THE NOME NUGGET
Published Monday Wednesday and Friday by The
NOME PUBLISHING CO.
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Entered as second class matter October 14, 1943, at the postoffice
At Nome, Alaska, under the Act of March 3, 1879.
Nome, Alaska, Monday, September 20, 1948
FRANCE NEEDS A TWO-PARTY SYSTEM
(Rocky Mountain News)
The average life of a French cabinet under the new
constitution has been five months. In the 69 years of the
third republic, which preceded it, the average cabinet
lasted eight months.
With the fall of the second Schumann cabinet, France
is now undergoing its third governmental crisis in six
weeks. Until new elections are held, no government is
expected to last long.
Such chaos could not exist under the two-party sys
tem. Great Britain, which adheres to the two-party idea
much as we do, is not plagued with such frequent
changes in administration under its parliamentary form
of government, which is similar to that of France.
But France is cursed by too many parties and too
much rabid partisanship.
The French premier, the real head of the government,
is elected by the National Assembly, in which the Com
munists hold 186 seats, the Popular Republicans 165, the
Socialists 103, the Parties of the Center 70, with a scat
tering of seats representing minor parties.
The new party of Gen. Charles DeGaulle, which poll
ed nearly 40 per cent of the popular vote in the munici
pal elections last fall, against 30 percent for the Com
munists, isn't represented because it was organized af
ter the last national election.
All the French premiers of recent times have com
promised themselves out of office because the coalitions
which elected them could not be held together without
serious injury to the national interest.
Meanwhile, the budget is out of balance, production
lags and living costs mount as a sadly divided nation
flounders in the morass of petty partisan politics.
Careless thinkers frequently condemn our Democrats
and Republicans because they are “to much alike." That
is in fact their virtue, and their strength. Both stand for
free enterprise, representative democracy and the fun
damental liberties of the individual.
In every national emergency since the Civil War they
have been found working together for the common good,
regardless of which party held the majority responsibil
ity. And we had our Civil War because the two-party
system broke down, when bullets were substituted for
ballots.
BRITISH PREPAREDNESS
(By Jack Foster)
America has a big‘stake in British preparedness. In
any future European war, even more than in the last
one, we would be dependent on English bases.
So the London government’s decision to begin a lim
ited rearmament program is good news, indeed, on this
side of the Atlantic.
Britain’s military weakness has been recognized, and
overcome to a small extent, by the transfer of bomber
groups from American to English bases.
But air bases turn into a trap if they cannot be defend
ed by ground forces. Hence the necessity of adequate
British preparedness, irr troops and equipment, as well
as in fighter planes, if the bomber bases are to be secure.
The Labor government's tardiness in that respect is
understandable. Political, economic and manpower fac
tors have been barriers.
Until recently there has been a considerable body of
wishful public opinion in England, among both Labor
ities and Tories, regarding the possibility of British neu
trality in any Russian-American conflict. Although the
I TUT PLMHT
Attlee-Bevin-Cripps leadership of labor and the Churc
hill-Eden Tory group have taken for granted the closest
British-American co-operation, and have worked for it
with something akin to our Democratic-Republican bi
partisanship, the public was slower in understanding
that British survival is challenged by Russia.
But there has been an awakening, as the resent reso
lutions of the Trades Union Congress show.
On the economic side, Britain must export or die—ex
port 170 per cent more than pre-war.
Left nearly bankrupt by two wars, she must now in
crease all production rapidly. In the short run, she can
not afford to divert capital or productive capacity from
civil to military purposes. Most acute of all is the man
power shortage. Every man in the anhed forces is one
less on the farms or in the mines and factories.
Nevertheless, the government now intends to reduce
the demobilization rate of about 20,000 a month, and to
extend the conscription period from 12 to 18 months. At
the same time, a home guard force of 100,000 is to be
recruited.
WHO OWNS THE SOUTH POLE?
Americans can be proud of their government’s atti
tude toward ownership of Antarctica. In stead of joining
in the old rivalry of conflicting national claims, the State
Department has offered to get together with the seven
disputants to work out the most effective form of inter
nationalization.
This is particularly far-sighted statesmanship because
our government, if it chose to do so, probably could as
sert better national claims than other countries. A Con
necticut Yankee, Nathaniel B. Palmer, in 1820 was first
to arrive in the South Polar region. And Americans,
such as Admiral Byrd, have been active in exploration
there.
International'control is desirable for several reasons.
It would eliminate old sovereignty disputes, because na
tionalistic pride is so deeply involved, any settljement
short of internationalization might easily cause more
trouble than it would cure. And only through internal
ization can scientific research and exploration of the
earth’s most forbidding continent be carried on ade
quately.
The American proposal has received little support
abroad, so far.
Nations with formal cliams include Argentina Aus
tralia, Chile, France, New Zealand, Norwav and the
United Kingdom. Russia, Belgium and Japan have whal
ing interests. Chile has formally objected. The London
Foreign Office has not turned down the principle and is
keeping the door open for discussion, but without en
thusiasm.
Nevertheless, the United States is in good position to
get attention if it will continue to push for internation
alization of that potentially strategic continent.
Alaska Housing
Authority Meets
The Alaska Housing Authority ^
held their regular quarterly meet
ing in Fairbanks, September 8
through September 11. The agenda
consisted mainly of developing a
comprehensive legislative program
to seek a relief to the critical
housing shortage of the Territory.
Father Paul C. O’Connor, chair
man of the Authority, declared
upon conclusion of the sessions
that “the board after a complete
analysis of the situation considers
that the responsibility of providing
a relief to the housing problem in *
Alaska rests with both the Federal
and the Territorial governments,
and that upon this basis both Fed
eral and Territorial legislation
was proposed.”
“The Territory must do some
thing as required by the direct re
sponsibility to its citizens, and the
nation must assist in providing r:d
as required by its enormous de
mand upon Alaska for housing the
thousands of Federal employees
and the many more thousands of
military personnel. If Alaska is to
develop, by following the most ele
mentary rule, we must make it
possible for our people to have a.
decent home,” Father O’Connor
stated.
At the next Territorial legisla
ture, the Alaska Housing Author
ity will submit a bill entitled “A
bill to provide assistance for mod
erate cost and rental housing pro
jects, and moderate cost and rent
al housing.” This bill is divided in
to three parts and under Title I
provides that should Congress so
authorize, the Territory will bond
itself or guarantee bonds issued by
the Alaska Housing Authority up
to $15,000,000 to construct mod
erate cost or rental housing. The
bonds are to be retired from in
come of the sale or rental of such 0
housing. Fifty per cent of the hous
ing to be constructed is to be sold
or rented with a thirty-day prior
ity period for qualified war veter
ans.
Title II provide for a direct
grant of $5,000,000 to be used for^
the construction of rental and sale
housing as a revolving fund. Title
III generally applies certain re
quirements and restrictions to
both Title I and Title II and in
cludes the requirement that any
nroiects constructed under ihe bill
shall be designed and planned in
size and manner to encourage the
fullest use of Alaskan professional
and contractural services and cf
local building jnaterials.
The Federal program will in
clude two bills, one of which is to
authorize the Territory to bond it
self up to $15,000,000 to construct
housing, as required by the Terri
torial Organic Act, and the other
is a comprehensive bill providing
for a loan of $10,000,000 to assist
the private home building industry
nnd to construct public housing.
This bill, known as H.R. 7019, -foas
drafted by the Housing and Home
Finance Agency in Washington, D. *
C., and has the support of the ex
ecutive branch of the government.
It was introduced by Deleg.it* E.
L. Bartlett on the last day of the
80th session of Congress.
The Alaska Housing Authority
to date has operated solely with *
funds provided from the manage
ment of the few war housing pro
jects in the Territory. To date no
funds have been received from the
Territorial government for finar^
! cial support of the Authority.