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 BOUCHER . . Editor*
*1.50 PER MONTH ‘ S16.00 A YEAR
Entered as second class matter October 14. 1943, at the postoffice
at Nome. Alaska, under the Act of March 3, 1879 •
Wednesday, April 14, 1948
MANAGEMENT PROBLEMS
The unsettled issue remains whether manufactur
ing cost will force products out of a seller's market
into a new wave of buyers' resistance, or whether
monetary ease which was accompanied by a na
tional income of over $200 billion last year, plus
careful control of costs and prices by management
will permit a continuance of consumer demand
strong enough to absorb the total production of
which industry is now capable, at present or slightly
lower price levels.
Many groups, such as the National Retail Dry
Goods Association, are acting jointly in a voluntary
effort to check inflation in line with the policies put
in effect under the new government anti-inflation
control measures.
The Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, through
its president,.Clarence Tolan, has also urged some
2,100 members to "stop raising prices and to lower
them whenever posible, as soon as possible." Term
ing it a "grass roots approach" to the solution of
spiraling prices and costs, Mr. Tolan also urged
labor in that area "to give serious consideration to
checking demand for a third round of wage in-1
creases until industry has revised its price structure
with the idea of lowering prices, and has taken all |
possible steps to increase productivity."
_ i
BUSINESS INVENTORIES
Perhaps the most scrutinized element in the busi
ness picture at present apart from wage price and
production trends, is the increase in inventories.
An increase of about $8 billion in the total value of
all inventories was reported for last year, as the
desire to build up stocks of raw materials and fin
ished products nearer to sales and order backlogs
prompted a speculative approach to the problem.
Most expensive consumer goods are nearing the
point of quick availability and buying for stock is
receding, with natural repercussions all along the
line from retailer to wholesaler to factory.
TEXANS FAVOR ALASKA STATEHOOD
Texans are in favor of statehood for Alaska even
though that will make their state take second place
in the ranks.
That is the conclusion of the Texas Poll, a state
wide survey of public opinion conducted in Texas
and released this week to newspapers there with
a combined circulation of more than 800,000.
The Alaska Development Board has been in
formed by Joe Belden and Associates, conductors of
the poll, that "Even Texans who know Alaska is
bigger than the Lone Star State say they favor its
entry as a state. That would seem to settle it, except
that according to law Congress will have to give its
<xpproval."
The Texans who took part in the survey also
favor statehood for Hawaii, although the total per
centage for admitting Hawaii was slightly lower
than the 64 percent who are in favor of admitting
Alaska.
Strangely enough those Texans who know Alaska
is bigger than their state returned a stronger vote
lor Alaska statehood (75 percent in favor) than did
those who think Texas is larger. To a question as to
the relative size of Alaska and Texas, the adults
of the Lone Star State by a small margin replied that
OF ALL THE DUMB ANIMALS—
Tvctroswr
r ^9-V**e**t
—^—.—
Alaska is larger. A large majority of grade school
students are under the impression that Texas is larg
er while high school students give Alaska and Tex
as an even break. Women in Texas are under the im
pression their state is larger than Alaska, the poll in
dicates.
Information about Alaska statehood and the status
of statehood legislation in Congress was furnished
the Texas Poll by the Alaska Development Board,
which has been given permission to release the|
results of the poll to Alaska newspapers.
If all adult Texans were members of Congress,
both Alaska and Hawaii would have easy sailing.!
The Texas Poll found this to be so by putting these
questions to a representative cross-section of the1
adult population:
ALASKA—
"If you were a member of Congress, would you
vote for or against a bill admitting Alaska as a
state?"
Answers were:— 64 per cent FOR, 13 per cent
against, and 23 per cent DON'T KNOW.
"Do ydu know which is bigger,- Alaska or Texas?"
Answers were:— 41 per cent ALASKA; 37 per
cent TEXAS ,and 22 per cent DON'T KNOW.
' An analysis of the results show that the people
who know Alaska is bigger than Texan would vote
as follows on admitting it as a state: for—75 per cent;
against—15 per cent; undecided—10 per cent.
TAKE YOUR CHOICE
Proponents of the Communist ideology—which
aims at making life happier for the ‘'worker"—might
do well to look at some statistics compiled by the
New York Times. Using figures announced by
Moscow, and comparing them with figures released
by the U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the news
paper proves conclusively (to anyone who still
needs proof) that the average fartory worker is much
better off under U. S.—style capitalism than under
Russian-style Communism. '
The figures relate the hours a man must work to
the goods his labor will buy. For example, Ivan
Ivanovitch, Russian, has to work 1 hour and 10 min
utes to buy a one pound loaf of white bread. John
Doe, American, can earn his loaf of daily bread by
working just 7 minutes.
A package of cigarettes cost Ivan 2 hours and 4
minutes of labor. John Doe earns enough in 9 min
utes to make the purchase.
Ivan has to toil 31 hours and 51 minutes to buy his
wife a cotton dress. John Doe can do it in 2 hours
and 21 minutes.
Take your choice!
ALASKA—
THE GLASS CHIN?
What is the state of de
fenses in Alaska? Last
week the armed services
invited representatives of
the nation's press to take
an inspection trip of our
military establishments In
the sprawling territory.
The findings of Harold La
vine, a News-week staff
writer, follow: .
The joke was unfunny
in more ways than one,
and slightly older than
Joe Miller."It concerned
the mythical noncom at
Elmendorf Field outside
Anchorage, Alaska, who
called in excitedly from
the control tower: "Hey,
there are twenty planes
with red stars coming in.
Where should I tell them
to land?
Hearing it the other night for
the umpty-seventh time Col. T.
L. Mosley, commanding officer
at Elmendorf, snorted: “Why
would the Russians want to waste
that many planes? Hell, I’ll bet
I could take Alaska with eight
men. On second thought, with
two bottles of whiskey I wouldn’t
need eight men. With ttoo bottles
whiskey I’ll bet I could take it
myself.”
The colonel, of course, was ex
aggerating, according to Lt. Gen.
Nathan W. Twining, who runs
the Alaskan command. His view:
The Russians might have to send
as much as one battalion in or
der to capture the 49th state, as
most Alaskans call it.
“Yes/’ added the general, “one
battalion of the very worst troops
in the whole Red Army.”
It works the other .way too.
Twining is convinced that with
one battalion (approximately 1,000
men) and three or four tanks he
could hold off any Russian force.
Alaskan geography and Alaskan
weather are so formidable and a
problem of logistics is so fan
tastic that he doubts if the Rus
sian force could be larger than
ours. The Russians could' easily
land men along Alaska’s 19,000
miles of coastline, ‘but Twining
believes a small force could keep
them from capturing any military
objectives more important than ice
or tundra. The Alaskan Com
mand’s goal is two regimental
combat (approximately 9,000 men)
which it believes could make the
country impregnable.
Unfortunately, Twining doesn't
have any such force. Unfortunate
ly the chances are that the Russ
ians across the Bering Strait in
Siberia do. Hardly any of the
20,000 Army, Navy and Air Force
men in the Alaskan Command
are combat troops. The Air Force
does have the 57th Fighter Group
at Elmendorf and several other'
tactical units elsewhere, but the
Army has no combat units in Al
aska and the Navy no combat
| ships. In* fact the Navy has no
{ships. Its largest vessels are tugs
guarding the Aleutians where the
! Japs landed in 1942. There are so
few planes that Brig. Gen. F. V.
H. Kimble will not permit news
! men to reveal their number, al
I though Secretary of the Air Force
W. Stuart Symington recently de
clared that American bombers
could take off from Alaska and
bomb any part of Russia. The
fact is that no force capable of