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, November 7, 1949
WHY AMERICA IS ENDANGERED
(By George S. Benson)
Why is it that America is just one national crisis away
from state socialism? How is it that we have come to
this tragic place, despite the fact that we have given to
our people, through the American productive system,
the highest standard of living that any section of the
human race ever knew? I would like to advance what I
think are three clear-cut reasons.
First, we have been too busy. Nobody has instructed
each oncoming generation about the degree of our
achievements nor about the why of our productive sys
tem. Nobody has undertaken this task, our educational
people least of all. No generation has ever failed so mis
erably to teach its traditions to its children. The result
is that we are growing up a generation that does not un
derstand nor value our productive system. We are
therefore not dedicated to its preservation.
On the other hand, there is a sizeable army working
to destroy our freedoms and liberties. Besides the 1,300
Communists said to be in this nation from the Iron
Curtain countries, it is believed that 800 American con
verts have been trained in the “school for revolution”
near the Kremlin and returned to America. There are
from 80,000 to 100,000 Communist party members in
this country, although they do not carry cards and will
deny they are Communists if asked.
In addition to the Communists, there are several hun
dred organizations that have been officially classed as
affiliated or “front” groups for the Communists. All of
them are working heartily to discredit the profit sys
tem, and to discredit private ownership of property.
When nobody much is working to sell oncoming gener
ations on our way of life and this great army is working
against our way of life, it is easy to understand why we
are drifting dangerously.
In the third place, we have let ourselves be fooled by
shrewd politicians. There are a great many of our po
litical leaders who are following the example of a great
master politician who desired to be elected again, and
again. He knew how, too! With both ears to the ground,1
these present politicians conclude that the “gimme, gim- j
me” crowd has the most votes. Accordingly, they chose
to travel the “gimme” trail to power.
It is that spirit which leads to demands for federal aid
to public schools in every state in the Union. The same
spirit urges socialized medicine for all the people of the
nation. It continues to advocate rent controls when all
need for such control has disappeared. You see, therej
are votes to be had by making some 12 million families
think the government is giving them rent below the
market value.
My conviction is that unless the present generation is
resoid on the fundamentals of our way of life, state so
cilaism will be here within another generation. With it
will come the deadening hand of bureaucracy that will
retard our production by at least 50 per cent. This low
ered productivity could in turn push down wages by 50
per cent and send our high living standards to the bot
tom of the chart.
For the sake of our children’s children, it is exceed
ingly imperative that we hold fast to the fundamentals
of our American heritage. Doing so* we can go on up
ward, supplying the guiding light to freedom loving
people who yet remain upon the earth. The world can
ill afford to have America lose her heritage. Unless we
are willing to see to it otherwise, the deadening hand
of stateism in America can usher in another Dark Age!
FOLLOWS STERN POLICY
Prime Minister Jawaharal Nehru, of India, does not |
think that Marxism and Capitalism can exist together
indefinitely in the same world. The victorious system,
he says, will be the society that delivers the goods, ma-■
Sealskin Prices
Show Decline At
St. Louis Auction
A good attendance of buyers
marked the fall auction of the
Fouke Fur Company in St. Louis
at which Government-owned fur
seal skins from the Pribilof Is
lands were sold for $1,420,260, the
U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service an
nounced Saturday. The auction,
held Monday, October 10, also in
cluded South African and Canadi
an fur-seal skins.
The grand average for all skins
was $55,93, which showed a de
cline from the spring fur-sale of
5.7 percent. The marked trend in
preference for darker shades of
fur continued. Black sealskins
showed an advance of 10.9 per
cent—averaging $68.53 apiece. Al
though the darker shades of ma
tara advanced, lighter shades de
clined. The all matera average de
clined 11.1 percent; the average
price for matara being $55.52. Sa
fari brown, the lighter skins, de
dined 5.1 per cent, for an average l
of $46,81.
The Fouke Company also sold
309 Government-owned blue fox
skins taken by the Pribilof Island
natives. These averages $4.51 for a
total of $1,393.75.
The 1,625 Canadian government
owned matara brown sealskins
sold at the auction for essentially
the same prices commanded by
the U. S. skins. South African
Cape of Good Hope skins aver
Active Navy
Growing Smaller
WASHINGTON </P). The nuvy’s
active sea force, growing smaller
by the month, is now less than
half the size of its mothball fleet.
Figures supplied today by the
navy show that to date 395 major
combat vessels have been pulled
out of the Atlantic fleet and 332
out of the Pacific fleet, for a total
of 727 ships in reserve.
Last July 1 there were 271 ma
jor fighting ships in active service,
174 with the Atlantic fleet and 97
i nthe Pacific.
By next July 1, that total will
be down to 237—including three
new submarines and a light car
rier—as 17 ships of the Atlantic
fleet and seven from the Pacific
are put in storage.
That will place the total strength
of the mothball fleet at 751 ships.
The admirals say that they could
do a pretty fast job of getting re
serve ships back into fighting trim
if they had to.
U.S. Commissioner’s Court
Linnia Nelson was found guilty
of being drunk in a public place
last Friday and given 15 days in
the federal jail.
aged $23.62. showing a decline of
10.8 per cent. The Government of
the Union of South Africa offered
2,500 skins, and private shippers
offered an additional 2,700 Cape
of Good Hope sealskins.
terially and spiritually, to benefit humanity.
The visiting statesman was asked about the violations
of civil liberties in India. His reply was that, because of
the problems of partition, followed by widespread com
munal riots, his country had to adopt policies of arrest
and conviction that “normally it would not have fol
lowed.”
We recognize the difficulties that face the officials of
India in connection with their independence but, never
theless, every official who attempts to stamp out the lib
erties of the people explains such an act by the abnor
mailty of conditions facing him.
The point to be remembered in connection with vari
ous liberties is that they possess fundamental virtue or
do not. If they are worth having, they are particularly
desirable in periods of stress in order that there will be
no oppression for political purposes. Obviously, the lib
erties of people cannot be considered a coat to be worn
whenever officials believe it will look nice and to be
stripped from a man whenever officials fear the effect
of popular sentiment.
RED MAGIC
tvtc
.
SATELLITES'
Japan Looking For
Independence
(By Russell Brines)
(<j*P) Bureau chief in Tokyo)
MANILA, —Japan has moved
closer toward independence in the
last few weeks than at any time
since the end of the war.
This trend gives added import
ance to the recent series of re
ports a formal peace treaty may
be near.
O c c u pation headquarters in
Tokyo now is in the process of
turning over a wide range of local
authority to the Japanese. The lat
est move was the announcement
that private trade would be re
established Dec. 1.
Equally important, perhaps, is
the new eagerness of Japanese of
ficials to take over control ar.ri as
sume responsibility. A year ago
they refused several chances to
gain more autonomy.
At the same time the Japanese
are conspicuously anx i o u s to
please the United States. No one
has explained completely why the
coal production quota is being met
when for more than three years
the output of this vital commodity
has lagged badly.
This suggests the Japanese nave
been told, or have decided, now
is the time to put forward their
best efforts for the big push Ur re
gain domestic power.
There is new emphasis on speed
in this overall trend which c.in be
explained only on terms of local
development.
Most key government officials
have reiterated, however, that a
peace treaty is necessary to re
store Japan to its full capacity.
The cold war delayed it for
months, if not years.
Predicts Many
Housing Units For
Anchorage Area
'Continued from Page One>
Command; Brig. Gen. Frank A.
Armstrong, head of the Alaska
Air Command; Maj. Gen. Stanley
Scott, head of the U. S. Army in
Alaska; Brig. Gen. Donald Hutch
inson, commanding general of the
57th Fighter Wing,
Possible housing available un
der the Wherry housing act and
1950 military appropriation^ for
Alaska were discussed.
General Twining stated the
jojnt chiefs of staff had definitely
decided to send more troops to
Alaska. He said this alone merited
increased housing facilities. He
did not indicate how many troops
would be added.
Plans were made to try to get
the public housing authority to
provide family housing at mini
mum cost.
General Hutchinson strongly
advocated building perma ne n t
type housing which would not de
velop into ‘‘miretraps and slums.”
Current housing units are on a
marginal standard, espaci ally
north of the Alaska Range, the
military leaders said, but primar
ily at Ladd and Eielson Air Force
Bases.
The military chiefs also advo
cated Port of Anchorage expan
sion of existing port facilities as
an aid to housing development.
The Donaldson-Garnder visit
stems from Symington’s recent
promise of an inquiry into the
housing situation.
A five-man photographic team
preceded them by almost 10 days.
They are taking pictures of hous
ing which military personnel is
occupying throughout Alaska.