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
Emily Boucher .,.*.Local Editor
Jim Frye . . Editor
Entered as second class matter October 14. 1943, at the postoffice
at Nome, Alaska, under the Act of March 3. 1879.
Nome, Alaska, Friday, October 29, 1948
BIG FOR HIS BRITCHES
_ (The Denver Post)
It now appears that a by-product of the welfare fund
set ud for the benefit of the men who risk their lives
digging the nation’s coal is going to be a tremendous in
crease in the power of John L. Lewis’ United Mine
Workers of America.
Since Mr. Lewis is a man who has used his power in
the past to call strikes which were against the public
interest and to defy orders of the established courts of
the land, the prospect of seeing him gain additional
power is alarming.
The welfare fund idea itself is a good one. It is an ap
plication of the principle that the users of coal should
pay all the costs that go into mining coal, including the
hospitalization of men who are injured in that hazard
ous ocupation and the pension of miners who are too old
for the hard work that coal mining involves.
Sly Mr. Lewis has inserted some gimmicks of his own
into the welfare-pension plan, however. He has fixed
it so that only coal miners who belong to his union can
get pensions.
That is a violation of the intention.of congress, as ex
pressed in the Taft-Hartley act, to prevent any discrim
ination against non-union workers.
The welfare fund was supposed to be administered
jointly by the union, the coal operators and the public
through a three-man board. With the support of Sena
tor Bridges (Hep.) of New Hampshire, the board mem
ber who represents the public, Mr. Lewis has been able
to take over complete control of the fund. He has made
its administration a union enterprise.
Worst of all, Mr. Lewis now is planning to use the
fund to increase his own power. The U. M. W. union has
been charging an initiation fee of $10 and monthly dues
which average possibly $2.
Because of the welfare fund, the benefits of belonging
to the mine union now are so great that the union initia
tion fee should be increased to $50 and the monthly dues
to $4, Mr. Lewis believes.
Although Mr. Lewis doesn’t say so, such an increase
will give the union many additional millions of dollars
for its war chest—a chest which can be used to finance
new strikes and could be used to pay innumerable new
fines of a million dollars or more each if Mr. Lewis
should decide, as he has done on occasion in the past, to
defy court orders which did not suit his imperious idea
of what the law should be.
Mr. Lewis is one of those labor leaders who uses ev
ery concession which is made to him to increase his per
sonal power and his one-man domination of an entire
industry. He fancies himself as a maker and breaker of
Presidents and as a man above the law.
There is ample evidence that he is just too big for his
britches
AN “ASSISTANT PRESIDENT”?
(Christian Science Monitor)
Certain strong forces within the Republican party are
working hard to keep Governor Dewey from carrying
out his plan to make Governor Warren a “full partner”
in a new administration' in Washington. Indeed, the Re
publican Presidential candidate will need considerable
determination plus public support to achieve his goal.
When the Republicans nominated the California Gov
ernor for Vice-President political observers generally
agreed that they had enhanced their chances. Mr. War
ren’s record is definitely on the side of liberalism and
internationalism. He clearly strengthens the Dewey
1 THE NEW ROAD BLOCK_
Iff Of?& -1
ticket’s appeal to voters. Whether he would equally
strengthen a Dewey administration would depend on
how large a part he had in it.
The history of similar projects to give the Vice-Presi
dent a vital role is not encouraging. John Adams, dis
gusted with his own experience with duties “the most
insignificant . . . that ever the invention of man con
erived,” was the first to fail. Zachary Taylor was the
second.
Warren Harding, who had promised to make Calvin
Coolidge “Assistant President,” did start the custom of
giving the Vice-President a seat at Cabinet meetings.
Franklin Roosevelt gave Henry Wallace a big task as
head of the Board of Economic Warfare, but later re
moved him. It is hard to work out a vital job, especially
if the Vice-President doesn’t belong to the same wing
of the party as the Chief Executive. This last-will not
be a difficulty should the Republicans win this year, but
reactionary, isolationist forces in the party will try to
restrict Governor Warren’s influence in every possible
way.
Current proposals to raise the Vice-President’s salary
and give him a house would provide new prestige. And
the idea of establishing a Department of Administration
headed by the Vice-President is worthy of exploration.
Measures to make the second-place man a “full partner”
should be pushed, whoever wins the election.
THE ROAD TO RECOVERY
The British House of Lords, as was to be anticipated,
has overwhelmingly defeated a Parliament bill to cur
tail its powers to delay legislation.
Under the terms of a law passed in 1911, the Hohse of
j Lords retains its power to delay legislation for two
years, although the legislation may be overwhelmingly
passed by the House of Commons. The new bill, which
the Lords defeated for the second time, curtails that
dilatory power to one year. *
This defeat was expected, for very few men or groups
of men in public office have ever voluntarily slashed
their own powers, even long after those powers have be
come an obvious encumbrance to national progress.
While the House of Lords defeated the bill by 204 to
34, the minority statement issued by Viscount Addison,
government leader in the House, is worth the considera
tion of every free man in Britain, and in the world.
The time has passed, Viscount Addison said, when ?
non-elected chamber can claim and exercise the powers
of deciding whether a given proposal is or is not repre
sentative of the wishes of the people.
That time has not yet gone, for the Parliamentary bill
will have to be passed a third time by the House of com
mons, before it becomes law, and that passage must wait
until the next session. But after the bill is passed, the
control of the House of Lords will be reduced, and Bri
tain will have taken another step along the road to more
complete democracy.
Report Of Crippled
Children’s Conven
tion In Anchorage
A report of the convention of
the Alaska Crippled Children’s
Assn., held in Anchorage Septem
ber 7 and 8, has been received by
Mrs. Donald Lyle, Nome delegate
who attended the meeting and in
cludes many interesting facts.
A review of the historical back
ground showed that the crippled
children’s program was started
about ten years ago. Before the es
tablishment of the orthopedic hos
pital at Mt. Edgecumbe all crip
pled children were sent to tne
Seattle Orthopedic hospital
through a contract with them, and
24 children arc now accepted an
nually in Chicago for free treat
ment with the Junior Red Cross
paying the transportation.
Dr. Albrecht, commissioner of
health, stressed the importance of
the meeting; the first of its kind
ever to be held in the Territory.
He pointed out that the depart
ment of health is designated as an
offfciul agency to conduct the pro
gram and as such they are able to
obtain federal funds under the So
cial Service Act. A share of the
funds allotted to Alaska must be
matched- by monies raised within
the Territory. He stated that as a
result of the amounts raised by
he ACCA, similar sums of feder
al funds have been made avail
able to the Territory, but more is
needed. He also remarked that it
s now easier for him to get help
in Washington from the Federal
Government now that they know
that Alaska is doing something
about its own problem.
The fact that polio has now hit
Ketchikan and will probably
spread in the Territory, is also go
ing to increase our number of
crippled children. In addition,
there are children with vision,
speech and hearing defects as well
as spastic children for which noth
ing has yet been done.
It was reported that there are
now sixty children being cared for
a Mt. Edgecumbe and ten in Seat
tle. \
The report shows that the asso
ciation has performed 121 opera
tions, examined 321 children, have
210 outpatients through mail con
sultations, and consultations by
mail, 309.
Out of town representatives who
attended were Mrs. Don Lyle of
Nome. Mrs. Ohmer of Petersburg,
Mrs. Tesarik of Kodiak, Mrs. Cal
vin of Sitka, Mrs. Lynch of Ne
nana, Mrs. Brosius of Seward,
Mrs. Peck of Bethel and Mrs. Lib
by of Kanakanak.
In the report was a list of items
which are needed at the hospital,
and which will be gladly accepted
if given to the local representative,
Mrs. Don Lyle. The list includes
the following items:
Bed board, flash cards (arith
metic) books, such as ABC and
3rd to 6th grade readers, funny
books, color books, scissors, pen
cils, unbreakable small toys, wood
en beads, jacks, harmonicas, dolls
and cut out clothing to sew, liquid
bubbles, stencils, children’s rec
ords.
Christmas cards will soon be
put on sale locally for the associa
tion and orders are now being
taken by Mrs. Lyle for those who
want their cards early.
HOSPITAL NEWS
New patients at the hospital are
Fred Crane, Myrna Kelcourse,
Franklin Okleasik, Jack Lencer
and Ruth Tqwner. •