THE NOME NUGGET 1
Published Monday, Wednesday and Friday by The
NOME PUBLISHING CO.
Nome, Alaska
Telephone: Main 125 P. O. Box 618 ,
W. A. and EMILY BOUCHER Editors
$1.50 PER MONTH $16.00 A YEAR
Entered as second class matter October 14, 1943. at the pos'office
at Nome. Alaska, under the Act of March 3, 1879.
Monday, October 27, 1947
America's Choice—Pul Up Or Get Out
(The Denver Post)
THE ATTITUDE of the American people during the
next few months on the question of European relief;
through the Marshall plan may determine the course of
history for years to come.
Inadequate relief, which would be as bad as no relief
at all, would dash the last hope of such countries as
Italy, France and Britain for freedom from famine and
for an orderly start toward postwar recuperation. It
would be an invitation to chaos which Communists
would accept eagerly. c
It might easily mean that within a short time the
Americans would face, across the Atlantic ocean puddle,
a completely Sovietized and hostile Europe.
The possible consequences of a failure of the Mar
shall plan are so grave that the results of a recently
completed Gallup poll are decidedly alarming.
Only 49 per cent of the people of the country have
heard of the Marshall plan. Among those best informed
on the plan, 49 per cent favor it and 34 per cent are op
posed. Among those who don’t know what the plan is,
25 percent believe they favor it and 54 percent oppose it.
There seems to be danger that the entire plan might
be defeated on the basis of ignorance alone.
Among Americans viewing the European scene at
iirst hand there is a preponderance of belief that relief
is essential for humanitarian, if not political, reasons.
Congressman William S. Hill (Rep.) of Fort-Collins,
Colo., a consistent foe of unnecessary government t
spending and a “hard-headed” busonessman in his own
right, has just returned from Europe convinced that
“unless we send them (western Europeans) food imme
diately, they will not have enough to eat.”
Hill believes food relief must go directly to the people
and economic relief to restore industries must go di
rectly to the industries involved because he has no faith
in the stability of some of the governments. “On the
basic need for relief, there is no doubt, however.”
The secretary of agriculture put the entire case for
the Marshall pian succinctly when he said America
must choose betweeji making heavy food shipments to
Europe for some time, or getting out of Europe entirely.
Russia, of course, is hoping we will get out.
Help China Now
(Rocky Mountain News)
IMMEDIATE AMERICAN aid to China is recom
mended by William C. Bullitt. After an on-the-spot in
vestigation he proposes in the current issue of Time
Magazine a three-year plan costing $4'0.000,000 a
year, covering credits for consumer imports, military
supplies and monetary stabilization.
Since he is a recognized expert in foreign affairs, with
experience including the U. S. ambassadorship in Rus
sia, Mr. Bullitt’s report deserves serious consideration.
There is room for difference of opinion as to the fig
ures. Some experts would be less optimistic about the
dollar cost and the length of time required. There’s an
old saying that in China everything takes longer and
costs more than you expect.
But we do not see how any informed person can chal
lenge his finding that the Chinese government is in des
perate need of help quickly. Current reports on Com
munist gains in Manchuria confirm the urgency.
“If China falls into the hands of Stalin, all Asia, in
cluding Japan, sooner or later will fall into his hands,”
M r.Bullitt warns. “The manpower and resources of
Asia will be mobilized against us. The independence of
the United States will not live a generation longer than
I
ALMOST MORE THAN HE CAN BEAR |
the independence of China.’
We do not think it would be so easy as this implies
for Russia to mobilize all Asia against us, or indeed to
digest even all of China.
But certainly Communist victory in China would de
stroy hope of peace in the Far East indefinitely, and
gravely jeopardize American security.
America has the legal right and moral duty to help
the recognized government of China—recognized by
Russia and the other nations no less than by the United
States. It was our faithful ally in the war. China is our
oldest, closest and most trustworthy friend in Asia. As
such, she is a particular target of Russia today, just as
she was the target of Japan before.
America’s obligation and self-interest is so apparent,
eventual aid to China seems assured. The danger is that
it will be given too late.
Mexiccvs Buying Curbs
(Washington Post)
THE DRASTIC REDUCTIONS that Mexico has laid
upon a long list of luxury and non-essential articles im
ported from the United States is only a foretaste of what
is to come unless vanishing dollar balances of other na
tions are replenished by loans and credits or through an
expansion of their exports. Since the end of the war
Mexico has been buying heavily from this country,
with the result that her dollar balances have shrunk
from 355 million to 200 million. Mexico is also suffering
from the effects of a business recession accompanied by
a drop in prices that helps to cut down foreign buying.
Although the new restrictions are said to be temporary,
it is obvious that Mexico cannot relinquish them unless
she succeeds in expanding her exports. Otherwise the
drain on her dollar reserves would become alarming.
One source of dollars that would normally be open to
Mexico is the sale of cattle to the United States. At pres
ent, however, large herds are waiting at the border, de
nied entry into this country because of the prevalence
of the foot and mouth disease in Mexico. If Mexico
would permit Americans to enter the country, slaughter
these cattle and pack the meat, it could be safely admit
ted. with advantage to both countries. So far, howere,
the Mexicans have rebuffed all our overtures and the
cattle remain on overcrowded scanty ranges where they
are rapidly deteriorating.
Mexico, therefore, presents an object lesson for us to
consider in appraising the future of our foreign trade, in
respect not only to exports but to imports, as well. For it
is evident that we cannot bolster up our abnormally
large export trade indefinitely by supplying other coun
tries wijh dollars they have not earned with which to
pay for our export. The dollars earned or lent must be
put to work productively to enable foreign countries to
send us more goods in payment for our exports. If dol
lars-poor countries were to rely solely upon reductions
in imports to produce a balance in international pay
ments, the result would be a progressive decline in for
I eign trade, injurious to all trading nations.
Poultry 'An«l Eggs
i By Jack Foster* 4
COMMITTEES of Congress
have started on a new, long-range
farm program. They’re hunting a ^
way to keep farm-product prices
permanently high enough to give
agriculture an adequate income.
Agriculture, just now, is doing
well. We want it to keep o ^ doing
veil. So, while not giving advance
approval to any scheme the com
mittee may propose, we’r; glad to
see them tackling this subject.
We do think, though, that the ^
new farm policy should be more
f 1 e x i b 1 e—more adaptable to
changing conditions — than the
present one, which is involving
the government in some strange,
not to say absurd, inconsistencies.
For Instance: m
It takes grain to produce poul
try and eggs. So, as part of his
program to get prices down and
save grain for hungry people
abroad, President Truman asks
the American people to eat less
poultry and eggs. ^
All right. The American people
comply. The demand for poultry
and eggs gets less, and their prices
fall And the falling prices dis
courage farmers from feeding so
much grain to their flocks. You
may think that’s what will hap
pen, but it most probably won’t.
For there is a law, which Con
gress made part of the present
farm program. It binds the gov
ernment to keep the prices farm
ers get for poultry and eggs from *
going below 90 per cent of “par
ity.” Those prices are now only a
tiny bit above parity. They can
hardly begin to fall before the
government must start buying
poultry and eggs and forcing them
back almost as high as they are
now Or even higher, if the parity
standard continues to climb.
The supply of eggs, in fact, al
ready far exceeds the demand, g
The government this year has
bought 277 million dozen in order
to keep prices up, and it now has
on hand 138 million dozen dried
or frozen eggs which nobody
seems eager to buy. And. if the
public cuts down on egg eating as
Mr. Truman asks, the government
apparently will have to start buy
ing on a much larger scale, the
public won’t get cheaper eggs, and
the farmers, with a guaranteed^
market and price, will have a big
incentive for feeding lots of grain
to their flocks.
The law responsible for this sit
uation may have seemed sensi
ble when Congress passed it. Un
der present conditions, it looks
silly, and its ridiculous aspects are
not confined to poultry and eggs.
We believe any farm program,
new or old, long-range or short
range, ought to leave leeway for
the government to modify it when ^
need for change becomes evident.
One Man’s Opinion
(Ey Walter Kiernan) $
President Truman says peace is
getting closer. — Those increas
ingly louder noises from Lake
Success must be the rumbling of
the dove’s wings. . . . Henry Wal
lace says he’ll head a third ticket
if ‘‘the two old parties” are for
war—The old party we’re worry
ing about isn’t talking. . ..General
MacArthur is Iconsidering coming
home for a short vacation—It may
be his last chance to get in and get ’
out before 1948. . . General Ei- ^
senhower is reported no longer in
terested in the Presidency. — He
found a house in New York.—
Maybe Nicholas Murray Butler ^
would consider running.—It was
his house. . . . Anyway Secretary
Anderson says we have a six-year