THE NOME NUGGET
Published Monday, Wednesday and Friday by The
NOME PUBLISHING CO.
Nome. Alaska
Telephone: Main 125 P. O. Box 618
91.50 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.
Friday, October 18, 1946
Red Clouds Over China
There should be some rad faces in the State Depart
ment if events confirm rumors that the Chinese Com
munists are preparing to set up puppet states in Man
churia and Mongolia in collaboration with the Soviet
Union.
Li San, the Red leader who returned to Manchuria
with the Russian army, after 15 years’ residence in Mos
cow, is reported to be pushing the satellite program be
hind the cloak of the peace negotiations General Mar
shall is conducting between the Nationalists and Com
munists at Nanking.
If this division of China develops, and another vast
area passes into the Soviet orbit, the evasive policy the
United States has pursued there since the end of the war
will have contributed to it.
The United States led the Chinese government into
•a one-sided treaty with Moscow, as the price for Russian
participation in the war against Japan. All that Chiang
Kai-Shek got out of this deal, which he did not want to
make, was Russia’s pledge of support in China’s internal i
dispute.
This promise went into the wastebasket after the Sov- ‘
iets got what they wanted, namely Port Arthur and Dai
ren. For months now, Moscow propaganda organs have
been denouncing Chiang, Russia’s nominal ally.
The Soviet Union has been encouraged in this open!
breach of faith by our own attitude of cautious neutral
ity between Chiang and the Communist insurgents.
We have withheld needed supplies from the Nation
alist forces, in the face of a mounting war of nerves di
rected against the Nanking government.
/And there was at least the color of approval of some
of the familiar Moscow radio attacks on Chiang’s regime !
in U. S. Ambassador J. Leighton Stuart’s statement,
flaying “Chinese reactionaries” and calling for a new
“revolution.”
To be sure, Mr. Stuart proposed that the new revolu
tion should be under the leadership of “the present thor
oughly worthy successor to Sun Yat-Sen,” an apparent
endorsement of Chiang Kai-Shek.
But, while giving this lip-service to Chiang, he plain
ly implied that the endorsement did not apply to Chi
ang’s regime, and in naming the enemies of China he
was careful not to mention the Communists, who are in
a shooting war with Chiang’s government.
This speech was poor medicine to offer a bleeding and
wounded China in her hour of trial, when she needs
friendship and support above all things else. If Red pup
pet states are set up in Manchuria and Mongolia, they
will be monuments to such stupidity. ■
“Vinegar Joe”
In the days before the war we were talking one after
noon on a trip from China’s Tientsin to Japan’s Dairen
about great generals with the late Gen. Joseph W. Still
well.
“To me Stonewall Jackson was the greatest of them
all,” he said.
That was typical of “Vinegar Joe.” Jackson was a
great soldier’s general whose faith lay about all else in
the infantry, who could move the infantry almost as if
it were cavalry.
And with this viewpoint it was typical and fititng
that “Vinegar Joe” should die* as he lived, in the Spar
tan surroundings of the .infantryman—on a soldier’s
cot.
ALICE IN WONDERLAND
HI# •'
flKB
TS 1
Next President, Perhaps
(The Denver Post)
Political attention- nationally, has been centered this
year on the outcome of the Congressional elections.
Speculation on Republican chances of winning control
of the House, and possibly of the Senate, have crowded
into the background what may be a more important fac
tor in the 1948 Presidential race. That is the effect of
gubernatorial elections.
It is not at all improbable that one or two of the gov
ernors elected in November will be in the Presidential
race two years hence. Many political experts believe a
Republican governor will be the next G. O. P. Presiden
tial nominee. And if President Truman is not renomin
ated, it may well be that a Democratic governor will be
the party nominee.
In 1944, Governor Dewey of New York was the Re
publican Presidential candidate and Governor Bricker
of Ohio was his running mate. In 1936, Governor Lan
don of Kansas was the G. O. P. nominee. In 1932, when
Franklin D. Roosevelt led a Democratic victory, he was
governor of New York. In 1928, Governor Smith of New
York was the Domocratic nominee. In 1920, it was Gov
ernor Cox of Ohio, and in 1912 Gov. Woodrow Wilson of
New Jersey.
IThirty-three governorships are to be decided next
November. Governor Warren is certain of re-election in
California, as he won the nomination of both parties,
and he already is being mentioned prominently for the
Republican Presidential nomination two years hence.
Democratic gubernatorial candidates are certain of
victory in five southern states. In the twenty-seven
states where there is a real contest for the governorship,;
eleven have Democratic governors. And of these eleven,
Ohio voted Republican for President in 1944. Four other
states went Democratic for President two years ago.
They are Connecticut, Michigan, Minnesota adn New
Hampshire.
As midterm elections usually show a swing away
from the party in power nationally, both in gubernato
rial and congressional races* it would seem to be in the
cards that the Republicans will pick up some governor
ships in November.
Let Science Find The Answer
Political Curb for Atom Doubted
By DAVID E. LILIENTHAL
David E. Lilienlhal, chairman of the Tennessee Valley author
ity and prominently mentioned for chairmanship of the U. S.
atomic energy commission, upholds the scientific approach to solu
tion of atomic energy problems, as opposed to the political ap
proach.
It was scientists and technical
men—prominently among them
chemists—who gave the world the
large-scale release of atomic en
ergy. This is the supreme achieve
ment to date of the scientific
spirit and the scientific method. It
is my own opinion that the only
hope to control atomic energy and
prevent its use for destruction lies
in applying the scientific spirit
and the scientific method to this
problem. In a world thus far
largely run by the ideas of poli
tics and legalism, I freely admit
that this would be something quite
novel.
It may be something like insist
ing that a fellow who never be
fore in his life has jumped modpf
than ten feet must jump twenty
feet. But if he feels he just has
to jump twenty feet, if a deep
chasm lies before him, and some
thing pretty hungry is chasing
him, twenty feet is still one hell
of a jump—but because he has no
easy alternative, it’s not impos
sible. Well, the world has no epsy
alternative about atomic energy
that I can see. But considering
how unattractive are the alterna
tives, I don’t believe that the
twenty-foot broad jump is out of
the question, and I doubt if you
do either.
The averting of war and the
maintenance of peace are tradi
tionally described as political
problems, or as it is sometimes
put, “These are matters calling
for political decisions, reached and
carried out by political methods.”
Typical political methods in do-#
mestic affairs as well as interna
tional relations are quite familiar
to all of us. Their practitioners
sometimes include business, labor
and farm leaders, as well as poli
ticians and statesmen—even, once
in a while a scientist. And when a
scientist goes in for political dog
matism, he can make a politician
look scientific by comparison!
The political method, generally
speaking, is based on the process
of first deciding what the answer
you and your side wants, and then
scurrying around for evidence and
arguments and public opinion and
fore to support the answer you
started with in the first place. Po
litical methods—I am oversimpli
fying a bit, but not much—are
based on three procedures so fa?*
as the people are concerned as
follows:
First—Tell the people what you
know they want to hear—regard
less of the facts. This gives great
scope for oratore, sloganmakers,
and dogmatists.
Second—Tell the people what
YOU want them to hear—regard- ^
less of the facts. This is the tech
nique of the well-poisoner.
Third—Tell ’em nothing, a/id
make ’em like it. This is an an
cien tart, but its modern practi
tioners have brought it to a new
high level.
Political methods are generally
quite in contrast to the scientific
spirit and method. In his Novum
Organum, Francis Bacon said
many years ago: “We cannot com-^
mand Nature except by obeying^
her.” The scientist, esesntially a
humble man, obeys Nature by
honestly observing and then
truthfully recording NOT what he
WANTS to find, but what in truth
he DOES find. The esence of the
scientific method and spirit to me
—a layman—is that it does not
start with the answer, but with
the facts, and draws its insight
and its o\ ertones from the fact#.
MISTAKEN IDENTITY
BLOOMJINGTON, 111. (/P)—Af
ter Jean CCrane registered at Illin
ois Wesleyan university the dean
of women sent the customary let
ter to the parents of students ask
ing their l‘wishe«5 with regard to
Dr. Cra< I
was his I
had serv*--««——————
I