THE NOME NUGGET
Published Monday. \Vedr.»sciav non Fv.day by The
NOME PUBLISHING CO.
Nrrne. Alaska
Telephone: Main 125 P. O. Hox Hlfl
•1.50 PER MONTH 516.00 A YEAR
W. A. and EMILY BOUCHER.Editors
Entered as second class matter Octooer 14, 1M43. at the postoffice at
Nome. Alaska, ugder the Act of March 3. IkTfl.
Wednesday, July 31, 1946
THE COST TO LABOR
THE FORD MOTOR COMPANY estimates that its
employees have lost more than 237 million dollars
in wages since last September 1 through enforced work
stoppages. And they are still losing, because all the
Ford plants are closed down and the company has no
idea when it will be able to resume operations. These
figures are particularly arresting, because Ford em
ployees have not been on strike at any -time during,
the period mentioned. Their idleness has been chief-1
ly caused by strikes in plants supplying Ford with!
parts, by the steel strike, by the coal strike, and the!
rail freight embargo resulting from the coal strike.
We have fallen into a loose habit of talking as
if the cost of strikes had to be borne by a vague
entity called “the public,” set apart in some unexplain
ed fashion from workers who belong to labor unions.
The plight of the Ford workers is a reminder that the^
millions of men and women who belong to labor!
unions constitute a sizeable fraction of the public'
and bear a disproportionately large share of the cost
of strikes, for enforced shutdowns of plants cause
widespread losses of employment to nonstrikers as
well as strikers.
Our industrial system closely resembles a machine
in which a breakdown of even a small part may bring
the whole mechanism to a standstill. Once that fact
is fully realized and its social and .economic implica
tions are understood, we believe that organized labor
will be less eager to employ the strike as a weapon
of coercion. (Washington Post)
HISTORY REVERSED
IT IS A GRIM COMMENTARY on the trend of civili
zation (though we suppose it is a sensible measure
of precaution) to see the Army and Navy surveying
the nation’s caves for possible use as havens for war
production if or when an atomic war comes.
Man spent more than the entire recorded span
of history working his way out of the caves. JAt first
he used caverns as a convenient abode. It is not
only ridiculous—it is more ahan a little tragic—that
in this modern age of scientific enlightenment we
would be looking to caves again as one of the few
safe havens if atomic warfare starts.
Yet, there it is. In the closing months of World
War II in Europe, when the Allies finally had achieved
almost unchallenged mastery of the skies, the Nazis
were making effective use of underground factories.
Given more time, they would have been achieving a
relatively small but vital part of their war production
underground, safe from the reach of any form of aerial
attack ( including atomic bombs as well as super block
busters.
A while back, the American Speleology Society—
a group of cave explorers—advanced the theory that
every cave in the nation should be plotted and dia
grammed, and that the movement of key plants and
offices underground should be started immediately.
This seemed rushing things a bit, but it was revealed
that the Army-Navy Munitions Board already has
directed military and civilian experts to survey the
country’s caves for possible military use. Among the
caverns to /be surveyed for available space, clear
ance, accessibility to air attack, ease of conversion into
industrial production plants and general suitability
lor such a purpose are Kentucky’s Mammoth Cave,
along with less well-known caverns in Western Ken
tucky, the West Virginia chain of caves, the Carlsbad
SUSY AB THfc BUS
••
Caverns in New Mexico, Wind Cave in South Dakota,
and so forth.
I
We almost refuse to believe that civilization on
this continent will be driven to such extremities. But1
this is an age when unwillingness to believe the worst
eventualities in warfare has had disastrous cpnse
quences to more than one nation.
jCincinnati Enquirer)
By Edythe Young Yarbrough v
Assistant Secretary to E. L. (Bob) Bartlett, Delegate
to Congress from Alaska
_ A_
Jackson Subcommittee
Hearings
It has become increas
! ingly apparent that the
fisheries hearings to be
held in Juneau early next
month by the Jackson sub
committee of the House
Merchant Marine and Fish
eries Committee will not
be a casual inquiry but will
go to the fundamentals of
the problem.
At a preliminary hear
ing this week of the Jack-,
son subcommittee attended!
by Chairman Henry M. j
Jackson, Rep., C. A. Herter
of Massachusetts and Del
egate Bartlett, te&timony
was given by Asst. Sec. of
the Interior Warner Gard
ner. Mr. Gardner outlined
the basic problems and told
of discussions he had had
in the last few months with
the industry. Until his
appointment as Assistant
Secretary Mr. Gardner was
Solicitor of the Depart
ment of the Interior and in
that capacity presided over
hearings held in Washing
ton in February regarding
the Department’s proposal
to limit the number of
traps that any one operator
might have. That hearing!
was continued until Oct
ober when it was to be re-;
sumed in Alaska. It has'
now been announced that |
the October hearings will I
not be held in view of con-;
gressional action and this
is regarded as an indica
tion of the Department’s
decision not to strive for
settlement by administra
tive action at this time.
“The hearings to be held
at Juneau and Seattle by
the Jackson subcommittee
will give adequate oppor
tunity to explore this pro
posed program and after
the hearings have been
ended the subcommittee
will be able to present a
report to the full committee
upon which congressional
action will be based,” said
Delegate Bartlett. “So far
as I am concerned person
ally I do not believe I can
ever be convinced that fur
ther federal control of the
Alaska fisheries is neces
sary or desirable. If Con
gress enacts a law based
substantially upon the ab
ove proposals it simply
means that instead of giv
ing Alaska more power of
self-government with res
pect to our most important
economic unit we shall
have lost virtually all pow
er. Federal legislation on
this subject is, indeed, de
sirable but in my judge
ment it should be confined
to turning over adminis
tration of the fishery to Al
askans as practically all Al
askans desire and as the
legislature has time and
time requested. I have a
bill pending in this Con
gress to achieve that and I
hope when hearings have
been concluded and a re
port is made the next Con
gress will agree that is the
proper course to take.. It
is cheering to note Coif
gressman Jackson in issu
ing the call for the hearing
has very definitely stated
that his group will give
consideration tQ the pro
posal that the fishery re
sources be given to the Ter
ritory to administer.” 9
me revised itinerary ot
said subcommittee calls
for departure from Wash
ington the night of July 31
with arrival at Ketchikan
Aug 2, by air. The party
will then proceed to Juneau
by water and the hearings
at Juneau will start Mon
day, August 5. The Sett
tie hearings will take place
at the conclusion of those
to be held at Juneau.
In addition to the com
mittee it is expected that
Col. M. G. White, new Sol
icitor for the Interior Deg^
artment, and Marvin Coles,
general counsel for the
Merchant Marine and Fish
eries Committee, will make
the trip. There is also a
possibility that Chairman
S. O. Bland, of the Mer
chant Marine and Fisheries
Committee will go too.
Judge Bland was last in
Alaska in 1939 when hear
ings relating to the fish
ing industry were alsto
held.
CORRECTION
RIGHT MAN -WRONG NAME
Thomas Tunguenuk and Aln£
Oxereok, both of Wales, were mar
ried Sunday by Percy Ipalook,
Presbyterian missionary from
Wales.
Thomas is the son of Louis
Tunguenuk, storekeeper of Wales,
and only recently returned from
the service.*
Following the ceremony, the
group, which consisted of many
friends of the couple, enjoyed the
singing of several beautiful old*
hymns during a reception given
in the home of Mr. and Mrs. Eari*
Towner.
The couple plans to live in
Nome.