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 postofflf'*
at Nome. Alaska, under the Act of March 3, 1879.
Monday, August 4, 1947
A Curious Friendship
(The Denver Post)
DON'T TELL A POLE .
“The whole world knows that the Soviet
Union scrupulously maintains internation
al obligations taken upon itself and never
interferes in the internal affairs of other
states.”—Pravda, June 19, 1947.
IF POLAND HOPES that she will receive from Mos
cow the benefits she turned down by rejection of the
Marshall plan, she is due for a sad disappointment.
Aside from Communist government, there is probably
less true basis for friendship between the people of
Poland and the Soviet Union than any other country in
the Soviet sphere of eastern Europe.
Poland was coldly and blackly betrayed by the Sov
iets in the signing of the Soviet-German pact of 1939.
Few people in Poland, however, know of this. The secret
agreement between Soviet Foreign Minister Molotov
and German Foreign Minister Ribbentrop has never
been revealed in Poland. It came out in the Nuremburg
triels, but the Polish prosecution did not take it back
for publication in their country. Neither did they in
clude the testimony of witnesses who accused the Sov
iets of the massacre of 6,500 members of the Polish army
in the forest of Katyn, near Smolensk.
The bare evidence of facts damns the Soviets for their
actions in the year 1939. First, on Aug. 24, they signed
the secret agreement destroying Poland. On Sept. 1,
Hitler marched into Poland and on Sept. 17, the Soviets
invaded from the east. Then, on Sept. 28, Ribbentrop
flew to Moscow and signed a pact proclaiming the de
struction of Poland as a nation.
Until June, 1941, the Soviets were no friends to the
Poles. They deported a million persons—many to forced
labor camps in Siberia. Later, when the Soviets were in
turn betrayed by Hitler, they attempted to bring the
Poles back, but even now alj of them have not returned.
In 1944 the people of Warsaw rebelled against the
Germans. They had expected Soviet aid. But they made
the mistake of proclaiming allegiance to the London
government-in-exile, and the Soviets allowed them to
be cut to ribbons. Later in 1944, a Soviet-sponsored gov
ernment took control. True, it had other representatives:
but they have since played lesser roles.
Few people believe that the elections of January,
1947, were free. The Communists now control the most
important posts in Poland, and the Soviets control the
Communists. Poland, which occupies the most uneasy
geographical position in Europe, has no chance for self
determination; it is too important to Russia for the Sov
iet government ever to relinquish its power. So, as long
as Russia maintains an eastern European sphere, Poland
will be the heart of it, and will have no chance to partic
ipate in any plan that might loosen that control.
* •
Europe Must Solve Europe’s Problems
(Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
IN PROMULG ATING the so-called Marshall plan for
the economic rehabilitation of Europe, the secretary of
state divided his proposition into two parts—
FIRST—That the European nations themselves
should determine their own needs and the portion
thereof which can be provided by and among them
selves; and
SECOND—That the United States would underwrite
and supply the deficiency for an indeterminate period.
The obvious implications were that the governments
of Europe should establish some kind of concord upon
the continent, and that the people of Europe should get
to work and, by exchanging their surpluses, effectively
reduce the indigenous shortages of the various nations
to food, in fuel, in raw materials and in manufactured
goods. •
The Marshall plan now seems likely to fail for two
reasons.
In the first place, Western Europe has pursued a sui
cidal course since the war.
Its socialistic parties and regimes have been intent
upon nationalizing instead of revitalizing their agricul
ture and industries.
Its labor elements have let themselves be controlled
bv Marxism instead of being actuated by patriotism.
The governments of France and Italy are almost par-j
alyzed by Communist dictatorship in the central labor
organizations.
Great Britain, dependent upon coal for it strade and
sustenance, has under its labor government failed to
produce enough coal to keep the people warm, much less
to operate the factories properly.
At a time of national emergency without precedent in
its history, Great Britain works its socialized coal mines
cn a five-day-a-week basis—and is talking about a four
day week
Moreover, the Ruhr District of Germany—to which
half of Europe looks for coal—is under British manage
ment; and Great Britain has been trying to socialize the
Ruhr instead of striving for full production.
There is no indication here of resolute peoples willing
to toil for their o\yn salvation.
In the second place, it is evident that Western Europe
does not regard the Marshall plan as a program of self
help for Europe.
Soviet Russia expressed one point of view by accus
ing the United States of seeking to rule in Europe
through ‘dollar diplomacy.”
Herbert Morrison, lord president of the British coun
cil, expressed another when he told the House of Com
mons—since the Marshall plan was announced—that
Europe must have a peacetime version of American
lend-lease.
That, on the scale which Europe expects, would prob
ably cost America more than we have.
We have already made bankrupting “investments” in
global charity without any great avail.
Since the war 59 foreign nations have received up
ward of 20 billion dollars in gifts from the American
people through the American government.
Only nine countries in the whole world—Afghani
stan, Bulgaria, Ireland, Luxembourg, Romania, Siam,
Sweden, Switzerland and the Union of South Africa—
have been omitted.
Of course, with that as a precedent Europe expects
the Marshall plan to be a mere continuation of our vast
donations.
But this country does not have the resources to sup
port the Old World: and our experience should teach us
that it is futile to make the attemp.
^ Furthermore, this country cannot itself rehabilitate
Europe by merely giving our production away—we can
only impoverish and weaken ourselves.
The Paris conference must present some kind of con
structive program within Europe—and not just a draft1
upon the American people—if any kind of constructive
aid is to be forthcoming from America.
By GEORGE S BENSON
B»»id«nl ef Harding College
Searcy. Arkansas
i i
f
■
WHAT'S WRONG WITH
PROFIT?
Some folks have the idea that
profit is something business takes
unfairly and harmfully out of buy
ing and selling and manufactur
ing. This idea is that whatever a
company earns, no matter if it is
a fraction of a per cent of the total
sales, this money is extracted un
derhandedly from the public. If
you have ever felt that way, I dare
you to take a good, straight look
at America’s ecenomic picture—
and yourself.
You are paid a salary or a wage
each week, are you not? You have
invested your time, your energy,
your brain-power, your muscle
power, your special skills, your
training and experience. Do you
think, that you have done some
thing harmful to your community?
Do you feel that you have cheated
America? Chances are that you do
not feel that way at all.
• I
Taking Profits
You may be able, after paying'
I all you:* expense-, to put a little
I into thu bank or insurance. You
may be titled in investing a
part of your savings in stocks and
bonds. If you are like most Amer
icans, you find that you can invest
in some luxury goods. That is, you
put some money into a car, an
electric refrigerator, or perhaps a
good collection of fishing tackle.
You can find that these and other
| things you can put your profit
i into will help you continue to live
! and to work.
Naturally, you do not have to
show a profit at all. You could
continue for a while to work for a
loss. But I do not believe you’d
like it—there would be no future
in it. You want a steady job and
steady pay. Otherwise you be
come a public charge or have to
live on your relatives. That way,
you’re a loss to your neighbors
and friends—mere deadweight in
an otherwise dynamic, producing
economy.
You And Business
Business corporations are pretty
much like this picture of yourself.
Whether General Motors, the cor
ner delicatessen, or yourself—
profit is what there is left over
after all the bills are paid. Profit
results from good management,
thrift, imagination, and hard work.
The big corporation turns some
profits back into the company for
new plants and new tools. The rest
goes to the folks whose buildings,
tools, machinery, and money the
company has been using.
This profit is usually none too
much. Compensation of employees
in 1945, as estimated by the De
partment of Commerce, would
have gone up only 7.9 per cent if
the entire corporation income of
the country had been turned into
wages. Yet, if this were done, it
would mean that millions of peo
ple, perhaps including yourself,
would fail to receive dividends.
Corporations would soon become
bankrupt. Jobs would becom^
scarce.
Way to More Wages
The important thing is that good
profits and good wages • go along
together. The success of an enter
prise, as well as the well-being of
everyone who gets income, de
pends upon profits. When corpo
rations have to accept losses, or
even meager profits, wages for
everybody go down and jobs be
come hard to find. It is not just
chance that brings these two
things, small profits and low
wages, in the very same years.
They belong together.
All of us want profits. Why
then, all the hullaballoo about
wanting business enterprises to
hand over any profit it makes to
employees? To do this would be
to cut our own throats. What we
really need is more folks with the
idea of going into business, mak
ing money and employing people.
The need is not more bankrupt
corporations, but more profit,
more wages, and better living for
everybody.
LADIES AID PICNIC
VERY SUCCESSFUL
The Ladies Aid society of the
Federated Church held a picnic at
Dexter last Friday afternoon with
Mrs. Ole Hay as hostess. It is re
ported that about 25 members and
guests spent a very enjoyable af
ternoon and evening, picking ber
ries and enjoying the day in the
country. Mrs. M. Day and Dorothy
Russell reported on the Methodist
conference, which they both at
tended in Seward last month, as
program for the evening.
Next meeting will be held at the
home of Mrs. A. Nerland, who iff
president of the organization.