THE NOME NUGGET
Published Monday, Wednesday and Friday by the
NOME PUBLISHING CO.
NOME, ALASKA
Telephone: Main 125 P. O. Box 6i«
$1.50 PER MONTH $16.00 A YEAR
W. A. Boucher .Owner-Publisher
Entered as second class matter October 14, 1943, at the postoffice
at Nome, Alaska, under the Act of March 3, 1879.
Nome, Alaska, Wednesday, May 18,, 1949
SPRING CLEAN-UP CAMPAIGNS
Nearly 10,000 American communities will join in ob
serving Spring Clean-Up Week this year, the National
Board of Fire Underwriters reports.
Some clean-up drives have already been held in
southern cities, while others are just now being planned
in many northern municipalities, as the drive moves
northward with warmer weather.
Mobilizing Support
Fire chiefs, local fire safety committees, and public
service organizations are helping to mobilize public
support for the drives, which receive the backing of
many civic organizations in each community.
Judging by advance reports, more Spring Clean-Up
Campaigns will be held this year than ever before. The
first city-wide drive was held in Cincinnati in 1913.
Drive Begins At Home
The campaign, which brings a substantial reduction
in fire and health hazards each year, enlists all segments,
of the community. Householders begin by checking
their own homes for fire and health hazards, such as
stacks of combustible rubbish, sooty stoves, frayed ex
tension cords, and flammable liquids. Home inspection
blanks which list these hazards can be obtained from
the National Board of Fire Underwriters, 85 John St.,
New York City. The Board also offers a special booklet,
“Clean-Up—Don’t Burn Up!” i
A community clean-up campaign is another import-1
ant part of the drive. When vacant lots are cleaned and
cleared, they provide safe and attractive playgrounds
for children in the neighborhood. j
_ !
THE GRAVY TRAIN j
(St. Marys, Pa., Daily Press)
Every country in the world with the possible excep-i
lion of some in South America and inside the Iron Cur
tain, is riding Uncle Sam’s gravy train.
Signing of the Atlantic Pact carried with it the im
plication United States will have to finance arming of
Western European powers unable to carry their own
weight.
The ink was not dry on the document before several
countries put in their bid for some of the many millions
that will be tossed around with wild abandon.
Since the last shell was fired in Germany this coun
try has been Santa Claus to Europe to the tune of more
than 20 billion dollars. In addition to that we have un
dertaken the Marshall Plan and all the billions it entails.
If the U. S. Senate confirms the Atlantic Pact it will
open another avenue of financial assistance to European
powers impoverished by the recent war.
This will be in the nature of an arms program with
weapons to be forged in this country and shipped over
seas without a cent of cost to those lands who today sing
sweet harmony with Uncle Sam whether it be basso
profundo or tenor.
The humanitarian aspects of the programs financed
by the United States Treasury hold a definite appeal
and on that score alone have been able to make legisla
tive headway here.
Here we stand, the youngest of all nations, the only
one capable of giving assistance to others. Here we like
wise stand as the prize sucker land of all time. Propose
pensions for world war veterans and the resouding re
bukes can be heard from here to China and back again.
But propose some measure to lend financial aid to
overseas powers and it goes over with a bang, carrying
vastly more financial outlay than pension plans to
Americans.
We are not carrying the torch here for pensions, but
merely to point out the different reception the two pro
grams receive here in America.
Riding the gravy train at American expense has been
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| POINTS OF OWENS ION
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quite popular over a long term of years. It began back
in the First World War when we lent freely to various
European powers engaged in fighting the Kaiser and his
armies.
Of all the powers helped by American money at that
time, only Finland honored her obligations, even in the
recent war when through sheer force of circumstances
she was allied with Germany against Soviet Russia,
then in our loving embrace as a genuine fighter for de
mocracy.
When Uncle Sam had the collosal nerve to ask Eng
land around 1920 for “interest” payment on money
loaned the British Empire, the reveberation was ter
rific.
Uncle Sam was likened to “Uncle Shylock” demand
ing his pound of flesh from a poor; downtrodden people,
and none made more noise on the subject than Winston
Churchill who spoke recently in Boston on the matter
of common alliance between this country and the Brit
ish Isles.
England has been the recipient of many billions of
American help through outright financial grants, or
through lend-lease assistance. But in that respect she
was not alone. Other European powers are in the same
boat.
As we bend an oar to help others stabilize their econ
omy and get back on their feet, we should be mindful
we have serious and pressing obligations here at home
to keep America out of her own poorhouse.
I
NO SERIOUS RECESSION j
The Bureau of Agricultural Economic^ which has a
good batting average on predictions, says that there
will be further declines in industrial production, prices
and consumer incomes, but no serious recession is in
sight.
The backlog demands “that carried over from the war
years” have practically disappeared and the “tremen
dous demand” for many consumer goods is slackening.
However, no sharp drop in general economic activity
seems “to be in the picture.”
The Bureau expresses the opinion that Federal, State
and local governments will spend more money than last
year. It notes, however, that savings by consumers are
increasing although consumer-incomes will be big
enough to support larger spending than in any year be
fore 1948.
Referring to the outlook for farm products, the Bur
eau says a decline in business activity will mean a
weaker demand. Larger farm production would cause
some further price declines but “a sharp, over-all de
cline in farm prices is not expected.”
Even though a Medical School professor says that a
man reaches his peak of physical efficiency at twenty
two and then declines, it is encouraging to realize that
the decline is more gradual than the development.
—St. Louis Globe-Democrat.
CONGRESS
ROUNDUP
(Continued from Page One) ^
than usual. *
By doing so, Mills figured, a
prospective $3,000,000,000 deficit
in fiscal 1950 could be turned into
'a $1,700,000,000 surplus, eliminat
ing any need for a new tax bill.
Mr. Truman and his House lead
ers have picked ten major bills
they want the House to get busy*
on as soon as possible.
They are housing, labor, mini
mum wages, lobby investigation,
crop insurance, federal buildings,
Alaska statehood, rural telephone
service extension, pay raises for
government executives, and dis
placed persons.
This new lineup was decided on
at a White House conference Mon
day. I
Chairman Sabath (D.-Ill.) of the
rules committee which normally
clears bills for House debate .said
he expects most of them to get the
go-ahead within a week or so.
Yesterday the House was sched
uled to debate a welfare depart
ment bill, but interest was cen
tered more on an individual than
on legislation. The House was set ^
to receive general Lucius Clay,
back from his duties as U. S. mil
itary head in Berlin.
The Senate was braced for a
fresh round of debate on President
Truman’s spending program, and
economy advocates faced a major
test. Senator Green <D.-R. I.) has
asked the Senate to reconsider the ^
April 28 action which sent the ^
$2,400,000,000 labor-social security
money bill back to the appropria
tions committee with instructions
! to trim it five per cent.
| Next in line for Senate action
are p.obably the appropriation
| for the agiculture department, and
, then the army department’s civil
| functions money bill.
I
Much Electrical
Power Can Be Had
For Seward Area
MA*) Special Washington Service*
WASHINGTON, (>P) — Harness
j ing the Little Susitna River and
I Cottonwood Creek in A1 a s k a
S throughout 1948 would have pro
| duced more than 6,000,000 kilo
i watt hours of electric energy, the
I geological survey estimated yes
! terday.
| The agency released a study by
engineer W. Lawrence of the Lit
tle Susitna River east of the Sew
ard meridian to a point a mile
about Archangel Creek, and of the
Cottonwood Creek basin.
A diversion and conduit type of
power development* Lawr ence
said, could have produced a power
capacity in the 1947-48 water year
of 636 horsepower 90 per cent of
the time and 4,100 horsepower 50
percent of the time.
“By diverting the flow of Little
Susitna River to Cottonwood creek
with a system of dams and can
als 960 horsepower could Have 4
been developed continuously in
1848, generating over 6,000,000
kilowatt hours,” the study added.
A visitor at the Capitol was ac
companied by his small son. The
little boy watched from the gal
lery when the House came to or
der.
“Why did the minister pray for
all those men, Pop,”
“He didn’t. He looked them over
and then prayed for the country.”
Many a violin sounds as though
its strings were still in the cat.