European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - October 2, 1978, Darmstadt, Hesse Monday october 2, 1978 the stars and stripes Page 27 . Ends military presence in Africa Kenitra Morocco a the United states quietly abandoned its last military foothold in Africa saturday with a Low key ceremony that ended a 36-year military presence in Morocco dating Back to operation Torch one of the turning Points of world War ii. The signature of Navy capt. William Parrish commander of the american run communication bases entered on Kenitra 25 Miles North of the moroccan Capi Tal of Rabat formally handed Over to the moroccan government All that remained of the multimillion Dollar installations. Parrish fld four other officers were the last in a succession of tens of thousands of american troops who have served Here since Gen. George Patton s gis stormed ashore nov. 8, 1942, and captured Kenitra then named port Lyautey from the forces of Vichy France after a bloody three Day is no Monument Here to the 567 americans who died in crushing the bitter resistance of French troops under the Vichy regime s Gen. Charles Nogues. Greatly expanded and modernized by the ., the bases at Kenitra and neigh Boring Sidi Yahia and Bou Knadel were placed under nominal moroccan command in 1965 to counter communist and third world criticism. But they remained firmly under american control. At the height of their importance in the 1950s, the bases served As a major . Arms depot intelligence listening Post staging Point and communication Center with a Garrison of More than 2,000 troops and dependents. The bases were Down graded in 1965 to a communications Facil Ity but the number of american troops was Only slightly reduced. Anxious to keep a Low profile the troops and their families lived almost entirely on the bases with their own Hospital club houses Tennis courts and olympic size swimming Pool. In a much publicized Exchange with so Viet Leader Leonid i. Brezhnev Morocco s King Hassan ii said that there was no such thing As an american military base in to the leftist Campaign against the . Presence continued until two years ago when the United states decided to discs Stablish the bases which Cost More than $7 million a year to operate and to replace them with satellite facilities. Sidi Yahia the radio receiver station was turned Over to the moroccans in a Flag lowering ceremony in december. In the nine months since american troops left Sidi Yahia the unguarded base has been looted of All usable equipment left there by the americans. Refrigerators Light fixtures door handles virtually All items that could be moved have disappeared. A Gap in the Fence is wide enough for trucks to drive in and out undisturbed. Moroccan officers have assured Ameri can colleagues that this will not be allowed to happen in Kenitra and Bou Knadel. Although the Navy and air Force re moved the most sophisticated electronic equipment the bases were handed Over in fully operational condition. They include completely equipped housing for thou Sands of troops a functioning Harbor and Airport Long Range Antenna Fields generating plants movie Heaters school build Ings firefighting equipment and even a Complete milk processing Plant. American and moroccan officials declined to make an estimate of the value of the facilities. We took great care to turn everything Over in working order an american offi cer said. The moroccan government paid nothing for the bases. Its Only obligation in the handover document signed by Parrish and the moroccan base commander it. Col. Abdelkader Ramdani was to maintain the aircraft warning lights on two towers at Kenitra and to pass on generous american dismissal indemnities to More than 1.000 moroccans once employed on the bases. Health poor he planned to retire ventriloquist Edgar Bergen Dies Las vegas Nev. Up Edgar Ber Gen who parlayed his wooden Dummy Charlie Mccarthy into one of the greatest comic acts in show business died saturday in his Caesars Palace hotel suite apparently from natural causes. The 75-year-old ventriloquist opened wednesday at the Las vegas resort for a 2 week Farewell engagement. He announced he was retiring from show business after 56 years because of failing health. The executive vice president of Caesars Palace Harry Wald said Bergen s body was discovered at about . He was doing great. Standing ovations at every show Wald said. The Clark county Coroner s office was called to determine the exact cause of death. Bergen was appearing with Andy Wil Liams and the Lennon Sisters for a 2-week engagement to run through oct. 11. The ventriloquist announced a few weeks ago he would donate the Wisecrack ing Charlie Mccarthy Buck toothed Rube Mortimer nerd and Bawdy old maid Effie Klinker to the smithsonian institution in Washington at the close of the Las vegas engagement. Bergen was a soft spoken comedian who hid behind the Brash smart Aleck antics of Charlie Mccarthy to become the most famous ventriloquist in history. Bergen s career paralleled the evolution of 20th-Century american entertainment. He starred in vaudeville radio television and movies. He was Best known and loved for his Rou tines with the ageless Pink cheeked Mccarthy and dim witted Mortimer nerd. Bergen and the impudent Charlie began As a team in 1925, but it was t until the mid-1930s that the puppet began spewing insults that were to carry them both to Fame. With the help of Rudy Vallee the two made their radio debut in 1936. The next season Bergen starred in his own show. 50% cuts without cab panel from press dispatches Washington House Senate conferees agreed tentatively Friday to allow air lines to lower fares by 50 percent without approval of the civil aeronautics Board. The conference committee members Switzerland acts to Cut rising pressure on franc Zurich up the Swiss National Bank announced sunday measures to re Lieve the upward pressure on the Swiss franc and to curtail the recent negative effects on the Domestic Economy of the Swiss franc s appreciation. The Bank said that intervention on the course of the Dollar and where possible on other foreign currencies will be Pur sued with vigor and if necessary rein it noted that collaboration by the . Federal Reserve system has been assured. The main measures include an Opportunity for foreigners to buy up to 50 per cent of the total Swiss franc Bond Issue by a foreign Borrower. Up till now the maximum was 35 per cent. Extending Export guarantees to All Swiss industries National Bank financial participation in raw material and other imports where necessary and possible. Continuation of the policy of Low inter est rates on Swiss franc holdings. Sunday s announcement followed week end meetings of the Bank in conjunction with discussions held with the Swiss Bank ing association and with foreign govern ments. Of particular importance to the Swiss National Bank in sunday s action is the current rate of the German Mark against the Swiss franc. This had been outlined by Swiss National Bank president Fritz Leut Wiler in a speech before the american Swiss association in new York thursday. Foreign Exchange circles had anticipated an announcement by the National Bank Over the weekend. The Bank said that the principal end of the intervention measures is to raise the German Mark rate to above 80 Swiss francs to 100 Marks with continued strengthening if in the Estima Tion of the Bank the Overall Swiss f Rancap Precia Tion against major currencies is not justified by Plain economic the other Bank measures Are aimed at encouraging foreign Money demand exportation of capital and the Export of Swiss goods. Previously foreign Exchange guarantees for Export had been limited to Tex tile clothing and watch making industries but they will now be open to All Export industries and tourism. The Bank said details of its measures would be rapidly communicated to Swiss Banks. Beginning their consideration of airline de regulation Bills passed by the House and Senate accepted the fare flexibility percentages in the House measure. The vote is subject to the committee s action on the Overall Bill. The committee will meet again next House Bill would permit airlines to reduce coach fares 25 per cent below pre sent fares in the first year after enactment and 50 percent below present fares thereof Senate Bill would have permitted reductions of up to 35 percent. Other differences still to be ironed out by the conferees will determine among other things the extent to which airlines will be free to enter new routes without cab a , the cab has Given tentative approval to three airlines to establish Low Cost Cross country air passenger routes. Pan american world airways world airways and Capitol International air ways were the preliminary choices of the cab Friday to establish the new Low Cost cab called for new routes from new York and Washington to los Angeles and san airways said it intends to offer one Way transcontinental coach service for As Low As $99. The charter airline has sought a transcontinental route for More than 10 years. Pan Arn said it intends to offer coach service from new York to Cali fornia at 25 percent below current rates. Poison Gas toll now 4 Genoa Italy up the death toll from a Poison Gas Cloud that developed in a leather tanning factory in mid september Rose to four when worker Maria Rossi 47, died in a Hospital. With the addition of two other dummies Gap toothed nerd and Effie Klinker Ber Gen was to Charm listeners for More than three decades. His continuous run on net work radio was surpassed Only by Bing Crosby and Amos n Andy. Bergen struck out on his own As a Seri Ous entertainer several times but the Pine Wood head with the monocle always reappeared comfortably on his traded quips with such reigning giants of the Day As . Fields Don Ameche and John Barrymore and once re marked Bergen with your brains and my personality Well go a Long in the Bergen family was t limited to Edgar. His wife Francis was a successful Model and their daughter can Dice is an established actress. Born in Chicago on feb. 16,1903, the Sec Ond son of swedish immigrants John and Nellie Berggren Young Edgar parlayed a 25-cent investment he made As a Schoolboy into a Fortune As an entertainer. A title in grammar school he spent the Quarter for a copy of Herrmann s Wiz Ard s manual which included directions for cutting off a Man s head and putting it on a Platter near the body and for Mas Tery of the Art of ventriloquism. That was the Only Money he Ever spent to learn the technique that placed him among the world s most popular entertain ers. After discovering at age 11 he could throw his voice he paid a Whittler $35 to carve the head of Mccarthy from a sketch of a cocky Irish newsboy drawn in Edgar s school history Book. He kept the original head throughout his career. With a degree in speech from Northwestern University he gave up premedical studies to go into show business full time playing vaudeville Heaters and supper clubs in America and spoke fluent swedish and once gave a command performance for the Crown Prince of Sweden. He made ventriloquism popular in Swanky nightclubs but radio proved the Ideal medium for the Bergen Mccarthy sem retirement Bergen enjoyed a surge of popularity in recent years at Bene fits and special performances. Conversion rates London a Friday s closing rates of the . Dollar to european currencies. Figures Are expressed in dollars to the British Pound other local currencies to dollars sept. 28 British Pound 1.9730 German Mark 1.9425 French franc 4.3525 dutch Guilder 2.1100 belgian franc 32.145 italian lira 823.80 Swiss franc 1.5165 greek drachma 36.582 turkish lira 25.25 Spanish peseta 72.43 these Are commercial rates and can be related Only to the use of foreign currency by . Forces for official business. Sales of German Marks to . Personnel for personal use will be at the rate of 1.92 on monday which is based on Price fixing at midday and allows for Standard handling charge. Sept. 29 1.97435 1.9365 4.3275 2.1070 32.16 823.65 1.5495 36.580 25.25 72.35
