THE NOME NUGGET
Published Monday, Wednesday and Friday bv the
NOME PUBLISHING CO.
NOME. ALASKA
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W. A. Boucher Owner-Publisher
Emily Boucher . Local Editor
Entered ns second clrs< matter Oc ober 14. 1043, at ho po-dofp.ce
at Nome, Alaska, under the Act of March 3. 1370.
Nome, Alaska, Wednesday, January 19, 1949
WHY THE NATIONAL FOUNDATION FOR
INFANTILE PARALYSIS?
(By Paul de Kruif)
1. Of the ills of mankind infantile paralysis is admit
tedly a long way from the most deadly. In any one year,
or in any given epidemic it does not leave its crippling
mark upon a large proportion of the children of any
community. These truths are sometimes cited in depre
ciation of our constantly increasing intensive and ex
tensive effort against this crippling malady. These are
also the facts used by public health authority to soothe
citizens at those times when the increase of cases of in
fantile paralyysis begins to make frontpage headlines.
Yet the National Foundation for Infantile Paralvsis
is essentially the American people’s foundation and as
such it is responsible to them. The most skilful propa
ganda has failed to remove infantile paralysis from its
top rank as terrifier of the people. The human insight of
fathers and mothers looks through the reassuringly low
sickness and death rates displayed to them by our oub
lic healthmen. The fact that relatively so few children
are killed or lamed by the paralytic terror—that truth
is no comfort to parents if their own baby is wrecked
for life at life’s beginning.
Even though the incidence of infantile paralvs;s is low
compared to certain other and major ills, yet it cannot!
be dismissed as no serious menace to societv. This is
what is socially most disturbing about the paralytic
plague: crippling relatively few children and young
people in any given year, each epidemic adds to an ever
mounting accumulation of living human wreckage.
From pneumonia after a ^ew days’ ordeal you die or get
better. From our almost yearly epidemics of infantile
paralysis—each one no acount statistically—there is a
growing totality of tragedy often worse than death. The
number of infantile paralysis cripples alive in our land
today is not exactly known, but it runs into hundreds of
thousands.
2. There is no greater challenge than that of infant'ip
paralv=i^ to medical science, again in spite of the rela
tively few that this disease maims and kills. Mavbe if
public health authorities and men of medical science
could offer some hope of prevention or cure, then there
would be an end of public panic notable in epidemic sea
sons. But this is the fact about infantile paralvsis. ad
mitted by the medical and public health experts of the
committee on virus research and the committee on epi
demics of the National Foundation for Infantile Paral
ysis. at their first meeting, in July, 1938—
After thirty years of research, in the laboratory and
in the field, knowledge leading to the prevention, cure,
or control is not yet available.
Orthopedic surgeons can somewhat mitigate the de
forming and crippling effects of the disease. Thev can
soften the cruelty of the after effects of it upon individ
ual children.
But public healthmen have no science to guard chil
dren against epidemic infantile paralysis. No individual
child can be so guarded with absolute certainty, though,
if its parents are well-to-do and sufficeintly frightened,
that child can be protected by removing it far from the
zone of epidemic influence. Provided the child is not al
readv harboring the virus when it is so sequestered from
th° plague’s marauding.
Furthermore, in spite of claims persisting among cer
tain men of medicine, physicians have no serum or med
icine to check or cure the malady in its acute, early states
—with proven power to prevent subsequent maiming of
fatal outcome.
This then is the challenge faced by the scientific and
THE RECONVERTED TANK
*
rtESTten
public health experts of the National Foundation for In
fantile Paralysis at the beginning of their activities a
vear and a half ago. They are faced with the responsibil
ity of disbursing the money of American fathers and
mothers i nsuch a way as to meet that chellenge as rap
idly as possible. The experts must be haunted by the
worry of parents when ominous figures—sometimes ac
ompanied by public health authority’s assurance that
“the situation is under control”—appear on newsoaper
front pages. This riddle must give the Foundation’s ex
perts sleepless nights because they realize that more
and more parents—to ’whom they are responsible!—
know that the infantile paralysis situation remains un
der control of God, not man.
So the expansion of the fight against infantile paral
vsis is without question justified.
t
i
REMAKING JHE WORLD
(New World News Service)
Many books mirror the life of their age. A few books
make history. Marx’s “Das Kapital” sowed the seeds of
revolution by exploiting the bitterness of millions. It is
, a handbook of class war.
Hitler’s “Mein Kampf” was ignored bv rmnv n> the
wishful thinking of an Austrian house painte". Ynt ;t
took a nation by storm and brought down a world about
our ears. It is a handbook of race war.
Where is democray’s handbook?
Dr. Frank N. D. Buchman’s “Remaking the World” i
! outdates either “Das Kapital” or “Mein Kempf” because!
j it is the handbook for constructive revolution. Appear
ing January 20, in its now clothbound American edi
tion, “Ramaking the World” by Dr. Buchman, founder
of the Oxford Group and its program of Moral Re-Arm
j ament, tells the remarkable story of this world force, i
j The book, published by Robert McBride, will appear at!
all bookstores. Its pages are filled with the truths that
jdemocray will live by—or die without—in the com'ng
months and years.
A. R. K. Mackenzie, Member of the British Delegation
to the United Nations, who wrote the introductory ar
ticle to the book, has this to say about the author, “There
is no denying the achievements of Frank Buchman.
Starting from nothing he has built a world force of peo
ple equipped with an impelling moral ideology, trained
and ready for action in any sphere of activity. I venture
to predict that our passing tributes are nothing com
pared to the verdict which history will place on Frank
Buchman. on his speeches, and on the world spanning,
life-giving organism which, under God’s direction, he
has been the means of creating.”
Pacts of friendship will not last without acts of friend
ship. . . . We either back up those who are fighting for
; the right or we just back up. ... If more of us took re
i sponsibility, fewer would have to take sides.
Income Tax Bill
Readies Senate;
Chances Slim
(Con inued from Page One*
the income tax as the secretary
proceeded with a slow reading of
me 16-page bill.
Sen. Anita Garnich, however,
tried unsuccessfully to reinsert a
proviso lor year-round Alaska
res 1 den s to get a $45 exemption.
The motion failed to get a second.
The proposed tax would be 10
per cent of a person’s or turn’s
federal income tax.
The governor’s office announced
the signing of the first two o:'.ls
passed by both Houses. One tor
rnallv creates a new Alaska code
as the Territory’s legal Bible and
the other provides for the pur
chase of five typewriters for the
legislature on a $750 appropria
tion. The House approved a reso
lution to appropriate $56,829 for
.he special session.
Taylor predicted the ways and
means committee may have the
property tax bill whipped into
shape for the House to consider to
day although there appeared to be
no chance of it passing the Legis
late at the special session.
He proposes to maintain the
present two-mill maximum in cit
ies.
Taylor’s amendment proposal
also involves a $5,000 personal
property exemption instead of
$100 in the bill as introduced.
It was explained that ts
would give a sizeable exemption
to equipment of fishermen, farm
ers, truckers, etc.
MoCutcheon predicted the bill
could not pass in its present form
because it would arouse too much
public opposition. Levies would be
on true value.
Several members of the commit
tee suggested a lower starting tax
until “bugs” are discovered and
ironed out. McCutcheon estimated
$80,000,000 worth of cannery pro
per. ies alone would be a rich rev
enue source. Even at one per cent.
Taylor said the committee
would revise valuations of unim
proved mining claims before re- I
porting the bill out. He said it
wou.d st*" he value of such claims
at $1U0 instead of $300.
Rep. Len Franklin, Fairbanks
Democrat, urged caution with the ,
property tax because “it could be
turned into a bludgeon” by later
legislatures. He expressed favor
for income and business licenses
taxes.
Rep. Clarence Keating, Anchor
age Democrat, declared people are
moving to tax free zones outside
cities bringing a “dangerous situa
tion” in school and other revenues
and he added the property tax is
the only equitable way to catch
them.
Both Houses received a wire
from the Wrangell chamber of
commerce today protesting against
and Territorial property tax levy
outside cities, which already count
it their main revenue source.
The Senate also had a brief
flurry over Sen. E. B. Collins’ re
port that his judiciary comftii'.tee
is keeping some bills until he
Governor signs the bill adopting
a new legal code on wh'ch all bills
are based. Sen. Victor Rivers,
"Jemocrat, charged “more stalling.”
Collins replied that the legislators
might as well use department
store catalogs for citations until
the code is established.
Rep. Andrew Hope, Sitka Dem
ocrat, chairman of the House fish
eries committee, predicted yester
day halibut will probably contin
ue tax-exempt when the raw fish