THE NOME NUGGET
Published Monday, Wednesday and Friday by The
NOME PUBLISHING CO.
Nome, Alaska
Telephone: Main 125 P. O. Box 618 i
W. A. and EMILY BOUCHER .Editors |
* i
$1.50 PER MONTH $16.00 A YEAR
Entered as second class matter October 14, 1943, at the postoffice 1
at Nome. Alaska, under the Act of March 3, 1879.
_ j
Friday, October 17, 1947
What Price Population? i
(Anchorage Daily Times)
DR. INIAS RICE of Aurora, 111., has proposed that
Alaska be populated with up to 1,000,000 immigrants !
to develop the “slumbering economic giant of the;
north." His proposal was published in the Chicago Tri-!
bune, giving it a widespread circulation and making it
worthy of answer.
“Don't settle them in the United States proper,” he i
Wrote, “but put them in Alaska.”
The physician declared that thousands of engineers,
tradesmen, and farmers from Europe would “jump at
the opportunity.” He made special reference to Ger- j
many and Italy as the source of the immigrants, assert-1
ing that in Alaska they would become “good democratic '
citizens in a hurry.”
The physician has made a suggestion that is repul
sive to all Alaskans. The first question resulting from
his proposal is why exclude these potential “good demo-,
cratic citizens” from the United States proper and con
fine their imnjigration to Alaska?
The proposal from the Aurora doctor is not novel. I
Ickes sponsored such a program for years. Others in
high places have given expression to similar proposals.
In past years Alaska has even been mentioned as a good
penal colony for convicts.
There can be little doubt that Alaskans are opposed;
to any suggestion that this Territory be singled out for |
an immigration program undersirable for the nation as ’
a whole. In reply to all the proposals, the Territory has
contended that this area of the United States is no dif
ferent from any other. Let the immigration laws of the
nation control the immigration to Alaska, just as they
do the 48 states, Hawaii and Puerto Rico.
While it is true that the greatest need of Alaska is
population, it is equally true that the new residents
must meet the same qualifications as those of the States.
The handful of Alaskans who are developing the
economy of Alaska today will be in the minority when
the full development comes. They are only setting the
pattern and the newcomers must carry it to completion.
Ever since Alaska became a territory, its development
and growth has been pointed toward sovereignty as a
state in the Union. Today it is knocking at the door of
Congress requesting that this full form of self govern
ment be granted.
|The accomplishments of many years would be lost if
Alaska were made the dumping grounds for persons
unqualified or unsuited for American citizenship.
The suggestion from Dr. Rice comes at a time when
the interest of the nation in Alaska is at its zenith. The
Territory has been recognized generally as the most
strategic area in the world.
Alaska is the cross-roads of the air world, the most
central spot on the globe now that travel has turned to
aviation. It is the front-line in any future war. Security
for the nation in Alaska means security in Chicago, Au
rora, and most of the other cities of the nation.
Dr. Rice’s suggestion would weaken the nation’s posi
tion in the north by turning it over to porsens whose
loyalty and political beliefs would disqualify them from!
citizenship. It would complicate the military program
to defend Alaska and hence the nation. It would double
cross the good American citizens who have braved great
varieties of discriminations from their federal govern
ment to make their homes here and develop a strong
American economy.
If it is desirable for the United States to allow 1,000,
000 immigrants to enter this country, it would be far
wiser to locate them in a spot like the fertile Fox Valley i
in which Aurora is located. There the immigrants could
A wrrtR FOR HIS ThOUtohiS
u W*-J '<*+1
be educated in the Aurora college, work in the railroad
shops and manufacturing plants. They would help pro
duce the road-building machinery, conveyors, pumps,
drills and hundreds of other items produced there. They
could farm on the expansive prairies of the valley.
The city of Aurora (population 47,000) could absorb
the immigrants better than could Alaska. The large city
of Chicago 38 miles away would tend to diminish the
impact of the new arrivals. But best of all, it would
leave Alaska free for continued development as an inte
gral part of the American system of life, and readily ac
cessible for the development of the strategic activities
for which it is destined.
Where’s That Economy?
(Rocky Mountain News)
LAST NIGHT we got to thinking about all the prom
ises and statements, made a few months ago* that the
federal government would cut its spending and main
tain a well-balanced budget in the fiscal year that began
on the first day of last July.
So we looked up the Treasury’s reports on govern
ment expenses and receipts. Here are the figures for
the period from July 1, 1947 through last Monday, com
pared with the same period in 1946:
This Year
, Expenses .$8,954,947,600
Receipts . 8,585,253,993
Deficit . 369,693,607
Last Year
$8,858,835,333
8,443,335,750
415,499,^81
As to taking in money, the government seems to be
doing pretty well. Receipts are up nearly 143 million
dollars. But spending also is up, about 96 million dol
lars. So there’s a red-ink entry of more than 369 million
dollars. While it’s a smaller deficit than there was a
year ago, it’s still a deficit.
Of course, the current fiscal year is still young. Just
a little over a fourth of it has gone by. And we aren’t
forgetting that, despite the larger deficit at this time in
1946, the government finally wound up last fiscal year
with a surplus of nearly 754 million dollars. Maybe—
we hope—something of the sort will happen again.
But we’re still thinking about those statements and
promises that government spending would be cut. In
stead, for the first three months of this fiscal year there
has been heavier spending than there was in the cor
responding period last year.
May we be pardoned for inquiring when all that econ
omy which was going to play such a big part in keeping
the budget balanced is supposed to start?
Waste Makes Want
(By Jack Foster)
WHEN PRESIDENT TRUMAN said “waste less,”
calling for a national effort to save food and keep prices
down, he at least started a lot of arguments.
At many a family table the question is being debated:
It is true that we waste food?
Newspaper reporters in several cities, interviewing
housewives, find most of them asserting that they could
not be more careful about saving.
We don’t knew whether the re
porters really expected to discover
any housewife willing to admit. ^
for publication, that she has been
wasteful. The fact, surprising or ^
otherwise, is that they do discover
quite a few.
An agriculture department offi
cial takes a positive stand. There
would be plenty of food to spare
for Europe, he tells the United
Press, if American families would
learn to use the good food now go
ing into their garbage cans.
Getting specific, he adds that
' the average American housewife *
wastes 12x/fe per cent of the leafy
vegetables she buys; 10 per cent
of the potatoes; 8 per cent of the
other vegetables; T per cent of the
meat, poultry and fish; 5 per cent
of the sugar, cereals, butter and
fat, and lVfe per cent of the milk 4
and cream.
Americans who have lived
abroad say that most families in
many other countries get less to
eat than many families in this
country throw away. American *
restaurant patrons note that a
great number of only partially
eaten servings get carried away
from the tables at each meal.
The plan proposed by Mr. Tru
man is voluntary. It doesn’t com
pel anybody to do anything. It
leaves the decision up to individ
ual persons and individual fam
ilies. And so it doesn’t apply to
those who believe sincerely that
they aren’t wasting and can’t pos
sibly cut down their food buying
without serious hardships.
But if the others—those who can
buy less and waste less—do their
part, we think it’s certain that a
surprisingly large amount of food
will be saved.
That’s That
By BRUCE GUSTIN
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The seven-point program sub
mitted to President Truman by the
CIO for dealing with price and
European relief problems includes
a plank calling 'upon Congress to
re-establish price controls and ra
tioning. No such system could be
effective unless it included gov
ernment control of wages. Labor
costs are one of the most import
ant factors in prices. Nobody*
would squawk louder than the
CIO against government dictation
of wages. Most people want high
prices for what they sell and low
prices for what they buy.
World s Press News, trade pa
per of Britain’s newspaper busi
ness, has injected a jarring note
into the discussion of American •
plans to finance British and Euro
pean rehabilitation. It says British
“soft-soaping of America started
during the war and still continues. *
The plain truth is that America is
dollar greedy and under her con
stitution and present political set
up can’t behave any other way
than as she does—which is to seek ^
the hardest possible bargain.” It is
hard to believe that expresses the
sentiments of many of the British
people. But such abuse from any
quarter over there doesn’t help
Britain in any way.
Stockpiling rubber is one of the
smartest things the Truman ad
ministration has undertaken. The
one-half million tons of raw rub
ber to be accumulated and held in
reserve is none too large. Ordinary 1
prudence requires that the govern
ment acquire and hold an ade
quate supply of all the materials, *
which cannot be produced here,
which are vital to national de
fenae.