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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W. A. and EMILY BOUCHER.f..Editors
Entered as second class matter October 14, 1943, at the post off ice
at Nome, Alaska, under the Act of March 3, 1879.
Friday, September 5, 1947 J
I
Aid For The Latins
(By Edgar Ansel Mowrer)
IN OUR OWN STRATEGIC INTEREST, we Ameri
cans should evolve a plan for consoldating that part of
the Western hemisphere that is nearest and most im
portant to us. The important thing is that this plan
should no be a single pattern, applied indiscriminately,
but should consist of several independent projects, each
adapted to a specific situation.
In the course of some.weeks spent in Guatemala and
Mexico, talking with those who have given the most
thought to this problem, I have reached a number of
tentative conclusions.
First, to Canada we should offer nothing less than a
full-fledged customs union. In the coming world, despite
the energy, talent and sheer character of its inhabitants,
this 100-mile-broad strip of inhabited territory to the
north of us is probably too limited to maintain itself at a
high industrial level. Yet despite the peculiar problems
presented by the French-speaking Canadian inhabitants
and the dwindling group of “more British than the Brit
ishers” of Ottawa, the Canadians are essentially related
to us.
Second, toward Mexico we should show particular fa
vor. After all, our past treatment of the Mexicans has
been beneath our best traditions.
Yet Mexico is the key to our Latin American policy.
Latin America will judge our real intentions primarily
by our treatment of our neighbor to the south.
Admittedly, the Mexicans are industrially inefficient.
Indeed, their own standards are emotional and esthetic
to an extent that bewilders us. But they are trying in
their own way to establish order and democracy. Agri
culturally, they are capable of immense development.
They are sitting on a vast oil deposit that, since the ex-,
pulsion of foreign owners, they are exploiting rather
lamely.
Their request for an American loan should be granted
under two conditions. One is that it be spent largely for
constructive water control. The second is that Mexico
guarantee an adequate oil production, failing which,
the Mexican government promises to use foreign ex
perts.
Third, Central America should become the center of
“green stock piling” for hemispheric defense. In ex
change we should assist general agricultural develop
ment by flood control and political consolidation. By
“green stock piling” I mean that the United States
should continue to finance the abaca (manila hemp)
plantations that saved the navy during the war and the
cinchona trees for quinine and the even more essential
quinadine (a heart remedy for which there is no known
substitute).
The key to Central American economies is flood con
trol to stop erosion and permit this alternately over-dry
and over-wet area to maintain a steady three crops an
nually.
Political consolidation could start with the federation
of Guatemala, Honduras and Salvador. Recent direct at
tempts by Guatemala's able democratic president, Juan
Arevalo, have wrecked on nationalism and personal
jealoiisies. President Arevalo told me of his deep convic
tion that a conference of the three countries, called by
the United States in Washington, might well succeed in
creating a loose federation. After listening to him for
an hour, I am convinced that he is right.
At a later time, Costa Rica and, under a new and de
cent government, Nicaragua, might be permitted to ad
here to the Central American federation. Coherent U. S.
hemispheric program might be the creation of some sort'
THE ONLY WAY
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of Caribbean understanding, a plebiscite to permit the
inhabitants of Panama to return to Colombia if they so
chose, and finally, a really c-ordinated plan for the
economic development of Brazil, greatest undeveloped
treasure house in the contemporary world.
These, rather than any indiscriminate economic sup
port, should absorb us now. Indeed, as a general rule,
our hemispheric policy—as Ex-Secretary of State
Spruille Braden has insisted—should be consciously dis
criminatory in favor of democracy and against dictator
ship.
For Fifty Stars
(Chicago Daily News)
FIFTY STARS IN THE FLAG BY 1948!
The impressive vote of 196 to 133 by which the House
passed the bill conferring statehood upon Hawaii pre
sages like action by the Senate and later passage of the
similar bill for Alaska.
Both territories have earned stathood. They were con
sidered “outposts” at the beginning of the war with
Japan. Both were scarred by enemy attack. They served
faithfully and contributed to the fighting strength of
the nation. Sound strategy suggests that they now be
incorporated in the Union as full-fledged members.
There are arguments against statehood for either ter
ritory. There has been some opposition to the admission,
of every state since the original 13. The objections to
Hawaii and Alaska are similar to the protests from the
Eastern seaboard against Jefferson’s Louisiana Pur
chase. The diatribes of 1803 against the uncouth fron
tier have long since been forgotten. Objections to state
hood for Hawaii and Alaska will fade even faster.
It is true that the admission of two more states with
small populations would further, unbalance the Senate
to the prejudice of more populous areas. But despite its
present unbalance on paper the Senate has been fairly
representative of the United States as a whole.
Little states like Vermont and New Hampshire and
sparsely peopled states like Nevada and Wyoming,
have actually made up for their small populations by
sending better than average senators to Washington.
In any case a statehood bill should be considered on
the merits of the applicant territory, not as to its effect
upon the composition of the Senate. The makeup of the
Senate was determined when the Constitution was
adopted. The principle of equal representation of states
in the upper house of Congress was the fundamental
compromise that made the federal Union possible.
The Conflict Grows
.. _____
(Rocky Mountain News)
American-Russian relations, af
ter going from bad to worse stead
ily during the past year, have de
teriorated rapidly recently. Today
they are at an all-time low.
11m area of bitter disagreement
now encircles the globe. From
Lake Success to Latin America to
Europe and the Mideast and on to
the Far East, the conflict of policy
and purpose grows sharper.
On Aug. 22, Russia, with two ve
toes in the United Nations security
council, brought her total for that
week to seven—18 vetoes alto
j gether. In these two cases she was
j refusing to permit the general as
sembly to pass upon membership
applications of Italy and Austria.
In 'that same week delegate
Gromyko twice vetoed security
council efforts to stop the unde
clared war Russia is waging
against Greece through Balkan
satellites. Russia insists that the
UN Balkan investigating commis
sion has been liquidated by her ve
to, though clearly only the Secur
ity council which created it can
disband the commission.
These provacative moves fol
lowed hard upon Moscow’s propa
ganda offensive to wreck the Inter
American Defense Conference in
Brazil, and American-Russian pol
icy clashes in Austria, Bulgaria,
Romania, Hungary.
In these three countries the issue
is the right of representative gov
ernment and civil liberties guar
anteed by Russia in the Yalta pact
and the peace treaties. In all these
cases—as earlier in Poland, Yugo
slavia and elsewhere—Reds main
tain a minority dictatorship.
Austria’s western provinces are
still safe for the moment, thanks
to British-American military oc
cupation; but Russia in her zone is
breaking the Potsdam agreement,
and blocking a peace treaty, in
hope of taking over Austria.
Following the latest disputes
over Korean occupation and a
Japanese peace treaty, the State
j Department on August 22, in
voked the Russo-Chinese agree
ment of 1945 to try to force Russia
j to reopen thg North China port of
Dairen to international commerce
as pieagea.
Russia in a note also tried to pre
vent the American-British-French
conference on West Germany’s
production. Washington and Lon
don grimly decided to open that
London meeting, as scheduled, re
gardless of Russia.
The issue there is whether Rus
sia can continue to force disinte
gration and chaos by blocking
Ruhr coal and steel production,
upon which European recovery is
dependent. For two years she has
been creating revolutionary condi
tions by. sabotaging the Potsdam
pact for German economic unity.
Now the question is whether the
Western powers will continue to
be paralyzed by the Potsdam pact
which Moscow scrapped two years
ago. Or will they accept as a fact
the division of Germany long-since
created by Russia, and themselves
hasten to get West German pro
duction going? Unless the rich
Ruhr can be converted from an
American subsidized liability into
an asset for Europe, the chances
of the Marshall self-help plan for
Europe are nil. That goes for Brit
ish recovery, too.
The conflict between Russia and
the Western powers — especially
I the United States as the leader and
powerhouse of the West is spread
ing so fast for an obvious reason.
Time is short. The West is losing
the .battle against economic col
lapse and political chaos in Europe
and Asia—collapse and chaos
which would give the remnants bo
the Reds by default.
But that economic and political
battle need not be lost if the West
ern powers stop abetting Soviet
sabotage by their futile waiting for
Red co-operation.
To the extent that the democ
racies have begun to act in the
past two weeks—in the security
council, in the Balkans, at Rio, in
the Far East, and in the London
conference on Germany—there is
hope.