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. Boucher ....-...Owner-Publisher
Entered as second class matter October 14, 1943, at the postoffice
•t Nome, Alaska, under the Act of March 3. 1879.
Nome, Alaska, Monday, January 9, 1950
“TEACH CHILDREN RELIGION”
The American Legion in Alaska has designated Janu
ary and February as “Teach Children Religion” months
and is sponsoring an active program in each of the 19
American Legion posts located in the Territory of
Alaska.
Perry S. McLain, commander of the American Legion
in Alaska announced this unusual program from the De
partment Commanders office in Anchorage today, em
phasizing that “it is a program without any partisan or
denominational connections, and can be supported with
equal enthusiasm by Protestants, Catholics and Jews.”
The picture appearing on this page is a reproduction
of a 14 x 22 inch multi-colored card which Legionnaires!
. will place on prominent display throughout Alaska in
places of business desiring same, in schools and places
of worship.
Commander McLain described the purpose of this
program as being to awaken all citizens, regardless of
their station in life, and without relation to their reli- j
gious affiliations, to the need for “moral and spiritual
consciousness on the part of our children, who are the
citizens of tomorrow, and who will either fill important
positions of leadership in our Church, home, business
and government or else fall by the wayside, based upon
the opportunities we afford them to understand their
spiritual and moral responsibilities.”
Commander McLain further states: “No child has a
chance who has not been taught to pray and to love God. I
No good citizen wants to place upon the brow of our I
children failure’s crown of thorns. No parent should:
crucify the moral and spirtiual lives of a deserving child
upon the cross of inactivity. The American Legion is
dedicated to God and Country. We do not attempt to in
fluence the religious teachings of anyone, but we do beg
of all good citizens that you aid in teaching all children
religion. The teachings should be in accordance with the
belief of the responsible parties. The Logion is equally
interested in seeing a Protestant, a Catholic and a Jew
ish child benefit from the teachings of their own faiths.
The State and Nation will benefit from all such teach
ings.
THE 50-50 DEFENSE DEAL
(The Alaska Weekly)
At the risk of seeming trite we are going to repeat edi
torially the remarks of Senator Magnuson recently run
in our news columns concerning the withdrawal of the
air forces from the Aieutan Chain. We are doing so in
the belief that certain things are so vital as to defy over
emphasis. Senator Magnuson said in part:
“Alaska would be the first country we would want to
help out if it was under a foreign flag.
“Under the American flag, she is the first area our
military planners pick out in which to retrench.
“We could cede the Territory to Luxembourg, and
she would get more military assistance than she is get
ting now.
“Or if we turned her over to some Balkan state she
could be given steel mills, concrete plants and equip
ment for other important economic enterprises Alaska
lacks.
“As a foreign country under her own flag she would
probably receive twice as much military aid.
“It doesn’t make sense.”
“It is almost unbelievable that the retrenchment pro
gram the air force feels is necessary, must first be in
flicted on the most important area to be defended on our
entire continent.
“It is also very strange that this decision to close
down the Aleutian bases should be made at a time when
Congress is not in session and only a month before Con
gress reconvenes.
“If cost of maintaining these Aleutian bases is the
“Let's Give Alaska’s
School Children
A Break”
(Continued from Page One)
vere. Consequently, our children
have limited opportunities for
healthful outdoor exercise and
recreation. In providing better fa
cilities for these, we will contrib
ute greatly to the overall physical
and mental health and general
well-being of our children. In the
States, almost all school children
have available to them as an inte
gral part of their school life the
full range of organized sports. In
addition to the basketball which
we have, “down below” they have
football, baseball, track, tennis, a
variety of water sports, swimming
races, water polo, and diving,
handball, volleyball, squash, and
much else. In Alaska virtually all
we have is basketball, and that,
by no means, in all our communi
ties. Some schools have tumbling
teams. Some communities are fa
vorably situated for skiing or
hockey, but this is only occasion
ally and not yet a school activity.
In a country largely dependent on
the sea, our school systems should,
wherever possible, supplement
their physical education courses
by inclusion of indoor swimming
pools in the school plant, and re
quire all school children to learn
to swim as a part of their educa
tion. Often, such installations
could, during non-school hours,
become revenue producers by be
ing made available to adults. I
have in mind the community
swimming pool at Ocean Falls,
British Columbia, a community
smaller in population than many
Alaskan towns, where that facility
is patronized and enjoyed by all.
Certainly there is every reason
that henceforth when a new school
building is to be built in our larg
er communities, a standard size
swimming pool be included. True,
that may not be possible in every
case, but I hope that every Alas
kan community that has a school
population of 150 or more will in
clude such a pool if a new school
building is among its projects.
Certainly there is every reason
why our major communit i e s ,
Ketchikan, Metlakatla, Wrangell,
Petersburg, Sitka, Juneau, Cor
dova. Anchorage, Seward, Palmer,
Kodiak, Fairbanks, and Nome, and
maybe some lesser ones should
make this form of exercise and
recreation available to their chil
dren.
And so I desire to repeat that an
motive, then it would seem proper that the air force
maintain them until Congress has an opportunity to
weigh the matter and to act on it.
“There are many other areas less vital than Alaska
where retrenchment might be undertaken. The question
the air force hasn’t answered is:
“Why pick on Alaska?”
Senator Magnuson says: “it doesn’t make sense.” As
a matter of fact it makes tragic nonsense. The Senator
also promises that at the next session of Congress he
will advocate a 50-50 policy of defense under which Pa
cific areas will be protected on an equality with the
Atlantic theater.
I Famed RitzCarlton
To Be Town Down
NEW YORK. (/P) — The ultra
fashionable Ritz-Carlton Hotel,
whose name helped put the word
“ritz” into the English language,
is to be torn down.
A 25-story office building will
be erected in its place.
The task of demolishing the 16
, story hotel, a luxury landmark in
New York City for 40 years, wiU
begin nearly next year.
The plan was disclosed by the
Uris Brothers Real Estate firm,
which said it had obtained a long
term lease on the site at an annual
ground rental of $225,000.
The firm said the new office
building will cost some $15,000.
000.
Asked some reason for the plan
ned wrecking of the Ritz-Carlton,
R. Baylor Knox, trustee of the
Astor estate, said only that "Wt*
would just like to see an office
building there.”
_
I
indoor swimming pool has become
virtually standard high school,
and often grade school, equipment
throughout the United States. It
has long since been appreciated,
and is being increasingly so. that
swimming is one of the most
healthful of sports, one of the
most useful of all recreations, and
that knowing how to swim is im
portant to every child.
So, to the excellent general rea
sons for enlarging and diversify
ing the scope of our physical ac
tivity and healthful recreation
should be added the fact of our
long winters. Although the tem
peratures and precipitation differ
in different parts of Alaska, the
winters are long everywhere in
the Territory and much outdoor
activity available elsewhere in
America is denied our Alaskan
youngsters. A standard size swim
ming pool in the basement of the
school building would go far to
remedy this situation. There is the
further fact that the great major
ity of Alaskans live by the sea,
and many derive their livelihood
from the sea. Practically all use
boats. Knowing how to swim even
a few strokes would have saved
not a few lives in the past. For
that reason, if for no other, swim
ming should be learned by the
younger generation.
Finally, there is an overall rea
son why we should make this im
portant addition to our commun
ity lives. In order to hold people
in Alaska, to transform Alaska
from being merely the abode of
transients, as it has been to a con
siderable, though, happily, dimin
ishing degree, for the last half
century, we must make life a little
richer and a little fuller than it
has been. We must plow somewhat
more back than has been done in
the past. Speaking in household
terms, we must put a little more
butter in the cake. For year$ I
have been making a study of why
people—after years of residence
here—leave Alaska. There is a
common denominator in the great
majority of the reasons why they
leave. That common denominator
is that there are certain things
lacking in our communities that
can be found in American com
munities “down below.” We have
got to supply more of these things,
now lacking. We probably cannot
supply all of them, but we should
aim to do what we can. We must
set as our goal, I feel, that the
best that is available to any Amer
icans is none too good for Alas
kans if it is attainable.