THE NOME NUGGET
Published Monday, Wednesday and Friday by the
NOME PUBLISHING CO.
NOME, ALASKA
Telephone: Main 125 P. O. Box 6uj
$1.50 PER MONTH $16.00 A YEAR !
W. A. Boucher .Owner-Publisher
Emily Boucher .Local Editor
Entered as second class matter October 14. 1943, at the postoffice
at Nome, Alaska, under the Act of March 3, 1879.
Nome, Alaska, Friday, March 4, 1949
THE PROTEST AGAINST U. S. AID TO STATES
(By Clarke Beach) j
Grants of federal money to the States are becoming j
larger each year. And many leaders in the state and fed-!
oral governments don’t like it. The grants-in-aid gradu
ally subtract from the independence of the States, they
say, weakening the whole federal system.
Last August the Joint Conference of State Governors
and members of Congress at a meeting in Chicago re
solved that the grants should be reduced at least 20 per
cent in the fiscal year 1950. But President Truman has
proposed in his 1950 budget substantial raises, rather
than reductions, in the total of grants. The largest in
creased he suggested were $290,000,000 for federal aid
to education and $65,000,000 for increased general as-|
sistance.
Even without these new programs, however, the
1950 total of grants was bound to be higher rather than
lower. This was pointed out in a speech in December by
James E. Webb, director of the budget. The federal gov-j
crnment was already committed to supply increased!
funds in grants, in accordance with past acts of Con
gress. The practice of giving the States grants-in-aid is
as old as the republic, but it has taken on major import
ance only in recent years. The big boom came in the
1930’s, when the states and cities were unable to cope
with the needs for work projects and other relief for the
unemployed. The peak came in 1939, when $2,908,999,
000 was spent in federal grants.
Since 1946 they have been rising again: $1,622,068,
338 in 1948; $1,941,784,566 estimated for 1949; and $2,
458.202,454 in 1950 is the President’s proposed new leg
islation is approved. This would not include $100,000,
000 in contract authorizations for the new housing pro
gram which the President recommended as* another
grant measure.
The general idea behind grants is that the federal
government should pay part of the bill to enable the
States to conduct certain programs in the interest of the
nation as a whole. The States themselves administer the
grants. The programs chiefly concern health, education
and social welfare. Grants are supposed to do two things:
1. Stimulate the States to conduct programs they
might not undretake if they had to depend entirely on
their own funds. The federal government dangles large
sums of money in front of them. It is theirs to use if thev
match it, usually putting up from about 25 to 50 percent
of the total sum to be spent.
2. Equalize the burden among rich and poor states.
But that’s where the critics begin to differ with the
advocates of grants. There is very little equalization of
the burden, they claim, and some experts in the Federal
IJureau of the Budget agree with them.
In fact, say the critics, grants discriminate against the
poor states'. To get the big hunks of federal money thev
obligate themselves to put up matching funds which
leave holes in their small treasuries. To engage in the
federal program they have to neglect some local pro
grams which might be more important to them.
The federal government, moreover, must necessarily
establish certain minimum standards for the programs
it helps to finance, and this means a measure of control
over local administration. Representatives of the Coun
cil of State Governments feel that the whole program
tends to violate the well accepted political principle that
the unit of government which spend money should be
responsible for collecting it.
Neither the Council nor the Governors, however,
want the grants program abandoned. They only want it
minimized. And they want the federal government to
* withdraw from tax collections in certain fields where
States can step in and raise money to conduct their own1
FEATHER FOR HIS CAP
l -*
S0VPT
ISRAEL
TROCC
social welfare programs. But federal experts, and even
Council representatives, admit that this probably would
not be the answer. Localities hate to tax their own peo
ple, and states try to keep their taxes down because of
interstate competition—the effort to provide tax havens
for wealthy corporations and individuals.
The programs now financed by grants-in-aid might
lag or be abandoned. And even if states and localities
impose taxes as heavy as their people can afford, the
poor states will end up with revenue which is inade
quate for such programs as those now in effect. None of
the critics seem seriously to expect any development
except a gradually expanded program of grants-in-aid.
SOME IDEAS ABOUT CHINA
While it is rather difficult to fathom the develop
ments taking place in China, there seems to be general
expectation that the Chinese Communists will soon di
rect the destinies of more of the Chinese millions.
There is also something of a conviction that relations
between Russia and the successful communist govern
ment will not be entirely congenial, owing to the strong
nationalism that moves the Chinese. Communist leaders
are said to be irked by the treaties that Moscow has
wrangled from Chinese governments to acquire con
trol of areas contiguous to Russia.
In addition, there seems to be something of a move
ment on the part of President Chiang Kai-Shek to es
tablish himself and his refugees on the island of For
mosa. Heavy shipments of goods and gold are reported
to the former Japanese-controlled island which is sep
arated from the mainland of China by one hundred
miles of water. It is now described as a tremendous
warehouse for tangible Nationalist assets of all descrip
tions.
The comparative calm with which officials of the
United States, and other western nations, view the ap
proaching ascendancy of Chinese communists indicates
adherence to the theory that Russia and the Chinese
will not get along in the future. It may be that the Sov
iet, in its traditional expansion to the Blast, has bitten
off territory which will eventually cause it to “bog
down** in China.
NURSERY TO THE GUARD
LONDON, (/P) — Oh, baby! A heavy artillery regi
ment of Britain’s Territorial Army (National Guard)
has started a nursery in its London Drill Hall.
Officers explained that the nursery ought to help the
reserves recruiting campaign.
Men are quicker to join up and turn out for weekly
drills, they said, if they can bring along children and
also their wives—for whom a social room has been
set up.
Said a daughter, “Dad’s a great man and doesn’t
know it.” ... Many a big heart needs to break out of its
intellectual hiding place.
i CHURCHES
- -
CATHOLIC CHURCH
I -
i Sunday—
' Masses at 8 a.m. and 10 a.m.
At the Base Chapel at 4:30 p.m.
Lenten Devotions
Sun. eve. 7:30 .Instructions
Wed. eve. 7:30.Instructions
Fri. eve. 7:30, Stations of the Cross
! LAVINIA WALLACE YOUNG
MISSION
Pastors - Rev. H. R. Amundsen
and Rev. Theran McGrew
_
; Sunday:
11:00 a.m. Sunday School.
7:30 p.m. Evening Service.
Wednesday - 3:30 p.m. - Chil
dren's Miracle Book Club.
Thursday - 7:30 p.m. - Prayer
Meeting.
FEDERATED CHURCH
Sunday
10:00 a.m. Sunday School.
PENTACOSTAL ASSEMBLY OF
GOD
Third Avenue West
Pastor A. E. Capener
Sunday—
Sunday School..10:30 a.m.
Evening service .7:45 p.m J
Wednesday—
Bible Study .7:45 pm.
EVERYONE WELCOME
CHURCH OF THE NAZARENE
Third and Division
Pastor—Lewis I. Hudgins
“Don’t criticize the Bible; let
the Bible criticize you.”
10:00 a.m. Singspiration and Sun
day School classes.
11:00 a.m. Morning message.
7:00 p.m. Young People’s Meeting, -4
7:30 p.m. Singspiration and special
music.
1 8:00 p.m. Evening message.
Wednesday: 7:30 p.m. Melody and
Prayer.
Come and bring your Bible.
You are ever welcome to attend
these services.
NOME GOSPEL MISSION *
of
Alaska Evangelization Society
Rev. Vern Rimling. Pastor
Sunday:
2:00 p.m. Sunday School for
boys and girls.
Preaching service in the Eskimo
language by James Savok.
7:30 p.m. Gospel Service.
Tuesday: . .
7:30 p.m. Prayer and Testimony
Thursday:
2:06 to 4:00 p.m. Bible Club for
Boys and Girls.
Friday:
7:30 p.m. Bible Study.
FI8t! A9TD WILDLIFE ASK
BIDS Oil NEW VESSEL
SEATTLE, <£>) — The fish and
wildlife service said today it
would accept bids until 2 . p.m., *
April >1, for construction of a 03
foot wooden motor vessel to be
used in exploratory fishing and
testing of gear in Alaska.
Two steel tuna-fishing type ves
sels the Washington and the Cal
ifornia, have been used in this
work and now are up for sale
here. Acquired as war surplus,
they were found unsuited for the
work.
The new vessel will be an all
purpose craft, diesel powered with
accommodations for 14 men. She
will seek new fishing grounds in ^
Alaskan waters, including those
near Nome where there has been
no fishing in the past.