THE NOME NUGGET
Published Monday, Wednesday and Friday by The
NOME PUBLISHING CO.
Noma, Alaska
Telephone: Main 125 P. O. B:oc
$1.50 PER MONTH 516.00 A YEAH
W. A. and EMILY BOUCHER.Editor
Entered as second class matter October 14, 1943, at the postoffw'**
at Nome, Alaska, under the Act of March 3, 1879.
Monday, April 21, 1947
Abusing The Memory Of Roosevelt
(The Denver Post)
Two years after the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt, a
politician spirtualist seeks to raise his ghost to promote
a policy of lying down under the wheels of aggression.
In so doing, Henry Wallace is distorting the memory of
a man who, as much as any leader of our time, under
stood that aggression anywhere threatened liberty ev
erywhere.
Having failed at home in his effort to block American
aid for Greece and Turkey, Wallace has carried his cam
paign in a brazen attempt to turn Europe against the
United States. Treason may be too strong a word for
Wallace’s action, but it skirts very close to it.
Wallace denounces the American determination to
halt totalitarian expansion as “ruthless imperialism.” a
wild perversion of his country’s purposes. His are nei
ther the words nor actions of a loyal citizen.
• *
It is fantastic that Wallace should speak in the name
of Franklin D. Roosevelt, the leader who, two vears be
fore another totalitarian aggressor plunged the world
into war, warned:
“It seems to be unfortunately true that the epidemic
of world lawlessness is spreading. When an epidemic of
physical disease starts to spread the community joins
in a quarantine of the patients in order to protect the
health of the community ...”
Wallace has chosen to forget Roosevelt’s words in that
Chicago speech of 1937, which might have been spoken
of today’s spreading blight of totalitarianism. Wallace
has forgotten, too, of Roosevelt’s authorship of lend
lease and his conclusion that America must rid its
thoughts of the “silly, foolish old dollar sign” in the
struggle against aggression.
Roosevelt made many mistakes in his dealings with
Russia. We are haunted today by the concessions he
made in an effort to preserve the wartime “strange alli
ance” between the western democracies and Russia.
But there is nothing in what we know of the heart of
Roosevelt to show that he would feel anything but
shame for the course which Henry Wallace is pursuing.
Gold And The Soviet
(The Mining Record)
A news story that we know to be correct is to the ef
fect that the Soviet government has ordered a fleet of
gold dredges from a large American manufacturer, and
that these dredges will operate on a gold placer in the
Soviet Union that is claimed to be several times as large
as any gold placer field in the United States. The Soviet
Union will have representatives at the factory of the
dredge builder to note every detail of construction. All
of which indicates that the Russians want more gold and
are going after it.
This little item should make those in the federal gov
ernment who closed down our gold mines, see the other
side of the picture and indicate to them the importance
of gold mining. The United States has fallen far behind
in gold production compared with normal years. Friends
of the Soviet Union in Washington may have planned it
that way. We know and Russia knows that gold can win
wars. Russia is probably piling up huge amounts of the
yellow metal so as to be prepared in an emergency.
Could it be that friends of the Soviet used the New Deal
to end financing of new mining development so that
their friends in Russia could outstrip the United States
in gold production? It may not have been the plan of
* •
the New Deal but it is evidently working out that wav.’
The race for gold is now on in earnest and Stalin as
dictator can mine the lowest grade of ore in the world,
on a near slave basis. Labor is cheap in Russia. It does
not matter how'many men are put to work just so long
as gold is recovered. .
The United States mu$t push its gold production in
the face of all this unfriendliness between Russia and
the U. S. Some system will have to be devised :n*thi?
country to speed gold production. Men in high office
have been predicting that the price of gold will^be ad
vanced in the United States. This may come to pass but
in the meantime the nation should adopt a policy to ge*;
out new gold production from its mines. We believe that
the United States should encourage mine financing and
offer a bonus for every ounce of new gold that is pro
duced in the nation.
_ I - ■ — — — - ■ I ■ ■ ■ ——
Mr. Lie In Hot Water
(Rocky Mountain News)
Trygve Lie, secretary-general of the United Nations,
is being accused of packing the secretariat of the Balkan
Investigating Commission with persons having a pro
Russian viewpoint.
Commission employees are charged with tampering
with official documents and altering dates on official
letters in efforts to strengthen the Soviet side of the
Greek controversy.
For this most unfortunate situation, we think, Mr. Lie
can accept full responsibility. He could have selected
the commission’s staff from nationalities in no way in
volved in the Balkan dispute. It is difficult to dismiss
his failure to do that as a mere error of judgement.
One Man’s Opinion By Walter kiernan
The government says 'employment still is at a high
level.—Everyone seems to be working who wants to
work and many of who don’t. . . . There are 56 million
persons regularly employed.—There might be more if
it was not for the tragic failure of capitalism. . . . One of
our fallen phophets did talk of 60 million jobs.—We hit,
56 without drafting babies in their carriages for field or'
factory. . . . The Democrats are holding what Mr .Tru
man describes as “thought clinics” in Washington.—
They’re trying to think what 1948 might be like without
rn “emergency.” . . . Anyway, Harry says the Chicago
city election shows a Democratic trend—something like
a fig leaf indicates the presence of a fig. . . . Interesting
but not particularly exciting.
More Information
%
From Native Potlatch
H. C. McCleli ein
intendent for the Northwestern
Section, who has made it possible
to develop government a: well as
“Borrowed Un'ts’’ retold his expe
riences in bringing the reindeer to
nome by plane for the Fair, and
explained how he was setting up
the corrals near the Fair building
and the living quarters for the
herders. Also, how he expected to
have daily reindeer exercises,
races and displays. He explained
how the industry is carried on,
how the native herder manages his
herd, how he manages to make a
living and how he lives—preparing
his food from the reindeer, his
clothing from the reindeer and
how, from the by-product of same
produces products that are sale
able in the market thereby ena
bling him to purchase other items
necessary for his living and com
fort. Mr. McClellan was very hope
ful that the interest shown so far
will assure that the future devel
opment and restocking of the
Northwestern Alaskan Section is
possible and very promising in the
near future.
A Polet was called upon to
speak. He called the gathering’s
attention to the past history of the
reindeer herds, how they disap
peared and no one takes the blame.
As a matter of fact, he concluded
..a blame l.es directly in the
hands of the natives who neglect
s.; lae reindeer and allowed them
.a become extinct.
H _ raid about the early struggles
of the local Reindeer Association,
.t one time there were several
hundre i thousand deer in the Nome,
v'cini.y, where today, judging
from the native children that gath
ered around the reindeer, the rein
deer are just as interesting to them
as to the white children, or to any
ne from the States, showing they
have not seen a deer in our vicin
ity in their little lifetime.
Mr. Polet concluded that this is
all past history. “Let us forget it,
lay it aside, but profit from the
experience we have had. It is pos
sible as has been stated by other
speakers that the United States
government is now prepared to
loan to any native, or group of na
tives, who are qualified, enough
reindeer to again restock the Pe
ninsula. The only thing to do is to
apply and get the deer and assure
the government that you are going
to take care of them. Thereby, you
will have an opportunity to be
come, in the course of two or three
years as told by Mr. Seveck in his
talk, independent and prosperous.”
Mr. Polet advised the natives to
make a start as soon as possible
and restock the Nome Douglas
herd. The government promised to
allot at least 500 deer to the Nome
Douglas herd. Arrangements can
be made for the reindeer to be de
ivered to Cape Douglas. All that
is necessary is to be established at
?ape Douglas by getting a home,
making arrangements to herd the
deer, watching to see that they do
not go astray or be subject to de
struction by wolves.
* Mr. Polet warned the people
that owing to the action that was
taken at the last legislature asking
that the white man be placed on
equal footing with the natives by
being given the right to purchase
reindeer and go in the reindeer
ousiness also—
"Remember, ihey asked to pur
chase reindeer, where the native
can get them without buying
them."
Mr. Polet pointed out the danger
the native faces today. Unless they
:a.-:e action and show their inten
tion to establish the reindeer in
dustry, they may lose out entirely.
Polet stressed very strongly the
P'int that he was alarmed as to
he present outlook of the future of
he native. This idea of sticking
around town is not good for the
na.lve. He should go out of town,
establish his herds and in their
way have an opportunity to again
become independent.
York Wilson and his son Henry
Weber will be glad to explain to
any one interested how he success
fully borrowed deer from the gov
ernment and now has became in
dependent and in managing his
herd he finds that he can make a
comfortable living easier and bet
ter.
F. Seymour Faurot, superintend
ent of Native Arts and Crafts, ad
dressed the gathering and describ
ed the new efforts to help the na
tive in the creation of new arts
and crafts.
He pointed out, that, with the
vanishing stock of ivory, some
thing else be devised and taught
in order to increase the arts and
crafts industry.
The department will endeavor
to teach carving in wood, jade, pre
cious stones and will also assist to
develop additional items in carv
ings, furs, basket making and all
other kindred items. He pointed
out that anyone who is interested
in learning these new develop
ments can obtain scholarships and
be taken to schools where they can
be taught these arts. Mr. Faurot
also pointed out that arts and
crafts are becoming a national in
lustry and there is great demand
for native work. What it needs is
to become a commercial industry.
It should not be simply a tourist
item.
SHISHMAREF PRODUCES
ANOTHER ARTIST
An interesting exhibit at' the
Fair was a collection of sketches
from Shishmaref by a new native
artist, Wilbur Wright Walluk, an
eighteen year old boy who has
been hospitalized in Kotzebue for
the past two years.
His group of pictures show ex
ceptional talent and very fine de
tail. Many attending the Fair Stat
ed that it excels any other work of
this type by other Eskimos.
Wilbur’s work developed while
he spent two years lying on his
stomach in a cast. Through the en
couragement of the staff of the
hospital he kept busy drawing
scenes from memory which im
proved until he was able to sell
them and now has an occupation
which should continue to give him
a good income.
The Fair exhibit was bought by
Polet’s Store.
UNITED PRESS REPRESENTA
TIVE VISITING IN NOME
Hal Gates, representative of the
United Press is a visitor in town
from Seattle.