THE NOME NUGGET
Published Monday, Wednesday and Friday by The
NOME PUBLISHING CO.
Nome, Alaska
Telephone: Main 125 p. o. Box 618
W. A. and EMILY BOUCHER ..Editors
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Entered as second class matter October 14. 1943. at the postoffice
at Nome, Alaska, under the Act of March 3, 1879.
Friday, January 16, 1948
Bill ions are While Chips in Modern War
(The Denver Post)
THE UNITED STATES,’ which was spending at the
rate of almost 100 billion dollars a year at the peak of
• its war effort, has been told that it cannot afford the
Marshall plan. But the question should be, can we afford
not to?
A Congressman identified only as a “key Republi
can’’—he could be Representative Halleck of Indiana,
the Republican whip—predict the initial appropriation
for the European recovery program may be cut 70 per
cent below the administration request. He bases this on
the opinion of party advisers, who “believe the United
States cannot spare much more than 2,200 million dol
lars in food and other agricultural products during the
next year without upsetting the entire domestic econ
omy.”
The point of view expressed in that statement is al
most purely one of middle west Republicanism. It was
this same attitude, registered by Congressmen from the
old isolation belt, which produced the chief opposition
to the 597-millian-dollar emergency aid bill. Voting for
the bill were 161 Republicans and 152 Democrats; vot
ing against the bill were seventy Republicans and 11
Democrats. Of the seventy Republican “noes” fifty-five
came from the middle part of the country. They repre
sent for the most part unreconstructed isolationists to
whom a global war has taught no lesson.
These opponents of the Marshall plan are price-tag
statesmen. But they are overlooking the most appalling
price tag of all—that is the cost of another war, against
which American aid to Europe would be cheap insur
ance.
Forget the humanitarian aspects of the Marshall plan
if they will, and examine only the costs of modern war.
Since the American Revolution, war costs have blown
up in a sort of geometric progression. The Revolution
cost 144 million dollars; the Civil War 16 billion dol
lars; World'War I, 42 billion dollars; World War II, 500
billion dollars (by the time we are through paying for
it)—and World War III, who knows? It would be in the
trillions.
Do these Marshall plan opponents think the national
economy could stand a third word war? That is the
background, in trillions of dollars cost—and millions in
secrificed lives—against which the Marshall plan must
be projected. Then our aid will be seen in its real pro
portions. In another war, billions would be the white
chips. *
Henrv Is 64Runiiing’"
*
(Rocky Mountain News)
WHEN PRESIDENT TRUMAN pitched him out of
the cabinet a year ago last summer, Henry Wallace hit
the ground running.
So his announcement that he will be a third-party
candidate for President did not come as startling news.
Henry had quite a number of followers when he first
started running. That was back when some people
thought maybe Henry had something when he said we
ought to trust the Russians with the atom bomb, and
court their favor by yielding on all other controversies.
But time and developments have been disillusioning,
and more and more people have come to realize that
Stalin’s aggression and imperialism are of the same pat
tern as Hitler’s
So Henry’s followers have been leaving him in
droves. At this writing, Henry is running like a dry
creek, and if he doesn’t pick up speed before November
he can be charged with loitering.
Henry’s platform is for “peace” and the “common
j MATHEMATICAL UNCSgTMNTV
man.” Well, there are lots of us common folks, and we
all want peace. But most of us who vote are old enough
to remember that peace cannot be bought by appearse
ment and disarmament, and that a fellow with Henry’s
ideas can get the common man into a whale of a lot of
trouble.
Even Henry’s loudest champions—and of late they
have narrowed down to the Communists and the frus
trates of the lunatic fringe—do not claim that he has a
chance to carry a single state.
The most they claim is that perhaps in a few pivotal
states—where the contest between the Democrats and
Republicans will be close, Henry may take enough
votes away from the Democrats to enable the Republi
cans to win.
That’s what the Republicans hope will happen. But
judging by the way ex-New Dealers and union leaders
have been flocking back into the Truman camp, it does
not seem likely that there will be much of a Roosevelt
ian core in the Wallace effort.
One good thing should come from his candidacy.
; When all of his popular votes are counted (he won’t get
any electoral votes), Moscow’s politburo can strike a
: total and learn the maximum extent of Soviet tolerance
in this country.
Maybe thereafter the Russians will try harder to un
derstand Americans.
Agricultural Efficiency
(St. Louis Globe-Democrat)
Two kinds of inflation are responsible for the rising
spiral of food prices in this country. The immediate and
violent inflation, which has forced food prices to nearly
100 per cent above 1939, can be attributed to the war,
world shortages, higher wages and other economic fac
tors. But as Louis Bromfield, novelist and progressive
farmer, pomted out in an address here, there has been
a creeping inflation in food prices even since the Civil
War.
There have been temporary rises and dips but gov
ernment statistics show that since the 1860’s the trend
has always been uoward. This is true he asserts, because
American agriculture has been declining while the pop
ulation has been steadily increasing. In this country we
have increased production, not by improving the fertil
ity of the land and the efficiency of farm operations, but
by expanding the acreage under production. As a result
we have been forced to adopt government policies of
subsidies and price parities.
Mr. Bromfield is a practical farmer, not a theorist.
He had demonstrated on his own farms in Ohio the
soundness of his program for agriculture. This program
is based first of all upon soil conservation. Through ig
norant, wasteful and greedy soil practices, American
farmers have seriously damaged 60 per cent of the na
tion’s farm land. Some of this land is beyond redemp
tion. A large part of it, however, can be reclaimed by
proper conservation methods.
Soil conservation to improve and maintain the fertil
i ity of the soil, plus mechanizat
will increase production and
costs. About 10 per cent of the
tion’s farmers are now practic
this kind of farming. If all fa
ers were as efficient, Mr. Br<
field estimates we could feec
population of 250,000,000 with
acreage now under cultivatior
These are not the problems
agriculture alone. Urban dwel
must pay for our wasteful 1;
methods both in higher food pr
and in the taxes needed to su^
agriculture subsidies. The b:
step in the improvement of a,
culture is soil conservation. ]
chanization is not profitable
less the land con produce
enough crops to make mechan
tion practical.
Thus far we are still losing
battle of soil conservation, all o
the nation. It can be won, bu
requires the combined efforts
the cities as well as the far
Until it is won, we shall conti
to pay for our waste in the j
in high food prices and taxes
agriculture subsidies.
LOOXTM
AHEAD
r GEORGE 1BENS0
I Praldeat—JUrdltf M|
| St* rtf. Ariamtm
JUST COMMUNISM. ACTA I
Things have not been go
well in France and Italy. Pr
erports speak increasingly
Communist-inspired rioting. Th
riots, in which people are be
killed and many injured, are
perfect keeping with the v,
known methods of the Commi
ists. They work with peace
ways until they think they
strong enough to win with %
lence. Then they use violenc
showing their real colors.
The question is- not whet!
people have a right to revolt
litically. Our Founding Fath(
171 years ago, revolted. But tl
drew up one of the noblest do
ments of all times, in which tl
meant to let all the world kn
some fundamental truths: “ .
that all men are created eq\
that they are endowed by tl
Creator with certain unaliena
Rights, that among these are L
Liberty and pursuit of Happin
Builders of Hate
When. I visited Commui
headquarters in Paris last year
was clear from their own talk t
they were building chiefly ui
hate. Events that have come
pass therefore are not surprisi
Where the individual is not
spected, violence may be exp<
ed. Most of the hatred, destr
tion, and chaos still stalking
earth may be laid at the door
those bitter and false philosoph
who have denied * human rig
and liberties!
Of such is Communism, both
theory and in action. In the
cent French elections, when
De Gaullists (anti-Commun
gained ground, the French C(
munists were ready to go into
tion. They had gone so far as t!
could by peaceful action, so
Communists used violence to t
the great port city of Marsei
American and British flags, ha
ing in Armistice celebratit
were torn from the city hall. C
fusion was rampant.
Misuse of Labor
Communist-led unions in ot
cities began to go out on str
to add to the confusion. Coal rr
ers and auto workers struck. '
Communists have called for “c<
mittees of defense,” to resist
peaceful election victory of