THE NOME NUGGET
Published Monday, Wednesday and Friday by The
NOME PUBLISHING GO.
Nome. Alaska
Telephone: Main 125 P. O. Box 618
$1.50 PER MONTH $10.00 A YEAR
W. A. and EMILY BQUCHER.Editors
Entered as second class matter October 14, 1943, at
the postoffice at Nome, Alaska, under the Act of
March 3, 1879.
Friday, May 18, 1945
URBAN EXPENDITURES
Recently, encouragement was given
by a decision of the Illinois Supreme
Court to plans of the Chamber of Com
merce and other business and civic
groups to open the way for rebuilding
the blight or slum areas of cities after
the war through privately financed de
velopments.
The court ruled in effect that the sub
sequent development by private enter
prise, of an area acquired by eminent do
main does not invalidate the exercise of
this power, since the public purpose
served is the clearance of the slum or
blight areas.
As a rule it is generally agreed that
without assistance in the assembly of
land, private developers will be unable
to undertake any extensive rebuilding
of rundown urban areas.
The only practical method for such as
sistance can come through a city’s exer
sice of the power of eminent domain, to
acquire blight or slum areas, to clear and
replat them and then sell or lease them
under proper safeguarded agreemnts to
individual or private developers.
It will be noted the court ruled tha1*
the taking of property for the purpose of
the elminiation, redevelopment and re
building of certain areas meets all the
requirements of public use and purpose
within the principals of the law.
The fact that the Act does not provide
for the continued use of the property for
public use, does not in any way affect the
purpose of the Act or the taking of the
property for purposes not public.
NEW TASKS, NEW NEEDS
The single greatest obstacle to our
crushing of Japan is distance. While in
the Battle of Europe supply ships from
our bases in England had only an over
night run to make, ships in the Pacific
have long-reach round trips taking up
to 5 months to make.
To crush Japan will take time, heroic
and backbreaking effort, overpowering
equipment.
Millions of fighting men—freshly out
fitted and equipped—will have to be
moved from Europe half-way around the
globe; and supplied day-in, day-out by
hundreds of new ships now building.
More of everything will be needed.
More B-29’s. More tanks, half-tracks,
jeeps and trucks. More rockets, mortars,
airborne radar.
A whole new air force is in creation—
huge new bombers dwarfing the Super
fortress—fast new jet-propelled combat
planes, the P-80 or “Shooting Star,” |
coming off the lines by thousands.
AND LEST WE FORGET
Sick, wounded and disabled will re
quire medical attention and care.
THE MAN FROM MISSOURI
VETERAN’S
GUIDE
By MAJOR THOMAS M. NIAL
WASHINGTON — There is a
young man named Ralph—lives
in upstate New York—who was
with the First Division in the
American invasion of Africa. Af
<*er several months, he got it in
one of ’he scraps in Tun'sia. A
hurst:ng shell chucked steel into
his left arm and then drooped
him on his back across a stone
wall.
Late in 1944, he was discharged
with 50 per cent disability. I saw
him in May, 1944, and he’d ap
plied for disability pay. In July
he had received nothing. No
change in August. September—no
disability pay. I don’t know
whether he has it yet. He will—
»
sometime.
But why couldn’t he get those
payments sooner? It’s because the
Veterans’ Administration hasn’t
been sufficiently manned or
equipped to handle a task that
each day is enlarging like a gas
house tank.
Only people who work in bur
eaus like bureaus. Most everyone
else wails about the evils of bur
eaus. But it seems obvious that
new laws must be administered.
The GI Bill of Rights, offering
many benefits to war veterans,
and other laws authorizing rights
for veterans, must be adminis
tered.
So, to administer the veterans’
laws, the Veterans’ Administra
tion was created. It’s one of those
bureuas. It was once called the
Veterans’ Bureau.
Though large and costly, it isn’t
%
evil; but it can make mistakes
and cause delays. Probably more
extra work is caused by those who
think they were disabled in serv
ice or by those who don’t think so
but claim they were, than by the
veterans who have clear cases.
It’s the former kinds of cases that
throw monkey wrenches into the
creaking machinery of the V. A.
Just a short time back the V. A.
was around 100,000 disability
claims behind. There were that
many pending cases, so it’s easy
to realize that it is struggling with
a tough task. And it’s doing ok.,
too, for I have just been told that j
the number of pending claims is
reasonably current — that the
quantity has been squeezed down
almost to normal.
Borderline cases demand much
work, care and manpower. And
i new laws have added an addition- I
al burden. So we can afford to be 1
a little kind when there are delays
—by patience and understanding
and by not beefing too much.
Generally, the V. A. has a good
j reputation and wants to keep it.
i So I think you can count on good
* treatment, since over 34 percent
of its total employees—men and
women—are themselves veterans.
U. S. Hopes For
Large Seal Take
This Year
WASHINGTON, May 16—(/P)—
United States hopes to take sev
enty-five thousand or more seal
skins this year in sealing opera
tions starting in the Pribilof Is
lands about May 25.
The Interior Deparament said
hat only 48,000 skins were taken
last year, due in part to the fact
that many of the seals reached
the rookeries too late for the pelts
to be in prime condition.. As of
last August the Pribilof seal herd
numbered slightly less than three
million animals, more than 80
per cent of all the seals in the
world, the Department said.
RECOVERING AT FAIRBANKS
John Schwegler, well known fur
trader, has been in the hospital in
Fairbanks with injuries received
in a plane crash at Weeks Field.
He is much improved.
Among the men alone, well over
60 percent are veterans. Also
some 1500 veterans of the present
war are employed by the V. A.
And you’ll find that 7 pertent of
the female employes are ex-Wacs,
Waves, Spars or nurses.
Recently, I reported that ex
service men and women can re
ceive certain privilges not given
to non-veterans in applying for
jobs with the Veterans’ Adminis
tration. I now have an inquiry as
to where to apply. An application
blank <Form 57> and information
can be obtained at our nearest
Civil Service office or at any
USES office. Return the com
pleted application to the office
where you obtained it.
Nome Directory
ANVIL LODGE
No. 140
Meets First and
Third Thursdays
Each Month
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Meets First Friday
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• *
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