THE NOME NUGGET
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W. A. and EMILY BOUCHER.Editors
Entered as second class matter October 14. 1943, at the postoffir**
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-
Monday, Novmeber 25, 1946
Picket Line
(Washington Post)
Senator Guffey shares with Senator Mead the dubi
ous honor of having scored a perfect record from the
CIO viewpoint, by voting just as that organization de
sired on 12 key measures coming before the Seventy
ninth Congress. Recently he earned the right to be
scored 100 per cent plus by refusing to pass an AFL j
picket line to attend a wedding reception for the daugh-,
ter of former Secretary of Commerce Wallace in his
apartment at the Wardman Park Hotel.
Mr. Guffey’s noble gesture should put to shame the
recrent head of the United Mine Workers, who did not
hesitate some years ago to stride past pickets laying
siege to the hotel in which he was quartered. Mr. Lewis’
prestige among his following did not suffer as a result of
that act. Nor de we suppose that Senator Guffey would
have lost many much-needed votes in the coming elec
tion had he imitated the Lewis example.
Only a tanatic champion oi organized laoor would
banish himself from bed and board because he had the
misfortune to be housed in a strike-bound hotel. It is i
only slightly less foolish to refuse to visit “anyone living j
in a picketed hotel. If the picket line came to be regard
ed as a barrier to the entry of homes, a lot of innocent
people would find themselves in a state of siege, de
prived of food and other necessities. Under such cir
cumstances, peaceful picketing would soon degenerate
into an illegal, terroristic practice that the most ruthless
labor leader would find it hard to defend.
We call Senator Guffey’s attention to the definition
of the word “picket” in Webster’s International Dic
tionary. “A person posted by a labor organization at an
approach to the place of work affected by a strike to as-1
certain the workmen going and coming, and to persuade
or otherwise influence them to quit working there.” Ini
other words, the picket line is established to induce fel
low workers in the struck establishment to join forces
with the strikers. If workers not directly concerned
choose to show their sympathy by refusing to patronize
an establishment involved in disputes with its employ
ees, that is their own affair. But to proceed on the the
ory that the mere crossing of a picket line is under all
circumstances an affront to organized labor shows a
complete misunderstanding of the purpose of picketing
and tends to make the practice a public nuisance calling
for remedial action.
American Credit Policy
(New York Times)
One of the familiar themes of both Communist and;
pan-Slavic propaganda, as developed during the Paris
Conference, was the charge that the United States has
grown rich on the war and is now using its economic and
financial power in an imperalistic adventure to enslave
the world. This charge overlooks the nearly fifty-two
billion dollars expended for Lend-Lease aid and relief to
our war-time allies, much of which went to one pan
Slavic bloc. But it is a charge which has been repeated so
persistently that it has seemed inevitable that our Gov
ernment would sooner or later be forced to take note of
it as one of the factors with which international politics j
are made. This the Government has now done, with the
indefinite suspension of $90,000,000 in credits to Czecho
slovakia, whose Government has made it plain that it
misunderstands both the motives and the purposes of
American assistance to European countries. This suspen- j
sion follows a previous temporary suspension of a like'
COMPANY COMING
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credit to Poland, later released, and it comes at a time
when the American Government is requesting Russia to
negotiate for a settlement of its eleven-billion-dollar
Lend-Lease account.
The new circumstances and the reasons assigned for
the recent actions suggest that the time has come for the
various Government agencies involved to work out a
definite and consistent policy for this country’s credit
and relief activities in order to put an end to misinter
pretations of this kind. Certain principles on which such
a policy should be based appear to be self-evident. The
first is that we are not pursuing “dollar diplomacy” and
have no desire to force loans on any country which sees
in them a threat of any kind to its own political or eco
nomic independence. The second and equally important
principle is that loans are not gifts, and that any coun
try applying for a loan must furnish, like any prospec
tive private borrower, convincing proof that by virtue
of its political, economic and trade policies it is a good
credit risk. The first principle has already been aplied
in the case of Czechoslovakia, the second in the case of
Poland. Beyond that, it would also appear essential to |
make certain that neither Lend-Lease nor surplus goods'
transferred to other countries are used in a new kind of
black market for political or financial profit, as Czecho
slovakia is reported to have done. Finally, since interna
tional relief, financed in the main by the United States,
has assumed proportions which make it an important i
factor in the economy of many countries, it should bei
coordinated with our credit policy in such a way that it
cannot be misused to fill up economic gaps created by i
the policies of these countries, and possibly even sub
sidize an increase of armaments.
’In the development of such a policy the State Depart-1
ment will have to have the decisive voice, since our
credit and relief policies inevitably impinge upon our
foreign policy. But it would be advisable to develop
close and automatic liaison between the State Depart
ment, the Treasury, the Export-Import Bank and what
ever organization takes over relief after UNRRA winds
up at the end of .the year. American foreign and credit
policies did not always go hand in hand after the last
war, to the detriment of both, and with ultimate harm!
to the American people. That, too, should not happen;
again.
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\
By GEORGE S BENSON
President of Harding College
Searcy. Arkansas
F. B. I. CALLS FOR A COUNT
In Europe the past summer I
was made to understand an im
portant fact. Consistently, I was
informed by labor leaders, govern-1
ment officials, and industrialists
in all of the eight countries I vis
ited that the most disturbing ele-!
ment in each nation was the Com
munist element. In every country
the confusion wrought by the
Communists was quite disconcert
In England, Norway,. Sweden
Denmark, Belgium, Holland, anc
ing.
Switzerland the Communist elo
ment was not large in number
But it was well organized. Appar
ently the movement was receiving
funds from abroad in each conn
try, for a campaign all out of pro
portion to actual size of the organ
ization was in progress. In France
although the Communist party i
not the largest, it has the best or
ganization and is recognized as tij
strongest single party in France
How About America?
Confusion, today, is not confine
to Europe. In America we hav
been having a lot of confusion. W
are facing the most serious indus
trial problems in our history
Thought the war has been ovc
for 15 months, our industry is sti
dragging badly. Production, i
nearly every field, is disappoin
ing. But an abundant by-produ<
is confusion, and more confusioi
Industry wants to produce, f<
that is the only way it can mak
money. Some of our largest mani
facturing establishments have ac
ually lost money instead of mal
ing money in the past twel\
months. Industry is not please
with this situaiton, and I cann<
believe they are purposely tryir
to keep it that way. Labor fin<
it difficult to live on current ii
come. Labor’s need is wages, ar
I cannot believe that labor as
whole wants confusion, work sto;
pages, and light production.
More Confusion
Does the government want
hinder production? Surely it wan
the people to have food, clothin
transportation, and housing. Y«
when we have every reason to b
lieve that labor, industry, and go
ernment want production. Despi
the desire of the three groups
avoid confusion, yet we have co
fusion confounded.
J. Edgar Hoover, many yea
head of the Federal Bureau of I
vestigation, a trusted citizen ai
public servant, is in a position
understand perhaps better th
any other person what is happe
ing in America. In a speech on t
West Coast, September 30, he c
cried the growing menace of Coi
munism, declaring that “in t
past five years American Co:
munists have made their deep<
inroads upon our national right
Pincers Movement
Their skillfully designed a
adroitly executed propaganda, J
Hoover stated, has been projecl
into every phase of national li
“They have maneuvered the
selves into position where a f
Communists control the destin
of hundreds who are willing to
led or have been duped,” he c<
tinued. “The average Ameri<
working man is loyal and 1
abiding, but in his desire for
curity for himself and family
finds himself in a Communist p
cers movement manipulated b]
powerful minority,” Mr. Hoo
observed.
Their false preachments on c
liberty mean that Commun
want the right to do as they pie.
Those who seek to provoke p
judice and stir up the public m
to angry resentment against i
form of government are a men
to the very powers of law and
der which guarantee and sz
guard popular rights. Said !
Hoover: “Communism has spri
Fascism and Fascism spawns Ct
munism. Both are the antithi
of American belief in liberty j
freedom. If people of other co
tries want Communism, let th
have it, but it has no place
America.” It is time to stand
and be counted, indeed.