THE NOME NUGGET
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W. A. and EMILY BOUCHER.Editors
Entered as second class matter October 14, 1943, at the postofUe*
at Nome, Alaska, under the Act of March 3, 1879.
* * Monday, March 31, 1947
European Relief
Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
THE ECONOMIC SURVEY counducted in Austria
by former President Hoover shows the relief needs of
that war-blighted country are desperately urgent. It
also discloses the real cause of the tragic situation.
Although the victorious Allied nations, including Rus
sia, had agreed at Potsdam that only actual German
properties in Austria were to be held subject to repara
tions seizure, the unhappy country has been rendered
industrially and agriculturally destitute.
The true picture in Austria is one of Russia enriching
herself at the expense of the Austrian people, leaving
the hapless population to starve or to be sustained by
foreign relief—largely, of course, at the expense of the
United States.
Hence, in sustaining the impoverished Austrians the
United States is simply paying reparations to Russia.
In Austria, reports Mr. Hoover, the Russians “have
not only requisitioned a large amount of fertile land but
a great number of industrial plants,” with the result that
“the full use of American resources is not being brought
into play, which increases the burden upon our taxpay
>»
ers.
Similarly, in Germany the Russian policy of plunder
and despoliation has been pursued ultimately and prin
cipally at American expense.
In Italy, the reparations finally agreed upon for the
benefit of Russia established the major part of the relief
burden which the American people must carry and pay
for.
'Even in other countries, such as Greece and Turkey,
where the Russians have lacked the opportunity to drain
off resources as reparations, they have meddled in poli
tics so brazenly and menacingly that American relief
seems necessary and perhaps mandatory.
Russia is shrewdly and ruthlessly making middlemen
out of the hungry and destitute people of Europe, for
mer enemies and allies alike—pathetic and tragic peo
ples standing in the middle between Russian spoliation
on the one hand and American mercy on the other.
“There can be no real solution,” Mr. Hoover says can
didly and almost despairingly, “until there is a peace
treaty which entirely frees Austrian economy to pro
duce and export.”
How can there be a solution anywhere in Europe as
long as Russia puts freedom to plunder above interna
tional sovereignty and human welfare?
“Indefensible” Strikes
(The Rocky Mountain News)
OF THE UNION OFFICIALS who have testified be
fore the Senate Labor Committee, not one has dared to
defend jurisdictional strikes.
But only one—President George Q. Lynch of the AFL
Pattern Makers’ League—has conceded that in time
employers and the public might possibly be entitled to
a little legal protection from such strikes.
William Green of the AFL contended that the prob
lem should be left to unions. Philip Murray of the CIO
provided a laugh by proposing that the committee put
it up to him and “Willie” Green to seek a solution. Mr.
Lynch, at least, did not try to kid the committee.
He said it might eventually be reasonable to deprive
unions of Wagner Act protection for jurisdictional
strikes that seek to force employers to violate that fed
eral law.
President Truman calls jurisdictional strikes “inde
_TREASURE ISLAND j
fensible”—and they are.
They are an ancient, deeply-rooted evil. They are wars;
between unions, battles for prestige and power, fought i
at the expense of helpless employers and a helpless pub-;
lie.
Within two miles of the room where it sits, the Senate
committee could see the effect of one jurisdictional;
strike, typical of thousands. Completion of a new and
greatly needed Washington hospital has been delayed
for seven weeks by a dispute over whether a few AFL
metal workers or a few AFL carpenters should install
some lockers. The dispute was referred to international
officers of the two AFL unions in Ja’nuary, but had not
been settled.
The question involved in many jurisdictional strikes!
is whether one union or another union shall represent
a given group of workers.
Many controversies arise because of the bitter CIO-;
AFL rivalry, and the workers concerned vote for the
union they prefer.
But after the votes are counted, after the winning1
union has been certified by the NLRB as a majority’s!
choice, after the employer has signed up to deal with
that union as the law requires, the losing union—even
though it got only a tiny majority of the votes—can
strike.
The Wagner Act does not protect the employer whoi
obeys it. His business can be damaged or ruined, and he
has no legal recourse. But the Wagner Act, as Mr. Lynch
concedes, protects the “right” of the minority workers
to conduct a jurisdictional strike. The Supreme Court;
of the United States has so held.
Mr. Lynch did not propose legislation to remedy this
gross injustice. Like the other union officers, he objected.
to all proposals for corrective labor legislation at this1
time, sharing the attitude that has caused even so pro
union a Senator as Morse of Oregon to warn labor “lead
ership” that it is inviting legislation which may go too
far.
!
I
THAT’S THAT By bruce gustin
According to an old Arab pro
verb, “the ass went seeking for
horns and lost its ears." The peace
treaty Italy signed should remind
the Italian people of that for gen
erations to come. It describes pretty
well what happened to Mussolni
who aspired to be the modern
Caesar, and to the country which
shared his imperialistic insanity.
Mussolini not only lost his ears—
he lost his life.
Italy has become a nonentity in
the family of nations. And the
Italian people have been reduced
to a state of beggary.
Under the peace treaty, what is
left of Italy is saddled with a 360
million-dollar bill for reparations.
The country is stripped of all its
colonies. It is disarmed. Instead of
beipg a world power, Italy is re
duced to the status of only a third
or fourth-rate power. All this is
tough on the Italian people. But
they know what is meant when
we say “crime never pays.” As
long as it appeared that Mussolini
might get away with international
banditry they followed him blind
ly. People must pay for the sins of
their government.
An italian mob tore an Ameri
can flag to shreds in Rome in pro
test against the peace treaty Italy
I was forced to sign. The rioters
blamed the United States largely
for the harshness of the terms im
posed upon their country. Since
the beginning of time, people have
been blaming everybody but them
selves for the consequences of
their own acts. Adam’s alibi for
eating the forbidden fruit in the
Garden of Eden was that Eve gave
it to him. And her excuse was that
"the serpent beguiled me."
There is an interestng contrast
in the division of reparations ex
acted by the Allies from Hitler’*
satellites under the peace terms
imposed on Italy, Bulgaria, Hun
gary, Romania and Finland. Of the
one billion 330 million dollars
which these five countries are
called upon to pay, Soviet Russia
is to get 900 millions. The United
States whch was the arsenal, gran
ary and treasury for the Allies gets
nothing.
The compromise proposed by
Senators Millikin of Colorado and
Vandenberg of Michigan, and ac
cepted by the state department,
should *avert a serious tariff fight
in the present Congress. Under
this plan, an “escape clause” will
be written into future trade agree
ments. It will provide for cancella
tion by either government of any
tariff concesson which results in
serious injury to domestic produc
ers. That seems fair enough. The
principal reason for a tariff is pro
tection of home industry. Where
tariff reductions can be made with
out hurting domestic production,
they should be granted to promote
international trade.
It is to the credit of many Demo
cratic Congressmen that they have
joined with House Republicans in
voting to restore the name of for
mer President Hoover to the dam
on the Colorado river. The action
of former secretary of interi/or
Ickes in ordering that the dam be
called “Boulder dam” instead /of
“Hoover dam” was a lowdown, iie
spicable trick. i
There never was any excuse »f°r
the name “Boulder dam” after jthe
structure was built. When the proj
ect was being debated in Congrdss,
the dam usually was referred icl as
“Boulder” or “Boulder Camon
dam.” That was because it furst
was thought the dam would \be
built in Boulder canon. But it wjas
constructed in Black canon. Alnd
in recognition of the importatnt
role played by Hoover CongresLs,
in five appropriation bills, referred
to the dam as “Hoover dam.” \
When Franklin D. Roosevelt ac- l
cepted the first Democratic nomin- w
ation for the Presidency in 1932, 1
he told the American people that 1
“government—federal and state f
and local—costs too much.” Gov-f
ernment then was costing about I3f
billion dollars a year. Local gov-/ ,
ernment cost a little less than A 6
and one-half millions; state, tW 0
and one-fourth billions; and feq \.
eral, less than 4 and one-half bi( >1
lions. In 1946, the American' peo\ .
pie paid out more than 46 billioni
in taxes of which local govern-\
ment got 5 billions, the states 4 and \
one-half billions and the federal 1
government 36 and one-half bil- 1
lions. '
BALTIMORE, (JP)—According to
his parents, three-year-old Staley
Schaeffer likes the ladies. The
youngster disappeared yesterday
while staying with some friends.
Several hours later, three teen-age
girls showed up with Staley at po
lice headquarters and explained
he had been following them.
That didn’t surprise his parents,
Mr. and Mrs. Fred Schaeffer. "You I
see,” Mr. Schaeffer remarked, “ly
has always had an eye for f
girls.”
“Just like his father,”
Mrs. Schaeffer.