THE NOME NUGGET
Published Monday, Wednesday and Friday by The
NOME PUBLISHING CO.
Nome, Alaska 1
Telephone: Main 125 P. O. Box
$1.50 PER MONTH $15.00 A YEAH
W. A. and EMILY BOUCHER...Editors
Entered as second class matter October 14, 1943, at the postoffir*
at Nome, Alaska, under the Act of March 3, 1879.
Wednesday, May 21, 1947
Economy Of Abundance >
(Anchorage Daily Times)
SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE ANDERSON has
proposed a realistic farm program to succeed the war
time price-support setup. It is based on the theory that
food should be grown in abundance and consumed the
same way.
This is quite a departure from the present practice
of maintaining artificial high prices and dumping sur
pluses, as well as from the prewar economy of scarcity,
which paid farmers for lowering the food supply to
match lowered buying power.
Mr. Anderson would put a floor under consumption
and make “some sort of food allotment program avail
able at all times.” With such a flexible setup, neither a
temporary slump nor a depression would have to mean
lack of food for the poorly paid or unemployed. Farm
ers could raise food in the knowledge that it would be
eaten. Instead of paying the farmer for not producing,:
the government would buy food for those who couldn’t
afford it.
In addition, the secretary would like to see this gov
ernment enter into agreements with other countries for
the sale of our food surpluses at reduced prices. It
seems likely that Mr. Anderson’s former Congressional
colleagues will give his plan consideration when they
start writing a new farm bill.
There will be no scarcity of hungry people in this
world for some time to come. In view of that unhappy
prospect, any thought of an agricultural economy of
scarcity would seem not only unreal, but rather heart
less.
A government-planned food program costs money,
whether the money is spent to plow under little pigs,!
support food prices, or made food available free or at
reduced cost to those who need it. But the last type of
expenditure promises the most dividends.
We may hope that America will never again see the
bad times when, in Mr. Roosevelt’s words, one-third of
a nation was ill-fed. We may work to see that those
times don’t return. But, though economic emergencies
may be minimized, there is no guarantee that they can
be avoided entirely. *
Even if we succeed in keeping our living standard at
its present level, there will be a place for our surplus
food in other lands. And food today is an important fac
tor in American diplomacy.
Food is a key chapter in the story of America’s world
position today. A well-fed, prosperous America sharing
food with others will do much to sell doubtful peoples
on the American brand of democracy. There’s consider
ably more nourishment for a hungry European in a loaf
of bread made from American flour than in a pound of
anti-American propaganda leaflets.
German War Prisoners
(New York Times)
UNTIL A TREATY OF PfCACE is signed the Powers
which made war on Germany have the legai right to
hold German prisoners of war. Their moral right to do
so is more questionable. The tragic fact that two years
after the end of hostilities millions have not yet been re
patriated was under belated consideration at Moscow.
Of all the nations represented there the United States
has the cleanest record in this respect, and one of which
we can be proud. Vast hordes of fighting Germans sur
rendered to our conquering armies in Africa, Italy,
France, Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany. Of these
we now hold only 15,103 outside of Germany, a bare 103
0
of them in the United States. France still has 631,482,
and Britain 435,000. Russia has not yet furnished an of
ficial figure, but Tass, the .Russian news agency, puts it
at 890,532 still in Russia, with 1,003,974 repatriated.
This is believed to be a gross understatement for propa
ganda purposes. Previous estimates by other nations
have indicated a total of somewhat under 3,000,000,'
vvh ?h might be much larger if German civilian nation
als illegally se zed were added.
Of course the United States never had the excuse for
hiding these men that Russia, France and Britain have.
Our country was not devastated as theirs were. There
i* a certain justice in forcing the Germans to rebuild
and repair what they so systematically destroyed. Many
of these prisoners, however, are not used for that pur
pose but are employed as miners, farmers and, indeed,
to replace any labor shortage which may exist in the
victorious nations. In France and no doubt in Russia, too,
they have become more or less essential to the national
economies. In Germany itself in all the zones of occupa- j
tion thousands more are organized as labor forces un
der restraint and command of the occupying Powers.
No matter where they are theirs is essentially slave la
bor. They are compelled to work against their will at
tasks they do not choose and of ter under great hardship
under conditions they cannot control. The statement of
the Italian Minister of War that 90 per cent of the Ital
ian prisoners of war held in Russia died throws a sinis
ter light on those conditions.
Moreover, it is an extension, whether by design or
not, of the brutal Nazi policy of draining enemy states'
of th£ir manpower and thereby reducing their national
birth rates. In Germany today there is a shocking sur
plusage of women and a corresponding shortage of men,
leading inevitably to moral degradation. Every day that
her war prisoners are withheld from their homes and
wives weakens the coming German generation and may
do so beyond repair.
.Liberal voices in the United States, England and even
in France, which has little sympathy to waste on Ger
many, have been raised against this policy. It is signifi
cant that they have finally penetrated the Moscow con
ference. The fact that the whole subject was under re
view there raises the hope that repatriation of German
war prisoners will be promptly speeded.
One Man’s Opinion By Walter kiernan
Izvestia reports that British and American officers
are in Turkey disguised as traveling salesmen. . . . Evi
dently detected by an Izvestia reporter disguised as a
farmer’s daughter . . . But Turkey always was good es
pionage country. The old saying was “Germany for
spas, Turkey for spies.” ... In fact when modern Turkey
ordered women to go unveiled nobody knew whether
the hidden faces would come out with more moles or
mustaches. . . . The FBI finds there are more Commun
ists in the United States than there were in Russia when
\he revolution began. — There are almost enough for
each of us to have a little comrade.
WHERE DO WE SO PROM HERE 7
Public Welfare
Board Reports
Cuts Necessary
w
9
Howard Lyng, Second Division
member of Alaska’s Board of
i ublic Welfare has recently re
turned from the Board’s annual
meeting held at Juneau in late
April. When interviewed by the
Nome Nugget, Mr. Lyng gave the
following statement for release to
the people of Nome and the Sec
ond Division.
Faced with inadequate appro
priations for the operation of its
programs under mounting costs of
living, the Board of Public Wel
fare, at its recent Juneau meeting
ordered a sharp curtailment of its
activities for the next two years.
This will mean retrenchment in
old age assistance (pensions), gen
eral relief, including hospitaliza
tion and medical care; aid to de
pendent children and care of chil
dren under the Juvenile laws.
Old Age Assistance (pensions)
It was determined by the Board,
that 1413 persons were receiving
Old Age Assistance (pensions) at
an average of $45.10 a month per
person, of which the Territory
pays 52 per cent, 48 per cent com
ing from federal grants. Under its
appropriation from the last legis
lature, the Board found it would
be unable to maintain this level
of payments for the next two
years; so a fixed basic standard of
need was established, effective
May 1, to limit assistance pay
ments to bare necessities of food,
shelter, fuel and clothing.
The Board also ordered a com
plete review of all cases coming
under the Old Age Assistance
• pension) program, in order fo re
duce assistance payments to cover
only those above specified items
of need.
With the costs of necessities of
life constantly rising, the Board
realized the adjusted program
would bring hardship in many
cases, but under the circumstances
it had no other alternative but to
I impose restrictions.
Children's Program
Under the Aid to Dependent Chil
dren program, the Board found it
had 590 children receiving assist
| ance at an average of $19.00 per
I month per child. These are chil
dren who have no means of sup
| port due to death of one or both
j parents, or abandonment by the
bread-winning parent. They are
placed by the Board, through the
Dept, of Public Welfare, in foster
| homes, boarding schools and other
institutions.
The funds for this purpose come
' through appropriation by the leg
islature. This Aid to Dependent
Children Act of the 1945 Legisla
ture, includes both native and
white children, the proportion at
present being approximately 120
white and 470 native children.
Prior to 1945, only white children
came within the provisions of the
law.
Despite this large Increase of
dependent children in the past two
years and indications that an
other 200 will become eligible in
the coming two years, the legis
lature appropriated 25 per cent
less for this program, than it did
two years ago.
Here also, payments will • be
based solely on need of food, shel
ter, fuel and clothing, and waiting
lists of eligible cases arranged for.
This will mean that with an ap
propriation of only $75,000.00 the
average monthly payment per de
pendent child, will be reduced
from the previous $19.00 to $13.00.
General Relief
This program is 'or the relief