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 postoffice at Nome, Alaska, under the Act of
March 3, 1879.
__Monday, May 28, 1945
POLITICS AS A PROFESSION
(Washington Post)
That indefagitable researcher into the
private opinions of the public, Dr. George
Gallup, has come along with some evi
dence which seems to him to indicate that
“the great majority of the people in the
American voting population apparently
do not think much of politics as a profes
sion.” He posed this question to a national
sample: “If you had a son would you like
to see him go into politics as a life’s work
when he gets out of school?” Twenty-one
per cent of his respondents said “yes;” 68
per cent said “no,” and 11 per cent ex
presed no opinion. Dr. Gallup’s infer
ence, we think, is open to opinion.
We are doubtful, to begin with, that
more than one-fifth of the American vot
ing population would say “yes” to any
particular profession proposed as a car
eer for their sons. We’d like to see Dr.
Gallup try them out on medicine or
even journalism. So great is the range
of opportunity open to young men in
America that no single avenue of endea
vor is likely to claim more than a minor
ity of adherents. But this could scarcely
be interpreted to mean that the public
thought ill of these professions.
We suspect, moreover, that what Dr.
Gallup has discovered, at worst, is sim
ply that the semantic overtones of the
term “politics” carry disagreeable con
notations to the American ear. Suppose
that in phrasing his question he had sub
stituted for “politics” the word “govern
ment” or the more euphemistic phrase
“public service.” Might he not, in these
circumstances, have received a higher
percentage of affirmative answers? It is
indisputable that in modern usage “poli
tics” commonly suggests artifice or in
trigue or even skullduggery.
“WAR” AND “WASTE”
The Arlington (Washington) Times
recently published an article which will
be of interest to Alaskans.
The article mentioned “the Canol oil
project up near the North Pole cost j
$165,000,000; abandoned after producing
a mere trickle of oil.”
Next on the listed items came, “the
Alcan Highway cost $139,000,000 proved
impractical and scheduled for abandon
ment.”
Third expenditure item in the arti
cle read as follows: “The huge Excursion .
Inlt transshipment base, Alaska, cost
$17,500,000; never used.”
The Arlington Times article conclud
etd with a totalization of these items and
an admonition to Congress: “Total,
$321,500,000, virtually wasted. Is it not
about time that our Congress would be
gin to temper the bleak boondoggling
winds to the shorn lamb—the taxpayer?”
It is our opinion that “War” and
“Waste” are synonymous.
It is also our opinion that if these ex
penditures were instrumental in saving
one human life, or a part of our nation,
they can be considered well-founded.
THE SAMPLE LOOKS GOOD
v --—- --—
wm
STORM BREWS ON
UNIFIED COMMAND
By JACK STINNET
WASHINGTON — Almost any
day now the lid is going to blow
off—verbally at least—on the fight
for unification of the armed forces
under one command.
Rep. Clifton Woodrums • post
war military policy subcommittee
was doing a rou4ine job when the
thing popped into the open. Sec
retary of War Stimson, himself ex
ploded it by out-and-out backing
of unification.
The idea of a unified command
of the Army and Navy is nothing
new. But when Lt. Gen. Joseph T.
McNamey, deputy chief of staff,
followed Secretary Stimson before
the committee and laid down a
virtual blueprint for it, it proved
the tninking along these lines had
gone much further than any one
realized. Gen. McNarney’s blue
print was so buried in the story of
that day, it got very little atten
tion.
Briefly, the proposed set-up
would call for a chief of staff to
the commander-in-chief (the Pres
ident). He would be the supreme
professional commander of all
military forces on land, sea and
air. Under him would be three
deputy chiefs of staff; one each
for the Army, Navy and Air Force.
Separate and responsible to all of
these would be the Services of
Supply. There would be in the
cabinet one secretary of military
affairs and his staff would do all
the civilian work for all three
branches.
The reason why the Navy does
not like the idea is rather obvious.
Behind the scenes is an even bet
ter reason than those in the Navy
who have or will testify against it
would admit publicly.
Regardless of what opposing ar
guments Navy men put forth,
many of them agree privately that
unification at some future date is
inevitable. Their strategy will be
to put it off as long as possible.
Even with the greatest fleet afloat
today, the Navy has not nearly
reached is full srength. This year
and next will see it increase and
then the Navy will be ready for
its big show in the Pacific.
By the size of its personnel and
its tasks ahead in Europe for a
year or two to come, the Army
would be ‘top dog” if the forces
were consolidated now. But with
the European war over the Navy's
big show in the Pacific is starting
and the work of demobilizing our
vast Army has started. The size
of the Navy will continue to be
larger, for it will be many yea«
before we think of reducing it to
anything like Pearl Harbor size.
Of the various blueprints that
have been discussed, an interest
ing one has been a division under
one head into Pacific and Atlantic
commands, with the Navy heading
the Pacific and the Army heading
Ask Approval
| Of Automatic
Mail Pickup
Northern Airways have asked
i the Civil Aeronautics Board for
approval to use grappling hooks
,1o pick up mail sacks hanging on
! rope stretched between poles in
; small interior communities. They
I
also anplied permission to run the
ervice in vurtually every com
muni y from Fairbanks down the
JY'ukon river valley and in the
f
Kuskokwim country, including a
hundred twenty-five places on
I
seven routes from Barrow to
Bethel. The Civil Aeronautics
board said no automatic pickup is
now used in the Territory.
EXECUTIVE SECRETARY OF
MISSION BOARD IN NOME
Dr. Clarence Lokey, of New
York, executive secretary of the
Board of Missions and Church Ex
tension of the Methodist Church,
and Rev. G. Edward Knight, su
pervisor of Methodist work in
Alaska and pastor of the Method
ist church in Seward, Alaska, paid
Nome a visit last Wednesday and
left Thursday noon.
They are on a survey for their
church and met here with the
Federated Church board Wednes
day evening. The Methodist
Church and Congregational
church co-operate in the mainten
ance of the Federated church. The
Methodist church also maintains
the Native Methodist church,
known as the Lavinia Wallace
Young Mission, and the Maynard
Columbus hospital.
the Atlantic.
Not all Na,ry men, however, are
opposed to unification now. I am
reliably informed that a* least one
high naval official on active duty
will testify for it before the Wood
rum committee.
Nome Directory
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IRA D. ORTON
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Nome, Alaska,
Seattle Office:
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Telephone EL. 6396
O. D COCHRAN
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Nome. Alaska