THE NOME NUGGET
Published Monday, Wednesday and Friday by The
NOME PUBLISHING CO.
Nome. Alaska
Telephone: Main 125 P. O. Box 618
$1.50 PER MONTH $16.00 A YEAR
W. A. and EMILY BOUCHER.Editors
Entered as second class matter October 14, 1943, at
the postoffice at Nome, Alaska, under the Act of
March 3, 1879.
Wednesday, May 16, 1945
CONSTITUTION WASN’T PERFECT
(Anchorage Daily Times)
Nearly 30 years after the Constitution
of the United States was written and
submitted to the State, Thomas Jeffer
son wrote: “Some men look at constitu
tions with sanctimonious reverence, and
deem them like the Ark of the Covenant
—too sacred to be touched. They ascribe
to the men of the preceding age a wis
dom more than human ...”
That reverence which Jefferson noted
has grown through the years. Today we
are inclined to be forgetful of the Con
stitution’s early history and of the
amendments which we have seen fit to
make in it. Because the Constitution is
great and impregnable today, we some
times talk as if it had been conceived in
harmony and born in triumphant
strength and full-blown perfection.
The structure of free representative
government explicit in its final form was
the fruit of expediency as well as ideal
ism. Smaller states, bucking control by
New York, Pennsylvania, and Virginia,
the Big Three — and how modern that
sounds—won such compromise victories
as proportional representation in the
House and the popular vote for presiden
tial electors by threatening to walk out
of the Convention.
The Constitution was presented to the
people with considerable fear. Some of
the delegates went home before the job
was done. Three who remained refused
to sign the document. Others were re
luctant. Elbridge Gerry thought that it
would provoke a civil war. Jefferson, in
Europe, was astonished that it contained
no guarantee of basic human rights.
At first the Constitution found its sup
port among the rich, and its opposition
from the poor and a handful of rich, “vi
sionary” champions of democracy. The
series of Federalist papers by Hamilton,
Madison and Jay helped greatly in
swinging popular opinion. But even so,
Rhode Island, which had refused to send
delegates to the Convention, waited
three years before ratifying ttye Consti
tution. '■
The moral of this short refresher
course is obvious. The San Francisco
Conference, also sailing an . uncharted
course, is bound to produce an imperfect
plan. By refusing it we should have
nothing to take its place. By accepting
and amending and improving it we can
look with confidence toward a world in
which men may live out their lives in
peace.
The point is that the Constitution has
grown more democratic, stronger and
more effective with the passing years.
Today, thanks to the Bill of Rights and
subsequent amendments, it stands be
fore the wprld as a paragon of political
right and wisdom, however short we
may fall of fulfilling its letter and spirit.
If you are too busy to pray, you are too busy.
tor vxtlAT A -geAcw !
fm, i omiv '
com uptd
l HEPE
.
A. L. Ganson New
.
Mgr. Alaska Dept.
! Seattle C. of C.
I
- -
Appointment of Arthur L. Gan
son as manager of the Alaska De
partment of the Seattle Chamber
of Commerce was announced last
I week by Chamber officials. He
ARTHUR L. GAN80N
succeeds Foster L. McGovern,
who has held the post since 1932.
«
McGovern resigned from the
Chamber May 1 to accept ap
pointment as a vice-president of
the National Bank of Commerce
of Seattle.
Ganson has served as manager
of the State Development of the
Seattle Chamber for the past
three years and previous to that
was for several years manager of
the chamber of commerce at Pull
man, Washington.
In his state development work,
he has traveled widely through
out the state of Washington. Many
of the projects on which he has
%
been active in the fields of fish
eries, forestry, mining, agricul
ture and fur farming are directly
related to similar developments in
Alaska. This summer he will
spend several weeks in the North
acquainting himself more thor
oughly with the resources, devel
opment prospects and people of
the Territory.
‘Mr. Ganson has done outstand
ing work in his state development
post,” said Christy Thomas, exec
utive vice-president of the Cham
ber. “This experience should
prove of great value in his Alas
kan work, which entails so many
similar projects and problems.”
The Chamber’s Alaska Commit
tee, which Ganson will serve as
secretary, is under the chairman
ship of E. N. Patty, president of
Alluvial Golds, Inc., and well
known in mining circles here. The
committee has a membership of
approximately 70 men, all of
whom are keenly interested in
Alaska’s development. In all its
activities the committee empha
sizes the close relationship exist
ing between Seattle and the Terri
tory.
Ganson' is a graduate of Wash
ington State College in business
administration.
ACS Awarded
Meritorious
Service Plaque
. ■——
1 •
(Norton Sound-Off!
| The 9427th Technical Service
Unit, Signal Corps (the Alaska
Communication System! has re
ceived the Meritorious Service
^laque from the Chief Signal Of
ficer, Washington, D. C. This
award, given for “maintenance of
the highest standard of discipline
. and outstanding devo tion to
i duty,” is the first to be awarded
1 to a Signal Corps unit operating
directly under the CSO.
In announcing the award to his
command, Col. Fred P. Andrews,
the CO of the ACS, stated: “This
award is a high honor to the
■ Alaska Communication System
i
and its personnel. It is a matter
of great pride to me personally
that this award has been given to
j the system, because it is concrete
recognition of the wholehearted
co-operation and devotion to duty
on the part of every member of
I his unit to the exceptionally dif
I ficult tasks of our mission. With
out that co-operation and devo
tion no such honor could have
been earned. I should like to ex
press my personal thanks as Com
i manding Officer to the men of the
9427th TSU who have labored so
diligently in performing the work
! for which we have all been hon
ored.”
The ACS operates in the entire
Alaskan theater, and provides
many of hte Army communica
i tjons in this region.
Brown—Do you believe in clubs
for women?
Blue—Only in self defense!
Nome Directory
ANVIL LODGE
No.' 140
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Third Thursdays
Each Month
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JEWELER AND OPTICIAN
*1
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Phone Main 40
IRA D. ORTON
Attorney At Law
Room 1—Nevada Building
Nome, Alaska
I
Seattle Office:
801 Lowman Building
Telephone EL. 6396
O D. COCHRAN
Attorney At Law
Phone Main 121
Nome, Alaska