THE NOME NUGGET
Published Monday, Wednesday and Friday bv 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
Emily Boucher .Local Editor
Jim Frye . Editor
-—-•
Entered as second class matter October 14, 1943, at he postoflice
at Nome, Alaska, under the Act nf Marr*h 3. 1979
Nome, Alaska, Monday, November 22, 1948
A PROBLEM FACES NOME ...
NOME FACES THE PROBLEM —
Recently Colonel Burkhalter of the Marks Air Force
Base appealed to the N.W.A. Chamber of Commerce and
Nome City Officials for cooperation in effecting control
of venereal disease and the demoralizing and illegal
sale or use of alcoholic beverages.
Evidently many Nomeites did not know, or perchance
did not care to know, about the flouting of the liquor
laws and the many disgraceful happenings along the
streets and in the houses of our once nice city.
There is no gainsaying the fact that over-consumption
of alcoholic beverages tends to lessen a person’s value of
moral right, and it also tends to inflame the licentious
side of the imbiber’s nature. If one practices overindul
gense he is liable to commit acts that he, in a normal
state of mind and body, would consider himself above
committing.
The Territorial law states that the sale of liquor to
minors (persons not 21 years of age) is prohibited. It
says nothing about whether the minors be civilian or
military. It simply states “minors.”
At some time in the past a militray officer from the
Base attended a meeting of the Nome City Council and
stated in part, that he didn’t like the idea of the bars
discriminating against the soldier because he was not
21 years of age; that if the man was old enough to b?,
in the Army he was old enough to drink if he so desired, i
All well and good. BUT THE TERRITORIAL LAW
STILL PROHIBITS SALE OF LIQUOR TO MINORS.
The Federal Government in 1944 decided that if a
man was old enough to be in the military forces and bear
arms, he was old enough to vote, even though he was a
minor in years.
We honor these young men—tor the wonderful work
they did in fighting World War II, and the prospect
they face of again having to fight to ‘save democ
racy” in yet another global war. But, at the same time
they must realize that, despite their years, if they can
become men under the law in the matter of drinking
and voting, they must also assume the maturer respon
sibilities of men and not act like children on a picnic
and drink too deeply of their newly-acquired liberties,
but that they must act like the men they are credited
with being.
In view of Colonel Burkhalter’s plea to the Citv o'
Nome to cooperate with the Army in the illegal sale of
liquor, it would seem that the foregoing statement of
the Provost Marshal is not the present official attitude
at Marks Base.
At the recent public meeting of the N.W.A. Chamber
of Commerce, called for the purpose of discussion on
ways and means of combatting the spread of V.D., many
suggestions were made—some were discarded as un
workable; some as impractical; and some wjere retained
and became the foundation of a resolution to the law
enforcing bodies of the City, which was drawn up and
unanimously passed at a subsequent meeting of the
Chamber.
One fact was brought out that Nome had an inade
quate police force to cope with the situation. The pres
ent size of the police force was adequate for police pro
tection in Nome before the days of the war, and the civil
ian population has not changed appreciably since that
time; therefore it would appear that the present prob
lem facing Nome is a product of the war.
It would seem in consequence that it is the duty of
the Army to help police the saloons and streets to see
that the soldiers who are under age are not permitted
to buy liquor and to immediately report each and every
I WEIGHT LIFTER
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transgression of the liquor laws to the Citv authorities
to deal with. And the City authorities should investigate
end prosecute every such transgression. All of the law
enforcing bodies in Nome and its environs mu-t work
together. For each force to ierk at the other or. trv to
oud just a certain part of the load will get us nowhere.
Teamwork will easilv move the load and the prob^m
will be solved.
It is possible under Territorial law to revoke th° li
cense of anv dealer in alcoholic beverage; to fine and/or
imprison ANY person (dealer or private citizen) for
selling liquor to a minor: and various other Vauor laws
which, if rigidly enforced, will make the transgression
of the liquor laws highly undesirable and unnrofitable.
Authorities at the Marks Base assure us that anv sol
dier who contracts VD is treated and confined to the
Base until he is pronounced cured. And th° Chamber
Resolution suggests that those civilians who now have,
or contract VD m Nome, be ouarantined. Tf this o^me^
pass and the-various law enforcin'* bod'es see thpf the
various liquor laws are rigidlv enforced, and ah forces
—civilian, federal, local and milit.arv—pull toother,
we can again make Nome what she used to be—^ fine
place to live.
A REAL PREDICAMENT
(The Denver Post)
The Commumsts mav have to find a new answer for
the old quest: on of “Are vo,u now or have you ever been?”
Their stock line of refusing to answer on grounds of
“self-incrimination” received a major setback when J.
Foster Svmp-, U. S. district judge in Denver, sentenced
three grand jury witnesses to jail for terms for con
temnt.
Judge Symes* decree has now withstood two tests in
the tenth circuit court of appeals, and it may well be
imagined that the Communists are mobilizing their best
legal shock troops for a new effort to stand off this
threat to their “criminal” rights.
The Communists, however, will find it difficult to
mass legal logic behind their position. For they have
been confronted with an embarrassment which must
confound their own slippery dialetics.
The Communists have always maintained they are a
legally constituted political party. But at the same time
they have sought to hide their operations behind the
“self-incrimination” ruse. The courts, however, in this
series of findings, have agreed with them on the first
proposition, which excludes the second. They can’t be
“non-criminal” and still enjoy the legal refuges of
“criminals.”
HE’LL NEED EAR MUFFS
Gen. Jacob L. Devers, chief of the Army Field Forces,
says no one will use profanity in the new peacetime
j army. That’s a most commendable target. But we won
, der what’ll happen when some of the boys get tangled
I up in the barbed wire on the infiltration course and for
get that Jake’s around.
LOOKING
\ AKKAD
m GEORGES. BENSON
k Pretldeat—Molding College
A Seareg. Arkar. s
How Much Government?
It’s 2,272 miles from New York
to Salt Lake City, Utah. Yet, if all
the civilian employees in the ex
ecutive branch of our federal gov
ernment were six feet tall (they’re
not), and you placed them head to
toe on U. S. Highway 30, they’d
reach the distance easily with 1.4
miles to spare. This comparison is
conservative. It was based on an
estimate of 2 million government
workers in the executive branch
alone.
Perhaps nobody can ever know
just how many there are. During
the first four months of this year,
they increased at a rate of more ’
than 450 a day. Use another com
parison. There is one executive
worker in the federal government
for every 21 income taxpayers. In
o.her words, these 21 taxpayers
are paying the salary of the 22nd
man. And that’s just in the execu
tive arm of the federal govern
ment.
Paying The Piper
Each and every American citi
zen must not fail to be interested
in this problem of mushrooming
government. As long as we fool ^
ourselves into the habit of asking
for more government, we’ll see
more and more added to the pay
rolls and we’ll pay higher and
higher taxes. We need to decide
how much government we want.
Certainly the more of it we set up
the more we have to pay for. At the
rate we have been going in the last
decade, most of us will be work
ing for the government in a few
years.
That would be one of the sim
plest ways to take the country into
socialism. Let most of us be draw
ing paychecks from the govern
ment, in salaries and various bene
fits. and we would have socialism 1
right here without voting for it.
Wha‘ we need constantly to re
member is that the government
has not a cent to spend except
what it collects from you and me
and frogfj"our neighbors. We must
call a halt! ,
It's Up To Congress
Our next Congress will have a
Veal test, and a real opportuni'y. #
Last year, the 80th Congress pro
v:ded this historic opportunity by
establishing a commission to study
the reorganization of the executive
side of-our government. If the
coming Congress meets the task of
reorganizing just as soon as pos
sible. Membership of the Commis
sion includes some of our most
public spirited citizens. ^
The Commission has been care
ful to stay out of politics. It has re
cruited twenty-two separate
groups of experts from all parts of
the country to help in the job of
studying government agencies.
These experts are giving the struc
ture and functions of many a gov
ernment agency a thorough going*
over. They are also studying ex
penditures, with the idea of pro
posing changes that will bring
both economy and efficiency.
Mutl Says "No"
The 81st Congress will have the
job of acting upon whatever re
commendations the Commission
may present next January. It is
not an easy task. Any executive
finds it hard to lop off an office
here, and an office there. When
the government starts a service, it
is hard to find a stopping place.**
Moreover, each and every depart
ment will fi'dit to the finish for