or lose.
Accepting that explanation, we
advance to the premise that Gen
eral Graham was not using “in
side information,” which would
have been grossly unethical.
Still it seems to us that the gen
eral was rather careless in letting
someone else gamble with his
money, which would be nobodoy’s
business but his own, and rather
careless with his reputation as a
member of the White House inner
circle, a matter which concerns
other people. The proof lies in the
fact that the disclosure of the gen
eral’s grain trading has caused
embarrassment to Mr. Truman
and his administration.
H. W. Hailey.
"Splendid Misery"
Many Republicans think that
Dec. 29, 1947, must have been a
pretty blue Monday for President
Truman. On that day, his person
al White House physician was re
vealed to have been a grain spec
ulator, and Henry Wallace an
nounced himself as a third-party
candidate for President.
Looking back to the time when
he was vice President, Mr. Tru
man might have reflected on these
words of Thomas Jefferson: ‘‘The
second office of the government is
honorable and easy; the first is
but a splendid misery.”
Yet a remarkably large number
of Republicans are eager to risk
the miseries of the first office in
order to enjoy its splendors. And
as for the honorable and easy sec
ond office, we haven’t observed
any rush of candidates for the vice
presidency on the Wallace ticket.
Cheaper Than Wai
Estimated military cost of
World War II to the United States
is $330,030,463,084.
We were in that war 1347 fight
ing days. According to our arith
metic, that’s roughly, 250million
dollars a day.
Secretary Marshall’s plan to
help the free countries of Europe
Alaska Airlines To
Fly Displaced
Persons To Africa
_
ANCHORAGE (/F)—The Alaska
Airlines has signed a contract to
fly displaced persons from Lon
don, England, to Johannesburg,
South Africa, and a company
DC-4 is already in London for the
; first flight expected this week,
president James Wooten announc
ed yesterday.
A second DC-4, now in Seattle,
will fly to London later on.
I Forty displaced persons will be
carried on each trip and from
eight to 12 monthly trips will be
made, Wooten said* The contract
will’ run two or three months.
The company recently flew
Norwegian seamen from Oslo to
New York under contract.
SHRINE CLUB OF FAIRBANKS
SPONSORS BENEFIT
The Farthest North Shrine Club
of Fairbanks is sponsoring a bene
fit for the Crippled Children’s
hospitals which they support and
maintain through the States. Out
standing on the Pacific Coast are
their hospitals at Portland and
San Francisco.
Tickets for the benefit have
been distributed to all Shriners in
Nome and will also be on sale in
Polet’s Store.
Prizes for the event are a Ford
Sedan, Electric Stove, Standard
I Refrigerator, and merchandise
prizes.
The winner of the Ford sedan
! may also have transportation to
Seattle if desired to get the car.
, remain free, grow strong and
1 stand by our side to prevent an
other war, will cost from 16 bil
lion to 20 billion dollars.
That represents from 60 to 80
days’ cost of a fighting war, or
only one-eighteenth of the mili
tary cost of World War II to us.
It looks like a good gamble.
SERVICE CLEANERS
4th and B Streets—Opposite School House
QUALITY DRY CLEANING A SPECIALTY
Mr. and Mrs. Carl Mickleson, Props.
Prompt and Courteoift Service
Phone RED 96
Scotty’s
Liquor Stor
presents
YOUR FAVORITE BRANDS
BLACK 160
JACK LENCER
Watchmaker
will be closed from
December 15 to about Jan. 15th
Box 625 Nome, Alaska
Rivers Charges
“Discrimination”
In Alaska Shipping
Charging “discriminations, pre
ferences and prejudices as be
tween classes of traffic and ship
pers,” the Territorial government
has filed its brief before the mari
time commission in the rate in
vestigation in which the Territory
seeks lower steamship rates.
The brief was filed for the Ter
ritory by Attorney General Ralph
J. Rivers, Malcolm D. Miller, spe
cial counsel to the attorney gen
eral, and Donald J. O’Connor,
economic consultant.
t “The incerased freight rates are
about 166 per cent of the prewar
1941 basis as compared with war
time rates 116 per cent of the pre
war level,” the brief points out.
“The commission allowed the in-,
creases to go into effect without
determining whether they were
reasonable or otherwise lawful.”
The brief charges, among other
things the steamship operators
with inefficient scheduling and
loading. It further contends that
so-called “town freight” is charg
ed rates much-* higher than would
be required if there were not pre
ferential rates for cannery freight.
The brief contains much factual
data supporting the Territory’s
position.
“The problem of dealing with
inefficiency and uneconomical op
erations may be new to the mari
time commission in rate cases, but
is not unfamiliar to other regula
tory agencies,” the brief states.
The brief contends:
“1. Town freight rates are ex
orbitantly high.
“2. Town freight rates were in
creased more dollars per ton than
cannery and fishery rates.
“3. Town freight rates were in
creased by much greater amounts
in dollars per ton than fishery
rates in the progression of rates to
more distant ports.
“4. Fishery traffic made up a
preponderance of traffic in the
summer months.
‘.5. Average revenues per ton
in the summer of 1947 were low
because of the burdensome effect
of low canned fish rates which •
constituted a preponderance of
the traffic.
“6. Winter and spring revenues
per ton will be much higher than
for the summer months because
the burden of fishery rates will
be lighter.”
In maintaining that the relation
ships between cannery and town
freight rates are unreasonable and
are preferential to the latter, the
brief states, “We believe that Con
grss intended the subsidy for the
purpose of aiding the general pop
ulation of Alaska. Actually the
result of subsidization of an al
ready prosperous cannery indus
try, which has been selling its
product at highly inflated prices,
while the consumer in Alaska
must pay not only the inflation of
living costs, but also the unneces
sary inflation of ‘town freight
rates which are very high.”
Summing up, the brief contends
in behalf of the Territory of
Alaska:
“1. That the increased freight
rates of respondents, which be
came effective on May 21, 1947,
are unjust and unreasonable, par
ticularly with respect to high
rates on town freight traffic.
“2. That the difference between
the low rates on cannery or fish
ery traffic and the high rates on
town freight traffic are unjust
and unreasonable in their rela
tionships to each other and to
their transportation characteris
tics and costs.
“3. That respondents give un
reasonable preferences to cannery
or fishery traffic by establishment
of low rate levels, and unduly pre
judice town freight traffic.
“4. That the commission should
reduce freight rates to the extent
that the general level of such
rates north or southbound is each
equal to the average full or sub
sidized cost of service, including a
reasonable rate of return, depend
ing upon whether Congress pro
vides a subsidy for the operations.,
“5. That the commission should
determine the lawfulness of the1
rates involved in this proceeding
upon findings with respect to ef
ficient and economical costs of op
erations by respondents, rather
than upon the mere differences
between total revenus and ex
penses incurred by resopndents."
This brief is one of several al
ready submitted or to be submit
ted to the maritime commission
in connection with the current
rate investigation. Previously,
three members of the commission
staff filed a brief which takes is
suance with the Territory’s posi
tion in that it holds that the exist
ing rate structures were not found
to be “unjust or unreasonable.” It
should be pointed out that this
brief, although filed by staff mem
bers of the maritime commission,
Rivers Charges—2 .
has no more weight than those
filed by other interested parties.
Although supporting the pres
ent rate structure, the commis
sion staff members found in their
brief that “Alaskan trade appears
to constitute a startling exception
to the usual rule that carriage by
water is mile-for-mile, cheaper
than carriage by rail. ... it is
completely true that carriage-cost
from the States to Alaska is not
ably higher than such cost of car
riage by water from the States to
LIVINGSTON, Mont. (/Ph-1The
city paid $25 for an old piano
many years ago for the Livingston
civic center. When orchestra lead
er Ted Fiorito came to town, he
saw it and offered $50 for the
relic, explaining it was like one
he had practiced on as a boy.
The city wonder now if some
one might have a sentimental
feeling for an old model truck.
Hawaii and Puerto Rico, and even
higher than the cost of carrying
for comparable distances within
the States by rail.”
Also the brief held that the con
tract under which Alaska mari
time operations are being carried
on as a consequence of Public
Law 12 which granted free insur
ance and free ships to the opera
tors does not “contain adequate
provisions contemplated by Pub
lic Law 12 binding operators to
operate ships'in a manner as de
termined by the commission to se
cure the most economical trans
portaiton for the Alaska service’.”
Likewise, “The contract does
not contain the ‘adequate protec
tion ... to the interest of the Ter
ritory’ of Alaska which the chair
man of the maritime commission
fell and intended that it should
contain.”
The contra t according to ’he
brief, is an insufficient instru
ment for he development a -d
maintenance of an adequate- and
efficient sy> tern of transportation
servicing Alaska by water, and
that while it remains in effect it
should be amended so as to in
clude more effective requirements
'a> for the operation of ships in a
manner determined by the Com
m sion to secure the most econo
mic transportation for the Alaska
service, and <b) for more equitbele
ar.d efficient division o* territory
and allocation of ships, to the
P’ osent or addition il operators.”
PIONEER WATER DELIVERY
Phone Main 94
ERIC NELSON
CHARITY
GAME
for
INFANTILE PARALYSIS FUND
Sunday Afternoon 2 P.M.
Nome School Auditorium
NOME ALL STARS
VS.
NOME AIR BASE FLYERS
Admission Adults—50c
Children—35c