The Catholic times. [volume], October 14, 1955, Image 4

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4—THE
CATHOLIC TIMES
Friday. Oct. 14.1955
THE
CATHOLIC TIMES
Published Every Week by
The Catholic Times, Inc.
Columbus. Ohio
NOTICE: Send All Changes of Address to
P. O. Rox 636 Columbus. Ohio
Executive and Editorial Offices:
246 E. Town Street. Columbus 15. Ohio
Address all communications for publication
to P. O. Rox 636 Columbus 16. Ohio
Telephones: CA. 4-5195 CA 4-5196
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Pray for in I ____
This Paper Printed hy Union Labor
Unemployment
Compensation
The coming local election packs a lot of in
terest for an off-year. There are some issues
involved which are of more than passing inter
est to us all. The election of members to the
new state school board, the bond issue for mental
institutions and the vote on the proposed law
to increase unemployment compensation bene
fits, will all he on the November ballot.
The proposel to change the compensation law
opens up some very interesting possibilities in
the field of legislation. The proposal was put
on the hallot through an initiative petition which
required the signatures of about 300,000 regis
tered voters in the state. The petition was pnn
rjpally sponsored by the CIO when that organi
zation tell that the last legislature had not pro
vided an adequate increase in benefits. The CIO
also felt that a great many people throughout
the slate were of the same opinion.
The State of Ohio experienced something of
the same situation in regard to a film censorship
hill, in that an obstinate committee chairman
was able to block what was clearly the will of
the rest of the legislature and of the majority of
the people. Initiative petition is an expensive
and difficult nfethod in which to make the voice
of the people effective, hut the framers of the
gtatr constitution did give the people a way to
secure laws they want when the legislature
Itself shows too little concern for the desires
of the people.
The proposed changes would raise the max
imum benefits from the present $33 to $5(1 a
week, and minimum benefits from $10 to $15. At
the same time, it would extend the possible pay
ment period from 26 to 39 weeks. In addition,
the changes would provide dependency allow
ances of $3 a child for a maximum of three
children.
Unemployment compensation is a form of
insurance. It is not a public charity or dole lor
idle workers. It is paid from n special fund set
up for the purpose into which employees pay
at the rate nf sixty cents per $100.00 of payroll.
Payment of benefits has nothing at all to do with
the general tax revenue and any increase in the
payments could not in any way cause an increase
in property or other taxes The fund at present
contains $600.0M).(FW) and the Tax Commissioner
nt the State of Ohio estimates that if the present
rate of unemployment does not change, the pro
posed law would mean an increased yearly ex
penditure from this fund of $47,000,000. The
fund seems in no danger, nor would there wm
tn be any need to increase the rate of employ
ment payments.
The objection is raised against the proposal
that it would cause workers to quit their jobs
in order to receive compensation and to continue
idle nnce they are nut of work Anyone acquaint
ed with the law knows that this is not the
case A worker who quits his job is not eligible
for compensation. A worker who is able to se
cure employment and who is not actively seeking
a ioh cannot stay on compensation The law pro
vides adequate safeguards so that a W'orker
who is not qualified for compensation will not
receive the benefits.
The law was and is designed to tide a man
over whn i» out nf a joh through no failll of hi*
nwn until hr can find employment or until
his former employer has work for him again
Under the old law the average weekly benefit
paid in 1954 was $29 There are very few fam
Hies who ran live on this amount without some
outside help. President Eisenhower, in January
of this year said it is highly desirable that the
compensation laws be changed so that payments
will at least equal half of regular earnings. That
would seem to give some meaning io a law
which provides insurance benefits and is not
a dole The proposed changes aie good. Family
life needs economic security in time of distress
rising from unemployment We all hope that a
protracted period of grneial unemployment is a
thing of the past, hut if it should come it is bel
ter tn have an adequate law than to lament
the fact that we have none.
When I he Days Are Evil
In the Epistle of Sundays Mass St. Paul
calls upon the Christiana at Ephesus, to whom
he was'writing to conduct themselves with pru
dence and wisdom, because, he says, "the days
re *vil This figurative expression comes read,
ily A mind as applying to current conditions, lor
evil us »o prevalent that it seems to have affected
the very hours of the day and the days of the
weet The rising of the sun is the signal for
violftionx of God’s laws to begin the passing
monpenl* bring new nflensrs against truth and
justice and charity, when the sun sets, evil be
me* more hia/en its away over men’s
Ihoughls and conduct.
Evil **ertx its influence in the means by
which men earn their daily bread, and in the
means hy which they find recreation and amuse
ment evil lurks in the books and magazines
they read, as fast as new methods of entertain
ment and communication are developed, evil
ide^ brought into them, and they become
•genciea for undermining morality in the young
and the mature. Business and law and politics
and the other professions have shaped codes
fnr themselves which aie a condonation of evil
the vicious theory that wrongdoing by some jus
tifies wrongdoing by oihers gains shocking ac
ceptance, pleasant, ciafty words «re framed to
disguise lying, stealing, slander, adultery. To
•um it all up by Mying that (he days are evil
conveys a meaning that is obviously warranted.
Rut it was, of course, as a warning that St.
Paul used the expression not in the fatalistic,
despairing sense that could be attached to the
words The days are lull of evil, indeed, but the
•Vila are committed by men, not by the days,
or the times, or the stars, or circumstances. The
evils are so prevalent that they exert a tremen
dous influence, downward, on all who are ex
posed to them, but it is a pressure that can,
and must, be resisted
St Paul makes this plain when hr demands
Do nn| become tnohsh, but understand what
the Will of the Lord l« I’ i» foolish tn let the
evils which flourish around us »hapr nur con
duct, foolish because can see the disaster
and disorder that these evils are inflicting upon
society and upon individuals foolish, because
we know it is our duty to follow the will of
God and not the weaknesses of men. “Do not
be drunk with wine." St. Paul continues, put
ting his finger on the foolishness of attempt
ing to escape from the evils of life by indulg'ng
in the evil of intoxication. Instead of such fool
ishness we must, he says, "be filled with the
Holy Spirit.” The Holy Spirit is to be our re
course against the spirit of evil.
And in our struggle against the conditions
that make us say "the days are evil” we can
be sure of God's help if we will but have faith
like that of the centurion who is the subject of
Sunday's Gospel. His plea to Christ to heal his
son. who was “at the point of death.” was grant
ed.
Wp
must show our faith by using that means
that Christ has provided Tor overcoming the
evils that confront us in the practice of that
faith the days that seem so evil shall become
opportunities for growing in grace and
sanctity.
It is the paradox of history that each gener
ation is converted by the saint who contradicts
it most.—G. K Chesterson, (1874-1936)
Just Among'Ourselves
Pasting Comment Considered or Inconsiderate
The Series is over the Russian farmers have
gone home the. stock market has emerged from
its jitters the house-flips of October buzz about
on weary wing. We may turn our attention to
matters soothing and soporific. And what could
he. more somnolent than a quarter-hour with the
staff poet?
Do you recall the little verse about the house
and the road? “The little road says go the
little house says stay Well the author of
that pleasing poem was Josephine Preston Pea
body who was the wife of Lionel Marks Our
own hard finds delight in that lilting name,
Josephine Preston Peabody Marks, and expresses
it in a
TRIBUTE TO A DECEASED POET
Josephine Preston Peabody Marks,
Gone to your grave these many years.
Your songs are dying and distan* sparks,
Rut your radiant name undimmed appears
Four-jointed glee in a world of tears,
Lilting, jubilant, quadruple cheers.
Raising the heart and the soul that harks
Banishing dullness, chasing fears.
Stirring the spirit of romps and larks,
Josephine Preston Peabody Marks!
We have all experienced the insolence with
which hooksellers and reviewers declare that
this nr that publication is a MUST. Reaction
(fully justified) tn this hrash insistence is pre
sented thus:
REQUIESCAT
For my part, let that book abide
On dealers' shelves (o gather dust,
Of which the ardent critics cried.
"This is a must!”
On the same irritating theme, we have a
paiody of Emersons quatrain from "Voluntar
ies” (you know it:
"So nigh is grandeur to our dust,
So near is Gnd to man,
When duty whispers low, Thou must
The youth replies, I can.”)
The parody is this:
NON VOLUNTARIES
So plaguey stubborn is our dust,
So in our ways we're sot,
When books are offered with, Thou must,
The free man yells, DI not.
One of life’s constant trials is the person
who decides all issues with pronouncement pre
faced by the phrase like, "To my mind nr
"As it seems to me .” The poet offers this
person a rebuke in not too gentle irony:
AS I SEE IT
1 cannot think what he can mean,
The man who says that grass is green
And lilacs purple. I have found
The facts the other way around.
Green lilacs are a sheer delight
To gather on a frosty night.
And all the grass is, I insist,
As purple as an amethyst.
Sheer whimsy appears in this:
BRIEF HISTORY OF AN EXACT
AND BELLICOSE PERSONAGE
My friend, a known geometer,
Possessed a fine barometer,
And many a good thermometer.
He owned an anemometer.
And wore, a wrist-chronometer.
He read his electrometer
And likewise his gasometer
His steps by a pedometer
were measured a tachometer
Exposed at each kilometer
His vibrancy etc-nmcter.
He had a Turkish scimitar
Attached Io his perimeter,
And cussed in fervid dimetet.
My friend, the gruff geometer,
Was blown up by a homheter.
Hoie is a quatrain that may (ouch a respon
sive chord:
THE WIENERKNABENSAENGER AND ROYS’
CHOIRS GENERALLY AND CHORUSES WHICH
PERFORM A UAPPELLA
You sing to multitudes, and so
You show up on T.V.
But I have tuned you out, and oh,
The difference to me!
Somber realism appears in this bit of elegy.
LAST THINGS
1 think, if I should die this very night,
(A supposition dear to every poet)
That few there are to whom my going might
Occasion woe. and few would even know it.
And as, at duty's call, these burdened few
Would kneel beside my corpse, a likely
thought
To cross their minds and stir their whispers
too.
"Well,
Would be, “This casket must have cost a lot."
mi
he's gone," a quondam friend might
say,
In solemn accents, not without a throh,
"Sari, hr was snatched so suddenly away
1 Monder who is going to get his job."
Another, on thr cold deceased intent.
Might muse (with prodding* of the folk be
reft)
“Had he insurance and to what extent?
I'd dearly love tn know how much he left.”
When, at the last, the grave should claim its
nwn,
And marshalled mourners at its side appear,
One tn another fretfully might moan.
"Th's ground is damp, let's hurry out of
here."
7
sP"
MONSIGNOR HIGGINS
On October 18 the University
of Notre Dame will present the
Laetare Medal to AFL Presi
dent George Meany at a spe
cial ceremony
which promts
e s to he
memo able
event. Presid
ed over by
the Archbish
op of Wash
ington. the
Most Rever
end Patrick
A. O’Boyle, it
will be attended by more than
200 prominent representatives
of religion, labor, manage
ment, education and govern
ment.
The selection of Mr. Meany
as the first labor leader to re
ceive this annual award for lay
leadership which takes its
name from Ijietarc Sunday on
which it is traditionally an
nounced was almost per
fectly timed. There have been
other Catholic labor leaders
who might have qualified for
the honor in years gone by.
But, in the Providence of God,
no other Catholic in the history
of the United States has ever
achieved the prominence which
Mr. Meany now enjoys, and de
servedly so, in the American as
well as in the international la
bor movement.
Fitting and Proper
It would he safe to say that
he is or is about to become,
once the AFlrCIO merger goes
into effect in December—the
outstanding labor leader in the
free world, perhaps the most
influential labor leader in mod
ern times. It is altogether fit
ting and proper that he should
bp publicly honored by a Cath
olic university at the high
point of his distinguished ca
rper.
Needless tn say. he is nn( be
ing honored merely because he
is a prominent public figure
Will Come Back!
kkw
IIASHINGTON LETTER
WASHINGTON The De
partment of Justice has taken
occasion in recent days to is
sue a very strong warning.
Through F.B.I. Director J.
Edgar Hoover and Assistant
Attorney General William F.'
Tompkins, it has denounced a
campaign Io lull the nation into
inaction “by criticism of our
program to combat subversion
in this country.”
The officials spoke with par
ticular reference to a “vicious
and sustained attack” on the
use of ex-communists and con
fidential informers as witness
es in prosecutions for subver
sion, but they also indicated
(hat the campaign has many
ramifications.
Mr. Hoover asserted that "it
is through the ‘pseudo liberals’
that the communists do some of
their most destructive work.’1
“These fictitious liberals,” he
said, "are the individuals who,
through insidiously slanted and
sly propagandistic writings and
reports, oppose urgently need
ed internal security measures
conduct a one sided campaign
to discredit Government wit
nesses present the menace of
communism as a myth of hys
teria urge that we tolerate the
subversive acts of communists
because communists are only
‘non conformists’ contend that
the Communist Party is a ‘po
litical’ movement and that it is
improper to consider it a crim
inal conspiracy linked to a
world conspiracy to overthrow
our Government by force and
violence.’*
‘Lull’ Campaign in Full Swing
Roth Justice Department of
ficers spoke to the Internation
al Association of Chiefs of Po
lice, meeting in Philadelphia.
Assistant Attorney General
Tompkins told the law enforce
ment officers that the depart
ment will not be “lulled into
inaction" by these criticisms.
The two officials mentioned
no names, but some people will
see in their remarks an im
plied criticism of The Fund for
the Republic, which has lately
been the object of attack. On
September 15, a statement is
sued on behalf of the board of
directors of the Fund, taking
cognizance of an attack by Sea
born P. Collins, National Com
mander of the American le
gion, said in part:
"From the beginning the
board has held that the major
factor affecting civil liberties
today is the menace of com
munism and communist influ
ence in this country. Coupled
with this threat is the grave
danger to civil liberties in
methods that may be used to
meet the threat.”
At almost the same time Mr.
Hoover and Mr. Tompkins were
speaking in Philadelphia, Sen
ator John W. Bricker of Ohio
was speaking in nearby Atlan
tic City. He attacked The Fund
for the Republic, saying “its
purpose in life is to criticize
those who are critical of the
communists.”
Addressing (hemselves to Dr.
Robert M. Hutchins, president
of The Fund for the Republic,
the editors of the current issue
Lay Leadership Award
who happens to be a Catholic,
or because he is a Catholic who
happens to be a prominent pub
lic figure. Rather, he is being
honored as a Catholic whose
distinguished career as a prom
inent public figure has been
notably influenced by his re
ligious faith a man who has
consistently worked at being a
good labor leader because he is
a good Catholic.
A Symbol
Mr. Meany is not a “profes
sional" Catholic, lie is proud of
his religion, but he would be
deeply embarrassed if he were
to be singled out as being a bet
ter Catholic than the next man.
In other words, he would want
us to say that the laetare Med
al is not being presented to
him as an individual but rather
as a representative of all the
other Catholics in the labor
movement who are modestly
trying, according to their
lights, to apply the teachings of
..religion in the field of labor
management relat ions. Un
doubtedly he would also want
to share the honor of the Iae
tare Medal with his non-Cath
olic associates in the labor
movement who are trying to do
the same thing according to
their own lights.
In brief, Mr. Meany would
want his selection as this year’s
laetare Medalist to be regard
ed not as a personal tribute,
but as a symbol of the fact that
the American labor movement
in spite of all its faults and
imperfections is based on
ethical principles and dedicat
ed to the cause of human bro
therhood under the Fatherhood
of God.
An Inspiration
And, finally, he would pray
erfully hope, I am sure, that
the honor conferred upon him
ns a representative of American
labor will serve tn inspire the
lahnr movement frnm top (n
bottom to be even more faith­
of America say “the American
people would appreciate a
statement of fundamental prin
ciples which would restore
their confidence in the Fund’s
very valuable work of seeking
‘effective procedures for deal
ing with the communist men
ace while at the same time
strengthening the American
traditions of liberty and free
dom.’
“Your critics speak as though
you and the Fund take a far
left position soft toward com
munism,” the editors tell Dr.
Hutchins. “Your defense im
plies that your critics do not
believe in democratic discus
sion. Each side assumes that
there are but two positions to
be taken, right or left, and
that the other side is at least
suspect of warped American
ism."
“The bulk of Americans take
a middle position," the editors
assert. “The mainstream of our
tradition holds that men have a
dignity stemming from their
creation by God and from their
eternal destiny.”
The letter points out that a
mmal code, based on man’s re
lationship to God, “provides
traditional boundaries around
‘discussion’ of change and
progress in American society.”
“Thus," it adds, "when the
spokesman for an organization
announces that the essence of
Americanism is discussion and
makes no mention of the moral
order as a basis fnr evaluating
discussion, public confidence in
that organization is weakened."
ful to religious principles, more
conscious of its responsibilities
to God and country, more sin
cerely devoted to the cause of
social justice and social char
ity.
'Neutral' Significance
All things considered, the rec
ord of the American labor
movement, as symbolized in the
person of a George Meany, is
rather creditable from the point
of view of social ethics. For
this reason, among others, it is
to be hoped that the news of
Mr. Meany’s selection as the
current Laetare Medalist will
be widely publicized not only
in the United States, but more
particularly in Europe,
Many people in Europe find
it extremely difficult to con
ceive of a trade union move
ment which is "neutral" and at
the same time effectively influ
enced by religious principles.
They can conceive of only two
kinds of unions Marxist and
Christian. This is understand
able in view of their own ex
perience during the past hun
dred years, but their own ex
perience should not be general
ized into a universal principle.
Effective Religious Spirit
Our own experience in the
United States has amply dem
onstrated in the words of
Monsignor Pietro Pavan, secre
tary of the Italian Catholic So
cial Week and a sympathetic
observer of the American scene
—that when a union or a labor
movement,is neutral or non-sec
tarian, "this does not mean
that it cannot assume a positive
attitude regarding religious val
ues.” On the contrary, Monsig
nor Pavan continues, “histor
ically speaking, the most active
neutral trade unions have been
and are moved by a profound
and often effective religious
spirit." For a number of rea
sons it is highly important that
this (art hr recognized in Eu
rope at the present time.
Inquiry
lath
A. There is no definite ref
erence to these details in the
Bible. In the prophetic Psalm
21 David talks of the Passion
of Christ: “They have dug my
hands and feet (verse 17)
Ricciotti in his “Life of Christ”
states that "the person who
was to be crucified was laid
on the ground with his arms
outstretched and Ivis hands
were nailed to the crossbeam.
Then the crossbeam was lifted
up to the vertical beam and
his feet were nailed." There
seems to be a great deal of evi
dence presented in modern ac
counts for the view that the
nails were driven through the
wrists. The pictures, crucifixes,
etc., are not exactly wrong even
if the conventional detail is not
accurate, for the significance
is scarcely changed. All such
representations offer us medi
tation on the Passion of Christ
the details of his crucifixion are
interesting to study and medi
tate upon but do not affect the
essential point of His redemp
tive death. ”A Doctor at Cal
vary" by Pierre Barbet M.D.
discusses many of these points
and offers some interesting in
formation.
Ij. Is it necessary to have
sponsors in Baptism? If so,
how can the Sacrament be
given tn emergency without
them?
A. From early Christian times
it has been customary to re
quire sponsors at Baptism as
Tertallian, Gt. Augustine and
Caesarius of Arles (died 542
AD. mention). In St. Augus
tine’s time it seemed to have
been the parents who acted as
sponsors, but this is no longer
permitted. For solemn Bap
tism there must be a sponsor
if possible and even in private
Baptism (i.e. an emergency)
there must be one "if it is eas
ily possible.” (Canon Law No.
762) For infants the sponsor
represents the child in the ac
ceptance of the Sacrament and
aids the parents in the Chris
tian formation of the child.
For adults the sponsor should
serve as guide and inspiration
to the convert. Canon No. 764
speaks of only one sponsor,
RICHARD PATTEE
The Gaza
JERUSALEM The area
around the Gaza strip, where
Israel and Egypt meet, pops in
and out of the news so fre
quently that a
visit to that
troubled spot
seemed to me
one of the ab
solute re
quirements of
a sojourn in
the Middle
vis, who has been in Israel for
the past eight years or so and
proved to be an invaluable com
panion and guide in matters of
local history and topography.
We went first from Jerusalem
to Beersheba, taking in a num
ber of the kibbutzim (collective
farms) en route and reaching
the principal city of the Negev
around noon. After lunch there,
we went on directly across
country to as near the Gaza line
as one can get.
No Definite Border
The strip sticks up along the
Mediterranean coast straight
into Israeli territory. It is sep
arated from the rest of Egypt
by the Sinai desert, with the
result that communication is
by no means easy. In this nar
row tongue of land some 250,
000 Palestinian' Arab refugees
are concentrated, along with
the military force which the
Egyptians maintain in the zone.
From hillocks on the Israeli
side, it is easy to see the city
of Gaza in the distance also,
the fields of Egyptian fellahin
who till the soil close to the
dividing line. At one spot where
we stopped, both the, city and
the hut used by General Burns
of the United Nations team
were visible.
There is nothing to distin
guish where Israeli territory
ends and Egyptian territory be
gins. The controversy over fix
ing a permanent border with
barbed wire or some form of
separation has met with consid
erable opposition.
The Israelis have constructed
along the whole frontier a se
ries of kibbutzim both for de
fense purposes and as a means
of ’dHtling this barren area.
Gaza has absolutely no mean
ing from the rational point of
view.
No Geographical Logic
The present frontiers of Is
rael are the result of the arm
istice between that country and
the Arab states and bear no.re
lation to anything like geo
graphical logic. The conse
quence ia the instability and
constant marauding that goes
Corner
pc
Q. Ik it true that most pic
tures and representations of
Christ crucified are inaccurate?
I read recently that the nails
could not have been driven
through the palm of the hand
in crucifixion.
Hpttfpy -....
v
saying that there should bt
“two sponsors at most, one
man and one woman ."
Q. Must 1 be lenient and
give explanations to my chil
dren regarding obedience, hon
esty, etc., or should I demand
these virtues by punishment?
A. Likely the ideal approach
of Christian parents would he
a combination of severity and
kindness. The grace of the Sac
rament of Matrimony joined
with discussion and reading (ai
in a family life study group)
should help parents in making
disciplinary decisions. It is one
of the chief duties of parent*
to train the child's will to ac
cept and fulfill his duties to
ward God and his neighbor.
St. Augustine speaks of it say
ing, “Correction is useful in or
der that out of the sorrow of it
may spring the wish to be re
generate.” Ecclesiasticus stalp«
too. “He that loveth his son,
frequently chastiseth him, that
he may rejoice in his latter
end.” (30:1) The combination of
these approaches to teaching
children varies with the times
and with the number of chil
dren the individual tempera
ment, etc.
Q. Why does God give health,
prosperity and seeming happi
ness to wicked men, whilt
many good men seem, to have
nothing but trouble?
A. Christ's parable of the
cockle growing with the wheat
(Matthew 13:24-30) shows God’s
way of dealing with the wick
ed. It is also possible for the
most wicked man to repent
and the change of heart that
comes shoukl come from a free
choice of God, not from being
forced to repent. If the good
things of this world were per
manent and really important
God would not deny them to
good people. Often sickness
and suffering cause people to
become detached from earthly
happiness and seek happiness
that is lasting by turning tn
God. God guarantees graces for
true inward happiness to His
faithful children, but in the
ordinary' course of affairs- Ha
“makes His sun to rise on th*
good and evil, and sends rain
on the just and the unjust.”
(Matthew 5:45)
Send questions Io Father Ed
ward F. Healey, Inquiry Cor
ner, The Catholic Times, Box
636. Columbus (16), Ohio.
Strip
East.
I made the
jour ney in
the company
of a former
New Zealand
er, Joseph Da­
on, resulting in the numerous
incidents with which we are re
galed periodically in the press.
One of the most advanced nf
the kibbutzim visited lies as
near the boundary as one can
reasonably get without slipping
over into Egyptian territory. It
contained about thirty “pi
oneers", most of them from
Tanger and other parts of
North Africa, both men and
women. I spent an afternoon
with a couple of the young Tan
gerines who manned this out
post, They spnke fluent Span
ish and French, so we were
able to carry on quite comfort
ably.
Kind of Frontier Post
The setlement was a combi
nation military post, with ob
servation tower, and a bit of
farming land, with some cattle
and other livestock to maintain
the inhabitants. This was by no
means one of the more advanc
ed or developed of the kibbut
zim. Its roughness and high de
gree of readiness gave the im
pression of the kind of fron
tier post one associates with
American history in the parly
19th century, with Indians hov
ering on the horizon ready to
pounce on the local gentry at
any moment.
These lads seemed to take
the thing in their stride and
were totally unconcerned about
the proximity of the Egyptians
—the “Arabs" as they call all
of them or the prospect of
an attack. Israeli life today has
a great deal of this flavor of
pioneering and the far outposts
of human endeavor. The combi
nation of soldier and farmer
has become a way of life, with
the well-known recruits call
ed Nahal—carrying a rifle and
pushing a plow simultaneous
ly-
Neither Peace Nor Compromise
I see no very promising out
look either at Gaza or else
where for much in the way of
permanent peace. The disposi
tion on both sides is to hang
on to what was decreed under
the armistice, and to populate
the area as a means of defend
ing it.
Since Egypt is interested in
Gaza as a spearhead toward the
Negev and since the Negev
desert itself is part of the over
land route between Egypt and
the rest of the Arab world,
there is not much likelihood
that Cairo will relinquish it
short of war. To Israel, every
inch of .the Negev no matter
how barren and unpromising
—is part of the area to which
new settlers can be directed.
For these reasons, there is even
less probability that aq. agree
ment concerning the transfer
nf terntnry along more ration
al Lines can be arrived at.