TH 5 NOME NUGGET
Published Monday, Wednesday and Friday by Thr
NOME PUBLISHING CO.
Nome, Alaska
Telephone: Main 125 P. O. Box 618
$1.50 PER MONTH $16.00 A YEAR
W. A. and EMILY BOUCHER.Editors
Entered as second class matter Octooer 14, 1943, at the postoffice at
Nome, Alaska, under the Act of March 3, 1879.
Friday, April 19, 194G
“BARABBAS OR JESUS?”
Barabbas means “the son of the father.” This, too, was
the title of the Lord Jesus. One was the son of his
father the devil (John 8:44), “a murderer from the be
ginning,” and the other, “the Son of the Blessed.” What
a striking contrast betwee this notable prisoner called
Barabbas, who had made insurrection and committed
murder (Mark 15:7), and the Holy One of God, “that
just Man.” It was of these two that the people were
called to select one for release and one for death. In the
decision we have an illustration of the wretched choice
that many make, from varied motives. What is the pre
ferring of the ungodly to the godly, and sin to holiness,
but a preferring of Barabbas to Christ? Yes, and so
common is this, that the generality of the world would
rather be seen in public with a known infidel than with
a man eminent for piety and godly zeal. The motive that
prompted this awful choice was the consciousness that
to have done otherwise would have been to admit the
claims of Christ. They did not refute the judge’s find
ings, that He was a just Person, and had done no evil:
in spite of it they would have Him crucified. It was
truly written, “They hated Me without cause.”
Rev. Geo. H. Loveless.
PREPAREDNESS
(The Denver Post)
President Truman’s plea for preparedness should ap
peal to the common sense of the American people. “It is
no answer to say that we do not need a large army in
the atomic age,” he declared in his Army day address.
“No one knows yet precisely what we shall need in
terms of infantry, artillery, pilots, paratroopers, ships,
radar, planes, rockets or bombs. We do know this: Mod
ern war calls for total mobilization of all men and all
energies. We know, too, that we are not likely again to
be given two years or more heroic allies to get ready.
Next time—if there must be a next time—we are likely
to be the first target.”
Much as the American people dislike conscription, es
pecially in peacetime, the very uncertainty which now
exists about the defense requirements of the United
States justifies a year’s extension of the selective serv
ice law. That should be limited to unmarried men, pre
ferably in the 18-year age class. If the armed forces can
get the men they need through voluntary enlistments,
fine. If they can’t, selective service can be used to make
up the difference. Until we find out how the United Na
tions Organization is going to work, what Congress is
going to do about universal military training, what kind
of a permanent defense setup we will need, and what
Russia and other powers are going to do in the way of
reducing armed forces, we cannot prudently allow our
armed strength to dwindle down to nothing.
The Vandenberg amendment to the McMahon atomic
energy control bill has raised a serious question about
the desirability of the military unification advocated by
President Truman. It brings up a new problem which
should receive thorough and careful consideration.
Under the Vandenberg amendment, a military liaison
group would be created to work with the civilian atomic
energy commission. Whenever this group thinks any
act or omission of the commission is prejudicial to na
tional security, it can appeal to the secretary of war and
the secretary of the navy, and either of these cabinet
officers can take the matter up with the President. If a
department of air is established, the liaison group pre
sumably appeal to the secretary of air, who also would
be privileged to go to the President. In that case, there
would be three responsible officials, each free to carry
RtADV FOR TUF PIUM^R_
to the President any atomic energy issue involving na
tional security. Under the unification plan, with a sin
gle secretary for defense, one man would decide what
military phases of atomic energy development should
or should not be called to the attention of the President.
That would be a lot of power and responsibility to put
into the hands of one man.
The Senate’s special atomic committee has gone dan
gerously far in proposing that the civilian*commission
be given sweeping powers to restrict nuclear informa
tion. Under the latest draft of the bill to control all
things atomic, the proposed five-man commission would
be given full authority to write its own regulations re
garding the dissemination, transmission and communi
cation of any information relating to development of
atomic energy. That would make possible a censorship
more drastic than anything imposed in this country in
wartime.
Under the constitution of the United States, “Con
gress shall make no law . . . abridging freedom of
speech, or of the press.’’ How then can Congress, as pro
posed in this atomic energy control bill, clothe a five
man commission with unlimited power to destroy free
dom of speech and preedom of the press? Of course it
can’t do that constitutionally. Congress cannot delegate
to anybody authority it does not possess itself.
BOYHOOD S GREATEST THRILL
Buffalo Bill was born 100 years ago. We feel sorry
for kids to whom he is a remote figure. What a thriller
the Buffalo Bill Wild West and Congress of Rough Rid
ers was to the small fry of yesterday! It came every
year back home, and one of our earliest memories is
seeing Buffalo Bill in the flesh, riding down Whalley
avenue in an open buggy, at the head of the Injuns,
cowboys and buffalo hunters. The show was held in
Westville, just back of the Nick Hubinger mansion.
Once, lacking money to get in, we climbed a tree to
see the show and we almost imagined we got riddled
by stray bullets in the hold-up of the Deadwood stage.
—H. I. Phillips.
By GEORGE S BENSON
Resident of Harding College
Searcy. Arkansas
SANE MEN
Early in March, national press
wires carried a story from Wash
ington to the farthest corners of
the country, about sixteen mem
bers of Congress saying they
thought the national budget
should and could be balanced.
They were half-and-half Senators
and Representatives. Seven were
Democrats and nine were Repub
licans and they made it plain by
signing u written statement. 1
are:
SENATE HOUSE
Byrd Cox
Bridges Doughton
Taft Halleck
Tydings Knutson
Vandenberg Martin
Walsh Taber
Wherry Whittington
White Woodruff
My hat is off to these reali
statesmen. I hope their ranks s
embrace the entire Congress.
Our Debts Are Huge
America’s next chance to h
a balanced budget will be in
fiscal year of 1947. It starts J
1, 1946 and ends June 30, IS
The United States is already
debt for everything it has. T
does not mean all the country
worth, but it does mean
amount equivalent to the value
everything the people of this r
tion have saved since their ;
cestors started saving.
The national debt is 280 billi
dollars. That figure approximai
the value of all the farms a
farm improvements in the cou
try, all the city real estate and ci
improvements, all the manufacti
ing plants in the nation, all t
bank accounts, and all the insu
ance policies, all added up.
Starling Over Again
The United States stands no
where some pioneer settler of c
lonial days might have stood if h
log cabin had burned with ever;
thing of food and clothing insid
Bringing an illustration closer 1
home: The energetic young fan
ily man with two children wh
has just finished paying for a
$8,000 home can depend on start
ing now to buy it all over agai;
in taxes, paying no more than hi
rightful share of the nationa
debt which is $2,000 per man, wo
man and child.
Tax on this enormous debt wil
be a new, yearly expense for oui
government. It will be a big om
too. Interest on debt alone wil
cost Uncle Sam more than he ever
raised by taxes in any single pre
I war year. If there ever was a timt
when America’s common budget
! deserved a balanced budget so
they could look frankly and bold
ly at the truth of debts and taxes,
i it is now.
Fighting Has Ceased
i There are ways to start balanc
j ing the national budget and the
1 sooner it starts the better. Tfce
| war is over and war bureaus can
I be reduced in size and cost. The
i number of federal employees can
! be cut more than most of us im
agine. Deficit spending tspendim^
what we do not have* can be stop
ped if we really set our heads to
j do it. By doing this we can save
i what we do have left.
With all savings gone, we have
1 something left. The settler whose
cabin burned had his energy and
his good name left. The home
owner who must start buying all
over again in taxes, still has his
credit and a job we hope. Just so
the United States, with prestij^
among nations and a sound econ
; omy, has something left: some
j thing of value that must be kept.
MR. AND MRS. ALFRED LOMEN
ARRIVE FROM STATES
Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Lomen, Jr.,
arrived Wednesday evening from
Seattle to spend the summer. AJL
fred. who has been in service in
the Aleutians, will take charge of
the Lomen Commercial Co., and
i will reside in the Ruth Reat resi
dence on First Av*.