THE NOME NUGGET
Published Monday, Wednesday and Friday by The
NOME PUBLISHING CO.
Nome. Alaska
Telephone: Main 125 P. O. Box 618
S1.50 PER MONTH S16.00 A YEAR
W. A. and EMILY BOUCHER...Editors
Entered as second class matter October 14, 1943, at
the postoffice at Nome, Alaska, under the Act of
March 3. 1879.
Monday, September 10,1945
VETERANS AND UNIONS
(Washington Post)
Representative John Rankin has a
scheme for union-busting which he fan
cies will appeal to American service
men. Our own guess is that they will
readily see through it as a plain piece of
demagogy. Under Mr. Rankin’s leader
ship, the House Veterans Committee has j
favorably reported an amendment to the
“GI Bill of Rights” which would exempt
honorably discharged veterans from nor
mal requirements of membership, initia
tion fees or dues payments in unions
where closed shop or union shop con
tracts are in force. It would be hard to
contrive a measure more likely to drive
a wedge between the men who have
served their country in uniform and the
men who have served it on the produc
tion lines at home.
Most of our soldiers and sailors were
civilians before the war began and will
become civilians again when the war is 1
over. Several million of them were and
are members of labor unions. Most
unions have adopted measures to keep
them in good standing or to continue
their dues payments in their absence.
Many unions have made provision vol
untarily to waive initiation fees for non
union servicemen who want to join.
They have established machinery to as
sist veterans in finding jobs. Situations
in which former servicemen may be de
nied employment because of union regu
lations need thoughtful consideration,
but certainly not the type of remedy Mr.
Rankin proposes.
In any event, this is not peculiarly a
servicemen’s problem. As we have ob
served before, membership in a labor
union ought to be available to any qual
ified worker. One of the desirable fea
tures of the Hatch-Ball-Burton bill is
that is would make this mandatory. But
to treat the servicemen as a special case
would be to aggravate the cleavage that
already exists between him and the civ
ilian worker, when the aim of all men of
good will ought to be to heal that breach.
Veterans need above all else to be
brought back into normal relationship
with our peacetime society. Mr. Rankin,
as a matter of fact, let the cat out of the
bag and disclosed his real purpose when
he said that his bill would allow veterans
to take jobs vacated by strikers. What
we need is not a means of fomenting in
dustrial disputes but means of adjusting
them in a friendly spirit.
The trouble with the whole scheme of
things is that life is too short and eter
nity is too darn long.
Say something nice to a man and he’ll
remember it ten minutes; criticize him
and he’ll remember it forever.
CONVERSION FOR PEACE NEEDED
/*' ♦ n '/ f ? fv ***
By GEORGES BENSON
TVaaidon* of Harding Collage
Saarcy. Arkansas
r i
BRITISH COAL
England is a coal country; 70%
of the island’s export tonnage is
coal and it goes all over the world.
England’s 706,000 miners produce
200 million tons of coal a year.
/These are big figures until you
compare England and America.
We have only 393,000 miners in
the United States but they pro
duce 586 million tons of coal a
year; more than five times as
much per man as in England.
Coal miners in England draw
$25 a week. American coal miners
get $52 a week and they earn it.
Don’t let anybody tell you that
American workers are super-men
who hit harder and work more
hours a day, because it’s not true.
Don’t let anybody tell you that
coal veins in the western hemi
sphere are richer and better and
easier to work, because that’s not
true either.
Modern Machinery -
In America miners use power
cutters. Automatic loaders put the
coal in cars and electric locomo
tives pull them away. In England
men dig coal out with picks and
shovels. The power that pulls the
car to daylight is a scrub mule
with a rag over his eyes. That’s
how they used ot mine coal in
America when grandpa was a boy.
Getting a ton of English coal to
the top of the ground costs $4.20
for labor alone; $1.40 in America.
The manpower shortage, inciden
tal to war, ran the price of Brit
ish coal ot $6.50 a ton—twice its
pre-war price. American coal ad
vanced only 60c a ton. Hand work
is what commands the premium
when men are scarce. Th:s econo
mic fact has worked a hardship
on the English.
Food and Clothing
England does not raise enough
food for her people, nor enough
fibre to clothe them. Such necessi
ties are imported by the shipload.
In a practical sense, they are
bought with coal. Plain to see,
with coal costs doubled, things to
eat and wear became very dear in
England. People blamed the war,'
of course, but the real trouble
was lack of modern coal mining
machinery.
With a nation so dependent on
coal, why didn’t the mine owners
equip their properties with modem
machinery, get out more coal per
man and pay better wages? Ans
wer: Government interference!
Tax laws discouraged replacing
old machinery. Regulations placed
a penalty on efficient methods.
The results were three: high
prices, low wages and a ruined ex
port trade.
Might Have Been
Workers in British mines blam
ed the mine owners. The squeeze
that pinched their wages to half
the American scale was a political
vice. Government regulations and
■ taxes retarded production and
choked prosperity. This was so
craftily hid from the workers that
they shouted loud for nationaliza
tion — government ownership. It
• 0
Interesting Alaska
Marine Exhibit
In Ketchikan
Topped bv n «nec!**'en of tue
siant Alaska ’*!**" cr~H. *’,'e r’;c
olay of nv^r'n? life :s the f}~'t
thing seen by vis or* o*’ rnter'ng
‘he Fishery Products Laboratory
in Ketchikan.
There are more than 200 items
in the exhibit, which has been col
lected from the waters and sea
shores of Alaska. Most of the
specimens are identified as to
both their common and scientific
names, but a few of them remain
unidentified.
In the collection are numerous
shells, several preserved speci
mens, and a collection of different ^
fishery products. These specimens
range in size from a tiny, quar
ter-inch limpet from the beach,
to a deep-sea king crab with a
spread of forty inches.
Many other species of crab, as
well as of clams, barnacles, star
fishes, sea urchines, abalone, and
j sponges comprise the shell exhib
it. Several types of coral from
Alaskan waters are prominently
displayed.
Among the preserved specimens
are the sea-mouse, sea cucumber,
wolf eel, needlefish, prickly skate,
squid, octopus, and many more
commonly known fishes.
Of special interest to many vis
itors are the samples of leather
prepared by tanning sealion,
shark and salmon skins. In time
.these leathers may have consider
able commercial value.
In a separate sec* ion there is a
display of containers for fresh and
! processed fishery produc s, plus
! cans from several of Alaska’s can
i ning companies, and a wide vari
| ety of cartons and wrapping pa
I pers which are, or could be, used
j for Alaskan fishery products.
I This collection was started in
| November of 1941, with John Das
i sow doing a great deal of the col
lecting and all of the identifying
i of the articles. Many fishermen
also contributed to the display.
I The Fishery Products Labora
tory is supported by both the Fed
eral and Territorial govei*nmen*s.
Visitors are welcome to examine
the display, make use of the li
brary, arid see the fishery engin
eering laboratory, the research
kitchen, and the laboratories
where chemical and bacteriologi
cal studies are conducted. The
staff is always willing to discuss
any technological or fishery prob
lem with fishermen" processors,
or consumers.
KING ISLANDERS MAKE
TRIP HOME WITH SUPPLIES
A boatload of King Islanders
left for their island home on Sat
urday to take on a load of ivory
and return to Nome. They took
some of their winter supplies with
them.
will come now', with Churchill ou
and Attlee in.
With most admirable fortitud
the English came through fiendis
abuse to victory. Peace migl
have brought England prosperit;
ability to pay her 12 billion do
lars of war debts. With busine
men free to compete and produc
earn profits and raise wages,
might have been. But socializii
all industry will start a long d
tour off the road to a better Er
land.