THE NOME NUGGET
Published Monday, Wednesday and Friday by The
NOME PUBLISHING CO.
Nome. Alaska
Telephone: Main 125 P. O. Box 618
S1.50 PER MONTH S16.P0 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.
Wednesday, June 12, 1946.
THE MARITIME STRIKE
THL NEXT CRIPPLING STRIKE against the pro
ductive life of the American nation, that of the
maritime unions, now impends—and if it occurs on
June 15 as scheduled, it will be exactly what Pres
ident Truman called the recent rail and coal strikes,
a strike against the government of the United States.
The President has said that he will use every re
source of his administration to promote an amicable
and reasonable settlement of the issues involved be
tween the maritime industries and unions, and thus
. prevent a strike if possible.
But in the event such a strike does occur, the Pres
ident has also said, without equivocation, he will use
every means within his power to keep the ships run
ning.
Since the means available to the President for
effecting this purpose include the armed forces, and
especially the navy with adequate and competent mari
time personnel for the manning and operation of all
types of craft, there is no question of the ability of
the government to “keep the ships running” if it elects
to do so.
The prospective maritime strike differs drastic
ally from the rail and coal strikes in this respect, for
while the government found itself helpless to run;
trains or dig coal when the trainmen and miners re
fused to work for the government, the government’s!
own naval and maritime forces are capable of operating
the nation’s shipping enterprises efficiently, perhaps'
oven more efficiently than the striking unions.
However, it is once more pertinent to suggest that
it should not be necessary for the American govern
ment to forcibly intervene in such situations for the
protection of the American people—even though it is
possible to do so in this instance effectively.
The nation should find a better way to solve its'
industrial quarrels than with strikes and governmental:
intervention.
When such issues arise, whether in the maritime
industries or in steel or transportation or mining on
any other field of productive enterprise, they should;
be submitted as a matter of federal law to a compet
ently and authoritatively established system of federal
arbitration with a supreme court of arbitration as the
ultimate tribunal of appeal and decision.
The American nation continues to be gravely and
desperately in need of a labor disputes policy that can
be depended upon to keep the peace of the country
and assure the continuous production of the essential
goods and services of the country—and all measures
short of that, however effectual in an emergency, are
half measures and thus a poor reliance for the welfare
and prosperity of the American people.
(Seattle Pose Intelligencer)
■■■■■■■■■I I
THE BARD TAX PLAN
THE DEPARTMENT of Commerce reports that more
than 77 per cent of the business enterprises in the
United States are operated as proprietorships or part
nerships. Partnerships and proprietorships are the
essence of free enterprise.
Yet under the 1946 Federal Revenue Tax Act
corporations are taxed from 21 to 38 per cent, while
individuals — including those operating unincorpor
MAM&A
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_ i
ated businesses and partnerships — are taxed from 19
to 85 Vs per cent of their income.
A plan to remove this unfair discrimination a
gainst individuals wishing to do business in the tradi-!
tional American way as proprietors or partners has!
been developed by F. N. Bard of Chicago, himself the;
owner and operator of an unincorporated enterprise
in the Barco Manufacturing Company.
The Bard Tax Plan proposes to amend the Internal
Revenue Code to allow the individual operating as a
proprietor or partner to divide his income into two
classes:
1. The income obtained from his “venture" capital,!
or, in other words, from the direct operation of his bus
iness.
2. The income he receives from “investment" cap
ital in stocks, bonds, or other purely investment items.
Upon so doing the business man would pay corpor
ate tax rates on income derived from capital he risks
in the operation of his business in competition with!
corporations and individual income tax rates on his
invested, or “nonbusiness”, capital.
The plan has been submitted to the Joint Com
mittee on Internal Revenue Taxation of the House and
Senate, the House Ways and Means Committee, and the
Treasury Tax Committee.
The Bard Tax Plan has been pronounced practical
and sound by tax experts.
i
AMERICA’S CARS j
Y N THE U.S.A. the automobile pusiness is the peo- j
pie’s business. With the “ballots” of their buying
power they “vote” for the kind of car they want.
In pursuit of the people’s vote, the automobile;
industry has become the most highly competitive in!
the world. Year by year, the motor companies have;
bid for this vote with improved comfort, appearance, j
power and performance.
Spurred by customer ballots, these facts emerge:;
Cars retired in 1943 averaged 81,000 miles of use, I
gave 112 miles for each! dollar of original cost.
Cars retired in 1925 averaged 21,750 miles of use,
gave 23 miles for each dollar of original cost.
We paid $9.10 per horsepower in 1940, we paid $31.
50 in 1925.
i
And finally, we paid 26 cents per pound of automo1
bile in 1940, we paid 43 cents per pound in 1925.
Competition for the customer’s vote has given'
America the finest cars in the world at the lowest cost.
\Looxnw
I AHEAD
Tm GEORGE 1 BENSON
^ Fruidigt—MtrOmf Mt+t
H Sftrtf, JirtsMm
A Strike Out
This entire nation has to look
to its big industrial plants for
prosperity. If the big factories
keep going, workers have jobs,
farmers have markets for wha1^
they raise, and the rest of us get
along well enough. When the fac
tories start shutting down 'for
any reason at all) thoughtful peo
ple begin to worry and they have
good reason for their uneasiness.
Work stoppages are always bad
news .Fanners hate to read about
strikes because farms can prosper
only when industrial workers are
happy with their jobs and setting
good tables. Farmers take sides in
labor squabbles less than most
city people think. Without much
prejudice they wish mainly that
whoever is on the wrong side of
the argument will get right so
business can go ahead.
Strikes Don't Last
Not many weeks ago, when a
world-famous strike ended. I ov
erheard a stranger say, “Strikes
just can’t go on forever. Finally
men have to go back to work,
whether they get all they struck
for or not.” The only trouble wit^i
this philosophy is that it’s not so.
The fearful truth is that somebody
might some day call a “third
strike” . . . that might be called
a srtike out.
Every big industrial concern is
in league with two different kinds
of people — both classes out for
money, but in different way^
One group is its employees, the
other its stockholders. Both al
liances are necessary. There’s no
use wondering which is most im
portant because it is not possible
for an industrial organization to
get along unless it has both. They
are mutually essential.
Many airrmarmes
It is safe to consider these two
groups about the same size. Nu
merically. the country over, one
crow'd is about as big as the other.
Individual companies differ; some
have more employees than stock
holders, others have more invest
ors than workers. In 1940, the
General Motors Corp. had nearly
twice as many investors as em
ployees and several other big con^
cems wer situated the same way.
There is some overlap. In cer
tain corporations, quite a few em
ployees are stockholders too. They
call themselves employees how
ever, because their wages usually
amount to more than their divi
dends. Payrolls have been run
ning 10 to 20 times dividends for
years. Generally, a company’s
stockholders and its employees
are two entirely different crowds,
and the firm can’t manage with
out either.
Both Independent
One point of most striking
similarity between investors and
employees is that they both are
independent. Either crowd is free
to walk right out and leave s
company. Either crowd migi^|
strike a firm dead with that verj
weapon. Usually it is the workers
who quit because they are organ
ized. Likewise, being organized
they can arrange to return to theia