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. Boucher .Owner-Publisher
Entered as second class matter October 14, 1943, at the postoffice
at Nome, Alaska, under the Act of March 3, 1879.
Nome, Alaska. Wednesday, December 21, 1949
ARE WE TOO BUSY?
(By George S. Benson, President Harding College)
We Americans are busy people. We’ve been busy for
a long time. It’s in our traditions. And it’s in our blood.
This urge to be up and at it—this itch to get things done
—has had a lot to do with the spectacular accomplish
ments of this free nation. Because our appetite for ac
complishing has always been sharp, and because Amer
ica has frowned on anything that would dull initiative
and independent action, we are today the richest, the j
freest, the choicest land on earth.
May it always be so. However, I am sometimes con
cerned deeply about our success, lest our preoccupation
with the doing and achieving and living of all this suc
cess might be making us blind to the “wherefore” of it
all. Granted that the majority of Americans recognize
freedom of individual opportunity as the big factor that
has made this way of life of ours possible, just what are
we doing about it? Are we doing what we can to pre
serve it?
That, in the idiom of the day, is the $64-question! It
is plain as day that America can go, in the next genera
tion just where America’s citizens want America to go.
Will it be toward socialism and economic slavery, the
road to totalitarianism and loss of all freedoms guaran-j
teed in the Constitution and a lower standard of living? •
Or will it be in the direction of even higher standards of |
living, greater personal liberty, and more individual op-1
portunitv?
I suspect it will take more than just wishing, to follow
the latter route toward an even greater American des
tiny. As citizens, we'd better get busy! As to civic duty
and responsibility, we have great traditions which we
cannot afford to throw overboard. Deep in the truth
that led to the founding of this nation lies that principle 1
that each citizen has a duty to do his part. We depend
upon a citizen militia. We have no ruling class, but elect
leaders from the citizenry. The electorate itself is
charged with responsibility.
Yet, my fellow Americans, we are slow to shoulder
up to our places at the wheel—when it comes to doing
what we can to help preserve freedom of enterprise.
Everybody is for it. Oh, sure. (Even Henry Wallace has
claimed respect for free enterprise.) But what counts is
performance. What have you done to stop the march of
bureaucracy, the growth of big government, for
example
In the struggle of our American way of life to survive |
against all sorts of encroaching “isms” that would
weaken or destroy it, most Americans will have no
trouble deciding which side they must take. Then, hav
ing taken sides, will they quit worrying about it? There
are folks that see nothing at all they can do about it.
Such a thing as going out to vole for Ihe right man, or
even serving in public capacity, would be quite out of
order. What a pity!
America never won a struggle that way. lhree times
this nation has taken arms to protect herself and other
countries against ideas that would mean enslavement.
Each time we have emerged triumphant, having tried
and hoped to make the idea of democracy of more per
manence in the world. We stopped being busy long
enough to go to war on the side of freedom. It was not
easy, either time.
All right. Here we are, busy again. There’s no shoot
ing war, and nobody wants one. But we’re just a little
too busy to see that it’s up to us to have America stay
free. From without and within, ideas are being presen
ted that are different from those basic principles upon
which opr nation was founded. The very halls of Con
gress now echo with proposals for a welfare state that
eventually would reduce America to totalitarianism.
How busy are you?
PWA Officials
Expect Requests
For $45,000,000
(Juneau Empire*
Applications in the next two
months for federal aid under the
Alaska Public Works Act probab
ly will total about $45,000,000. it
was estimated by Arthur D. Mor
rell, deputy commissioner of the
Communities Facilities Service
which is administering the mea
sure.
Morrell will know more defin
itely after his two-week trip to
Anchorage, Fairbanks and Ketch
ikan, on which he was to leave
this afternoon. He will discuss de
tails of proposed projects, as he
and the CFS group have done with
officials of Juneau, Douglas, Pe
tersburg, and Pelican City and
other municipalities while here.
“We expect applications from
every incorporated town in Alas
ka and from most of the public
utilities districts, as well as from
a large number of independent
school districts,” Morrell said.
“Applications on behalf of the
Territory probably will include
those for a number of school pro
jects, and we have been told that
the health department and the
aeronautics and communications
commission also have eligible pro
jects.
“So far,” continued Morrell,
“the major types of public works
sought are schools, sewerage and
water systems and small boats har
bors. These are the most numer
ous requested, although not neces
sarily the largest in terms of dol- (
lars involved.”
With $1,000,000 in cash and $4,
000,000 in contract authorization
as a starter for the 1950 fiscal year
which will end next June, work
in the next few months will bare
ly scratch the surface, according
to Morrell.
However, he believes that the
great number of applications for
essential services will be effec
tive in obtaining much greater ap
propriations for the next several
years. Teh service has asked for
$42,000,000 for fiscal year 1951. of
which $4,000,000 will be needed to
fulfill present contract authoriza
tion.
Morrell asks that public bodies
not submit applications for any
projects which they do not really
intend to build and for which the
funds are not in sight with which
the purchase at 50 percent of con
tract price, on completion.
“Although the act provides for
repayment to the Federal govern
ment of from 25 to 75 per cent of
the cost,” Morrell said, “we have
to think in terms of 50 per cent,
for we have to put half the total
appropriation ($70,000,000 for the
five-year plan) back in the United
States treasury.
“For every case where repay
ment would be at 25 percent, we
have to find one at 75—and you
won’t find ecen a wealthy com
munity wanting to repay more
than absolutely necessary.”
Morrell and his party expect to
spend about three days in each of
the three communities, allowing
several extra days for weather or
other delays. In the group booked
for Anchorage were Morrell Les
ter Marx, special assistant to the
commissioner of community fa
cilities; Mel Frazier, legal expert; J
Joseph Patton, financial analyst; ,
and Miss Mary Mieczkowski, sec
retary. She, with Morrell and
Marx, came to the Territory from
the Washington, D. C., office. They
vill be joined in Anchorage by
NEWS IN BRIEF
(Continued from Page One)
sociation is going to energize 20
miles of power lines near here. It’s
part of a 75-mile project finaced
by loan funds from the rural elec
trification administration.
Power will be tapped from the
Northern Commercial Co.
The loan was negotiated in May,
1947, for $270,000. Most consrtuc
tion was completed *this year.
Nick Eidem, president of the as
sociation, said the rest of the pro
ject should be finished by the end
of January.
JUNEAU (/P)—Governor Gruen
ing’s office was advised from New
York yesterday of the governor’s
selection to the board of the Arc
tic Institute of North America.
He was elected to a three-year
term, beginning Jan. 1, by a unan
imous vote at the board’s recent
meeting. The institute fosters re
search into problems of the Far
North. Its governing board in
cludes prominent scientists, edu
cators and public officials of the
United .States aind Canada.
N.Y. Mayor Escapes
Water Shortage;
Honeymooning
STUART, Fla. (JP)—Mayor Wil
liam O’Dwyer of New York and
radiant Elizabeth Sloan Simpson
were married yesterday in a sim
ple ceremony in St. Joseph’s Cath
olice church and 20 minutes later
sailed away on an 8-day yachting
honeymoon.
Nature painted a brilliant rain
bow in the sky as they entered
the church for the ceremony. A
skywriting airplane drew a 6-mile
high heart above the yacht Almar
II as they soiled on the mahogany
decked boat.
Three hundred persons jammed
the little wooden army surplus
church. Four hundred others
formed an overflow crowd out
side, and an additional 200 shout
ed and waved a farewell at the
dock as they sailed away.
The bride. 33, wore blue. Her
dark navy blue suit was trimmed
with darker blue velvet.
O’Dwyer, 59, was clad in a blue
doublebreasted suit with gray tie
and black shoes.
The people of Sylt, German
owned island in the North Sea.
speak a dialect that more nearly
resembles English than any lan
guage on the continent of Europe.
John Argetsinger, district engin
eer. who has been to Nome and
Fairbanks on a preliminary trip.
About December 16, Morrell,
Marx and Miss Mieczkowski will
leave Ketchikan for the national
capital, the others planning to re
turn to Juneau. Argetsinger will
be in charge of the Alaska head
quarters office here, and Patton
and Frezier will remain until their
permanent replacements are as- j
signed.
Joseph T. Flakne of the Alaska j
branch, interior department, who
accompanied Argetsinger to the
Interior and arrived at Anchorage
with him, left immediately by air 1
for Washington.
While the party has been in
Alaska, the name of the agency
has been changed from the bureau
of community facilities to the
community facilities service. It
operates under the General Serv
ices Administration which was
formed July 1, 1949.
Brilons W ill Eat
Lapland Reindeer
(By John Allan May)
(Staff Correspondent of The
Christian Science Monitor
LONDON — Introducing Mac
Reindeer.
Help from Lapland for the lerd
ers of the British people now is on
its way. It is in the familiar
Christmas-greetings shape of a
herd of reindeer.
These are real reindeer—25 of
them. It is proposed to settle them
and their families in the Islands
of Hebrides or on the Scottish
mainland, and from them raise
many herds to supplement the
British meat ration.
The original 25 reindeer are on
offer from the reindeer ranch of
Mikkel Udsi, one of the biggest
livestock farmers in northern
Sweden.
To bring them over to Britain,
to persuade the Secretary for
Scotland to allow them in, to ar
range for their reception, and to
interest the Ministry of Food in
the idea, there has just been form
ed “The Reindeer Council of the
United Kingdom.”
The council include sa number
them is Lt. Comdr. Quintin Riley,
of British polar explorers. Among
technical adviser for the recent
movie, “Scott of the Antarctic,"
which mostly was filmed in the
Arctic.
The chairman is Sir Frederick
Whyte, scholar and diplomat.
“There are wide areas of right
grazing ground in the highlands,"
Sir Frederick declares.
The council has had its eyes on
the Island of South Rona near the
Isle of Skye. The Scottish Office
so far is opposed to the plan to in
; troduce reindeer there, for rea
sons not yet specified.
Sir Michael Peto, Scottish land
owner, meanwhile is reported to
have offered a tract of land for
the herd on the Scoraig Peninsula
j in Inverness on the mainland.
The reindeer council declares
i its aim is to add to the “present
inadequate supply of meat and
hides” in Britain. Reindeer steaks
certainly may provide a welcome
change from whale and South Af
rican Snoek fa sort of fish). And
the council probably is right in
thinking there is a big future for
reindeer farmers in Scotland.
Records show that reindeer lived
happily in the highland right up
to the 12th century. There doesn’t
seem to have been much change
in the weather there since, they
say, and no reason is known why
reindeer should not thrive there
again.
Mr. Udsi of Sweden, who has
offered the council the first 25
animals, is prepared to provide
several Lapp herdsmen to look af
ter them for the first three years,
and to train Scottish herders in
reindeer lore.
BEEF TASTERS END
WITH TONGUES IN CHEEKS
DAVIS. Calif., (£*)—You would
think that 26 experts all sitting
around tasting roast beef would
develop definite opinions on the
subject. However, that many at
the College of Agriculture recent
ly sampled rib roasts from three
different kinds of cattle and said
at the end that it was a good din
ner. Competing for taste and ten
derness were rib roasts from
Hereford, Brahma and Braford
cattle. The last is a crossbreed.
As the former center of civiliza
tion, Italy is the home of some of
the world’s oldest libraries.