THE NOME NUGGET
Published Monday. Wednesday and Friday by the
NOME PUBLISHING %CO.
NOME. ALASKA '
Telephone: Main 125 P. O. Box 6it*
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W. A. Boucher . . Owner-Publisher
Emily Boucher .Local Editor
Entered as second class matter October 14. 1943, at the postoffice
at Nome, Alaska, under the Act of March 3, 1379.
Nome, Alaska, Monday, January 17, 1949
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN, BORN JANUARY 17, 1706
Benjamin Franklin, whose birthday is observed to
day, January 17, was “the most acute and broadminded
thinker of his day,” in the estimation of the Encyclopae
dia Britannica.
The first edition of the Britannica, published in 1768
when Franklin was 62, devoted many pages to his dis
coveries in the field of electricity. And today, 181 years
later, Franklin is still praised for his creative mind, his
practical good sense and his humanitarianism.
“Other men may have been greeter, but very few
have been more human,” the Britannica points out.
“Franklin’s achievements are so great and so numer-1
ous that it is impossible to sum up all of them,” His sci
entific interests ranged from his theory of electricity to1
speculations on the nature of earthquakes, and the Au
rora Borealis, the origin of the common cold and the
causes and cures of smoky chimneys.
Although he hoped to see America develop within
the British empire, he threw all his energies into the
colonial cause when his first hopes proved impossible.
“Nobody in the 18th century knew so well as he how
to pull the wires of public opinion and make use of
newspapers, secret societies and academies,” the Bri
tannica asserts. He served his country as a member of
Congress, postmaster general, minister to France, and
delegate to the Constitutional Convention.
“He was the first American economist, a distinguished
political thinker, and a frutiful social reformer. He was1
always clearer, less abstract and more practical than
the theorists he followed.”
Even the index of the Encyclopaedia Britannia re
veals the remarkable versatility of Franklin’s mind.
References to him are found in such articles as that on
the American Philosophical Society, an outgrowth of a
club he founded, and the oldest scientific association in
the United States; and listed under his name are found
“Declaration of Independence,” which he corrected;
“glass harmonica,” a musical instrument he invented;
and “University of Pennsylvania,” which he helped to
establish.
“Nobody could approach'him without being charmed
by his conversation, his humor, wisdom and kindness.
He had a way of telling stories that delighted all his
friends and was well liked by the ladies because he
seemed equally to enjoy listening to them.”
When he died in 1790, at the age of 84, “the whole civ
ilized world was moved by the disappearance of the old
sage who had done so much good during his long life,”
Britannica concludes.
COMMUNISM IN ASIA
(British Information Services)
The “Financial Times” discusses the possible effects
of final Communist victory in China on both the United
States and the British Commonwealth. The paper sees
the Americans ,aiming at consolidating the Far East
against Communism, withdrawing their economic co
operations to countries near China. Here it quotes the
decision to bring Southern Korea into the system of the
Economic Cooperation Administration and the directive
to General Mac Arthur to speed up Japanese recovery.
The “Financial Times” considers Japanese recovery the
vital point in the new structure
“But,” it says, “Britain and the Commonwealth must
ask themselves how far this recovery should be allowed
to go. Australia is specially concerned to see that Japan
does not once again emerge as a great power. Both Aus
tralia and Britain wish to see the burden of Japan lift
ed from the American taxpayer, but not so quickly as to
obscure the demand of peoples in the Pacific for secur
ity against a country with such a long record of aggres
sion. The Americans must pay attention to this if they
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TAFT
HARTL1V
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want full Commonwealth cooperation in their new stra
tegic tasks in the Far East.”
The “Daily Express” agrees that the Americans are
aiming at restricting communism in Asia as well as in
Europe but, it says, the Dutch are trying to do the same
thing in Indonesia and therefore, the paper thinks, U. S.
criticism of the Dutch action is quite out of place. The
Express says:
“The Dutch are taking justifiable steps to restore or
der and have taken to heart the British withdrawal
from Burma, which surrendered Burma to disorder and
spreading anarchy. No wonder that the Dutch have re
solved to act without regard for the whims of those who
have no responsibility in Indonesia.”
CHINA HAS “GENERAL OF THE NAVY”
((/P) Newsfeatures) j
In most countries an admiral runs the navy. Not in
China. They gave the job to a general.
The general has the title of admiral, but he’s still a
general, if you can follow this.
The general or admiral is Kwei Chung-si. commander
in chief of China’s navy, which is made up mainly of
gunboats. It’s enough to drive an old salt water to drink.
It drove a former rear admiral to resign.
As he tells it—and he doesn’t want you to use his
name because he’s still “a loyal servant of Chiang Kai
shek”—the army just moved in.
“This is the one country in the world where a general
can get appointed head of the navv,” he sighed. He said
all experienced “floating officers” were sent off to teach
in the naval academies and the army boys picked off all
the good jobs. That’s when he resigned.
The navy hasn’t had too much »to do in the war, but
its job is being cut out for it. The navy has to patrol the
Yangtze and try to keep the Communists from crossing
it for an attack on Nanking. The former real admiral
doesn’t thing much of the army-run navy’s chances.
“I believe,” he added, “that one good English or Yan
kee (navy) lieutenant given command of the Chinese
navy, would be the fleet’s salvation.”
— —-. -
SECURITY CONTROL IN GERMANY #
The London Daily Herald, writing on Western Al
lied control of the Ruhr, stresses that safeguards will
have to be maintained against any revival of the Ger
man military machine and spirit. It says:
“German nationalist agitation has already begun with
protests against the destruction of the war industry, de
mands for the abolition fo Allied controls and even sug
gestions that the beginnings of a German army should
be permitted.
“It is essential for the Germans to acept a security
control which will in no way restrict their democratic
freedom or hamper their economic recovery.”
I - _ .
Some families try to keep up with the Joneses. Others
keep the Joneses up.
International News
At A Glance —
d'untinued from Page One)
dtp .i’tment s policy was seen aim
ed nght at Sweden which has been
cp >rted urgnig Norway and Den
mark to keep out of the North At
fantic military alliance.
Monday, January 17, 1949
Chinese nationalists massed
50,000 men on a 300-mile front
today in an apparently hopeless
effore to save anking, menaced
by communist troops in double
that strength.
The government’s forces already
have abandoned Pengpu and evac
uated towns in the path of an ex
pected communist sweep into the
Yangtze river valley. Pengpu had
been an anchor of the govern
ment’s Hawai river defense line.
Nationalist headquarters were
pulled back to Chuhsien, 30 miles
northwest of Nanking.
With the position of government
‘roops before the capital daily
growing more precarious, the gen
eral public and official bodies
heightened the clamor for a nego
tiated settlement with the com
munists.
While Egypt and Israel reached
agreement at Rhodes on a contro
versial point—officials would not
say which one—in their armistice
negotiations at Rhodes, Dr. Ralphe
J. Bunche, the United Nations me
daitor, was reported launching a
general peace offensive in the Mid
dle East. designed to bring peace
oe tween Israel and all the Arab
States opposing her.
Progress in Jewish armistice
talks with Lebanon was indicated
from the Israeli capital, Tel Aviv.
The Irrael army has released four
of 15 villages it had occupied and
he Lebanese have moved out of
a village in northwestern Galilee.
Reliable Israeli sourcs said Israel
also had begun armistice talks
with Trans-Jordan.
The bloody race rio s in the
Durban area of South Africa
threatened to spread to other
places in the Union. In Durban,*
where more than 100 were report
ed killed in street fighting which
.up.ed Thursday, police still were
fkkng on native Zulu rioters ram
;»..ging through stores owned by
Indian?.
More ho.i 25,000 of the Indian
minority of the area have fled
their homes. Flarups were report
ed in J hannesburg, South Afri
ca's largest city, 310 miles north
west of Durban, and in other cit
ies. Troops and police were alert
ed throughout the Union.
In Greece, political leaders tried
to patch up a new coalition gov
ernment to continue the fight
against the communist guerrillas.
King Paul told the 10 political
parties if they failed he would be
compelled to “find for out people
some other solution.” One politi
cal leader said the King may mean
a dictatorship. Aged Themistokles
Sophoulis resigned Saturday as
Premier of a shaky coalition.
Turkey, with Greece a recipient
of American aid in the Truman
doctrine program to halt com
munism, also struggled to find a
government. Premier Hasan Saka
resigned Friday after his govern
ment failed to lower the cost of
living.
Czechoslovakia promised a
statement on reports that a num
ber of high officers of the army
' are under arrest in a plot to over
throw the government of commun
ist Premier Klement Got'wald.
I Russia and Poland announced
an agreement to increase their al