THE NOME NUGGET
Published Monday, Wednesday and Friday by The
NOME PUBLISHING CO.
Nome. Alaska
Telephone: Main 125 P. O. Box 618
>1.50 PER MONTH >16.00 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.
_Friday, June 1, 1945
PRICE CONTROL: WAR AND PEACE
(New York Times)
The Director of Economic Stabilization, the ad
ministrators of OPA and WFA and the chairman of
the WLB have joined in a statement to the Presi
dent of the results of two years of the stabilization
program. Their pleas for continuation of wage and
price conrols after the war is confusing, however,
for several reasons. The four administrators cannot
make up their minds whether the real danger will
be rising prices or falling prices. They imply at one
point that exactly the opposite principles should
govern wage-fixing as govern price-fixing.
So far as the period between V-E Day and the
final end of the war is concerned, they are wholly
right in insisting upon the continued control of wages
and prices. For the period of the war with Japan
alone will present essentially the same economic
factors and problems as the war .against Germany
and Japan combined. The chief difference will be
one of degree. Mr. Byrns has already announced
that now that Germany is defeated there will be
a release of resources from munition production of
about 20 per cent in the first three months and an
additional 5 per cent in each of the next two quar
ters. These reductions will indicate on a small scale
some of the economic results of peace. Provision
must be made for the conversion without delay of
freed resources of labor and factories to civilian
production. The period after V-E Day should be
utilized also for some transitional control policies.
But the main problem—unless this minor conver
sion is mishandled—will still be to combat the in
flationary war pressures. Elements in both labor
and industry, with the let-down following partial
victory and perhaps the too-easy assumption of a
quick victory over Japan, will strain at the bit and
want irksome controls removed. But as the funda
menal war needs and inflationary pressures will
remain, the control agencies will need and must
have the fullest public support to hold the line.
Now there is a vital difference between Govern
ment price-fixing in war and Government price
fixing in peace. jn wartime we want the greatest
possible production of weapons. Peace produc ion
must be minimized to make this possible. It does
not matter if civilian production is inciden ally
held down by price policies, as long as essential
needs are met and war production utilizes all the
otherwise unused productive resources.
But in peacetime we want to encourage the great
est possible production of civilian goods and serv
ices. We can do this only with free markets, which
means free wages and free prices. In a free market,
economy prices are thermometers whose function
it is to tell the truth, about conditions. Prices rise
most where the shortages are greatest. They fall
where there are surpluses. Production then concen
trates at the points where the greatest prof
its exist. In this way the most urgent shortages
tend to be relieved most quickly.
To freeze wages and prices in an economy is like
freezing all the thermometers in a hospital at 98.6
degrees. This might give a false assurance of nor
mality. But the doctors would be deprived of an
essential part of their knowledge of what was
wrong with the patients and to that extent would
not know what remedies to apply. Rising prices
are a symptom of inflation, as a rising temperature
is a symptom of disease. To cure inflation we must *
remove the basic cause, which is a deficit financed
by new bank credit and currency. If we remove the
cause, the symptoms will take care of themselves.
An even more serious danger than rising prices
after the war, we should not forget, would be a
paralysis of production if prices fixed by the Gov
ernment did not allow a sufficient margin above
cost.
■-HOMEOHTNE RANGE
1 V
-■
AFTER V-E DAY:
WAR ON OPTIMISM
(First of two articles on federal
plans to spur the war against
Japan).
By JACK STINNETT
WASHINGTON — The Army,
Navy, OPA, WPB, the White
House and a dozen other govem
: ment agencies have the war’s big
gest job of salesmanship to do.
It is to sell the American home
| front on the fact that the end of
war in Europe does not mean the
end of the home front struggle.
This very day, officials in these
departments and agencies are
scurrying around to find convinc
ing arguments that V-E Day can
not dissolve price controls, man
power regulations, shortages, Se
lective Service—all the host of
wartime inconveniences.
Most of the plans for putting
this argument over still are un
der the wraps of secrecy. I have
not found one official or agency
who will discuss them openly. I
can only tell you that many of
these officials are gnawed by the
fear that now that the battle of
Europe is won, home front energy
will collapse.
There cerainly is some basis for
their fear. After the Normandy
break-through, the pressure for
reconversion to civilian produc
tion for terrific. War workers quit
jobs. Key men in agencies here
started a retreat to civilian posts.
War bond sales dropped. Enlist
ments in he WAC and other vol
untary services hit a new low.
Then, not since Pearl Harbor
had the home front had to do a
greater flip-flop. The' Nazis
mounted a counter-offensive that
threatened the whole western
front. Stories of shortages of cer
tin types of ammunition began to
drift through.
Reconversion not only had to
be brought to a stand-still, but
abandoned war plants were re
opened. Manpower shortages be
came so acute that for the first
time measures to conroVfbivilian
employment became a legislative
reality instead of merely Congres
sional conversation. Measures to
draft nurses were introduced.
In other words, our optimism
was knocked into a cocked hat.
What the government is aiming at
now is to keep that optimism from
getting out of bounds again.
From coast to coast, all V-E Day
celebrations emphasized the fact
World War II isn’t over; that re
laxation on the home front will
only mean the prolongation of the
war against the Japanese, and
consequenly thousands of lives
lost needlessly.
Newsreels, radio broadcasts and
newspaper commentators ham
mered away on this point.
Some of it is claptrap, but there
are some agencies following the
idea of OPA director Chester
Bowles, which is: Give the people
Fort Davis Held
Impressive
Memorial Services
Representatives of both the
United States Army and the Rus
sian Army joined in Memorial
Day services a the Fort Davis
cemetery, paying tribute to Amer
ican and Russian soldiers who are
buried there. Lt. Col. Richard H.
Hackford, commanding the Air
Transport Command installation
here attended with members of
his staff, and Major Semon Berez
ka led a group of Russian officers
at the ceremony.
Following a brief address by
Col. Hackford and a prayer by
Chaplain Thomas P. Cunningham,
•a squad of Military Police fired
three volleys and the bugler blew
Taps. All officers then marched
past the graves, paying formal
military homage to the men who
died while on active service in
this area.
CHESTER MILLIGAN IN TOWN
Chester Milligan arrived from
Fairbanks where he has been em
ployed at Ladd Field. He has
bought the Shaw mining interest
in Council and will leave for
there as soon as transportation is
available. Mrs. Milligan has al
ready arrived in Council, having
passed through Nome a few weeks
ago.
E. P. SOMMERS
RETURNS TO NOME
Mr. E. P. Somers, recently dis
charged from the Army, has re
turned to Nome, where he was
stationed while in the armed
forces, and will be in the employ
of the Sommers Construction Co.
the unvarnished facts and quit
worrying—they won’t let down
the boys at the front.
Nome Directory
ANVIL LODGE
No. 140
Meets First and
Third Thursdays
Each Month
W. M. CAMERON, W. M.
NORVIN W. LEWIS. Secy.
NOME LODGE
A-5
Meets First Friday
STANLEY R. MORGAN. N.G.
ROBERT BALDWIN, Secy.
HAGEN
JEWELER AND OPTICIAN
Court House Is Opposite Us'
Phone Main 40
IRA D. ORTON
Attorney At Law
Room 1—Nevada Building
Nome, Alaska.
Seattle Office:
801 Lowman Building
Telephone EL. 6396
O. D. COCHRAN
Attorney At Law
Phone Main 121
Nome, Alaska