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 BOUCH1 E 11
SI.50 PER MONTH 516.00 A YEAR
Entered as second class matter October 14. 1943. at the postoffice
at Nome. Alaska, under the Act of March 3. 1879.
Friday, May 7, 1948
MOTHER'S DAY
THERE has been for many years an annual custom
among the American people to designate the sec
ond Sunday of May as Mother's Day, and to con
duct its observance in a manner expressive of the
affection in which mothers are instinctively held
and of the appreciation earnestly and sincerely ac
corded them.
It is a very beautiful thought and a most
worthy custom, and is the source of much comfort
and happiness to living mothers, and* it refreshes
and honors the memory of mothers who are at rest
after their fruitful years.
The highest purpose of the day is achieved when
it gives happiness.
The richest fulfillment of the day is attained when
it recalls the days and years of happiness which
are treasured in memory, and thus renews them.
Mothers did not originate this beautiful and wor
thy American observance, or consciously desire it
although it means a great deal to them.
It was originated and sustained by men and wo
men made aware by the passing years and by the
broad appraisal of the richness of life which time
makes possible that a service infinitely beyond all
call of love or duty was rendered each of them.
Mothers are loving and lovable creatures, and
somewhat strange and mysterious. They give so,
very much and are content with so very little in'
return. They are taken for granted, and often neg-'
lected, and sometimes so completely forgotten in
the pace and whirl of busy lives that they seem
abandoned and all their dreams shattered and their
hopes frustrated. But they wait, and have a sublime
and enduring faith that they do not wait in vain.;
Mothers can be grievously hurt, but are unfailing
ly forgiving. They know the ordeal of long years of
unbroken silence, and of uncertainty, and of dread
and fear. But the love of which they are capable
is of such a strength that it has its own compensa
tion—the only emotion of mankind which has this
power of self-fulfillment.
Mother love is the strongest, most beautiful ^nd
unfailing of all human bonds. We can never hope to
be entirely worthy of it.
Let Mother's Day bring happiness where it can,
and let it turn the key of loving remembrance upon
the cherished days of the past and we will have
observed the day in keeping with its high and
lovely purpose.
ENGLAND'S COMMUNISTS
(Washington Post)
Even in Britain, where tolerance of dissent has
been traditionally generous, the government has at
last deemed it necessary to protect itself against the
dangers of disloyalty on the part of Communist con
spirators. "Experience both in this country and else
where has shown," Prime Minister Atlee put it with
characteristic moderation, '‘that membership of, and
other forms of continuing association with the Com
munist Party may involve the aceptance by the
individual of a loyalty which in certain circum
stances can be inimical to the state." The prime
minister took care, to renounce the suggestion that
"all those who adhere to the Communist Party
would allow themselves thus to forget their primary
loyalty to the state." What has been proved indis
ZERO HOUR
I
putably, however, is that the Soviet Union has found
the Communist Party and affiliates a fruitful recruit
ing ground for the agents who serve its devious
foreign policy through espionage and fifth column
activities. This was the unforgettable lesson of last
year's Royal Commission report in Canada. I
The British method of meeting this difficult prob
lem is significantly different from that adopted in
the United States. Apparently there is no thought
there of inquiring into the loyalty of all government
employees; investigation will be confined to the
"very narrow limits" of work where national secur
ity is involved, and persons believed to be Com
munist sympathizers will, whenever possible, be
transferred from posts entailing such work to others
less sensitive. Precisely what is meant by Mr. Att
lee's pledge that employees would have an oppor
tunity to answer charges against them is not yet
known over here. We hope heartily, and expect,
that the British will show enough respect for their
own institutions to assure all suspects the safe
guards which their system of justice has developed
to prevent punishment of innocent persons. The
right of an accused to confront the witnesses against
him is one of these.
It is reported that the prime minister made it clear
his government decided upon this new policy reluc
tantly. That is altogether understandable. The nec
essity of such a policy is a tragic symptom of the sick
ness of our times. Yet to do less wou*d be to put
the security of the nation in jeopardy. To do more
would be to eopardize the security of individual
rights.
PRAISES PUBLIC SCHOOLS
9
President James B. Conant, of Harvard Univer
sity, recently said that the people of this country
need have no fear of acepting challenges from Sov
iet Russia to prove the worth of the "American way
of life," so long as the United States continues its
progress in tax-supported, free public schools.
This is a declaration which deserves attention
from some Americans who are wont to deride the
public shools of the nation. It should be understood,
of course, that the function of the public school is to
prevent all educational processes from being cast
in a single mold. *
There are, upon ocasions, some teachers who
hold forth on various "isms" but there is no cent
ral authority to direct the teachings and the poli
cies of the public schools of this country. This means
that there is no strait-jacket for intellectual proces
ses and the variety of thought achieved represents
strength, not weakness.
/
UCC SAYS WORKERS
COMPENSATION UP TO
ALL TIME HIGH NOW
Jobless insurance payments to
workers involuntarily unemployed
have reached an all-time high,
according to a statement made
recently by R. F. Sheldon, execu;
live director of the Unemploy
ment Compensation Commission
of Alaska. So far this year $601.
787 has been paid under the pro
visions of the Territorial unem
ployment compensation law, an
increase of 119 per cent over the
same period in 1947. Ths figure
has already passed that for the
; entire year 1947 during which
time $556,071 was paid under the
| same program. Payment in 1946
were $433,554.
Unemployment is greater than
usual at this time of year, Shel
don stated, due principally to
the fact the weather has not per
mitted the start of defense con
struction. This industry contrib
uted most to the workers’ pay
rolls in 1947 in the Territory,
approximately 21 per cent of all
employers, and representing more
than half of the increase in pay
rolls over 1946. “Covered” em
poyment under the law amounted
to $98,200,000 for 37,000 workers
in 1947 as compared to $50,300,
000 for 24,000 workers in 1946,
increases of 96 per cent and 55
per cent respectively. One of the
contributing factors to the high
benefit load now, Sheldon said,
is that employment in 1947 was
greater than in any previous year
and more workers than ever be
fore came under the beneficiary
provisions of the law. Other in
dustries which increased pay rolls
in 1947 were sea foods canning
and processing, mining, wholesale
and retail trades, transportation,
and service industries such as
newspapers, banks, insurance and
real estate offices and other fin
ancial institutions.
Taxes paid by employers into
the unemployment compensation
fund the first three months of
this year amounted to $432,000
as compared to $269,000 for the
same period in 1947, an increase
of 60 per cent. Taxes paid in the
year 1947 were $2,440,000, an in
crease of nearly 80 per cent over
1946 when $1,260,000 was paid
by employers. The number of em
ploying units in the Territory in
creased from 2,100 on March 31,
1947, to 2,250 on the same date
this year. As of the end of last
month there was ten and three
quarter million dollars in the
| fund.
In addition to payments made
to jobless workers under the pro
visions of the Territorial UC law,
the UC Commission also has jur
isdiction over payments made to
unemployed and self-employed
veterans. Provisions for these
payments are contained in Title
V of the Servicemen’s readjust
ment Allowance Act of 1944—^the
GI Bill. Since January first pay
ments have amounted to $284,
163 as compared to $238,848 in
the same period in 1947, an in
crease of 20 per cent. Benefits
paid under the SRA program in
1947 amounted to $451,873 as ag
ainst $212,736 in 1946. The com
mission acts as agents for the
Veterans Administration and all
amounts paid out are reimbursed
by the federal government, which
also pays for the cost of admin
istration. Employers do not pay
a direct tax for this program.
They do, however, pay the entire
cost under the Territorial law,
but workers do not contribute
directly under either program.
Another federally sponsored in