THE NOME NUGGET
Published Monday, Wednesday and Friday by The
NOME PUBLISHING CO.
Nome, Alaska
Telephone: Main 125 . P. O. Box 61 x
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W. A. and EMILY BOUCHER.Editors
Entered as second class matter October 14, 1943, at the postoffmp
at Nome, Alaska, under the Act of March 3, 1879.
Monday, May 12, 1947
Loyalty Probe
(Washington Post)
HOW MANY of the men and women who work in
our Federal civil service are agents of the Comintern?
How many are guilty of treason or have advocated vio
lent revolution? How many, to apply the lowest possi
ble common denominator of disloyalty designated by
the President, are even affiliated with any of the organ
izations which the Attorney General in his infinite wis
dom may consider subversive?
We do not know. And nobody else knows, either.
That is why the President has ordered a general in
vestigation. Public officials who go around asserting
that no more than 5 per cent, or 15 per cent, or'any other
per cent of Government personnel are due to get the
axe are talking through their hats—and very danger
ously indeed. The estimates are preposterous on their
face, of course. To speak of purging 5 per cent of the
Federal workers is to speak of finding about 100,000
persons disloyal to their country. We do not believe that
5 per cent of 5 per cent of this number can fairly be so
catalogued.
/
It all depends, to be sure on how the Attorney Gen
eral selects his list of subversive groups. The epithet
“Communism-front” has been applied by members of
Congress to the Progressive Citizens Association, the
American Civil Liberties Union, and even the whole of
the CIO. If the Attorney General should choose to adopt
such standards, it is possible, of course, that he would
find everyone in the country out of step but Mr. Ran
kin. We have no reason to suppose that he would incline
to such absurdity. Nevertheless it seems to us a matter
of elementary justice that his index expurgatorius be
made public so that the country as a whole may scrut
inize it and judge its validity.
Organizations change in character. The Communists
make much noise in some and now and then gain posi
tions of control. But this is not an immutable condition.
Useful organizations can be reclaimed from Commun
ist control by united action on the part of their patriotic
members; and it scarcely makes sense to designate as
disloyal those who remain within a group for the ex
press purpose of driving the Commies out of it. The
boards of review provided for in the President’s order
ought to be scrupulous in weighing affiliation with
• “subversive organizations” as evidence of disloyalty.
The concept of guilty by association is still, happily, an
odious one to the American public.
Rescuing Finland
(Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
ONE OF THE MOST HAPLESS victims of totalitar
ian aggression in the Second World War was the en
lightened Republic of Finland.
For Finland, striving to remain neutral in the con
flict between Nazism and Bolshevism, suffered the
misfortune of having both contestants as its invaders.
First Russia assailed its territory and bombed its cit
ies, seizing the province of Karelia.
When Hitler attacked Russia, the Finns recovered the
province, but German troops then overran the country.
Under a forced peace with Russia, as’the Nazis were
ploughed back from the Baltic states, Finland was re
quirrd to cede not only Karelia but also the districts of
Porkkala and Petsamo, to clear the Germans out and to
pay a heavy indemnity over a term of years.
Getting rid of the Germans proved to be a costly task.
Hitler had substituted storm troopers—a trained
force of destruction—for his previous divisions; and
these Brown Shirts, being driven north through Lap
land by the Finns, applied the “scorched earth” policy
to the whole region.
At the end of the war, Finland emerged with dimin
ished territory, including the loss of vital resources,
wi.h heavy losses in manpower and with an ncrea.r?c.
population largely reduced to extreme penury, in its
remaining land.
Mere than 450.000 Karelians and former rcs^i nt* M
Porkkala and Petsamo, who would not submit C m
rnuaism, becaume “evacuees” from their o r! home.'
in1o the rest of Finland, arriving without nos e— one.
Hence, with much of the country in ruins, w *b n^r'
'Mture depleted and many of its industries des^-^e'1
Finland had to support 650,000 perosns—one inhabitant
:n every six—on relief.
This could not have been done without heln r'0"i
abroad; and such help prevented mass famine and pes
tilence.
A major part of the relief came from America; and
the most important part was provided through the
American Friends Service Committee, the Quakers.
The story has been movingly told by Mr. David Hin
shaw, who visited Finland for the Quakers, in a little
book called “An Experiment in Friendship,” the entire
proceeds of which—author’s as well as publisher’s—
w 11 go to Finnish aid.
The book itself serves as the prelude to the * nex‘
plr se of Quaker relief of Finland.
rP|-»iQ Mfj 11 V\ n f-A npipKIipU a** v»n_nploUl wU 1 %-»J m ^
1 A IaJ * * XaI W % w , • V
tries, based upon Finnish resources of its forests and
fieMs, which will provide permanent employment for
thousands of Finns and help the maltreated nation to
become self-sustaining again.
. Dr. Arthur E. Morgan, former president of Antioch
College and the first chairman of the Tennessee Valley
Authority has gone to Finland to promote the enter
prise; and the American Friends Service Committee is
seeking the funds to support the effort.
There are only 118,000 Quakers in America, out of
140,000 in the whole world.
Active in 12 distressed countries, they cannot bear
th? burden alone.
Eighty-five per cent of the money dispensed bv the
Quakers comes'to them from non-Quakers: and at least
the same proportion must apply for the new work in
Finland.
The great friendship that exists in America toward
the heroic people of Finland should assure its su^c^ss
NOW JUST HOW TO TACKLE IT—
, — j ) ; — — ' ■ " 1
’t LOOKING
\ AHEAD
S» GEORGE S, BENSON
^ Prttident—Htrdlaf Mkft'
■ Setref. Jriggtm
FREE ELECTIONS
Ever pay any attention to your
newspaper reports of trouble en
countered in the smaller European
■T* V -
•
nations concerning free elections?
The former satellites of Nazi Ger
many, and the present satellites oi
Soviet Rus.->ia, are finding the
• dea' oi elections incompatible
with those political doctrines tha1
have been foisted upon ^hem
Such insane foolishness as having
the masses go to the polls for hon
est and secret voting, they say, is
reserved for the decadent democ
racies.
mm
These classless and enlightened
denizens under benevolent social -
lit governments (that’s the picture
d uwn up for consumption of peo
)lcs still ruled by despotic capital- *
s si do not of course value the
lower of the vote. They do not
now what a workable factor of
emocracy the vote is. Not having
emitted the will of the people
j develop through free speech, a
t oe press, and free elections, the
tters of ruling classes are likely
to remain.
Example, Britain
No nation can have free elec
>: s. while at the same time it
ries to artificially discipline its »
labor force and foster government
magement of industry. Recent
events in Britain give point to
this statement. It was evident to
me while in England last August
that the nation was in for trouble.
osenteeism of workers in coal
mines had risen to about 25 per
cent, and this was reduced to 18
ner cent only in January, when
ho coal famine was already a
••'•■lity. Productivity remained in
cxplainably low.
because there was a lack of na
tional discipline, that is, the nor
mal self-discipline common in
America’s industrial workers, coal
was not coming from the mines.
. ...narnent was afraid to disci
pline the miners to get coal. Par
liament feared results at the next
t
election. This explains why the la
bor government calmly watched
the coal crisis develop, step by
rtep, fully aware that it was com
mg.
No Ruling Classes
No country can promote gov
ernment management of industry,
a* England is trying to do, and
maintain discipline of labor along
with free elections. Stalin has the
first two, in good measure, but he
is not troubled with elections.
Free elections under present con
ditions in Russia would have little
meaning. They are a risk that the
Soviet ruling class could never
assume.
We in America have found that
the best type of discipline comes
from incentives found in the am
bir'on ttf get ahead. When a man
knows he can better his lot and is
not afraid to try, the best kind of
self-discipline is the result. The
lowliest immigrant can become a
great inventor. An assembly line
worker can plan to own the fac
jry, and can do it honestly.
Things like these have happened
too often to go unnoticed.
Keep On Electing
We must have discipline in our
economic life, but when a govern
ment finds it necessary to disci
pline its labor force, just then it
begins to curtail its chances of
free elections. Likewise, govern
ment management of industry
hinders adequate and natural dis
cipline of labor in the same way it
prevents free elections. Nor is it
possible for labor groups or indus
try to be favored excessively by
government, if free elections are
to be held.
If we want to keep high effi
ciency, with the highest possible
wages and an increasing standard
of living, we must keep private
ownership and private, manage
ment of the tools of production.
Holding to these things in a free
market and cherishing the free
doms of speech, assembly, and
press, we shall have little fear of
dictatorship. Free elections wruM
not permit it.
The official flower of the Ha
waiian islands is the hibiscus
plant. Other commonly grown
flowers of the islands are olean
ders, poin.settias, bougainvilleas,
• and night blooming cereus. __