THE NOME NUGGET
Published Monday, Wednesday and Friday by The
NOME PUBLISHING CO.
Nome. Alaska
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W. A. and EMILY BOUCHER. Editors
Entered as second class matter October 14, 1943, at the postotfio*
at Nome, Alaska, under the Act of March 3, 1879.
Monday, February 24, 1947
66We Cannot Condone Such A Record*’
(The Denver Post)
OUR STATE DEPARTMENT has charged that the
Polish provisional government “employed widespread
measures of coercion and intimidation against demo
cratic elements which were loyal to Poland although
not partisans of the government bloc” in the recent elec
tions.
President Truman has told the new Polish ambassa
dor that the provisional government broke its pledge to
hold free and unfettered elections. Yet, in the face of
this, American recognition of this provisional govern
ment continues. That is a week-kneed policy.
“Isasmuch as our repeated warnings regarding the
Polish election were ignored in Warsaw and in Mos
cow,” chairman Vandenberg of the Senate foreign rela
tions committee told the Senate last w'eek, “are are
bound to take serious account of the consequences.” Af
ter pointing out that three warnings were sent to War
saw, he said:
“On Jan. 5, 1947, we urged Britain and Soviet Russia,
our cosignatories to the Yalta and Potsdam agreements,
to join us in these warnings. Britain did; Soviet Russia
declined. The situation and its implications, therefore,
are not difficult to comprehend.
“Our challenge is to the provisional Polish govern
ment and,its sponsors, and particularly to the govern
ment which will be the successor to the present provi
sional governmnt under color of a so-called election
which at is now formidably charged has been a vicious
travesty upon the promised freedom and democracy to
which we pledged our support, along with Britain and
Soviet Russia, and which we have jointly underwritten.
“Our challenge is to the violation of the solemn inter
national agreements signed at Yalta. If that were not
enough, our challenge is to the violation of these reiter
ated warrants respecting free Polish elections signed
subsequently at Potsdam.
“I do not presently undertake to say what steps are
appropriate in effective furtherance of our protest, ex
cept that frank and immediate consultations between
Britain, America and Soviet Russia, signatories to the
Polish guarantee, would appear to be summarily re
quired to find out eaxctly ‘who’s who’ and ‘what’s what.’
“There is no remote suggestions beyond pacific settle
ment in the words I am uttering today. But I do not see
how there can be any thought, either, of resting the case
upon the mere filing of an unpursued indictment, when
the indictment charges basis violation of the very fun
damentals of the Atlantic charter and the United Na
tions charter. We cannot condone or ignore such a rec
ord as we here confront without a conclusive searching!
of the facts and then of our consciences. We must prac
tice what we preach.”
It is not surprising that Senator Vandenberg has an
nounced he prefers, from now on, “to substitute ‘peace
living’ nations for the phrase ‘peace-loving’ nations”
which has been used heretofore. The deeds, not the
words, of a nation show whether it is “peace loving.”
Russia’s rulers have strange ways of demonstrating
their professed love of peace.
Career Men In U. N.
(New York Times)
THE AMERICAN Assistant Secretary General of the
United Nations, Mr. John B. Hutson, has resigned after
less than ten months’ service. Mr. Hutson will leave
with assurances from SecretaryGeneral Lie that he has
“performed a highly important service.” The reasons
for his resignation may lie in his relative lack of experi
ence in the kind of administrative and personnel work
required by the U. N. His career, in which he rose stead
ily from the ranks, has been an expert in the Federal
Department of Agriculture. Doubtless he will be able
successfully to resume it. But it is a pity that American
representation in United Nations agencies should be, in
this case as in others, so changeable.
If the U. N. is to succeed, men and women must gn
into it, as they go into the world’s best civil services, as
a lifetime career. Mr. Lie has set the example bv disso
ciating himself, in every material way, from the land of
his origin. For him the U. N. is obviously, as long as he
shall serve it, a first allegiance. This is the attitude one
would like to see in the eight Assistant Secretaries-Gen
eral and as far down the staff as possible. Obviously it is
not easy to pick for the top jobs men or women who
have the high qualifications needed and are at the same
time willing to give up other ambitions. But this will
have to be done. Everyone concerned, or likely to be
concerned, must come to understand that a responsible
post under the U. N. is as important as one under our
own Government—and demands as high a type of pa
triotism.
_
One Man's Opinion By Walter kiernan
Admiral King’s story that the Azores were going to;
take a dive for us in 1941 is interesting — It indicates!
that the..“fix” antedates the 1946 sports season. ... If
Alvin Paris’ counsel had known that he could have|
pleaded for his client “he learned his trade at the knee1
of government.” — The plan was for Portugal to throw,
the islands but moan low with the idea of fooling the
Nazis — Both the United States and Portugal were to
retain their professional status as neutrals. . . . We did
n’t get to take the Azores; instead we occupied Iceland
by dextrously moving it into our hemisphere. — A feat
which should command the awesome admiration of fu-i
ture geographers. . . . More and more it looks as though |
history some day will read “the United States officially:
entered the war when attacked by the Japanese but. . .”
No hurry — We can wait.
_PREPARED FOR CROSS WORDS
*
THAT’S THAT By bruce gustin
A-_
The federal government has a
bear by the tail, in this rent con
trol matter. It doesn’t know whe
ther to hang on or let go. If the de
cision is to continue controls, then
the question of how much of an
increase in rents, if any, should be
authorized must be dealt with. If
Congress decides to abandon rent
controls, then it must face the puz
zling problem of how to do this
without inflicting terrible hard
ships upon thousands of people.
President Truman who put his
foot down on a 10 per cent rent in
crease proposed by the OPA is re
ported willing to agree to this in
crease provided Congress extends
rent controls. Some Republican
leaders in Congress are advocating
a 15 per cent increase. Senator
Wherry of Nebraska and some of
his colleagues want to turn rent
control over to the states. It is eas
icr to propose that than to do it.
i’ew of the states are prepared to
take over the job. And it is not at
all certain that many of them want
to tackle it. The federal govern
ment got itself into this rent con
trol business. It is up to it to find
a way out.
Mrs. Eleanor * Roosevelt thinks
that when Soviet Russia agrees “to
give no help or comfort” to Amer
.can Communists, “we can work
with Russia as we have with the
socialistic government of Great
Britain.” There is nothing more
certain than that the goal of Rus
ian Comunism is world domina
tion. And Russian agreements are
binding upon the Russian govern
ment only as long as it wants to be
bound by them.
President Truman’s proposal for
amendment of the law of Presiden
tial succession is very much to his
credit. Under the present law, if
a vacancy occurs in the Presidency
when there is no vice president,
the secretary of state becomes
chief executive. The secretary of
state is appointed by the President.
Truman argues it is wrong to have
a system under which a President
can select his successor and sug
gests that the speaker of the House
hould be the No. 1 replacement for
the White House when there is no
vice president. The fact that the
President is a Democrat and the
present speaker is a Republican
shows there is no thought of par
tisan advantage in the Truman
recommendation.
Universal military training is
one of the most vital issues before
the American people today. Adop
tion of such a system would mean
a radical departure from policies
of the past. But if this country
learned anything from its experi
ence in two world wars, it must
realize that a policy of unprepar
edness is the most dangerous and
most costly that can be followed.
Twice, the United States has had
time to arm. When the next war
comes, either this nation will be
ready to defend itself or it will be
doomed. As General Kenney
warns, “We are number one prior
ity on the list of objectives which
the next Hitler will hmid to his
boss gunmen.”
“Universal military training”
says Secretary of War Patterson,
“is important to national defense
because it would <1> give the nat
tion a reservoir of trained men,
and (2) provide a way to recruit
men for the National Guard, upon
which we are going to have to rely
heavily.” The logic of that is ap
parent. So far as we can see now,
a policy of adequate preparedness
is the best and only insurance we
have against war.
Congressman Knutson of Minne
sota, chairman of the house ways
: and means committee, says feder
| al individual income taxes cannot
be cut unless portal pay suits are
outlawed. He estimates that if
these back pay claims stand up,
they may cost the government as
much as 4 billion dollars. And this
isn’t all. If workers in private in
dustry are entitled to portal-to
portal back pay, government em
ployee.', are, too. And think what a
staggering bill for overtime work
ers in the Pentagon building in
Washington, D. C., could present!
Former Vice President Wallace
is having another pipe dream. In
the New Republic which he now
edits, he says “The United States
must furnish its share of money
for setting the backward areas of
i the world on their way toward ex
panded agricultrual and industri
al production.” He wants TVA’s
for the Near East, China and parts
of Africa. “At least 10 billion dol
lars,” he says, “must be invested
annually in self-liquidating pro