THE NOME NUGGET
Published Monday, Wednesday and Friday by The
NOME PUBLISHING CO.
Nome, Alaska
Telephone: Main 125 P. O. Box 61 k
$1.50 PER MONTH $16.00 A YEAR
W. A. and EMILY BOUCHER. Editor*
Entered as second class matter October 14, 1943, at the postoffic**
at Nome. Alaska, under the Act of March 3, 1879.
- -- - ■ ———‘
Friday, December 13, 1946
“Sains Populi, Suprema Lex’*
(The Denver Post) ;
JOHN L. LEWIS’ contemptuous indifference to the
welfare of millions has brought bewildered silence from
labor’s friends in Congress. Liberal Republicans and
Democrats who have been counted upon to steer labor
reform legislation into moderate channels have found
themselves tongue-tied.
With paralysis spreading through industry, illness
and discomfort threatening millions of families, schools
closed and hospitals alarmed for the safety of patients—
all because of the egocentric stubbornness of one man—
there is little for labor’s liberal friends to say. Their
customary finger-shaking against the dangers of inter
fering with “free collective bargaining” would be empty;
and foolish. It has been revealed as the counsel of sui
cide.
This is not collective bargaining we are witnessing:
today. It is extortion, with 140 million hostages.
The economics of mining and the merits of the min
ers’ demands have no influence on the settlement John
L. Lewis seeks to obtain. What he wins will be the ran-;
som of our families.
There is a rule of law which transcends the rights of.
any minority group. In Latin, the ancient legal lang
uage, it is expressed, “Salus populi, supreme lex”—the!
“welfare of the people is the highest law.”
Those words express the very basis of government.
They embrace in one simple rule the philosophy which
enables men to live in peaceable democratic society.
Without this principle there can be only anarchy or dic
tatorship. That abyss is the logical end toward which
John L. Lewis is pushing the nation.
There must be no mistaking the nature of this crisis.
The republic is threatened as never before. Even the
issues of the Civil war touched nothing as fundamental
as the question now facing us—the power of the nation
to protect the whole people.
In the face of this threat, even the congressional apos
tles of a go-easy, do-nothing policy toward labor must be
undergoing a wholesome revision of ideas. Certainly.1
Congress may no longer mistake the foremost require
ment of labor reform, which is safeguarding the public
from the terrorism of monopolistic labor.
Congress has long asserted the police power of the na
tion to regulate business in the public interest. That
same power must be asserted over labor.
_
Lincoln Up-to-Date
WITH CLASSROOMS closed for lack of coal, Super
intendent Charles Greene of Denver public schools
launched city wide lessons-by-radio by reminding his!
young listeners that all learning does not come from
books. The self-taught Lincoln, said Superintendent
Greene, might have had an easier time of it with radio
to help him.
Lincoln, we also recall, did the studying by the light
—and warmth—of a big log fireplace. With radio to
help him, were he here to face the microphone now, his
famous address might pour from the loudspeakers some
what in this fashion:
“Eight score and ten years ago—and that, boys and
girls, was long before Amos and Andy, the Quiz Kids
or John L. Lewis was born—our fathers brought forth on
this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty and
-dedicated to the proposition that all men are created
equal.
“Now we are engaged in a great coal strike, testing I
whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and s'
ONLY A POPGUN ?
- - - .... .... .
dedicated, can long endure when the solid fuels admin
istrator in our nation’s capital no longer has any solid
fuels to administer.
“We are gathered—nay, huddled—about the micro
phones and loudspeakers of this nation. Some of us have
come to the studio today to dedicate a portion of this;
program to a round-table discussion of how to be edu
cated tho chilly.
“But the cold facts are that we cannot dedicate—w
cannot educate—we cannot procrastinate. John L.'
Lewis has already set our teeth chattering too—brrrr!;
—violently for that.”
(Sound effects man twists wind machine and north!
wind moans).
“The world will little note, nor long remember, what
we say here—as any radio announcer can testify. But it
can never forget what He did here. It is rather for us, the1
shivering, to be dedicated to the great, unfinished task
remaining before us, so that this nation, under a new
mine contract, may have coal before Christmas, and
that government of John L. Lewis, for John L. Lewis, I
by John L. Lewis, shall perish from the cold.”
Purging History
(Rocky Mountain News)
THE NOT INFREQUENT book-burnings in the Sov
iet Union are necessitated by the requirement that his
tory books must be rewritten each time t here is a change
in the Communist party line, so that there will be n' !
conflict between the record of past events and current
ideological thinking, according to the Ukrainian Quar-1
terly. A case in point is found in the “History of the
Ukrainian People, on the most recent purge list.
In 1939 the Political Bureau approved the following
passage, found on page 366, as the party line toward
Soviet-German relations:
“In acordance with its policy of peace, the govern
ment of the Soviet Union signed a Soviet-German non
aggression pact on Aug. 23, 1939, in Moscow. This pact
is one of the most important documents in history of the
international relations of our era, because it marked a
sudden change in the development of Soviet-German re
lations and became a ‘turning point in the history of
•Europe and not only Europe alone.’ By signing it Soviet
German hostility, inflamed by war instigators, came to
an end.” The quotation was attributed to Mr. Molotov.
'It is understandable why in 1946 the Political Bureau
should decree that such a book did not conform to the
Communistic interpretation of history.
THAT’S THAT By bruce gustin j
Senator Ball of Minnesota is
absolutely right in his assertion i
that “industry-wide bargaining is |
dangerous and intolerable when it
leads to industry-wide strikes.” j
Such a policy is bad anytime be
cause it always holds the danger i
of an industry-wide strike. We can
see that in the coal situation. John
L. Lewis is a national menace be
cause, through a system of indus
try-wide bargaining, he can tie up
all the coal mines in the country
at any time.
The American people have el
ed a Republican Congress w
they have a Democrat in the W
House. As President Truman po
out, “under our Constitution,
Congress is the law-making boc
If he doesn’t forget that, he sho
get along. One trouble for m,
years now has been that the In
dent has undertaken to die
what Congress shall do. His ,
under the Constitution, is to ca
out the domestic policies aciop
oy Congress. There should be
serious trouble between Presic
Truman and Congress if he
members that he is only tne e>
utive.
It is plain from a Gallup |
that one thing the American p
pie expect the next Congress to
is curb industrial strife. W
asked whether the congress elec
in November should pass r
laws to control labor unions,
per cent of the people said “yt
and only 22 per cent answe
“no.” Twelve per cent were un
cided. A majority of all groups
voters — Kepuoiicans, Democr
and independents—declared t
something must be done to con
iador unions.
At the recent election, the vo1
in three states—Nebraska, Arizi
and South Dakota—adopted c
sututional amendments pronil
ing the closed shop. These m
sures are not designed to dest
labor unions. On the contra
they are intended to protect
ganized labor by protecting
freedom of the individual wori
to join or not to join a union if
chooses. Men and women are ;
free if they are compelled to ji
and pay tribute to any organi
tion in order to be allowed to e;
a living.
nowl has gone up from Bi
ain because of American decisic
to decontrol food prices and st
purchases by the U. S. Govei
ment of food for shipment to fi
eign countries. The New Stat
man and Nation, a London put
cation, brands these decisions ‘
ruthless and anarchic an action
the sudden withdrawal of lea
lend at the end of the war.”
cnarges that "the United States,
its mad rush back to a purely sc
ish capitalism, has apparently <
cided to walk out of ‘functional
ternationalism,’ just as it waM
out of the political league af
the first World War.” Those ;
harsh words. But such is Brit
gratitude” for all the help fui
ished by the United States.
The British complaint is t!
any food purchases they n>
make in the United States v
have to be made in the open m;
ket and at higher prices. Th
they argue, will make it both me
difficult and more expensive
buy food for themselves and I
their German occupation zone, a
will prolong bread rationing
England. They cannot reasonal
expect the United States to go
feeding them forever. And havi
borrowed a few billion doll
from us since the war, they shot
worry about having to pay a lit
more for food bought in this coi
try. They will be paying it w
our money.
REPRIEVE FOR AN APPLE:
WILLIAM TELL PLAY OFF
ALTDORF, Switzeland, OP)
The William Tell play, usua
staged here annually at the loc
of the well-known legend, will i
be produced this year because /
dorf has been chosen as the site
the national song festival. The 1
Play association announced t
the production will be stai
again in 1947.