THE NOME NUGGET
Published Monday, Wednesday and Friday by the
NOME PUBLISHING CO.
NOME. ALASKA
Telephone: Main 125 P. O. Box 618
*1.50 PER MONTH $16.00 A YEAR
W. A. Boucher _Owner-Publisher
Entered as second class matter October 14, 1943, at the postoffice
at Nome, Alaska, under the Act ef March 3,1879.
Nome, Alaska, Monday, July 17, 1950
WE NEED BIG BUSINESS
(By George Peck)
It has become a favorite pastime of our bureaucratic
government to pick on Big Business. One of the com
panies selected for the greatest bureaucratic bombard
ment is the world’s largest steel manufacturer — the
United States Steel Corporation.
One wonders how these bureaucrats can overlook the
splendid contribution made by U. S. Steel during World
War II; how they can forget the sense of security every
patriotic American felt that this corporation was ready
to supply so much of the war materiel necessary to de
feat our enemies.
This giant company did not just come into existence
when the Japs struck at Pearl Harbor. Fo many years
prior thereto hundreds of thousands of investors had
been pouring their savings into its coffers; its manage
ment had been planning and building its many plants,
developing its “know-how,” and training its army of
workers.
U. S. Steel was ready when war came, and this one'
company proceeded to produce more steel than all the j
steel mills of Germany and Japan combined. Did we at
that time hear anyone complain that “United States
Steel was too big?”
In one week during World War II, a single U. S. Steel
subsidiary produced enough stee lofr 7,000 light medi
um tanks; another turned out one million antiaircraft
shells 62 days ahead of schedule. Did any of our G.I.’s
at that time grumble that “United States Steel was too
big?”
Hhose were but a few of the many production mir
acles performed by U. S. Steel during World War II. In
1942, its board chairman, Irving S. Olds, said: “Manage
men and workers of the United States Steel have coop
erate in attaining these noteworthy productions results.
Both properly can be proud of their joint contribution
during the first year of the war.”
Yes, the American public was practially unanimous
in its belief that “Big Business was good business.” That
is, good for Americans. Hitler and Hirohito, however,
did not share that enthusiastic approval; they found
our American Bib Business to be very bad.
Surely, the lessons learned in past wars should have
taught us to keep our Big Business strong and vigorous.
While we hope that never again will we have to call on
Big Business to supply the sinews of war, let’s have it
on tap. As a matter of fact, our enemies will think long
and hard before tangling with a nation that keeps its
potential powder dry by encouraging, rather than at
tempting to disrupt, Big Business.
— —— ■■■ ■■
THE WORLD OWES ME A LIVING !
(Mt. Sterling, Ohio, Tribune)
Before this idea of “the World owes me a living”
cathes on too universally, let’s look at the record: J
What governmental agency was it that assured Abra
ham Lincoln “crade to the grave security?”
Under what social legislation was Benjamin Frank
lin enabled to go to Philadelphia and set up a printing
shop?
What federal aid and control made the Westward
moving pioneers secure against hardships?.
What department of the government supervised, pro
vided funds and provided incentive for the inventions
of Thomas Edison?
Maybe things were easier in the old days!
GENERAL “IKE” ADDRESSES BOY SCOUTS
General Dwight Eisenhower was one of the most pop
ular of celebrities visiting with the Boy Scouts at Val
ley Forge, according to information sent home by
Likely To Pass-Up
Statehood Bills
WASHINGTON, W^-The out
look for pending “western” bills
in Congress is not good unless it
decides to continue regular busi
ness indefinitely due to the Ko
rean situation.
If it takes a summer recess, as
has been proposed, or stays in ses
sion under agreement that no con
troversial measures will be con
sidered without absent members
having a chance to get back for
the debate and vote, there is little
likelihood there will be any ac
tion on western bills not passed
before the rest period starts.
Among the pending measures
are the Alaska and Hawaii state
hood bills, amendments to the re
clamation act; and mine aid legis
lation.
Present prospects are that the
Senate can complete action on the
general appropriations bill by the
end of this week.
But Congress still can’t quit un
til an agreement has been reached
with the House on the Senate
changes in the bill.
It means Congress will work
regularly for at least a week.
It is expected that an effort will
be made in the Senate to bring up
the statehood bills during the last
week of July. But discussion there
last Friday indicated there will be
opposiiton to anything but defense
measures.
Mr. and Mrs. Charles Haberman
and their two sons left Saturday
for Fairbanks enroute to their
new post for the Northern Com
mercial Co. at Tanana, Alaska.
Replacing Mr. Haberman here is
Dwight Nelson of Bethel.
4
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“Deficit” Means
Trouble
Last week I discovered that a
lot of people do not know what
the term “deficit financing”
means. Just to satisfy a curiosity
I asked a number of persons about
it and although some had a vague
ly corect idea only a few had a
clear understanding of the term;
and not more than a handful had
an awareness of the full implica
tions of a deficit financing policy
in government.
Some of the people with whom
I discussed it said they had been
dodging the formation of a per
sonal opinion on whether govern
ment deficit financing was good
or bad because, they said, it car
ried onl ya hazy meaning in their
minds. When they’d heard the
term spoken or had seen it in
print they’d formed the habit,
they said, of mentally “skipping”
it.
Way to Bankruptcy
Deficit financing in its sim
plest definition means spending
money you haven’t got, operating
beyond wour income, spending
borrowed money. If you earn $300
a month and wish to spend $400 a
month, you can only grant the
wish by borrowing the extra $100
each month and giving thq lender
your IOU or your personal note,
agreeing to repay the amount plus
a set rate of interest. Your indebt
edness mounts each month and so
Nome’s Boy Scout Ralph Bingham. He told the boys in
an address that it was inescapable that America assist
South Korea and “must be carried to its conclusion by
whatever means are necessary.” The alternative Gen.
Eisenhower asserted, “would be another kind of Mu
nich, with all the disastrous consequences that followed
in the wake of the fatal error 12 years ago.”
Another highlight reported by Ralph is the ceremony
to re-affirm religious freedom as the common American
heritage—a breathtaking candlelighting of 50,000 can
dles highlighted the ceremony with the singing of “Lord
God of Hosts, Be With Us Yet.” The singing was led by
Lanny Ross, former Scout. 12,000 visitors joined the
Scouts in the religious exercises.
THESE WOMEN! sy d-Aiessiol
ba*t this icenery beaotiM, TImmiT Let's poD over to the
side of the rood for o coople of oioothsP
does you rinterest payments.
If you continue to borow the
$100 month after month the inter- r J
est soon bites deeply into your in
come and the debt itself becomes
bigger and bigger. The result, in
time, is bankruptcy, if repayment
cannot be made. The court ap
points a receiver empowered to
sell your property. In the result
ing liquidation, your creditors us
ually are left holding a near-em
pty bag. And you wind up a pau
per, your family destitute. That’s tj#
“deficit financing” for an individ
ual, and the government deficit
financing has many similarities.
When permitted to continue in
definitely, it must always end in
ruin.
It Grows and Spreads
American citizens have their^
whole future at stake in the is
sue of whether their government
shall practice deficit financing in
good times as well as bad. The
practice already has become epi
demic. Census Bureau figures
published in the Congressional
Quarterly show that not only has
our Federal government operated
on borrowed money in 18 of the
past 20 years but 33 of our 48
states are being affected with the
disease too. That many overspent
their revenues last year.
i
The practice, if prolonged by the ^
Federal government, can have but
one result: ruination, caused by
the government finally defaulting
on its securities or destroying
monetary values by runaway in
flation. A reliable veteran observ
er in Washington made the state
ment recently that he was con
vinced influential Federal govern
ment leaders now are definitely
committed to a prolonged policy
of deficit financing and with it,
gradual inflation.
The Harsh Facts
Fed American, apparently, are
awaye they are paying more than
five times as much in taxes today
to meet the interest payment on
the national debt (caused by defi
cit spending) as -the entire 'Federal
government cost in the year 1915.
In the national debt of $256 billion
is increased by year-after-year
deficit spending, the inteerst,
along with other government
costs, will finally become unbear
able to taxpayers and otherwise
unmanageable by fiscal manipula-^
tions.
Then would come a default on
g o v e r nment obligations, and
moans from the millions of peo
ple holding government securiites;
or panic inflation engineered by
frightened office holders. An
abrupt inflation, drastically low
ering the value of the dollar,
would permit a payoff on the se
curities but the payoff would be a •
mockery, a mere fraction of the
securities’ original value; and the
value of savings, insurance, ann\S*
ities, wages, pensions, etc., would
sjnk. The gradual inflation which
is inevitable with any prolonged
deficit financing brings the same
end result but the damage isn’t at
once apparent; it sneaks up on
you. Yes, “deficit financing”
means trouble if long continued.
MacARTHUR LIFTS BAN ON
TWO CORRESPONDENTS
TOKYO, (/P) — Gen. Douglas
MacArthur Saturday night lifted
a ban which had forbidden Peter
Kalischer of the United Press and
Tom Lambert of the Associated
Press to return to the Korean
front. ^
General MacArthur had banned
the two correspondents from re
turning to the Korean front on
charges that their dispatches dis- *
closed information that would be
of value to the enemy.”