THE NOME NUGGET
Published Monday, Wednesday and Friday by The
NOME PUBLISHING CO.
Nome. Alaska
Telephone: Main 125 P. o. Box 018
f 1.50 PER MONTH 516.00 A YEAR
W. A. and EMILY BOUCHER.Editors
Entered as second class matter October 14, 1943, at
the postoffice at Nome, Alaska, under the Act of
March 3, 1879.
_Monday, August 13, 1945
BOY SCOUTS DO GOOD TURN
The Boy Scout Troop 666 of -Nome,
has just completed a great project in the
interest of Nome. The boys have been
working diligently for several months
and now have all of the street signs
painted, and the numbers ready for the
houses.
This project was undertaken with the
consent of the Nome City Council, with
the understanding that the council would
pass the necessary ordinances. The
chairman of the committee stated at the
last meeting that he would have the Or
dinance ready for the meeting tonight.
The Boy Scouts are to be compliment
ed on this civic project.
CRIMINAL NEGLIGENCE
Tragedy is hardly the name for it. Fri
day, an eight-year-old girl lost her leg,
(cut off above the knee), and a six
month-old infant had its shoulder and
face blown open, when their brother
seven-years-old, fell with a loaded shot
gun.
This terrible accident was caused by
the negligence of a native hunter, who
had been using the tent during the ab
sence of the family. The hunter left the
loaded gun in the tent. No sensible per
son would do such a thing.
These children are handicapped for
life because of criminal neglect.
True reparation can never be made in
such instances, regardless of the fact
that those responsible for the tragedy
are grief stricken and sincerely sorry.
THE MEXICAN WATER TREATY
(New York Times)
After three months of argument and
delay the Senate passed the Mexican
Water Treaty by the safe margin of 76
votes to 10. Sixty-four were needed. As
finally negotiated and presented to the
Senate the treaty appeared a reasonable
compromise between the interests of the
two countries in the waters of the Colo
rado and Tia Juana Rivers and the Rio
Grande. The Mexican Senate is expected
to take similar favorable action when it
convenes this fall.
It would have been a real tragedy for
Inter-American relations had the treaty
failed of ratification. There still are
many people living south of the Rio
Grande who are suspicious of our mo
tives and jealous of our economic posi
tion. They charge us with talking as a
good neighbor but not acting as one, with
asking concessions from them but declin
ing to make any concessions ourselves.
Ratification of the Water by a bipartisan
majority should help to allay those sus
picions. It is a fair treaty and an earnest
statement of our good intentions.
Sofa: A long, upholstered -seat on
which children may recline at full length
and wipe their muddy feet.
—Akron Grove Banner.
'DADDY J*
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DEAD WOOD
In my early 20’s I had frequent
dealings with a small but old and
reputable manufacturing corpora
tion. One day I lunched with a
gray-haired employee, the super
intendent, who was quite unhap
py. They had lost their biggest
contract. The lost customer was a
young and thrifty retail firm
whose needs had finally grown
too large for the old manufacturer
to supply.
Price had been a consideration,
of course. My companion admitted
that several competitors could
quote a lower price and make a
profit when his plant could not. It
was on account of the modern,
high-speed equipment which the
competitors used. Naturally I
asked why the old house couldn’t
install better machinery. The sup
erintendent simply wagged his
head and said, “dead wood.”
Unused Hands
“Our big boss is the chairman,”
he explained. “His brother is pres
ident of the company. Each of
them has a son who is a vice
president. The secretary and the
treasurer are both sons-in-law. I
don’t see any of them twice a year
but they draw salaries as big as
mine. We can’t buy new equip
ment. Sometimes we are hard put
to pay for current materials
promptly.
This was 25 years ago when a
lot of ranting (not altogether un
justified) was heard about the
“idle rich.” But the tables have
turned. America’s threat now is
“idle poor.” They are more dan
gerous. Idle hands can ride any
business to the ground because
they retard production. Indiffer
ent workers are no less guilty than
pampered payrollers.
Public Enemies
I was much impressed by an
article in the Houston Press a few
weeks ago, written by a returned
service man. He had started to
work in an office soon after he
was discharged and, six weeks
later, penned his contempt for
civilian workers, men and women.
They systematically fritter away
50% of their working time, he
charged. They can do it because
of the scarcity of workers.
There is an imported, alien doc
trine that capitalists will make too
much profit for the good of the
public unless workers regard pro
duction some way. It is venemous.
National enemies at whom Amer
ican soldiers who have been
thrusting bayonets at the enemy
are relatively harmless. They are
much less liable to do- humanity
permanent harm than the slick
saboteurs who plant a philosophy
of idleness in the minds of honest
workers.
Work And Liro
America’s unique place among
world powers, the singularly high
standard of living among workers
and farmers, our national income
and our national safety, depend on
work. Ability and willingness to
make things well and make them
Navy Drilling
First Test Well
At Barrow
WASHINGTON, Aug. 13—<>P)—
The Navy has begun the drilling
of the first test well in northern
Alaska, where for twenty years
it has had thirty-five thousand
square miles staked out in a naval
peroleum reserve.
Reporting on the project be
gun more than a year ago it said
about two hundred men were
working under Captain Bart Gil
lespie of Gabriel, Calif., as a lead
er. He said there is every reason
to believe they will find oil, even
if it comes in a gusher.
However, the Navy does not
propose to develop the field, but
rather to turn the job over to a
private company. The test drilling
is at Umiat and Colville, one hun
dred eighty air miles from Point
Barrow.
LOCAL BUSINESS MEN
PURCHASE GOVT. BUILDINGS
Among the sales made by the
Real Estate representative for the
surplus Army buildings is a mess
hall purchased by Carl Glavino
vich and Curits Jacobs. Joe Bald
ridge of the Board of Trade Bar
purchased one of the cold storage
plants.
fast have put the United States on
.op of the world. It is the secret
of American prosperity, but in a
startling degree our people are
oeing led away from the idea.
me world soon will be a mar
ket lor manufacutred goods, a
market of millions of people in
poverty. If America fails to sup
ply their needs, quickly and at a
price (possible with eilicient
work* then cheap-laDor countries
will take tne business. Dead wood
can cheat Uncle Sam out of world
trade and leave us to s.ew again
in our own over-suppiy, with low
wages and poor living conditions
which we don t want and which
aren’t necessary.
Nome Directory
ANVIL LODGE
No. 140
Meets First Thursday
each month
W. H. CAMERON. W. M.
NORVIN W. LEWIS. Secy.
nomelodge
Meets Third Friday
STANLEY R. MORGAN. N.G.
ROBERT BALDWIN. Secy.
HAGEN
JEWELER AND OPTICIAN
Court House Is Opposite Us
Phone Main 40
0. D. COCHRAN
Attorney At Law
Phone Main 121
Nome. Alaska
IRA D. ORTON
Attorney At Law
Room 1—Nevada Building
Nome. Alaska,
Seattle Office:
101 Lowman Building
Telephone EL. 1396