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
$1.50 PER MONTH S16.00 A YEAR
Entered as second class matter October 14, 1943. at the postoffice
at Nome, Alaska, under the Act of March 3, 1879.
Wednesday, August 11, 1948
BERLIN AND THE U. N.
(By Lee Casey)
Secretary of State Marshall’s statement of American
policy in the Berlin crisis is clear.
He says we will not be intimidated, but at the same
time we will use all diplomatic means to avoid war.
This, of course, has been the policy of the United States
and its allies from the beginning. But official reaffirma
tion is useful, especially in connection with the flight
to Washington, of our Berlin commander, General Clay,
for top-level conferences.
Our government already has gone a long way in at
tempted negotiations without results. The four-power
agencies in Berlin have been broken up by Soviet with
drawal. Efforts by allied authorities on the spot to ne
gotiate witlf the Soviet commander have been fruitless.
For that reason the American, British and French gov
ernments in parallel notes of protest carried the case
directly to Moscow. The leisurely Russian reply was a
run-around.
>
All of this is praiseworthy as evidence of their pa-l
tience in face of extreme Soviet provocations, and of
their deep desire for a peaceful settlement.
But they have not yet taken the case to the United
Nations. Until that is done, it cannot be said that they
have invoked “every possible resource of negotiation
and diplomatic procedure to reach an acceptable solu
tion to avoid the tragedy of war’’—to use the words of
Seretary Marshall.
It is essential that this war threat be put before the
UN befort too late. When suggestions were made in
UN circles recently informally, our government con
sidered them premature. But delay is dangerous.
The UN lacks the military force to impose a decision
on the Soviet aggressor.
But it can inform world intelligence and focus moral
judgment—especially through the general assembly
And that is important. i
Our government established a procedure in submit
ting to the UN its dispute with Russia over Korea, when
diplomatic negotiations failed. Though the UN in that
case has not been able to make Russia law-abiding or
to remove the war threat, the issue is no longer the U.
S. versus Russia but Russia versus the world.
Because world peace is in the balance in Berlin, the
world security organization cannot properly or safely
ignore that threat.
--.
TOO EARLY TO CHEER
(By Barnet Nover)
The high-level talks that have been going on in
Washington, Berlin, London and Moscow regarding the
Berlin crisis coincide with a perceptible easing of fears
that the United States and Russia were heading pre
cipitously into conflict.
These fears had been mounting rapidly since the Rus
sian siege of Berlin began in June. They were set at
'rest, at least temporarily, when President Truman told
his press conference recently that the outlook for peace
is excellent.
The chief executive did not spell out this assertion.
Nor did he provide reporters with corroborative data.
However, the President’s statement, plus a chance re
mark of a conciliatory nature made by Marshal Vassily
D. Sokolovsky, the Russian commander in Germany, to
a United Press correspondent, plus the confidence dis
played by Gen. Lucius D. Clay when in Washington
regarding our ability to maintain and expand the air
lift, all led to a definite decrease in the fear of war, at
Allied Air Corridors To Berlin
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Black lines trace routes of three air corridors being used by
Western Allies to supply Russian-blockaded Berlin. The French
licensed newspaper in Berlin said the Russians had torn up 10
miles of railroad (A) used bv Western Allies between Western
Germany and Berlin. ((/P) Wirephoio Map)
- •
least so far as American public opinion is concerned.
It is hard to recall when American public opinion
has been more volatile. We swing overnight from
heights of optimism to depths of despair, with as little
real excuse for the one mood as for the other.
The fact of the matter is that the present feeling of
relief over the Berlin situation is justified only on the
assumption that war between Russia and the United
States had been close. There is no warrant for that as
sumption. Nor is there any warrant for the assumption,
now gaining currency, that there has been any easing
of the crisis oveB Berlin.
The Russian olockade continues. If anything, it is
getting tighter. The only comfort we can derive from
the situation is that Russian pressures have not suc
ceeded in driving us out of Berlin.
On the other hand, the western European powers
demonstrated at their recent meeting at the Hague,
that they are opposed to bringing the crisis in Berlin
to a head. They want no showdown, least of all a mili
tary showdown. They insist that the effort to solve the
Berlin crisis through diplomatic means alone be con
tinued indefinitely. To this position the United States,
too, is now publicly committed.
In view of the stalemate in the Berlin situation and
the evident unwillingness of both sides to risk a war,
it is not surprising that there has been a blossoming of
rumors regarding another four-power conference.
The Russians want a four-power conference in order
to use it as a propagandist platform from which to in
veigh against the efforts of the Americans, British and
French to set up a west German regime and to muscle
in on the Ruhr. The western powers, while not opposed
to a conference in principle, see its only justification
in the achievement of real agreement regarding peace
with Germany.
Given existing circumstances, it is far too early to be
hopeful regarding the Berlin situation. The crisis there
may not be getting more acute. But there is no indica
tion that it is over, or anything like it.
When sugar controls ended in the latter part of 1947,
sugar prices declined instead of increasing because
there was an adequate supply. Recently Sen. Bridges
charged that, although there is still an abundant supply,
sugar prices have been forced up by government jug
gling of Cuban quotas and by government purchases of
Cuban sugar for foreign relief at a price above prevail
ing world prices.
REPORT OF CHEST
X-RAYS IN ALASKA
William H. Kiloh, Associate
Health Education Consultant
A report on results of chest X
ray taken in Alaska was announc
ed last week by Dr. C. Earl Al
brecht, Commissioner of health.
Since 1946, 45,000 persons of all
races have been X-rayed in the
Territory by the Alaska depart
ment of health in cooperation
with the Alaska Native Service
and the Alaska Tuberculosis As
sociation. '
Of those X-rayed, an average
of four in every one hundred
showed evidence of tuberculosis.
'In the United States, an average
of one to two per one hundred is
the average survey finding). This
rate varied throughout the Ter
ritory from a high of twenty-three
per one hundred to a low of one
suspicious case per one hundred
examined.
Findings for the individual
Alaska communities are as fol
losw:
Com- Number % Showing
munity X-rayed Evident T.B.
Anchorage 7,402 1.4
Bethel 346 17.3
Fairbanks 4,198 1.8
Juneau 4,934 2.7
Ketchikan 3,363 3.06
Kodiak 2,294 2.0
Kotzebue 374 23.2
. Matanuska Valleyt includ
ing Palmer) 1,516 1.2
Nome 1,362 8.2
Nenana 363 9.9
Petersburg 1,178 1.2
Point Barrow 761 8.0
Seward 1,466 3.3
Sitka 2,593 6.3
1 Unalakleet 362 15.8
Valdez ^99 3.4
Wrangell 982 2.3
“Mass X-ray programs in Alas
ka have revealed many active
cases of tubreculosis that would
have otherwise remained un
known,” Dr. Albrecht said. The
mass X-ray survey yearly dis
covered almost twice as many
cases as had been previously re
ported yearly by physicians and
nurses. However, in those com
munities having a physician, the
rate was one-half that of those
areas not having medical serv
ices.
Although all areas of Alaska
have been surveyed in part, more
than half of the Territory’s popu
lation remained to be X-rayed.
The surveys are conducted on a
voluntary basis, and the difficulty
in reaching all communities in
Alaska is well known. Recent ap
propriations have made possible
increased personnel, equipment
and hospitals for the control of
tuberculosis.
The present campaign against
tuberculosis began in 1946, al-*
though X-ray surveys had been
conducted in previous years. In
1946 the Alaska Department of
Health obtained the services of
the motorship Hygiene which has
since furnished a general medical
program as well as X-ray services
from St. Lawrence Island to
Southeastern Alaska. For the last
two years a truck unit has been
conducting a similar program
along the interior highway sys
tem during the summer months.
This unit began its yearly pro
gram along the Richardson High
way last month under the direc
tion of Dr. Frederick Swanson,
senior field physician for the(
Alaska department of health. ^
In 1947 a portable X-ray unit
traveled by boat, train truck and
airplane to areas in the Southeast,4
along the Alaska Railroad, and
along the Arctic Ocean and the
Bering Sea.