THE NOME NUGGET
Published Monday, Wednesday and Friday by The
NOME PUBLISHING CO.
Nome, Alaska
Telephone: Main 125 P. O. Box 618
W. A. and EMILY BOUCHER .Editors
SI.50 PER MONTH $16.00 A YEAR
Entered as second class matter October 14, 1943. at the postoffice
at Nome. Alaska, under the Act of March 3, 1379.
Monday, February 23, 1948
Washington Hail Troubles Too
GEORGE WASHINGTON had his troubles too when
he did his bit of founding and setting up this wonderful
country of ours.
The laying out of our Constitution had its compro
mises and multitudinous loop holes which had to be
ironed out through the years, but the sturdy settlers of
the original 13 colonies had a goal. Their religion and
faith were behind them in the founding of this nation
built to get away from intolerance.
They pulled together for a common unselfish cause
and won.
We think we have confusion and complications and
political jams and we blame our legislators for a lot of
things we are to blame for ourselves.
Alaska’s problems can be compared in a small way to
those of George Washington and his companions. We
are having growing pains and political intrigue but we
are letting petty differences and personal jealousies
keep us from pulling together.
We would be wise to pause and review the principles
of our foundation stone, the Constitution of the United
States of America.
Revolution In Policy
(By Barnet Nover)
THE PLAN proposed by Ernest Bevin for what, in
his historic House of Commons address, he described
as the “consolidation” of western Europe, represents
more than a revolution in British foreign policy alone.
It is definitely that. But also, in a very real sense, it
constitutes a revolution in American foreign policy also.
What is of greatest immediate significance, however,
is that the Bevin plan brings nearer the long-threatened
showdown between Russia and the west.
No one has brought this out more clearly than Win
ston Churchill, who warmly welcomed the Bevin pro
posal. In Churchill’s opinion: “The best chance of avoid
ing war is, in accord with the other western democra
cies, to bring matters to a head with the Soviet govern
ment and to arrive at a lasting settlement.”
For years Great Britain and the United States have
sought desperately to avoid such a showdown, which is
why, until now, they have deprecated talk about a west
ernt bloc.
In a now forgotten but extremely significant speech
he made in London on Nov. 25, 1943, Field Marshal Jan
C. Smuts, prime minister of the Union of South Africa,
first suggested the formation of just such a grouping of
western European nations that Bevin now urges.
Smuts was moved by the realization that as between
the two great world titans, Russia and the United
States, Great Britain had been thrust into a second-class
position which she could onl? better by becoming the
center of what, in another connection, Leon Blum has
called a “third force.”
“The idea has repeatedly floated before my mind,”
Smuts told his listeners, “whether Great Britain should
not strengthen her European position—apart from her
position as the center of this great commonwalth outside
Europe—by working closely together with those small
democracies in western Europe which are of our way of
thinking, which agree entirely with us in their outlook
and their way of life and in all their ideals, and which,
in many ways, are of the same political and spiritual
substance as ourselves.
“It is naturally a question for the states of western
Europe to settle themselves. It is for them to say . . .
whether they should not help themselves by helping to
create—out of closer union with Great Britain—a great
European state, great not only in its worldwide ramifi
MEMO TO AMERICANS
Let us raise a
standards to
whicrjthe wise
and leanest can
repair; tlje act
is in ttye har)ds
of (godL.
GtOCfie WASHINGTON.
I AMERICAN
/LEADERSHIP
cations, great not only as an empire and a common
■ wealth stretching over all the continents, but great as a
power on this continent and an equal power with the
, other colossi...”
When Smuts made that speech—which incidentally,
found little favor in Great Britain and least of all in La
borite circles—relations between Russia and the west
were still outwardly cordial. The war was still on.
A year and a half later, when Churchill spoke at Ful
I ton, Mo., relations between Russia and the west has be
gun to deteriorate. But neither British nor American
public opinion were prepared to accept the facts cited
by Churchill or their implications.
The idea of forming a western bloc to ofset the east
ern bloc which Russia was busily engaged in creating
was still anathema on the ground that nothing could be
better calculated to antagonize Russia and create an ir
reparable breach between east and west.
Now British and American statesmen have begun act
ing on the assumption that the breach exists and that no
good purpose can be served merely by trying to wish
it out of existence.
Russia’s reaction to the Marshall plan brought that
fact home. A union of western Europe, with the bless
ings (but it will have to have more than the blessings),
of the United States is the necessary and inevitable co
rollary of that plan. The choice before these nations is
the choice presented to the struggling American colon
ies more than a century and a half ago. “Unite or die!”
Reds, De Gaullists Claim Most Strength
(Rocky Mountain News)
THE FOOD CRISIS in Western Germany cannot be
cured by cussing Communists.
Of course, the Reds are capitalizing on hunger, as they
always do, but they are not the cause of it. If they were,
the problem would be much simpler.
Stalin’s plot to wreck the Marshall recovery plan
through Ruhr strikes was well known long before dis
covery of the “Protocol M” documents in Berlin and the
Moscow broadcasts to Western Germany.
Fortunately, however, less than 10 per cent of the
West Germans are Communists or Red sympathizers—
the masses there, including the many who have fled the
I Soviet zone, fear and hate the Russians. That, plus the
.fact that British-American military control is capable,
makes Communist sabotage a less serious problem in
western Germany at the moment than in France or
, Italy.
While lawless Reds will be dealt with promptly, that
will not increase available food. Until industrial work
| ers get more food, especially the miners and transport
men, the situation will get worse. Sporadic strikes, and
! the less spectacular but more devastating slowdowns,1
; will increase with the winter.
The blame for this situation involves the British
Americans and Germans. It cannot be corrected with
! out co-operation.
The German farmer, who is living well, must be made
to share his product with the hun
gry cities. If he does, the city
worker will ge the 1550-calory ra
tion due.
But German officials and public
will not press down on hoarding
farmers so long as they think the
large American dole will be in
creased. German self-help must
begin to take the place of self-pity
and whining disregard of suffer
ing in neighboring lands raped by
German aggressors.
1 LOOKING
r AHEAD
> GEORGE S. BENSON
ifrtnJcxt— Uardltf Calltft
Startf. Arkattat ^
EUROPEAN CHECK-UP
How would you like to be able
to take a five-week trip to Europe
to see if what you’ve heard is
true? Mr. Ernest T. Weir, chair
man of the National Steel Corpo
ration of Pittsburgh, did just that.
I He made informal contacts with
people of all sorts. Then he had
opportunity to interview outstand
ing men of finance and industry in
each country.
Because of Mr. Weir’s national
ly recognized leadership, and be
cause I consider him a far-seeing
and capable observer, I want to
give you some of his conclusions.
In England, where he saw people
dressed well enough, restaurants
and hotels busy, and a great thea
ter season: “There is absolute lack
of confidence in the labor-social
ist government. . . . The men in
charge, mainly labor leaders and
impractical thinkers, are consid
ered incompetent as individuals
and inefficient as a group.”
People Must Work
English businessmen he inter
viewed think England must work
out her own salvation. They said
more U. S. dollars poured into
England would be harmful. Our
$4 billion loan to them has been
wasted, they told him, and has
kept England from facing prob
lems squarely. “England’s great
est need is for better government,
more hard work and greater pro
duction.” England needs more
coal, he found, yet 60 million tons
will be mined this year.
France, excepting war-torn
areas, was in about the same
Physical shape as England. “The
most serious condition in France
is the black market in money,” he
added. The black market offers
twice as many francs for a dollar
as the government allows official
ly. “The great problems of France
are bad government, encourage
ment of the people to believe they
can live without working, and the
consequent failure of the people
generally to produce.”
Follow-up Tho Money!
Mr. Weir thinks the German
people must have full liberty in
the reconstruction of their coun
try. He branded the Morgenthau
pfan, as applied in Germany, “one
of the great crimes of history.”
America shoull stop loaning or
giving money without proper
planning and full investigation of
the use of the money. At the same
time, he believes Germany is a
safe 4>lace to put funds for recon
struction, with proper plans.
The individualism of the people
in England, France, and the
United States makes communism
an unreal danger. He believes the
people in these countries will
never, for long, permit “the iron
heel on their necks.” It is his be
lief that a program financing for
eign nations so they will not go
communistic is without justifica
tion. “People who will stand for
Communism will go in that direc