THE NOME NUGGET
Published Monday, Wednesday and Friday by the
NOME PUBLISHING CO.
NOME, ALASKA
Telephone: Main 125 P. O. Box 6a«
$1.50 PER MONTH $16.00 A YEAR
W. A. Boucher .Owner-Publisher
Entered as second class matter October 14, 1943, at the postoffice
at Nome, Alaska, under the Act of March 3, 1879.
Nome, Alaska, Monday, May 16, 1949
PROTECTING FREEDOM OF THE PRESS
“The freedom of the press,” about which newspaper
publishers often write, is guaranteed under the Consti
tution.
Newspaper editors are constantly seeking ways to
safeguard the “freedom of the press.”
“Freedom of the press” is a right which carries cer
tain, definite responsibilities with it. All that the news
papers of the nation have to do, to protect and preserve
the “freedom of the press,” is to see that they rigorously
perform the duties that the public expects of a free
press.
As long as the people of this country believe that the j
press is in fact free there is no danger whatever of the j
newspapers losing their “freedom.” If the public be
comes convinced that the newspapers of this country
are distorting the news, misrepresenting officials, or
otherwise using their journals for selfish purposes,
there will be no use to clamor about a free press.
The general public, disgusted with a sycophant press,
will applaud any step taken to curb unbridled license, j
A decent code of ethics, a sense of responsibility and
the evidence of a desire to serve the public will go far
toward preserving the “freedom of the press.”
(Quoted from article by H. S. Sims)
_ I
We are wondering just how much “freedom of the
press” was enjoyed last week by the newspapers in An-i
chorage, when their newspapers were barred from the
mails by Anchorage Postmaster Herbert Brown, when
they ran stories about the Ice Pools at Fairbanks and
Nenana. Quite true these guessing games as to the exact
moment the ice will move in the river at Fairbanks and
at Nenana might be classed as a minor form of gam
bling; but are not illegal in a federal sense so long as
they do not involve the United States mails.
But why discriminate against the Alaskan Ice Pools?
The Irish Sweepstakes are strictly a lottery—and are
unlawful by federal law, and for use of the mails. Yetj
practically all the large Eastern dailies carry accounts,
of the drawings, the races, and the winners—and yet we!
have yet to hear of any of those papers being barred!
from the mails for printing such stories.
Are the lengthy and lurid stories of murder, rape, de
dauchery, theft, armed robbery—Yes and even the
President of these United States publicly calling a news
paper columnist (whom he does not like) a “S. O. B.,”
which infest so many of our large city dailies, so much
better and more educational reading matter for the
masses tharf the names of fortunate guessers of the ex
act moment the ice will move in the rivers?
It seems to us that Postmaster Brown has overstepped
his authority and transgressed upon the “freedom of
the press” in barring these newspapers from the mails.
It is our sincere wish that the postal authorities will
rule that he has exceeded his authority—if not we think
the newspapers of United States must wage a fight for
real “freedom of the press”—so long as they do not en
croach upon the rights of human decency.
PATTERN OF A NEW DAY
(New World News Service)
The decisions made by the conference of Common
wealth Prime Ministers three weeks ago in London are
probably as significant for the world-wide forces of de
mocracy as the Kremlin’s decisions directing global
communism.
Out of this conference the “Commonwealth of Na
tions,” formerly called the British Commonwealth of
nations, has emerged united as never before. The Chris
tian Science Monitor declared editorially, “the pattern
of a new day emerges.”
1 ** - -1-a:-j “*u - r-.1u.T~*i;n
I ANY EYES ON THE ROAD 1
*
remains a member of ‘Commonwealth of Nations’ does
equal credit to British and Indian good sense, to the
statesmanship of Prime Minister Attlee and of Prime
Minister Nehru. Other nations, in the process of mak
ing formal committments for mutual defense, qpn learn i
from this that the exact wording of a diplomatic docu
ment is often less important than the community of real!
interest and aspiration which underlies it.”
Prime Minister Nehru’s decision that his great coun
try will as a free republic remain a member of the Com
monwealth family of nations deserves the fullest sup
port. This decision could identify India with a moral
statesmanship capable of providing the fundamental
answer to the age-old clash between East and West,'
ruling and subject races, and exploiter and exploited.
This was always Mahatma Gandhi’s vision.
INehrus character is the embodiment of modern i
statesmanship with all its strength and all its limita
tions. His sincerity is complete. Gandhi said of him, “He
is capable of mounting the gallows with a smile on his
lips.” He is one of the many modern cabinet ministers
who have spent time in jail for their convictions. While
in prison he described himself in an anonymous char
acter sketch as “a democrat and a socialist . . . but a
little twist and he might turn into a dictator.” The years
since have brought him closer to democracy and further
from dictatorship. There are men close to him in India j
who know that a superior ideology can win those whom
a superior attitude will only antagonize and make yet
more bitter.
Flanked by China now crumbling before the jugger
naut of communism, India will need great moral as well
as physical comradeship from the other Commonwealth
nations if she is to survive. i
DAME SCIENCE
(Ed Erard in Kingsville, Texas, Record)
Dame Science is always giving us the run-around like
a taxi-dancer when the fleet is in. Only a few weeks ago,
her high priests were telling us how we’d soon be put
ting an atomic pill in the gas tank and driving a sedan
! from Manhattan to Frisco before two Congressmen
could click a pair of cocktail glasses. And we giggled
like an idiot that had swallowed a feather when we
though about auto prices going down and atomic power
pills coming up.
But Dame Science has got more spokesmen* than Har
ry Truman has economic advisers, and they’re just as
confused. Now comes one of these bright boys and says,
“Where you gonna get the uranium?” Just like a Re
publican talking to Harry about money. And he gets the
same answer—“I dunno.” So he goes on like a Southern
| Senator on a filibuster to explain that the world’s uran
' ium supply will run out before the petroleum known
I reserves are exhausted. Guess we’ll have to string
along with gas—in our cars and Qur places of political
power till we discover new sources of power. The new
crop of political gassers will just blow in. It don’t take
•*** PnlnwiViuf. in finrl fVlrtrv*
WASHINGTON
NEWS LETTER
(By Mary Laa Council)
(Secratary to Delegate Bartlett)
Appropriations lor Alaska
Funds totalling approximately
eight million dollars for federal
government activities in Alaska
are included in a number of ap
propriation bills before the Senate.
The monetary supply bill for
the Post Office Department as
passed by the Senate this week
contains approximately $2,464,380
for air mail routes and $79,000 for
regular star route service in Alas
ka.
The Senate appropriations com
mittee in reporting out two other
appropriation bills, one for the ag
riculture department and the
other or civil functions of the de
partment of the army, allowed:
$3,000,000 for the operations of
the Alaska Communications Sys
tem for the 1950 fiscal year; $343,
000 for the dredging of Wrangell
Narrows; $701,000 for storm pro
tection at Nome; $675,000 for con
tinuation of the research program
on agricultural problems in the
Territory; approximately $66,048
for experiment station work; $23,
950 for extension service; $315,000
for national forest protection and
management; approximately $47.
000 for forest research and about
$152,000 for minor forest develop
ment roads.
The original budget requests for
the Wrangell Narrows and Nome
projects sought $500,000 for the
former and $1,020,000 for the lat
ter. The House in passing the ap
propriation bill allowed a lump
sum for all rivers and harbors
projects throughout the United
States, including Alaska, subject
to a 15 per cent reduction because
of alleged decline in construction
costs, the reduction to be allocated
by the Corps of Engineers among
the various projects approved by
the budget. The Senate committee
in reporting the bill directed the
Corps of Engineers to request de
ficiency appropriations at a later
date in order to carry out the 1950
budget estimates should the con
struction costs not drop as antici
pated. •
Alaska’s allotment of funds for
construction, maintenance and re
habilitation of highways in the na
tional forests will be made in a
bill appropriating funds for the
public roads administration which
has not yet been reported by the
Senate appropriations committee.
Statehood
The House public lands commit
tee has voted to instruct its chair
man, Congressman J. Hardin Pe
terson of Florida, to take action
under a new rule of the House
with regard to the Alaska and Ha
waii statehood bills should the
rules committee continue to keep
the legislation bottled .up in com
mittee.
Under this new rule, the chair
man may introduce a resolution
calling for consideration of legis
lation pending in the rules com
mittee, wait at least 21 calendar
days and then call for a vote on
the resolution on the second % or
fourth Monday of the month, thus
by-passing the rules committee
which determines the order that
major bills will be considered by
the House.
The Alaska statehpod bill was
reported by the House public
lands committee on March 10, but
as yet no action has been taken by
the rules committee. The same sit
uation prevails as to the Hawaii
bill.
The great number of proponents
of statehood was increased when
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