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 $16.00 A YEAR
W. A. and EMILY BOUCHER..Editors
Entered a$ second class matter October 14, 1943, at the postoffice at
Nome, Alaska, under the Act of March 3, 1879.
Friday, March 29, 1946
COMPETITION GOOD
With late filings Wednesday the Official Ballot for
the City Election to be held next Tuesday, April 2nd,
will have three names listed for Mayor, five for the
City Council and two for the School Board. Other of
fices are uncontested.
i
Also on the ballot, will be an Ordinance for Ratifica
tion; the ordinance being entitled—“An Ordinance va-j
eating that portion of Lane’s Way, south of Front Street,
as a street.’’ Two lines follow this ordinance; one, “Yes
(For Ratification)”, and two “No (Against Ratifica
tion)”.
As voters, and as citizens, the mere fact that there is |
competition for the various offices in the city govern
ment, means that this is a very healthy condition, and
gives us the incentive to get out and vote for the men
we wish in office. But, no matter how you vote, nor for:
whom you vote, it is your civic duty to vote.
Remember, or do you, that through becoming lax in
participating in government problems, many peoples
of the earth have lost the right to vote? Don’t let it
happen here. Make your vote count.
Ordinance No. 311, is to vacate the portion of Lane’s!
Way south of Front Street, in that it is claimed the'
said portion of Lane’s Way is not being used as a pub
lic street or alley. It is purported to make way- for
improvement by a proposed continuous bulkhead from
Stedman Avenue to the City Hall, if the street can be i
discontinued as such, and made available, as a lot to
the public.
It seems to us that the improvement is good either j
way. There is definite need for an opening on the south i
side of Front Street for the annual disposal of surplu^
snow from the main streets, and a right of way should j
be retained for that purpose and the city could par-;
ticipate in the bulkhead improvement of the property j
in question. However there may be the question of fin-1
ances. The city has little income other than from prop-!
erty taxes, and therefore may not have the necessary
funds to participate in the projected bulkhead.
On the other hand it might be a good idea to open the
property to the public as a lot, and get sufficient funds
to continue the bulkhead behind the present city build
ing.
As it stands, the property just east of the Alaska
Steamship office, lies in the hands of the voters.
If you wish the property created into a city lot, acces
sible to the public, vote YES, to the Referendum.
If you wish the property to remain as a street, Vote
NO, to the Referendum.
Vote as you will, BUT VOTE, April 2nd.
LET’S HAVE ACTION j
(Daily Alaska Empire)
With hardly more than a week left in the current ex-1
traordinary session of the Seventeenth Legislature, one;
of the most important pieces of legislation is tied up in
conference and may still be there when the session
ends. We refer to the bill for loans and bonuses for vet
erans of World War II.
When that bill left the Senate a great deal of work
had gone into it. We believe that most of the beneficiar
ies of the bill were satisfied with it as it passed the Sen
ate. Anchorage veterans favored it and favored the ex
cise tax it contained as a means of raising the money.
Ketchikan veterans’ organization took the same stand,
and in Juneau the American Legion favored the bill.
The only organized oposition to the tax came from vet
erans of Fairbanks, and we believe it is true that the
• u
majority of veterans favored the excise tax and the Sen
ate bill as it passed the Senate.
It seems strange to us that the editors of two news
papers, one in Anchorage and the other in Ketchikan,
both being published in communities where the veter
ans have been unanimous in their endorsement of the
Senate bill and the tax it contains, are the only two pub
lications opposing the Senate bill tax.
The Anchorage editor attacks the tax because he says
it is wanted by the canned salmon industry—a red herr
ing that should be worn out by now. And the Ketchikan
writer claims that if the tax is imposed the canned sal
mon industry will go to Canada and pack its fish be
cause that industry is against the tax. Both newspapers
would be better off to print what their veterans think
of the tax and ‘that is that they are for it.
When the bill passed the Senate it contained a tax
measure which is on excise tax, falsely labeled a “sales
tax.”
That tax was contained in the bill for several reasons.
First because it was apparent that was the only form of
tax that would bring in the money—and enough of it—
in time to do the veteran some good. The money is need
ed quickly, not next year. That was one of the reasons
a special session was called, instead of waiting another
eight or ten months.
Secondly, because any form of taxation is objection
able, the tax was contained in the bill providing for
loans and bonuses to veterans because it was believed
that by earmarking the funds, the people and industries
of Alaska would have less reason to complain, especial
ly since there was a further provision which automati
cally conceded the tax when the fund was built up to
$3,500,000, an amount decided upon as being large
enough to satisfy the veterans’ needs. It is not a perm
anent tax.
But now what is happeneing? The House majbrity is
using the veterans’ bill as an excuse to attempt to force
on the people of Alaska a separate income tax bill—a
form of taxation which has been turned down by three
successive sessions of the Territorial Legislature. The
veterans are being “used” in this attempt even though
the majority of them have spoken in favor of the excise
tax, and we believe this is deplorable. Why make the
veteran take the rap?
The excise tax contained in the Senate bill, now in
conference, isn’t going to hurt anybody. It is a small tax
which will be paid by a great many persons and busi
nesses, by the mail order houses and the tourists and
the non-resident workers. It will bring the money in
almost at once.
The issue seems clear to us, and we believe the vet
eran also knows the score. We want to see him get
something this session—not a year from now—and if
the present deadlock continues the veteran is going to
take the rap and the fault will be with the House of
Representatives.
Look at it this way. The majority of organized veter
ans in Alaska have endorsed their bill, including the
excise—“sales tax.” A minority doesn’t care for it. An
other minority doesn’t want to speak out for or against
any form of taxation, leaving this up to the Legislature.
No other adequate means of raising the money, that has
any chance of passing both Houses of the Legislature,
has been proposed. Little more than a week remains.
What else do the members of the House of Representa
tives need to know before they take some action?
i
f| j r ■ &T| f f i / j m M § M»
U. S. FINDS ITSELF A MEMBER
OF THE NEW WORLD COURT
WASHINGTON—In the hurly
burly of the UNO Assembly meet
ing in London, with Russia and
England potshotting each other,
little attention was given to the
fact that the UNO set up a new In
ternational Court of Justice.
In a few weeks now, a suave.
graying career diplomat will leave
with his family for The Hague as
one of the 15 judges of the new
court. He is Green H. Hackworth,
considered the State Department’s
foremost authority on internation
al law.
The new court will be almost a
duplicate of the World Court of
the League of Nations. Although
the United States was not a mem
ber of that court, Americans did
sit on the court, and Charles
Evans Hughes, when he was Sec
retary of State, appointed Hack
worth as one of the judges,
i In his career, Hackworth has
represented the United States in a‘
score of international conferences,
including the historic San Fran
cisco session where UNO was
born.
The new court, like the old one,
is a big favorite with the smaller
nations and one case already has
been filed before it, the century
old border dispute between Guat
emala and British Honduras.
The court will handle only cases
submitted to it voluntarily by two
disputing nations, the nations pre
i viously having agreed to abide by
the decision of the court.
The big nations rarely took ma-1
i jor disputes to the old court, but
the smaller ones found it much
cheaper than going to war. Many
treaties were signed with a clause
that any differences arising out of
them would be taken to the World
Court. The new court will now
get these.
Eventually all of the 15 judges
will sit for nine years. To get a
rotation started, five of the pres
ent ones are to serve for three
years, five for six and five for
nine. Judge Hackworth drew
straws for his length of term. He
drew the middle-length one—six
years.
* * *
Not since V-J Day has so much
midnight oil been burned at th^
White House as during those con
ferences which led to the new
wage-price policy. Some of the
sessions, with President Truman
leading the discussion, lasted un
til after 2 a.m.
Every time a vacancy occurs
here in a major appointive post,
the name of Supreme Court Jus
tice William O. Douglas is kicked
around by the forecasters.
The vacancy that occurred when
Harold L. Ickes stepped out of the
Department of Interior was no
exception. A number of political f
predictors had the Justice as good
as in. Some said flatly that he had
the backing of Democratic No
tional Committee Chairman Rob
ert Hannegan and other high party
leaders.
There’s a good reason. Top
party officials would be very hap
py to see Justice Douglas in a post
where he would have freedom to
air his political views. What they
are after is an opportunity to
groom some young blood (Douglas
is only 48) for future Presidential
races.
The party’s only two seriously .1
considered Presidential possibili
ties now are President Truman for
re-election and Secretary of Com
merce Henry A. Wallace. Where
will that leave the party in 1952?
POSTWAR MARINE
HAS BETTER FEET
OCEANSIDE, Calif. (JP) — The
Marine Corps’ postwar feet are
improving, says Lt. <jg) Turcheon,
chiropodist, who has seen many a
pair march to war and come limp- *
ing home.
The Camp Pendleton training
and replacement specialist cred
ited the improvement to a reduc
toin of combat training and the
replacement of battle veterans by
younger men.
This, he explained, was tending
to eliminate marching fracture—
the most common Leatherneck
foot ailment during the war.
Turcheon based his conclusion
on examination of 30,000 feet
which, with their 150,000 toes, he
estimates, would reach five miles
if placed end to end.