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 postoffict
•t Nome, Alaska, under the Act of March 3. 1879.
Nome, Alaska, Wednesday, March 15, 1950
NO ‘DIVINE RIGHT” FOR KINGS
The divine right of kings, so vigorously asserted in
European countries in past centuries, does not come
into the discussion that is going on in Belgium over the
question of King Leopold’s return.
As the King awaited the decision of his country, the
Belgian Chamber of Deputies debated the proposed ref
endum which was held Sunday. Recognizing the right
of the people, the King had agreed to abdicate if he re
ceived lass than fifty-five percent of the vote.
This procedure indicates the end of the “divine right”
theory of kings in the nations of Western Europe. Of
course, among tribal peoples and undeveloped areas, the
rulers still contend that they hold office by the hand of
God and that their people, if they worship God, should,
likewise, worship the ruler.
TO KEEP GERMANY DISARMED
The policy of the United States toward Germany is
that that country should be “fully integrated into the
common structure of a free Europe” but that to keep
Germany deprived of the means of waging war and to
prevent the development of German aviation which
could become a threat to the peace olj the world.
Thees aims are being progressively developed in the
hope that the Germon people will proceed along demo
cratic lines to a close association with the free peoples
of Western Europe. Important as this objective is, how
ever, there is to be no amelioration of the conditions im
posed on Germany for the purpose of preventing the
development of a political condition or a military po
tential which would threaten the independence of other
nations or the peace of the world.
“TAX FATIGUE”
(Cincinnati Enquirer)
The Clarksville Tribune, published in the Indiana
town between the Ohio River and the Great Lakes,
which prides itself on being the oldest American town,
commented rather poignantly the other day on the
sheer fatigue of local, State and Federal tax burdens!
on the citizenry. It enumeratted the long list of taxes and
deductions and other weights upon the productive
power of the individual or business. Then it made the
plaint that too many folk on the public pay roll are
“busy doing nothing.”
The newspaper was in position to cite an immediate
example. It seems a government employee, in a govern
ment car, had driven all the way from Chicago to
Clarksville to find out how many new houses had been
built there in the last two years. The mission took two
days and 600 miles of mileage —to obtain information
which a three-cent letter could have obtained from the
Town Clerk.
Nor was that the end of it. A week later two women
employees of the government, driving another govern
ment car, arrived in Clarksville seeking the same infor
mation. When advised the data already had been ob
tained by a Federal man, they said. “Oh, yes, we know
about him—but HE was from the Census Bureau and
WE are with the Department of Labor.”
“A person shouldn’t get up in the morning until he
feels like doing so,” asserts a psychologist. But, Doc,
wouldn’t we get too much sleep if we fell into the habit
of not getting up until the day after tomorrow?
It’s strange that so many people are very little con
cerned about the future. They don’t seem to realize they
are going to have to spend the rest of their lives in it.
A naturalist says fish have no means of communica
tion. We have often wondered why they never respond
to .. ; we i:r-d them.
Gruelling Reports
On Conditions
In Alaska
(Continued from Page One)
ing and will continue to be deriv
ed from Alaska’s resources,”
Grucning said.
“This wealth has contributed to
our national economy. It has play
ed a substantial part in building
up the city of Seattle.
“But hitherto only an infinites
imal part of the proceeds of Alas
i ka’s natural resources had been
retained for Alaska’s own devel
| opment, and for the services of its
own people.”
Gruening said the need for
statehood for Alaska became “in
creasingly apparent throughout
1949, particularly so in view of
the international situation.”
The Territory’s most critical ob
stacle to population growth and
development, he added, is a lack
of housing.
He added that Alaska may look 1
toward relief of the severe hous-!
ing shortage in legislation enact
ed by Congress which:
1. Authorized a one-third in
crease in the limit of federal
| housing insurance in Alaska.
2. Allowed the federal national
mortgage association to make real
estate loans secured by property
in Alaska.
3. Authorized a $15,000,000 re
volving fund loan for the Alaska
Housing Authority.
Gruening said that as a direct
result of the act, a 67-unit apart
1 ment building was started at An
' chorage, about 800 additional pro
i jects were prepared for financing.
He added that Anchorage needs
! 3,000 housing units, Fairbanks
1.000, Juneau 500, Ketchikan 500
to 1,000 and other Alaskan towns
1.000.
I
The report said that due to in
sufficient funds, schools in eight
native communities—Alitak, Bea
ver, Chalykitsik, Chaniliut, Kal
tag, Kivalina, Nondalton and
Eagle—remained closed “even
though buildings, equipment and
children were available in each
village.”
“Schools in nine native com- j
munities were operated with one
less room-unit than enrollment
justified,” it added.
“The savings resulting made it1
possible to operate eight one-room
schools which would otherwise
have been closed entirely.”
Nugget Ads Bring Quick Results
State Dept Gave
i High Post To
"‘Russian Agent**
iContinued from Page One)
ate investigators to check on this.
Duran was formerly an assist
ant to the assistant secretary of
state in charge of Latin American
affairs. McCarthy said he left the
state department in 1946 “after
intense Congressional pressure
and criticism.”
As of yesterday, McCarthy said,
Duran was employed as a repre
sentative of the International
Refugee Organization, an agency
of the United Nations.
McCarthy was before a Senate
foreign relations sub-committee to
continue detailing his charges that
the state department has kept
poor security risks on its pay roll.
He had previously named Du
ran in a speech Feb. 12 at Reno,
Nev. At that time Duran said in
New York that “I am not now,
nor ever have been, a communist
or a communist sympathizer.”
Duran also said an FBI investi
gation had cleared him completely
after charges that he sympathized
with the communists were first
made against him some five years
ago. Duran, a Spanish-born nat
uralized citizen, said that during
the Spanish Civil War he was a
lieutenant-colonel in “the legal,
Spanish Republican army,” not in
the international brigade.
—
Rookies Must
Show Stuff, Or—
TAMPA, Fla., (/P)—Now is the
time for the 1950 rookie crop to
put up or shut up. The major
league 363-game exhibition sched
ule opened Saturday and there
will be no more fooling around.
The new phenoms who can run
like Citation and hit like Ruth
must prove it under actual game
conditions. For many, the end is
in sight.
With only 10 days or less of
practice, depending on local wea
ther conditions, the boys must
start playing games. Under base
ball law they couldn’t begin prac
tice becfore March 1.
All 16 majors are busy in a full
program that stretches from Mi
ami, Fla., to Pasadena, Calif.
There won’t be a letup until the
season opens in mid-April.
An executive is a man who
makes all the final indecisions.
IT SEEMS THERE WERE TWO ENGLISHMEN
'Wilkins Says ‘Fight
Russia From
Under Arctic Ice**
WASHINGTON, </P)—Sir Hu
bert Wilkins, the Arctic explorer,
said last night that submarines
carrying guided missiles and air
planes under the Arctic ice might
be the most effective means of
conducting a noffensive against
Russia.
Wilkins, a native of Australia,
who has made the United States
his home for many years, is now
a consultant to the U. S. army.
He flew from Alaska to Wash
ington to address a Town Hall au
dience.
Sir Hubert showed motion pic
tures made from a submarine that
he took under the Arctic ice in
1931. Metal runners along the top
of the submarine made it slide
along the lower side of the iec.
Wilkins said that Russia’s in
dustrial centers are now situated
since the war, east of the Ural
mountains; that Russia’s Arctic
coast is protected by radar and
air stations and that U. S. bomb
ers attacking from Alaska in
event of war would find the going
difficult and risky.
U. S. warships attempting such
an attack would be opposed also
by submarines, he said. But U. S.
submarines could lie secretly un
der the Arctic ice, drilling holes
with electrically heated drills to
get air and discharge missiles or
planes when desired. Because
there is no wave action under the
ice, he said, the under-ice subma
rines could be as large as air
plane carriers is desired.
Sentence Labor
Leader To 6 Years
For Perjury
WASHINGTON, ffl — Harold
Christoffel, former Milwaukee la
bor leader, was sentenced yester
day to from two to six years in
prison on a charge of lying to a
Congressional committee.
Christoffel was convicted last
month for a second time on a per
jury charge. A federal court jury
found he had lied when he denied
under oath to the House labor
committee that he had ever been
a communist.
The sentence imposed yesterday
by federal judge F. Dickinson
Letts was the same as Christoffel
received after his first conviction
in 1948.
The Supreme Court threw out
the first conviction.
Judge Letts yesterday senten
ced Christoffel to two to six years
on each of five counts but ruled
that the sentences be served con
currently.
In reversing Christoffel’s first
conviction, the Supreme Court
held the government had not
proved a quorum, or at lease 13,
of the 25 members of the House
committee were present when
Christoffel testified before it on
March 1, 1947.
At the second trial, the govern
ment produced testimeny by 14
members of the committee that
they were present. Defense attor
ney O. John Rogge contended
later in arguments that some of
the Congressmen perjured them
selves in so testifying.
Christoffel is a former presi
dent of Local 248 UAW-CIO at the
Milwaukee plant of Allis-Chal
mers.
Government witnesses testified
that he helped carry out commun
ist plans in calling a three-month
strike at the plant in the spring
of 1941.