THE NOME NUGGET
* i
Published Monday, Wednesday and Friday by the
NOME PUBLISHING CO,
NOME, ALASKA
Telephone: Main 125 P. O. Box 6io
$1.50 PER MONTH $16.00 A YEAR
W. A. Boucher ..Owner-Publisher
Entered as second class matter October 14, 1943, at fhe postoffice
at Nome, Alaska, under the Act of March 3, 1879.
Nome, Alaska, Monday, March 28, 1949
GOD HATES A COWARD
(The Omaha World-Herald)
That's gospel truth. If any witness were needed to at
test it the Republican party of 1936-48 would more than I
suffice. i
For twelve years the Republican party has been a|
coward; the worst kind of coward—a moral coward. In1
consequence it begins to take on the appearance of
something the cat dragged in.
It is hard to define as an entity the Republican party
or any other large group of people, since however close-:
ly banded together all cannot think alike in all respects.:
But, speaking broadly, the Republican party consists of,
men and women who in firm conviction are opposed to
the swift trend toward the omnipotent state that is
sweeping over every section of the earth. Whether it be
defined as Communism, Fascism, Socialism, totalitari
anism, statism/the new deal, the insurance state, these
men and women regard it as a thing of infinite menace,
however cunningly disguised, and however ardently
supported by good but misguided people.
But the Republican party has lacked the courage to
say what its rank and file believe. Out of hunger for the
flesh pots it has lacked the patriotism, the loyalty, to
stand up for the free republic of the founding fathers
and to fight for it. Due to that lack of moral courage, of.
loyalty to the American creed, the United States, almost
the sole remaining bulwark against the advancing tide,
finds itself without a spokesman, without a champion to
proclaim and battle for its traditional, glorious creed.
And it finds the once-so-firm foundations of its temple
crumbling.
The fact is known of all men. Here, too, in our own
America, the state is taking control and ownership of
the people. It is using the power to tax to destroy their
independence and self-reliance. It is converting free'
men into vassals and dependents. It is devouring the
substance of self-supporting people to render them self
supporting no longer, and to establish a condition of
universal reliance upon the biased paternalism of a I
great white father—a “father” corrupted and corrupt
ing, since great power does corrupt and absolute power
corrupts absolutely.
And the Republican party has not dared to resist the
tide; it has gone along with it. Not out of conviction, but
out of cowardice. It has not dared to be a Daniel; to have
a purpose and to make it known. Its plea for votes has
been the shameful one: Give us the offices, the power,
and we’ll give you as much of what we believe to be
wrong as will the Democrats themselves.
Americans do not respond to any such appeal. They,
too, hate a coward. They despise hypocrisy. They hun
ger for a leadership of good faith. They will accept a
brave and fighting leadership tainted ever with Pender
gastian and absolutism rather than a leadership that
crawls—and trails its flag.
What a wonderful thing it would be if the Republican
committee, if other constituted Republican leaders,
could realize how desperately these United States need
an honest and brave Republican party—how true Re
publicans above all others hunger and thirst for it! A
Republican party to raise high the flag of a loyal opposi
tion!
How joyously, with what reborn hope, men and wo
men of the ancient faith of this republic would rally
about such a standard! Proud of it hey would be in vic
tory. No less proud in defeat!
Surely, surely, it shall not be recorded by amazed his
torians of a later day, that when the black flag of abso
lutism was raised in the twentieth century, when the
fate of all mankind was involved, there was nowhere,
WHAT SHOOT— t
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“D*FW**MT AlM*
in any land, not even our own, an organized body of
men and women who had the courage, the devotion, the
wisdom, the loyalty to God who made men free, to chal
lenge that foul intruder and to dedicate their lives, their
fortunes, their sacred honor, to driving him back into
the dark ages whence he emerged!
Never has there been sounded such a call to service as
rings today in the ears of the Republican party. Never,
for men and women of courage, of character, o£ convic
tion, has there been afforded such an occasion for rising
to the heights of human devotion to imperishable ideals.
The Republican party can keep on crawling ignomin
iously along the dutsy trail of an order it abhors but
shrinks from challenging. Or it can rise out of the dust
of four merited defeats, stand erect and unafraid,
proudly to take up the battle for all that free men prize.
- - s
TRAINING SOUND LABOR LEADERSHIP
(New World Labor Leadership)
Communism knows how to train its leadership, Ac
cording to a House Un-American Activities Committee
report it is estimated 800 American Communists trained
at the Lenin School (in Moscow) have returned to the
United States to serve as “the high officers of a secret
army now being drilled to overthrow our government.”
The report went on to list 20 known communist train
ing schools in the major cities that are turning out train
ed leaders by the thousands. From these schools com
munists especially trained in the field of labor have in
filtrated into organizational positions in union after un
ion. Now the executive councils of both the CIO and
AFL have declared open war on the communist ele
ments in their unions. Yet where are democracy’s train
ing schools?
A start in the training of democratic leadership that
can out-match these subversive forces has been made.
In one key American defense industry, communists
were jockeying to gain control of the labor union. At the
coming national convention they counted on car
rying the election of the union president by a 60%-40%
vote.'
Sound leaders within the union rallied together and
sent a delegation to a Moral Re-Armament center for
ideological training. There they planned a counter
strategy centering around a resolution calling for the
ideological training of inspired democracy by the union
in the locals across the nation. Its basic statement de
clared, “Out of sound homes come sound unions. On!v
the highest moral standards are adequate for the leader
ship which labor demands today.” At the convention
these men out-paced the subversive forces by sticking
together, living the moral standards they talked about,
and informing key leaders in the union of their plan.
Their concerted impact and the resolution so changed
the thinking of the delegates that, by a narrow margin
of two votes, the sound nominee was elected while the
resolution itself was carried by a two-thirds majority of
the convention.
LIFTING THE LID
ATJUNEAU
<Contined from Page One)
House but was killed in the Sen
ate.
Appropriations — Passed recoi d
$13,041,000 general appropriations
bill, plus $660,000 for 8erritorial
office building (if and when funds
are available) and $4,950,000 in
special appropriations. The latter
includes special funds for school
buildings, the veterans’ revolving
fund, $375,000 in unpaid vouchers,
$250,000 for the housing authority,
$250,000 for setting up the new
Territorial fisheries department,
$75,000 for the newly authorized
national guard, $250,000 for hos
pital financing aid and $112,000
for the legislative session costs.
Schools — $2,250,000 for new
school buildings, plus an estimated
$1,000,000 from the earmarked to
bacco tax; a $300 a year raise for
teachers. Each House passed its
own bill for a $20,000,000 bond is
sue referendum, mostly for school
buildings, but neither house evrer
got around to acting on the other’s
measure so both died.
Labor—Enacted child labor law;
equal women’s pay; wage collec
tions by the commissioner of la
bor: broader labor lien law; pro
vision for return of recruited
workers upon completion of work:
public employees retirement sys
tem. Defeated measures included
the 40-hour week and $1 mini
mum wage bill; temporary sick
ness and accident compensation:
a sharply increased workmen’s
compensation schedule and the
bill for repealing employers’ ex
perience rating credits under the
unemployment compensation law.
Veterans — Appropriation of
SI.050,000 as a loan to the veter-*
an’s revolving fund for loans to
veteran’s; passage of a veterans' J
preferential hiring law for public
jobs.
Liquor — All bills killed. They
included four different measures
on liquor law enforcement, a tax
increase proposal and a referen
dum on whether the Territory
should enter the wholesale liquor
business.
Social Security — Old age pen
sions increased to $80 a month; in
creased payments for dependent
children; provided for dependency
allowance under unemployment
compensation, but a sequel to in
crease the total a person with de
pendents could draw was defeat
ed.
Subversive Activities — Passed
bill requiring non-communist and
non-subversive party oath by all
Territorial officers or employees
I before they take jobs, and requir
1 ing such oatn for present of dee
holders who have not already
taken one.
i
Fisheries— Created new Terri
torial department of fisheries;
Senate killed House bills for both
special sailboat and power boat
taxes.
At Union—Passed bills to create
aviation, department under aero
nautics and communications com
mission and to authorize cities and
territory to receive federal airpor.,
funds.
Statehood — Created 11-man
committee to chart path to state
hood.
Cities—Changed first class citv
elections to October; empowered
cities to levy local sales tax.
Housing—Appropriated $250,000
for Alaska Housing authority.
Health—Passed laws for pre
marital physical examinations,
pre-natal blood tests, pure food J
and drug act, pollution control and
a general health code.