THE NOME NUGGET
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W. A. and EMILY BOUCHER..Editors
Entered as second class matter October 14, 1943, at the postoffica
at Nome, Alaska, under the Act of March 3, 1879.
Wednesday, March 5, 1947
Another Broken Promise
(Rocky Mountain News)
AT THE MEETING of the council of foreign minis
ters in New York last month, Mr. Molotov asked that
its next session be held in Moscow.
Former Secretary Byrnes, before signifying accept
ance of the invitation, asked whether assurances could
be given that the same procedure for reporting the work
of the council would be followed as had obtained in
Paris and New York.
The inquiry was pertinent, because freedom of the
press is not recognized in Russia and few foreign corre
spondents are allowed to visit that country.
In reply, Mr. Molotov said:
“The Soviet Government will be happy to see the
ministers in Moscow and everything will be done, in
spite of the housing difficulties, to accommodate the
correspondents and to create the most favorable condi
tions for their work. They will be able to report from
Moscow on the proceedings of the conference as they
reported in Paris and New York.”
On this basis, Mr. Byrnes voted to accept the Russian
invitation.
The meeting is to begin March 10, and 73 American
correspondents applied for Russian visas., and to date
not one of the 73 applications has been approved.
Now Moscow advises that because of a “housing”
shortage,” only 20 American correspondents can be ac
commodated—and that includes photographers, news
reel men, radio broadcasters and magazine writers as
well as reporters for press associations and newspapers.
By contrast, 2600 press and radio representatives
were registered at San Francisco for the first meeting
of the United Nations. And the meeting at Moscow is the
most important international assembly since the Ver
sailles Conference in 1919.
No limitations as to numbers were imposed at Paris,
New York or London. Those cities had housing prob
lems, too. But the press is welcome in France, England
and the United States. It isn't welcome in Russia, and
there is no point in evading the issue.
It is all too obvious that the Kremlin wants to discuss
the German and Austrian settlements under iron-cur
tain conditions, if it can. The alleged housing shortage
probably is only the first step toward that end.
Secretary Marshall will make a serious mistake, in
our opinion, if he permits the Muscovites to get away
with this initial breach of faith. This meeting was not
forced on the Russians. They asked for it. If they are not
equal to its obligations, the site can be changed.
The Soviets should be made to understand that, when
they give us their word on something, we expect them to
keep it. This is a good place to begin driving that home
to them.
Light On The Debt
(Cincinnati Enquirer)
THE EXCELLENT REPORT on “our national debt
and the banks,” just published by the Committee on
Public Debt Policy, points up the serious need of reduc
act to curtail tire same inflation.
It also indicates a path in which we, the people, can
act to curtail th esame inflation.
An increase in the amount of money in circulation is,
of course, inflationary. And, says the report, “never be
fore in the nation’s history has the money supply been
so large.”
Money in circulation increased from $7,600,000,000
in 1939 to $28,500,000,000 in 1945, almost fourfold.
Whereas, in the prosperous 20s, demand deposits and
money in circulation totaled only about one-third of the
national income, they rose during the war years to’thre0
quarters of the annual national income. That is too much
money available for spending when goods are scarce,
and that spelled inflation.
.Purchase of government securities by banks, a neces
sary step in war financing, contributed to this inflation
of the money supply, the report points out. Here it give
some rather interesting history of that war financing.
It credits the Treasury Department with a clear un
derstanding of the danger of inflation with war money
pouring into American pockets. The Treasury under
took to drain off that money into government bonds. It
did not want bulging billfolds to bid up the scarce com
modities. It also wanted the cash to finance the war.
However, it could not let any bond dr^ve falh That
would have been as bad, psychologically, as a defeat in
battle. So it set its sights for any drive high, to get the
money, but it held bank-buying in reserve and used it to
make sure that every drive was oversubscribed. This
and other bank purchases of securities added to the
money supply.
Now when a bank buys a bond it permits the govern
ment to draw on it for that amount immediately. This
adds to the' amount of money in circulation. When a
householder buys a bond, however, he does so with
money already in circulation. A sale to him, therefore,
does not increase the amount in circulation.
The job to do now, the report concludes, is to reverse
the wartime procedure. The job now is to get the gov
! ernment securities back from the banks. The best way
to do this, it says, is a twofold one: First, reduce the gov
ernment debt, in which case the government would re
tire bonds now held by banks; second, induce “nonbank
investors,’’ which includes us, to use our cash and bank
deposits to buy government bonds.
The report does not go on to translate this further into
just what the public can do. However, these conclusions
seem to be plain: As citizens we can urge the Congress
to reduce the national debt. Employers can urge em
ployees to continue to buy government bonds. Managers
and stockholders can favor investment of cash in bonds.
All of us can hold on to present bonds and continue to
buy more.
APPLE OF DISCORD
<nr?i7 NEWS LETTER
By MARY LEE COUNCIL
Secretary to E. L. (Bob) Bartlett. Delegate to Congress from Alaska
ALASKA SHIPPING
The Senate is expected to act
this week on an amended version
of the House Joint Resolution
granting a partial and indirect
government subsidy in the opera
tion of vessels in the Alaska trade
through charter hire by the Mari
time Commission to private oper
ators and payment of insurance on
hulls.
The major amendment made by
.he Senate Committee on Inter
state and Foreign Commerce at the
suggestion of Senator Wallace H.
White states that charter arrange
ments must be entered into “with
American citizens operating Amer
can flag-line vessels” in place of
the House language “with Ameri
can citizen operators.”
The insistence of Senator White,
who is not only chairman of this
committee but also majority leader
of the Senate, upon the proposal
stressing “American flag-line ves
sels” forebodes ill for any proposal
to amend existing law which now
forbids carriage of passengers and
freight on foreign vessels between
ports in Alaska and between the
United States and Alaska. It is be
lieved his views might reflect the
temper of the present Congress
with respect to operation of the
merchant marine.
President Truman has signed
the emergency legislation continu
ing from March 1 until July 1 the
Maritime Commission’s authority
: to operate vessels for the account
! of the government.
STATEHOOD
Preliminary hearings on state
hood for Alaska have been tenta
tively set for April 8, according to
Chairman Welch of the House
Public Lands Committee.
The hearings will be held be
I fore the subcommittee on Territor
! ies and Insular Affairs.
WILDLIFE APPROPRIATIONS
Delegate Bartlett, at the request
! of the Alaska Game Commission,
has urged increased appropriations
for the protection of wildlife in
Alaska and the enforcement of
regulations in appearing this week
before the Interior sub-committee
of the House Appropriations Com
mittee.
The present budget estirrtate
seeks $970,700 for these purposes,
and the Alaska Game Commission,
through its chairman, Karl Dinner
of Petersburg, and members, An
drew Simon of Kenai and Forbes,
L. Baker of Fairbanks, has re
quested an increase of $144,199 as
essential to prevent depletion of
wildlife in the Territory.
MUSK OXEN
Following a complete census to
be held this spring by the Fish and
Wildlife Service of the musk oxen
on Nunivak Island, the Interior
Department hopes to be able to
furnish two bull and four cow
musk ox calves to the Experimen
tal Station at the University of
Alaska for starting a domestica
tion program.
Such a program has been urged
by the Chamber of Commerce, the
Rotary Club, the Tanana Valley
Sportsmen’s Asscoiation, the Dor
man H. Baker Post of the Ameri
can Legion, all at Fairbanks, and
the Alumni Association of the
University.
Assistant Secretary of the In
terior Gardner has stated that
funds to transport the musk oxen
to the University will have to come
from sources other than the Fish
and Wildlife Service, although
that agency will contribute what
personnel and equipment it can,
without incurring special expendi
tures. Should the animals be trans
ferred to the University, they
shall remain the property of the
United States government.
“The earlier experimental work
with the musk oxen in Alaska,”
Secretary Gardner said, “did not
continue long enough to produce
conclusive data concerning their
adaptability to domestication. The
slowness of reproduction of the
animals and their unruly nature