THE NOME NUGGET
Published Monday, Wednesday and Friday by the
NOME PUBLISHING CO.
NOME. ALASKA
Telephone: Main 125 P. O. Box 618
.50 PER MONTH $16.00 A YEAH
W. A. Boucher . ... .Owner-Publisher
Entered as second class matter October 14. 1943. at the postoffice
at Nome, Alaska, under the Act of March 3, 1379.
Nome, Alaska, Wednesday, April 19, 1950
THE CASE OF THE VANISHING $500
(By Fred G. Clark and Richard Stanton Rimanoczy)
For all of us who are not rich, our tax bill is like an
iceberg: the part we can see is the smallest part; the
part that is hidden is our real danger.
The total income tax bill of the 44.7 million of us who
get less than $5,000 is about 9 billions dollars; this av
erages about $200.
But we 45 million pay an average hidden tax bill of at
least $500.
The case of the rich is different.
* The 174,000 “rich” taxpayers, whose income is over
$25,000 pay an average income tax bill of about $15,000.
They also pay the same hidden taxes that we pay, but
instead of these hidden taxes being two and one-half
times as great as their income tax, they are only about
one-tenth.
So, in spite of all the talk about getting taxes out of
the “rich,” the total hidden tax paid by the “rich" is
chicken-feed compared to the hidden taxes that we pay.
As a matter of fact, it could not be otherwise because
their total income is chicken feed compared to our total
income.
To be specific, the “rich” only get about 1 M*% of the
national income, and if the Government took it all, the
amount would pay less than three weeks of the Govern
ment’s expense.
EXHIBITING A FEAR OF IDEAS
The tragedy of our age is fear—not of things but of
men and ideas—declares Althea K. Hottel, Dean of Wo
man at the University of Pennsylvania, who points out
that “our fear of Russia” is producing negative rather
than positive foreign and domestic policies.
The lady points out that the Marshall Plan, which be
gan as a courageous and positive proposal, responsive
to the realities of the world situation, “became in the
present Congress a definite operation under the influ
ence of our fears.”
There can be no doubt of the correctness of the gist of
the dean’s remarks. The people of the United States are
exhibiting a fear of ideas, men and things, and, because
they do not understand everything, fall easy prey to
propaganda that leads them like a flock to conclusions
that, to say the least, are not established by proof.
The use of mass psychology to suggest that there is
IT GIVES HOPE
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Alaska Statehood
Hearings To Start
Monday, April 21
M/lh Special Washington Service)
WASHINGTON, (^—Secretary
of the Interior Chapman is ex
pected to be the first witness
Monday when the Senate interior
committee begins its study of bills
to grynt statehood to Alaska.
Committee attaches said today
that since Chapman is to be the
only cabinet officer to testify in
the hearing, he undoubte d 1 y
would be called first.
They said the second witness
favoring statehood will probably
represent the defense or state de
partment.
But those opposing Alaskan
statehood plan to present their
side of the case too.
Committee officials said they
do not yet have the names of all
those favoring or opposing state
hood who will testify. The list of
l
proponents is being prepared by
Gov. Ernest Gruening, who will
support the bill himself.
Committee officials said some
persons who wished to testify
have written they fear coming to
Washington because they have
been summoned as witnesses be
fore a federal grand jury investi- ;
gating monopoly at Anchorage.
The committee took that up,
with the justice department, the
officials said, and was assured
that any witness for or member
of the grand jury who makes af
fidavit that he is to testify before
the Senate committee will be ex
, cused from grand jury proceed
ings.
The committee plans to devote
all next week to witnesses on the
' bill*
The following week it will hear
witnesses for and against state
hood for Hawaii.
ADVOCATE SECOND JUDGE
FOR THIRD DIVISION
Hearings will be held on April
9 by a subcommittee on the House
judiciary committee on Delegate
Bartlett’s bill providing for a sec
ond federa ljudge for the Third
Division.
An additional judge was recom
mended by the 1947 Territorial
Legislature and has been endors
ed in 1949 by the Judicial Confer
ence of the Ninth Circuit, of
which Alaska is a part, and also
last year by the Judicial Confer
ence of the United States. Dele
gate Bartlett’s enabling legislation
has the support also of the Ad
ministrative office of United
States Courts and the Justice De
partment.
Records indicate that in the fis
cal year 1940, 198 civil cases were
begun in the Third Division, 193
terminated and the number pend
ing at the end of the year was 110.
Nine years later, during the 1949
—
Maurice King, well known Arc
tic bush pilot is enroute to Mont
real where he will spend some
time at the Norseman factory be
fore taking off for Baffin Island
where he will be with the Arctic
Institute of North America on
their 1950 summer expedition.
Maurice has been air advisor as
Further Study Of j
Aboriginal Rights
q/T) Special Washington Service* j
WASHINGTON, i/P)—Secretary ,
of the interior Chapman in his an- j
nuai report called for further in
vestigation and study of the ques
tion of aboriginal rights in Alas
ka.
"There is not yet unanimity of,
opinion on the method of hand
ling this problem,” Chapman said,
‘‘and further investigation and
study of native rights undoubted- ;
]y will be required.”
The secretary said the fiscal
year ending June 30, 1949, saw
greater progress in and for Alas
ka than for many years. He re- j
viewed President Truman’s re- 1
quest for development of the Ter
ritory and its admittance to state
hood.
Chapman said the most signifi
cant development during the year
was the revising of the Territory’s
tax system. He said it could not
be put into effect until Congress
approved it. This lag, he said,
faced the Territory with a short
age of funds until actual collec
tions started after the first of the
current year and added that pres
sure on the Territorial treasury
now will be relieved.
Chapman said that while 7,f>00
vehicles crossed the Alaskan bor
der on the Alaska Highway dur
ing 1948 “it may still be said that
the tourist potential is almost un
developed.” He said the great
bulk of people arriving are either
new settlers or workers looking
for jobs.
He said facilities along the
highway are not adequate to ac
commodate any sizeable number
of tourists.
“It seems likely that the lead
in developing such accommoda
tions may have to be taken by the
government,” he said.
Chapman said that road build
ing has been accelerated. He hail- i
ed the Alaska Housing program
as a means of improving living
conditions and the public works
program, now threatened with re
duction by the House as another
step toward aiding communities
to improve community facilities.
He said he believed actual work
!
toward construction of pulp and
paper mills in the Tongass Forest
area should begin this year and
bring to the Territory its first
year-around payroll.
He said that for the first time
isolated sections of the Aleutians
are getting regular mail service
while use of Canadian vessels has
improved transportation between
Alaskan towns.
He said the Alaska Railroad re
habilitation program is progress
ing well and the civil aeronautics
administration is planning to con
struct additional airfields in the
Territory.
The agricultural program, he
said, is of great importance. His
report estimated there are 12.000
acres of crop lands in the Terri
tory and last year’s agricultural
production was valued at $2,500,
000.
-1
well as pilot for the Institute for
the past two years.
immient danger of a Communist uprising, or that a few
thousand Reds can take over the United States, is a case
in point. Once this starts, it is easy to assume that every
person who has ever talked to an admitted Communist
is guilty by association and, therefore, deserving of pun
ishment. This is a monstrous doctrine which Americans
would not entertain in calmer moments but it springs
from the fear psychosis.
Allen’s Charges
Badly Twisted,
Says SS. Official
9
SEATTLE — “We were cer
tainly amazed and embarrassed by
the fallacious and wholly un
founded report by Hubert S. Allen
from Washington last week, at
tacking our president, Mr. G. W.
Skinner, and the Alaska Steam
ship Company,” Admiral F. A.
Zeusler, executive assistant to the
president of the line said in Seat
tle.
“However,” he continued, “we
imagine the secretary of the inte
rior and the attorney general
were as much embarrassed as we
were to find their names in Al
len’s column.”
Zeusler pointed out that al
though frequently disproved, the
charges published by Allen have
been voiced again and again by
those who give lip service to
Alaska development, but who
take every opportunity to destroy
the very basis on which that can
be achieved.
“Water transportation has for
years been a political football in
Alaska,” Zeusler sadi. “The emo
tional charge of exhorbit ant
freight rates has been made fre
quently. And certainly no one
wants to pay a cent more than he
must for services, and so this
charge has general appeal. But
this charge was fully explored
by the United States Maritime
commission in the Alaska rate in
vestigation No. 3, Docket No. 661
in 1947 and 1948 and completely
disproved.”
Reporting on their findings in
this investigation, the Maritime
Commission examiners, stated
“The record reveals an element of
bitterness between the respond
ents on the one hand and . . . The
Territory on the other. No service
can attain a high degree of effi
cient and economical operation
without a cooperation and good
faith between labor and manage
ment, the support of public offi
cials and an atmosphere of good
will on the part of the general
public. Unless such destructive
antagonism disappears, the possi
bly of better operations at lower
rates is remote.”
“Notwithstanding this objective
report certain elements continue
to show strong antagonism,” Zeus
ler charged. “This antagonism
has not been limited to transpor
tation companies, however. In fact
it has persisted against all “ab
sentee corporations’ doing busi
ness in Alaska. While maligning
the present industries on one
hand, this element has invited new
industries to come into Alaska
on the other. That they have not
responded in mass is not remark
able. However, the fact that they
have avoided the Territory has
prevented the development of a
two-way haul for water trans
portation companies—an import
ant factor in determining the
present rate structure about which
Allen complains,” Zeusler pointed
out.
fiscal year, the number of civil
cases started was 546, with 414
cases terminated and 466 pending
at the end of theyear. Marked in
creases have also taken place in
criminal cases brought and pend
ing during the past 10 years, the
number filed in 1949 being 95 in
comparison with 30 in 1940. Sixty
one cases were pending at the
end of 1949 as compared with 7
at the end of 1940.
Hainan Island has been Chinese
for 2,000 years.