirds vote in the Generalcrime in our teen-age population, evidence of bribery andunethical conduct in amateur athletics, the effort madeby many to cheat on their income tax."The mad search for pleasure which causes our peopleto spend four times as much for alcoholicbeverages, asthey do for religious and welfare activities."The inroads which the doctrine of aetheistic communism is makingupon, the thinking of some of ourDr. Price called upon doctors to remember that theyare men and citizens and should try to counteract suchNovember 3,0? 1955Assembly. Canada recently sponsored a"package"resolution to admit all the applicantsthe divided statesof Korea and Viet Nam. Among the candidates proposed bythe West are such important states as Austria, Ceylon, Finland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Portugal, and Spain, as wellas several smaller countries which have a clear right tomembership. These would more than balance the SovietsponsoredAlb'ania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Rumania,and OuterMongolia. However, the U. S. delegation has announcedthat it will oppose the admission of Outer Mongolia because it is not an independent state, having no diplomaticrelations even with the Soviet Union. The Russians, in turn,threaten to veto all the Western-sponsored countries unless Outer Mongolia is admitted. This deadlock may halt avery promising move to make the U. N. more representative.FRENCH DELAYThe French National Assembly has again proven itsgreat skill at doing nothing. To strengthen his government,Premier Edgar Faure proposed that the Assembly be dissolved and national elections held in December, six monthsahead of schedule. The Assemblymen, determined to holdtheir places as long as possible, passed instead a law directing the premier to draw up a new electorial redistrictingplan. This will take at least a month and then will consume more weeks of Assembly debate. The delay is favoredby the backers of ex-Premier Mendes France, who hopes toreturn to power next spring. Legislation will probably beat a standstill until then. In Great Britain, where the primeminister can dissolve Parliament without its consent, suchstalling is impossible.HEADING SOUTHRear Admiral Richard E. Byrd is leaving on his fifthexpedition to the Antarctic. He will help prepare forAmerica's part in the investigations of the InternationalGeophysical Year, 1957-58. Admiral Byrd, who founded:his famous Antarctic settlement of "Little America" onhis first expedition in 1928, believes that from now on theAntarctic will be permanently occupied. The South Polarcontinent could be of immediate value as a testing groundfor guided missiles and atomic weapons, in addition totheultimate development of its mineral resources. It maybecome involved in a genuine "cold if the Russians tryto make good some of their early territorial claims. During 1956 and 1957 the U. S. will establish at least six bases,one directly at the South Pole. The expedition is appropriately known as Operation Deepfreeze.TWO-PARTY SYSTEMJapanese politics has shaken down into a hard strugglebetween two major parties. In October the two Socialistparties merged on a compromise platform of neutralism inforeign policy and leftist experimentation in domestic economy. Then in mid-November, the two conservative groupscombined to form the Liberal-Democratic party. PremierIchiro Hatoyama, a Democrat, will probablyspring in favor of Taketora Ogata, a younger Liberal leadresign nexter. The conservatives evidently had to combine in orderto'maintain their lead over the Socialists. In addition topromising many economic benefits, the, Socialists are paci-(Continued onjpage 356)355