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 Octooer 14. 1943. at the postoffice at
Nome. Alaska, under the Act of March 3. 1879.
Monday, August 26, 1946
OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS
AT LONG LAST ALASKA HAS APPARENTLY
found a real “friend at court'’ in Secretary of the
Interior J. A. Krug, who has just recently returned
from his first inspection tour of the Northern terri
tory.
In an amazingly short length of time Mr. Krug
seems to have arrived at a comprehension of most of
Alaska's multitudinous problems, and he has pledged
himself to do everything in his power to solve them.
Coming from a man in his position, such a promise
may mean more to Alaska than the Klondyke gold
strike did—because gold represents only an infinit
esimal portion of the vast natural resources which
could end eventually will be exploited in the region.
Lack of population and its geographical position,
entailing grave transportation difficulties, have re
tarded Alaska's development in the past. But an
even greater factor has been the lack of sympathetic
understanding in high places—and this is an obstacle
wrhieh now seems to have been overcome.
The newr official attitude toward Alaska can be of
the utmost advantage to Seattle and all the rest of the
Pacific Northwest—if the people here are willing to
do their share toward the development of the terri
torv
A step in the right direction has already been tak
en in the decision of Pacific Northwest United, the
newr organization of Washington, Oregon, Idaho and
Montana interests, to include Alaska in its area unity
program. But a great deal more effort will be re
quired to convince Alaska that the Pacific Northwest
as a whole recognizes its responsibility to help its
northerly neighbors achieve their destiny.
One of Mr. Krug’s most significant statements
was his announcement that he is in favor of construct
ing both a railway and a highway to Alaska. If these
goals are achieved there will be a boom which will
dwarf the gold rush to insignificance.
But the Pacific Northwest cannot content itself
with giving mere lip service to these projects. It
must get to work, with its various existing organiza
tions and its representatives in congress, and put them
over. Thus it can prove its right to Alaska’s friend
ship. (Seattle Post Intelligencer)
TWO SORTS OF PLENTY
F THESE DAYS OF ECONOMIC UPSETS, none of
us should lose sight of the fact that the word
“plenty,” when applied to general living commodities,
■can have two meanings. We have seen this demon
strated many times in the last generation. We have
seen periods when there was a great plenty of goods
in the markets and we have seen times when available
goods were scarce. Our economy—strange as this
may seem—often stands in greater danger when there
in an overwhelming supply of goods on the shelves
than when shelves are swept clean by eager buyers.
In months of full employment, such as those
through which we have been passing, the average man
and woman has money with which to purchase both
necessities and luxuries. These, for millions of Amer
icans, are periods of comparative plenty, even if cer
tain of the items they’d like to buy aren’t available;
even if dealers stocks are low. These are periods of
plenty, too, for merchants and manufacturers, for sales
are fast and profits generally good
But when employment lags, sales decline and
prices tumble—then comes another type of “plenty.”
THE LIONS SHAPE_
(
These are periods of plenty for people who are fortun
ate enough to have money, for they can buy anything
they desire at sharply reduced tariffs. The number
of individuals competing or individual articles is
comparatively small—and shelves are loaded with
slow moving merchandise. In such times a few of our
people have everything they want. But a far greater
number do not. Merchants, consumers, manufactur
ers—all suffer. There may be meat a-plenty in the
butchers’ shop, but John Q. Public can only look at
it through the butcher’s window. Neither he nor
the butcher can enjoy its benefits
America’s problem today is to strike a happy
medium between the “plenty” whjch spells shortages
and the “plenty” which results from depression. Full
employment, at reasonable wages, is the solution.
Such employment cannot come with uprealistic pric
es; with runaway inflation. It will come if we keep
cool and see to it—in one way or another—that #our
economic forces are kept under strict control. The
law of supply and demand is a great beneficial in
strument, property controlled and balanced. But
it must be made to serve the best interests of humanity.
(C ncinnati Enquirer)
The law of supply and demand, like the law of
gravity, has never been repealed.
i
I
By GEORGE 3 BENSON
President of Harding College
Searcy. Arkansas
-r i11 1
A NATION’S GOOD
Gentlemen of the Continental Congress, who
years ago made some important decisions for us, to
day they deserve a vote of confidence. Will we keep
the form of government they outlined and set up for
us or do we change to something like that in Britain,
France or Russia Let us make our decision on a
basis of results. If we don’t make it soon somebody
will make it for us.
Selecting our course ourselves, doing so wisely
and soon, is extremely im-<
portant. Small items of
business can be bungled
today and corrected tomor
row, but not this one. If
the United States should
once go collectivist com
>—" ■ -
pletely, it would never be
a republic again until peo
ple who live now are for
gotten. There are no prac
tice shots; we make this de
cision once, and that’s how
it will be.
A Nation’s Brains
In comparing the Amer
ican system with any so
cialistic plan, one point
must be held in mind con
stantly: Freedom to think
Nothing is more valuable
than good ideas and every
body has them Nobody
has a corner on them.
Where any person is free
to get ideas and put them to
work at his own risk, good
ones come to light in a
hurry and are put to work
in a way that helps every
body; that is democracy.
Under any socialistic
system of central planning,
only a ew are considered
worthy to think. They
have ideas occasionally, of
course, but do not try them
out at their own risk. They
put them to work on a big
scale at the nation’s risk.
By this system the whole
people must suffer for the
blunders of a few. Col
lectivism, and the differ
ences show up clearly in
general prosperity.
A Nation s Income
America is the most pros
perous country on earth.
At the last check, national
income in the United States
was equal to that of the six
next highest contries; na
tional income being the
grand total fo what tvery
body earns. Under the
American system, incomes
are different; some higher
than others but all high. In
socialistic countries in
comes are more alike, uni
formly low.
America’s national ene
mies cry out against cap
italism in tones that make
the word sound like a dread
disase. At least, under the
American system accumu
lated wealeh is used rather
than hoarded. Savings in
America are invested in
machinery to help work
ers produce more and earn
more. Where profits are
unlawful, dividends are im
possible, production and
wages both low.
)
A Nation’s Progress
Let me illustrate what
the American system is
j worth to the world: King
Solomon, of Israel, George
Washington, the first Pres
ident of the United States,
lived about alike They
rode in horse-drawn vehic
les, wore hand loomed clo
thes, used animal oil and
wood for fuel They lived
nearly 3,000 years apart.
Think what you have now
and remember that Wash