THE NOME NUGGET
Published Monday, Wednesday and Friday by The
NOME PUBLISHING CO.
Nome, Alaska
Telephone: Main 125 P. O. Box 618
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Entered as second class matter October 14, 1943, at the postoffict
at Nome, Alaska, under the Act of March 3, 1879.
Wednesday, September 1, 1948
KOREA: GOVERNMENT WITHOUT FREEDOM
(By Lawrence Martin)
The birth of the American-sponsored republic of Ko
rea marks the end of the phase of Soviet-American re
lations in the Far East. In allowing the new govern
ment to claim sovereignty over all Korea, the United
States now admits the complete unworkability of the
Moscow agreement of December, 1945. *
That agreement called for trusteeship of Korea for a
period up to five years, the trusteeship to be adminis
tered by the United States, Russia, Great Britain and
China. Yet none of the provisions of the Moscow agree
ment have been followed, because for nearly three years
the Soviet Union has balked at establishment of any
temporary government that the Russians can’t control.
Inauguration of the new American-sponsored repub
lic will change the status of Korea only in that both the
Russians and the Americans have disavowed the Mos
cow agreement. The problem remains the same. Korea
is divided at the thirty-eighth parallel; her industries
and most of her ports are in the hands of a government
that has shown complete loyalty to Moscow, while the
agricultural south is now governed by men who favor
western democracy.
While it is quite probable that the U. N. general as
sembly will recognize Syngman Rhee’s American-spon
sored government, that government’s powers will ex
tend only as far north as the. thirty-eighth parallel.
Even actual administration of southern Korea will re
main in the hands of Americans for some time to come,
for it is no easy problem to transfer the functions of a
military government that has been operative for three
three years.
Not only will American administrators remain, but
American troops wilt stay on in south Korea for an in
definite period, at the request of President Rhee, who
wants to protect his infant republic from the Soviet
ized armies to the north.
Those armies have been so well developed that in re
veloped that in recent months the Russians have urged
simultaneous withdrawal of Soviet and American
troops from Korea. But the United States has refused,
for the Russians leaving a large Communist army be
hind, would move only across the Amur river into Si
beria, while the United States armies, which have de
veloped a’much smaller Korean defense force, would
move across the Pacific Ocean.
Because of this it would be foolish of the United
States to leave Korea until guarantees through the
United Nations can be provided.
Thus, despite the existence of two “independent”
governments in their country, the Koreans must still
wait for freedom until the Russians will allow demo
cratic governmeni and free elections.
HOW TO LOSE FINNS
(The Denver Post)
•
Anyone who was seriously worried about the state of
Finnish independence after the signing of the Russo
Finish pact should be reassured by recent Soviet at
tacks on the Finnish government.
Earlier this year there was much handshaking and
back-slapping when the Finns decided they could not
kick the bear in the teeth—and consequently signed up
to play first base in case of war. Then, despite much
Communist campaigning and the breath of the Russians
blowing across the Karelian republic, the Communists
lost ground in this summer’s parliamentary elections.
Naturally this irritated the Russians, who prefer to
have everyone around their borders see things their
I LOOMS LIKE A DOOFIOHT
way. Recently Moscow’s Literary Gazett attacked the
F.nnish government of pro-German, reactionary and
all the other things of which it accuses people it does
not like.
Soviet public relations men don’t seem to know it,
but that just isn’t the way for them to get along with
the Finns, who are very tough and very stubborn. They
don’t like Russians anyhow, and insults aren’t going to
, make the Kremlin popular in Helsinki.
That is where the catch comes in. The Kremlin, as
! usual, can’t see any middle road. It believes that every
body has to be either a Communist or against Russia.
The Finnish Social Democrat government is anti
| Communist; therefore the Finnish government is com
posed of a bunch of thugs who shouldn’t even be al
1 lowed to look at Lenin’s tomb.
If the Russians really wanted to get along with the
Finns, they would tell the Finnish Communist party to
lie low, and would try to be very nice. Even then, they
would have a pretty hard time overcoming the hatred
of the past 300 years, and particularly that fanned by
the Soviet attack in 1939 and the forced cession of 10
per cent of Finnish territory to Russia in 1945.
As far as Finnish-American relations are concerned,
the Russians are boosting them right along. Unies- th°
Russians change their policy they are going to make it
pretty certain that the Finns will reneg on the mutual
assistance pact if it ever comes to a showdown.
THE PRICE OF “FARM RELIEF”
We have the greatest corn crop in history coming up
—and the second biggest wheat crop. This fall also will
see bumper yields of oats, soybeans, barley, sorghum
grain and hay. Thus food prices will probably come
down several months hense, after these crops are har
vested and fed to livestock. When these lower prices
come we can thank the weatherman. But not the Demo
crats or the Republicans.
In fact, because of a law supported by the Democrats
and the Republicans, prices will not be as low as they
otherwise would be. The farm price-support program, a
bipartisan policy, provides that prices received for
wheat and corn marketed before June 30, 1950, are to
be supported at 90 per cent of parity.
We have a bumper crop of potatoes, too. But to hold
the price up the governmenth as bought 13 million
bushels of potatoes so far this year, and will buy an
other nine million bushels in the next few weeks.
These potatoes ai*e costing the government—the tax
payers—$2.25 to $2.72 a bushel. But they will be sold
for alcohol at nine cents a bushel, or for animal feed at
from less than a cent to 18 cents a bushel.
Meanwhile, the housewife is paying around $3.50 a
bushel for eating potatoes, and the Democrats and Re
publicans who voted for this are accusing one another
of causing high food prices.
; They call this “farm relief.” What do you call it?
Plan Settler
Communities
In Alaska i
<(/P) Special Washington Service)
WASHINGTON, (/P)—The In
terior department is planning a
series of “new Matanuska colon
ies” for Alaska, assistant secre
tary of the interior William E.
Vvarne announced.
Almost 200,000 acres of land al
ready have been withdrawn for
the first two communities, on the
Kenai Peninsula between Kenai
and Kasilof villages, and west of
Fairbanks in the Dunbar area, he^
said.
Three other tracts -are under
consideration at sites which the
department is not yet ready to
disclose. Settlers are planned in
groups of 50 or more families
each. The plane is not part of the
displaced-persons program, Warned
said.
Up to 2,000,000 acres—only a
small fraction of the land avail
able in Alaska is contemplated
for ultimate withdrawal from the
public domain and assignment in
settlement tracts, Warne told a
reporter.
And if Congress approves the
plan, he said, a complete villag#
will be laid out for each home
stead area. Homesteaders and vil
lagers alike will receive this gov
ernment assistance:
1. A limited amount of free
land-dlearing <up to five acres on
each farm, to meet the home
steaders’ immediate needs.)
2. Reconsturction Finance Cor
poration loans not exceeding
$7,500,000 for- the entire 2,000,000
acre program. The loans, for up to
40 years at 3Vi per cent interest,
will be for land clearing, con
struction of farm buildings and
for purchase of feed, fertilizer,
equipment and supplies.
3. Government clearing of lanc^
for village sites and construction
of the entire villages and roads
and docks, the actual cost to be
repaid over a 20-year period.
4. Interior department contracts
with government or private car
riers for the transportation of set
tlers by sea, land or air to, frorff
and within Alaska.
The entire project, primarily
for war veterans and their fam
ilies, is designed to hasten Alas
kan development and at the same
time “take the curse off pioneer
ing,” said Warne, who returned
from Alaska last week.
We put in 200 farms at Matan
uska in 1935, and 250 have since
been added. Thus we have learn
ed from the Matanuska operation
that if we can once get a settle
ment started it will grow by it
self,” Warne said. ^
“We hope with the Dunbar and
Kenai-Kasilof areas to plant the
seed of a similar development
tha\ once started, will have a nat
ural growth.”
Congress must act before the
program can be started, Warne
said.
Rep. Welch (R.-Calif.) intro
duced a bill a few days before ad-^
journment in June to liberalize
land regulations and permit the
interior and agriculture depart
ments to go ahead and sign up in
dividuals, partnerships, associa
tions and cooperatives for the set
tlement areas. The bill was refer
red to the House public landsf
committee.
Alaskans have expressed con
cern* that the program might
bring to the Territory a large
number of the 205,000 displace#
Europeans to be admitted to the
United States within the next two