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 *16.00 A YEAR
Entered as second class matter October 14. 1943. at the postoffice
at Nome. Alaska, under the Act of March 3, 1879.
Wednesday, January 21, 1948
A Tribute
AS ANOTHER TRAGEDY is written into the annals
of the far north we pause to pay a tribute to the five
brave soldiers who gave their lives in the service of
their country.
In time of war Sgt. London, Lt. A. Kinney, Jr., and
Leon Casey, paratroopers, would be called heroes as
they answered the call of duty and without hesitation
went to the aid of the stricken B-29 to aid their com
panions, giving no thought to their own peril.
They dropped from the sky into the Arctic night and
perished in the freezing wind and snow, exemplifying
the spirit of true soldiers, deserving all the glory of war
time praise.
Pilot Vern Arnett and navigator Frederick Sheetz
gave their lives hoping to get aid for their companions.
Our praise goes to the many natives and their dog
teams who went out on the mercy search as soon as they
heard about the wreck. They did not have to be asked;
and to the civilians here in Nome who neglected their
own work to aid with their experience and training.
The Nome Air Base personnelle as well as air crews
from Fairbanks and Anchorage are deserving of high
praise for their untiring effort and continuous search for
the bodies of these men.
We extend our sympathy to the families of these
brave young men.
A Light On De Gaulle '
(By Barnet Nover)
THE ECONOMIC ELIXIR which Gen Charles de
Gaulle has brewed for France looks like very strong
medicine for that harassed nation. Clearly designed to
cure the fourth republic of its debilities, it contains in
gredients that might conceivably kill the patient.
However, it is doubtful whether in its present form
the De Gaulle plan will be tried. Its chief significance,
at the moment, is to be found in the light it throws on
the general’s thinking and his approach to the grave
problems that confront the French nation and people.
De Gaulle’s six-point plan contains liassez faire prin
ciples that would delight our National Association of
Manufacturers. It also includes a provision that comes
straight out of that corporative state which the late and
unlamented Benito Mussolini proclaimed in Italy a cou
ple of decades ago, with loud beating of the Fascist
drum. In this program De Gaulle reveals himself to
be no liberal of the nineteenth century school. He does
not believe that the government is best which governs
least. On the contrary, on this latest occasion, as in the
past, he came out in favor of a strong national regime
one that would be given vast new powers of the kind
which the existing government does not possess.
De Gaulle is determined that if ever he comes into
power he will be no figurehead.
At the same time, however, De Gaulle wants France’s
economy liberated from its present restraints. He would
have all the existing controls lifted except on coal, milk,
bread, sugar and fats. Like other French leaders, he
favors a great increase in production.
Most striking and also most controversial of the points
in the De Gaulle program is the one in which he urges
the abolition of trade unions.
In their place he would set up worker-management
owner groups that would be completely free of political
control. It is this point in his program which, however
different its intent may be, resembles in form and sub
stance the Mussolinian idea of the corporative state and
will stir up a cyclone of wrath around De Gaulle’s head.
What impelled De Gaulle to make such a far-reaching
proposal at this time is not clear. He may have been
| DER FODDERLANO I
moved by the recent spectacle of France brought to the
edge of economic prostration by a series of strikes of
clearly political origin.
The odd circumstances, which De Gaulle apparently
discounts, is that the workers themselves finally re
belled against having to participate in strikes that had
more of a political than an economic motivation behind
them. Indeed, the workers were so irritated at those re
sponsible for the strikes that, under the leadership of
Leon Jouhaux, about a million of them have withdrawn
from the General Confederation of Labor C. G. T.) and
former a rival body, the Workers Force.
In the meantime, one of De Gaulle’s six points was
anticipated and will soon be put into effect by the Schu
man governments.
That is the one that urges a drastic increase in tax col
lections in an effort to combat inflation.
On five separate votes the assembly supported the
government in its determination to put over a sharply
increased tax law.
From now until the late spring or early summer,
when elections for the national assembly are to be held,
the Schuman government should enjoy a breathing spell
| in which its recovery program will have a chance to get
under way.
If that does happen, the moderate parties that form
the “third force” between Communism and Gaullism
may succeed, when the elections are held, in recovering
much of the ground they lost in the municipal elections.
The victory which seemed so close for General De
Gaulle not so many weeks ago is definitely receding.
Food Vs. Drink
(The Denver Post)
THE AMERICAN DISTILLING' industrv believes it
is getting a raw deal from the powers that be in Wash
ington but, while there is some merit to the industry’s
arguments, the main fact that grain supplies must be
conserved for more important purposes than whisky
mak'ng still remains.
The industry voluntarily shut down for the last sixty
days of 1947, thereby saving an estimated 12 million
bushels of grain. Its co-operation was commendable.
Just as the industry was getting ready to resume full
scale operation Jan. 1, Congress, the President and the
secretary of agriculture stepped in. As a result, the use
of grain by distillers in January is limited to 2.450,000
bushel's—posibly half the amount that would have been
used otherwise.
Coming on top of the whisky tariff reduction in the
Geneva trade agreement, which now has gone into ef
fect, the grain limitation order seems to the distillers
to be a hardship they should not be expected to bear.
During most of the war period, American distillers
made no whisky and turned out alcohol. As a result
whisky stocks in this country declined while Canadian
stocks were increasing. *
It doesn’t make much sense to the American distill
ers that when the need for grain overseas is so great,
1 this country should import from
the United Kingdom whisky and
gin equivalent to more than a mil
lion bushels of grain. That’s what
happened during the last fisca.
year.
Of course, Canada and the
United Kingdom are using part of
their grain to acquire dollar bal
ances to provide them with other
things they need. The state depart
ment apparently agrees with th •
American distillers, however, be
cause it has suggested to foreign
governments that they limit tire
use of grain for distilling pur
poses. No results from those sug
gestions have been reported.
It foreign countries are pron:
gate in their use of grain, thiu
would not excuse this country for
following the same course. Until
the 1948 grain crop can be fore
cast with some accuracy, a policy
of prudence should govern.
In spite of the Sixty-day shut
down, the American industry suc
ceeded in turning out more whisky
in 1947 than in any other yeai
since 1937. In view of the ‘‘tight’
world grain situation, that’s not i
bad record.
That’s That
By BRUCE GUSTI]
Senator Morse has taken th
sensible position all along th«
grain isn’t the only food the Unite
States should send to relieve hui
ger in Europe. Surpluses of oth<
foodstuffs—poultry, eggs, canm
goods, dehydrated vegetable
dried fruits, etc.—should be us<
in place of so much grain. Mai
European countries would pref
wheat. But what we send shou
be what we can best spare.
President Truman cast a ski
fully baited hook into the 19
campaign stream. The domes
part of his “state of the unic
message is his vote bait. It is c
culated to attract ballots from <
ery group in the nation. The Pr
ident proposes tax cuts for ev<
individual taxpayer and each
pendent. He recommends exp
sion of social security, federal
nancial aid to states to equa
educational opportunities, inert
ing the minimum wage from
cents an hour to 75 cents, “a c<
prehensive insurance system
protect all our people equ
against insecurities and ill heal
equal opportunities in educa
jobs and voting for everyb
“modernized” farm price supp
to protect farmers against flue
tions in production and demant
So far as the President is
cerned, politically, it makes
difference what Congress
with his program. He can c
credit wherever his recome
tions are followed. And he
blame a Republican Congre
his suggestions are rejected.
Last year President Trumai
toed two tax reduction bills p
by the Republican Congress
said, among other things, tha
not the right time to cut taxej
1948, being a campaign year,
appropriate time for tax
And the President, very cle
has figured out a tax re?h
plan which will appeal to in
ual prejudices and enable tt
ministration to have its cak
cat it, too.
President Truman vvouid
every individual taxpayer
each dependent a $40 tax cl
at the same time boost corpc
taxes by 3,200 million doll
offset that. This is an adaj
of the “soak the rich’*
which is good ballot bait. A
beauty of it, from the admi
t:on standpoint, is that the f
inent will have just as
money to spend as now.
Either Henry Wallace 1