THE NOME NUGGET *
Published Monday. Wednesday and Friday by The
NOME PUBLISHING CO.
Nome. Alaska
Telephone: Main 125 P. O. Box 6ix
$1.50 PER MONTH 515.00 A1 YEAR
W. A. and EMILY BOUCHER. .Editors
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Entered as second class matter October 14, 1943, at the postoffw**
at Nome. Alaska, under the Act of March 3, 1879.
Wednesday, June 11, 1947
Give Them The Truth
(By Barnet Nover)
IN THE COURSE of a week, recently, a not untypical
week, the people of Eurooe and Asia were fed the fol
lowing “facts” about the United States:
That the aim of the United States is to “capture key
political and strategic positions in Europe.”
That the United States is launching a race in arma
ments.
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That the Turkish army is secretly being run by Amer
ican and British agents.
That General Marshall, in his recent radio address,
did not tell the truth about the Moscow conference.
That the United States is making a colony out of the
Philippines.
That the income of American workers has declined by
50 per cent and that thousands of American families are i
“dwelling in old wagons and deserted military billets.”
That “American policy in the Far East is one of world
conquest.”
That the United States is heading directly into a se
vere depression.
That the presence of American warships in the Med
iterranean means that “the United States has decided!
to resort to threats of violence.”
That the great majority of Americans are strongly op-1
posed to the Truman policy with respect to Greece and
Turkey.
That American policy in Germany aims to bring
about “an imperialist peace based on the enslavement
of nations.” ,
That is the picture of America which the people of
Europe and Asia got if they listened to radio broadcasts
from Russia and Russian-dominated areas in eastern
Europe in the course of one week.
It is the picture which they have been getting of
America over a period of many months. The purpose,
obviously, is to denigrate the United States, arouse sus
picions as to this country’s motives, create fears as to
its aims.
Can we afford to be complacent about this anti-Amer
ican propagandist campaign, sit back and assume that
the untruths, half-truths and exaggerations will do no
harm since WE know they are so wide of the mark*
That seems to be the attitude of a large number of the
House of Representatives, judging by the action that
has been taken in wiping out the appropriation needed
to continue the state department’s overseas information
program.
We have spent billions in relief for foreign countries.
The House itself has just approved, as the Senate did
earlier, an appropriation of 400 million dollars to aid
Greece and Turkey.
It is in defiance of all logic and common sense to ap
propriate that money and at the same time cut out the
small appropriation needed to ^present to the world a
true picture of America.
Such an information program is needed not merely
to combat the vicious anti-American propaganda with
which so many ears are being assailed in so many coun
tries of the world. It is even more needed to hold up to
the world an undistorted mirror of American events,
American thought, American policies.
To some slight extent this essential task is being done
' by private agencies and individuals. But there is a vast
area which private enterprise cannot and does hot reach
in this battle for men’s minds.
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Unfair Taxation
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(The Denver Post) -
REVISION OF THE nation’s tax structure, whichj
the house ways and means committee is undertaking, is
a job that has needed attention for a long time. It is ad
mitted that the federal income tax system is unfair in
some respects. But up to now nothing has been done to
remedy these injustices because in many of the cases
the remedy would cost the treasury money.
Double taxation of corporation dividends is a practice |
which has been under fire for years. A corporation pays
an income tax on its profits. Then, when these profits
are distributed in the form of dividends, the stockholder
is stuck for another tax on them.
There’s agitation for credits for earned income. The
theory of this is that income which is earned should be
taxed at a lower rate than income which is received
from investments. From 1924 to 1942, a credit was al
lowed for earned income, but this principle was virtu
ally nullified by an arbitrary classification of all income
under a certain amount as earned and all over a certain
amount as unearned.
Probably the most glaring injustice is in federal tax
ation of the income of married couples. In nine com
munity property states, a married couple can reduce its1
tax by crediting one-half of the income to each spouse.
But in the other thirty-nine states couples cannot split
their tax total income into two halves for income tax
purposes. The result is that married couples are taxed
! more heavily in the noncommunity property states.
The system of taxing capital gains and losses also has
been under fire. While net gains are taxable as income,
net losses can be deducted from other income only to
the extent of $1,000, although they also may be carried
forward against net gains of following years. As long as
capital gains are taxed, it seems reasonable that capital
lo6ses should be deductible up to the amount of other
income.
Congress is in process of making tax cuts now. If re
visions necessary in the tax system to remove inequali
ties and injustices reduce revenues, those can be justi
fied as additional tax relief. If the tax system isn’t
straightened out now, when collections are so high, then
perhaps it never will be done. •
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By GEORGE 3 BENSON
Ptosidant of Hatdtng Coll* go
Soaicy. Arkansas
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THE EXPLOITERS
There is a widely accepted be
lief lliat American workers have
been exploited*by employers. This
popuUr conception holds that the
increases in labor’s wages and
welfare are only the direct result!
of exerting pressure on these em-1
ployers. Meaning, pressure in the
form of banding together into
unions and armed with strikes and
walkouts. To a degree, these
means have bettered the lot of
American workers. Circumstances
have forced paths of action.
In some cases, inconsiderate
employers have worked hardships
upon employees. In all fields of
endeavor there are persons and
groups oblivious of anything save
their own inteersts. Often these
few must be budged from their
positions. It would be folly to say
that workers’ rights never need
protection. But likewise foolish to
draw a hard and fast dividing
line representing 'employers as ex
ploiters and unions as benefactors.
Wag* Paradox
One fact which forms the Key
stone of the “exploitation” thought
trend is the huge increases in
wages of labor during the past 25
years. Union groups point to this
as the hard-won booty of a con
tinuous war with a greedy em
ployer army. True, wages during
this period have skyrocketed to
levels unthought of in 1919. But,
surprisingly enough, there has
been no incerase in labor’s share
from the income of industry dur
ing this period.
Actually, the share of labor out
of the income of industry has not
risen or fallen measurably during
that time. It has been steady re
gardless of the ups and downs of
unions. In 1909 among manufac
turing industries 9 per cent of em
ployees were unionized. In 1945
the total was 45 per cent. How
ever, during this period the wage
earners’ portion of the gross value
of manufactured products remain
ed almost stationary — about 16
per cent.
Production Rogulaies Wages
Production makes the differ
ence. Workers were wretchedly
paid a. century ago. They were
paid, however, in the same pro
portion to what they produced as
our workers today. Wage earners
can get only a definite share of
what industry produces. When a
man’s productivity is low, his pay
must inevitably be low. When his
output is increased, he benefits by
higher pay. A larger Income to in
dustry means the workers’ share
is larger.
Production per man hour in
creased greatly in the last cen
tury. The workman’s pay jumped.
This increase came about through
investment by American people in
those factors which would raise
production. Superior plants and
better tools were setup for a larg
er production and higher income.
Some of the most important fac
tors that bettered labor’s position
were contributed by the employ
ers and investors—the so-called
“exploiters.”
Tools Male* Raisos
Tools decide between high and
low production. Production makes
the difference between high and
low wages. In a free competitive
market, business survival depends
upon efficient production by using
more and better tools. It is not
hard to recognize the high wages
of America’s workmen today «s
the logical offspring of a society
which encourages competition and
individual initiative.
By continuing to give business
initiative the go-ahead signal, we
are setting the stage for greater
gains and benefits to labor. By
permitting too much power to fall
into the hands of irresponsible
union groups and government
bureaus, we are defeating our own
purposes. Brains, perspiration, and
initiative given free rein in a
democratic society represent the
only real approach to a workable
Utopia.