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 ,May 26, 1948.
ACS CELEBRATES 48 YEARS
IN ALASKA SERVICE
THE ALASKA COMMUNICATIONS SERVICE, to
day observes its 48th year of service in the terri
tory of Alaska.
The service offered to the people of Alaska to
day is a far cry from the original service, which
sometimes took a year to get a reply from the
states. Today the service is ‘'instantaneous”, whenj
one considers the possibility of radiotelephone com
munication to any part of the United States from
Alaska.
The service today is unparalleled in any part of
the world. Press service is better by far than in
any time in the past. Newspapers receive their
press copy over a teletype service furnished by
the ACS.
•
The commercial and military system worked out
through the ACS is an excellent example of what
can be acomplished through a unified service.
■a
In our own area, between Port Safety and St.
Michael the first radio-telegraph service was estab
lished in 1903, following the beginning of the ACS
in the Nome to Port Safety of a telegraph line, the
first in Alaska, giving Nome communication to the
military fort at St. Michael.
The service has now grown to cover all parts
of Alaska from the northernmost point on the Arctic
Ocean, Barrow, to the southern tip of the pan
handle, Annette Island, there are many stations in
the huge network of radio-phone, telegraph and
teletype service to Alaskans.
The hardy pioneers in telegraph service of nearly
fifty years ago have been followed by highly
trained personnel and first class equipment, cover
ing, all types of service possible to Alaska.
The many services include aircraft warning, ship
to shore, telephone, telegraph, intercommunication
with small communities throughout the territory,
mining camps, submarine cable ,and money order
service.
The system has done much to improve conditions
and advance the way of life in the territory. It has
been a means of saving life and property as well
as its major duty of serving the military needs of
war and peacetime.
The personnel which is added to the various com
munities, has always been of the highest mettle. Men
of the ACS and their families have been an asset to
the territory and bring credit upon a fine service
system.
LOWER PRICES PLEASE
ONLY THE EATING PUBLIC
(Anchorage Times)
V
Speaking of the slump in the commodity market,
we should like to put in a few. nontechnical, un
scientific words on behalf of the general, or eating,
public.
This public is made up of several dozen million
people who do not raise grain or meat critters for
a living, or operate flour mills, or speculate in the
grain market. They have watched their grocery bills
go up in direct proportion to the rise in grain prices,
TO*-DRAWER STUFF
»
month after month. They have been spending a
truly alarming proportion of their earnings to put
food on the table.
During this trying time, the elected custodians of
their government in Washington showed a certain
amount of sympathy. But that sympathy took the
form of each political party blaming the other for
letting food prices get where they were. Since they
couldn't agree on the blame, they quite naturally
couldn't agree on a remedy.
Congress didn't really get excited over the rise
in grain prices until Harold Stassen charged that
official "leaks" of information were helping gov
ernment insiders make a killing on a rising market.
The investigators moved in and investigated. The
market kept on rising.
Then it happened. Commodity prices turned and
started downward, after setting an all-time altitude
record. Food prices, which had risen 348 points
since the war started, dropped off 37 points in one
week. The eating public heaved a hopeful sigh,
and waited.
But there was little joy or relief in Washington.
Rather, some of the custodians of government start
ed running a righteous fever. Rep. August Andresen
angrily charged that Agriculture Department Teaks'
had depressed the market and permitted insiders
to escape without injury. S^retary of Agriculture
Anderson replied just as angrily that if Mr. Andre
sen and Senator Taft would only hush up, the de
plorable condition that was making food less expen
sive might right itself.
Apparently the concern that these gentlemen
felt didn't come from any fear that the big reces
sion was at hand. There was a government support
price to keep the bottom from dropping out of the
grain market. The stock market hadn't been af
fected seriously by the commodity trend. Wages,
employment, and production continued high.
It was unhappily true that some people lost money
in the price drop. But with the commodity market
operating as it does, this was inevitable if prices
were ever going to come dowit. And it doesn't look
as if there would be a very widespread loss of
shirts.
It remains to be seen whether our wrangling of
ficials will be as unsuccessful in keeping prices
from falling as they were in keeping them from
rising. In the meantime the eating public can only
marvel that these officials, who have been so busy
talking about gringing down the cost of living,
should be so angry and dismayed when it actually
started happening.
| Interior Dept. Says
‘Less Exploitation’
If Alaska Is State
—
! WASHINGTON. — <;P) —Sec
retary Krug of the interior de-.
partment told a House subcom
mittee he believes there will be
| less exploitation of Alaskan re
i sources under statehood than at
present.
Krug made his statement before
the Appropriations Subcommittee
considering the department’s 1949
appropriation bill. The testimony
was made public today when the
bill was introduced in the House.
Rep. Jensen (R-Iowa) asked
Krug if he is convinced there
will be no exploitation of Alaskan
resources under statehood which
the official said he favored.
, ‘‘I am quite confident there will
not,” Krug replied. ‘‘I feel very
j strongly there will be less exploi
tation of Alaskan resources if
Alaska is a state than now, be
cause I think the interest of the
people of Alaska will be far more
effective than any supervision
from Washington.”
Krug said the federal govern
ment should exercise control of
the fisheries and natural resources
from the standpoint of conserva
tion and said the department
would continue control of the
1 Pribilof Island seal herd and the
National Forests.
He listed the urgent needs of
Alaska as:
Alaska should be granted state
hood without delay.
Improved land and water
transportation for development of
the territory and national de
fense.
Extension of civil aviation,
which will play a major part in
the development and defense of
the territory.
Development of agriculture and
industrial settlement.
Private development of the pulp
and paper industry.
Intensive exploration and de
velopment to make possible great
est utilization of Alaska’s min
eral resources.
A comprehensive program of
construction of municipal pub
lic works.
Development of hydro-electric
power.
A comprehensive development
of public health, hospitalization
and a housing program and set
tlement of native rights.
Assistant secretary William E.
Warne told the committee that
the security of Alaska is and will
continue to be vital to the de
fense of the territory.
“If we are to remain strong
Alaska must be made and kept
strong,” he said.
Warne said military works al
one are not enough and that Al
aska must have more people, more
railroads, more roads, more farms
and more industries.”
“To fail to meet the challenge
of Alaska, and promptly, would
l be to gamble with our safeiv,”
Warne said. “It seems to me the
plain duty of the government is
| to promote the settlement and
i full development of Alaska.”
Warne said an interdepartment
committee study of the Alaskan
s!tuation indicated that with ade
; quate support ”a population in
! crease within the next five years
of 100,000 to 200,000 has been
assumed as a possibility.”
He said that Alaska’s timber
i will support on a continuing bas
I is six large paper mills and urged
that an adequate health program
be adopted.
Lt. Gen. Howard Craig urged
the committee to approve funds