THE NOME NUGGET
Published Monday. Wednesday and Friday by The
NOME PUBLISHING CO.
Nome, Alaska
Telephone: Main 125 P. O. Box 61"
$1.50 PER MONTH $16.00 A YEAR
W. A. and EMILY BOUCHER. Editor*
Entered as second clas> matter October 14, 1943, at the postoffice al
Nome, Alaska, under the Act of March 3, 1879.
Wednesday, December 5, 1945
NAVY REORGANIZATION
(New York Times)
The Navy Department is wasting little time in re
vamping its wartime organization, as indicated by the
preliminary reorganization plan drawn up by Secre
tary Forrestal and approved by President Truman.
During wartime many activities have to be carried on
that are unneeded in peacetime. Reforms have to be
delayed because the exigencies of war do not allow
time in which to do an overhaul job. Further reorgan
ization proposals are to be explored by an informal
Navy board headed by Undersecretary Gates. Reports
from Washington are that a similar streamlining is
planned by the War Department.
These reorganizations are necessary. The prompt
ness with which they are being initiated, only a month
and a half after the war’s end. is commendable. They
still do not, however, answer the need for an over-all
exploration and evaluation of our whole military es
tablishment, Army, Navy, and Air. This war has shown
that they are interdependent. The money for their sup
port must come out of the same pocket. No matter how
efficiently each department might be organized within
its present framework, there still would remain the
problem of integration.
Much unnecessary work might be avoided by the
appointment soon of a board or commission of “outsid
ers’ ’to review the structure of the War and Navy de
partments and make recommendations for changes in
the present organization or unification in some, if not
all, divisions. The longer the delay, the more difficult
may become the adoption of any recommendations such
a board might make. The time for it to start would
seem to be now when the departments themselves are
reorganizing their wartime structures, while they are
in a mood for change and before their reorganization
plans are put into full effect.
GETTING JUNIOR TO BED
(St. Louis Star Times)
Patience is a great virtue. It has been observed by
profound philosophers that if one is patient enough he
usually get his way in the end. Digilent research up
holds the validity of this assertion. Junior gets to bed
ultimately if the whole family concentrates on the
problem and devotes a few hours to the accomplishment
of this worthy end.
Just why a 10-year-old boy so firmly objects to going
to bed is a mystery for a Ph. D. thesis to solve in seven
syllable words. Boys are admittedly stubborn. Some
two hours usually are needed from the time of the first
call until Junior finishes his bath and gets stretched
between the sheets.
It’s a help if an older brother or sister is available for
the first hour of the battle. This prepares the way for
mother. She can carry on for half an hour. Then father,
with the moral support of the previous ground work,
can let out a bellow that informs junior his time is grow
ing short.
Junior has some points on his side. If man monkeys
with clocks, why can’t he stay up until dark? The major
point, we assume, is that the family recognizes the eve
ning hours have a purpose—that purpose being to get
junior in bed so the rest of the family can have a couple
of hours of peace before they seek their couches.
k You can’t marry amiss if you marry a widow.
Among the things there is room for at the top is im
provement.
0
Government statistics of every sort are under the
[ political microscope. Since 1933 our federal agencies
have shifted the base of practically every government
index series, making running comparisons with earlier
years impossible for all but trained mathematicians.
The tendency of government agencies is to build up
statistical systems which make current operations look
I good; earlier years then are “adjusted” to the reviseS
| formula. In these transitions from old base to new, the
actual basis of comparison often is lost.
How, asks Congress, is anything like a “national bud
get” to be managed on the basis of statistical tables
which the themselves open to challenge?
—Nation’s Business
WE KNOW, we know!
- - -- --.
Communication
STATEHOOD
The Territorial Legislature has
passed a law submitt;ng the ques
tion of Statehood to be voted on at
the election this coming ye&r. It is
a question of vital interest to each
man, woman and child in the Ter
ritory and its advantages and dis
advantages carefully analyzed.
This is my purpose in submitting
this aritcle.
In its final analysis the ques
tion of Statehood resolves itself
into the COST. Regardless of the
sentiment involved in having full
citizenship and a voice in our Na
tional Government, we must con
sider all factors pertaining to such
a condition.
The operating costs of a State
will be far in excess of the costs
we now have for operating the
Territory. The operation of the
Courts and law enforcement
would be a State function, also
the maintenance and operation of
the Legislature and the State ex
ecutive department. These costs
will be reflected in the actual and
indirect taxes upon every activity
being carried on in the Territory
and which in its final phase spells
Y O EWE.
Alaska covers practically six
hundred thousand square miles
and has an outside population of
about eighty thousand people,
whites and natives. Of this six
hundred thousand miles of terri
tory, the citizens own about two
per cent, the Government ninety
eight percent. I Know of no State
which, when it was admitted into
the Union was given the right of
the primary disposal of the soil.
The Government carefully retains
that perogative, also the Forest
Reserves and the sixty foot strip
above high watpr along the coast'
line and in addition there are bird
reserves, national parks, oil re
serves, etc., ect., which, I do not
believe, would be turned over to
the new State. More and more
laws are being passed to restrict
the exploitation of the Territory,
in its various resources, by indi
viduals and groups. There is doc
umentary evidence of this state
ment.
To induce settlement in Alaska,
we must have an incentive. The
greatest one being that we can
improve possible settlers economic
conditions. Our living costs are
high enough now so that if we add
an additional two or three percent
property tax, a sales tax. income
tax, etc., etc., opportunities in
Alaska would not loom any too
brightly to prospective settlers.
The Government might turn the
control of the salmon and deep
water fishing over to the proposed
State, I think it extremely doubt
ful. The twelve-mile Continental
Shelf Act applies only for Federal
purposes. The seal rookeries are
under International agreement
and I do not believe that the State
could count on that revenue. In
addition I believe that we would
still have to pay Federal taxes. A;
scrutiny of the Territorial Tax
Act, as passed by our Legislature,
does not show much that was
overlooked.
Our cities, towns, villages and
settlements are isolated and wide
ly scattered. In the First Division,
I know of but two towns which
are connected by a road, Juneau
and Douglas. Travel to any other
of the settlements is either by
boat or plane. It is as far from
Hyder to Juneau as it is from
i\'e\v York to Pittsburgh. I do not
know how practical it would be
to connect any of the town* by
roads but from riding up and
down by ooats, it impresses me as
\ ery costly construction.
Parts of the Third and Fourth
Division are better off in tnai re
gard: Cordova, before the railroad
was abandoned, was connected
With Fairbanks and Vuldez by rail
to a stub road connecting with
! die Richardson Highway and An
I chorage is also connected, by road,
to the Richardson Highway. In ad
dition Seward and Fairbanks are
connected by the railroad and, I
understand, that a road is under
construction connecting Seward
and Anchorage. Anchorage has a
number of good local roads, and
Fairbanks, in addition to the Al
can Highway, has a number of
good local roads and the Steese
Highway to Circle City. Nothing
out local dirt roads exist in the
rest of the Third or Fourth Divi
sions. Thei'e are many small
camps in both of these Divisions
:nd in addition, many canneries
in the Third Division. The Second
Division has nothing but local
roads and the tramway to Bunker
Hill so, if the Division is to be de
veloped at all, Roads are a crying
need. The airplane has done a lot
as an aid to prospecting, and will
continue to do so, the airplane
cannot take the place of roads.
The First Division has mining,
fishing and some forestx*y work,
all other industries being incident
al to these. Roads are needed to
aid the mining, water takes care
of their fisheries.
The Third Division has mining,
fishing and some slight agricul
utre. Roads axe necessary for the
development of the mines, water
takes care of the fishing, one
might live on a farm and get
along, if mining stopped, I have
yet to hear of a successful farmer,
if he had no mai*kets.
The Fourth Division has to have
roads if it is to continue to exist
as a mining camp, all of its other
activities are incidental to mining.
The Second Division will never
be developed to its possibilities
without roads, the only mining
which would be done would be
close to water transportation.
These roads will cost from
twenty to thirty thousand dollars
per mile. Is the two percent own
ership to pay for improving the
ninety-eight per cent owners
share? Tne Public Roads Act in no
State assumes any such share of
the construction costs. These roads
mean a lot of money has to be
raised.
The Political Angle
By political agitation, the Ter
ritorial form of Government was
altered and the system, under
which we were originally organ
ized, where each Division was
equally represented and the mem
bership of the Legislature reap
portioned — there is not much
chance that in the proposed State
that the Second and Fourth Divi
sions would fare much better in
the State Legislature, as it stands
now the First and Third Divisions
have fifteen votes in the lower
House, the Fourth and Second
nine, there is equal representation
in the Senate.
M
I have not seen it, but have beerr
informed that there is a measure
now in Congress to reapportion
(Continued on page three)