I
THE NOME NUGGET
Published Monday, Wednesday and Friday by the
NOME PUBLISHING CO.
NOME, ALASKA
Telephone 443-2381 $1.50 PER MONTH
P.O. Box 610 $16.00 A YEAR
E. P. BOUCHER . Managing Editor
CLINTON GRAY . Production Manager
Entered at second class matter October 14, 1943, at the
post office at Nome. Alaska, under Act of March 3, 1879.
Passman Disgusted
^CONGRESSMAN OTTO PASSMAN, the Louisiana Democrat
^ who heads a House subcommittee which supervises foreign
aid, has just returned from a trip all over the world—a trip de
signed to appraise the country’s aid program.
What the hard-fighting Congressman has to say is of interest
to every American taxpayer: in brief, he is thoroughly disgusted
with the aid program.
One of the aims for which our money is going, in some
countries, is to finance private or parochial schools. In this case
and in others we have the spectacle of State Department or other
appointees deciding that American tax money will be used out
side our borders for purposes which are specifically barred by the
Constitution, inside our borders.
By now the foreign aid system has gained solid entrench
ment in the way of employes, a bureaucratic organization fighting
for its life and for retention of jobs, and backers who have profited
from these yearly expenditures and who will continue to profit
from them.
Our Peace Corps has worked well. This is aid to nations by
human beings working on very low salaries. This is the best form
of aid; it is understood; it is aid from the heart and in leadership
and technical ways that can improve a nation’s people and their
making of a living. This is the kind of aid we can expand. The
old money give-away should be terminated as quickly as possible.
Passman, no doubt reflects the will of the majority of the American
people.
It Can’t Happen Again
THE YEARS HAVE BEEN so crowded with events that it is
hard to realize that thirty have passed since the bank holiday,
"the day the money stopped” by decrees from Washington, But
they have and Caroline Bird recalls in Look the courage, tragedy
and humor of March 6, 1933.
Yes, there was a bit of humor. For one thing the late John
D. Rockefeller, Sr., ran out of dimes and had to give his golf
caddy a dollar. There were novel ways of continuing business.
In Atlanta, a taxi driver accepted postage stamps. In Buffalo,
a winning prize fighter received his purse in potatoes and toma
toes. All of us who were alive then have stories of our own.
According to the article, this cannot happen again. Federal
Deposit Insurance, paid for by banks themselves, now guarantees
bank accounts up to $10,000. More important, there are fewer
banks, and they are stronger. Economic indicators exist to forecast
trouble.
"Almost everybody,” says Miss Bird, "now distinguishes be
tween real wealth and the yellow stuff.”
Considering that the United States now owes more gold than
it owns, this is important—if true!
House Turns
Down w4Liberty”
Amendment to
U.S. Constitution
JUNEAU OF) — The House Tues
day turned down a resolution pro
posing a so-called “liberty” amend
ment to the U.S. Constitution by
a vote of 10-27.
The proposed amendment would
prohibit the federal government
from engaging in any kind of
business except as specified in the
Constitution, and ultimately would
prohibit it from collecting personal
income taxes.
The vote came after more than
an hour’s debate which ran past
the noon hour.
Before the final tally, the House
turned down two attempts to
amend the measure.
The first, sponsored by Rep.
Mike Gravel, would have exempt
ed a long list of federal activities
in Alaska, such as the Bureau of
Indian Affairs, public housing,
aid to education, the Army Corps
of Engineers, the Alaska Railroad,
public airports, and the like. That
one went down on a 15-17 roll
call count.
The second amendment, offered
by Rep. John Rader, would have
specifically exempted such power
projects as the proposed Rampart
Dam, and the Bradley Lake and
Snettisham hydroelectric projects.
That one failed by a vote of 13-19.
In both cases, the authors of the
amendments argued that those
who wanted to go along with the
proposed constitutional amend
ment “should realize that they’d
have to live with it at home.”
Rep. Wm. Boardman said that
while many of the lawmakers
might sympathize with the amend
ments, the measure should be kept
uniform since it also was being
considered by other states.
Speaking for the resolution, Rep.
Earl Hillstrand, said that he was
one of the sponsors of the meas
ure “not entirely because of its
contents, but because it is a blow
against something of which I do
not approve—bigger and bigger
government.”
“I fail to grasp the practical ap
plication of this measure in this
day and age,” said Rep. John Holm.
“Perhaps we should have passed
it 50 or 150 years ago. But right
now it has little other than pro
test value.”
In the final vote, those in favor
of the measure were: Reps. Baker,
Boardman, Cole, Hillstrand, Leon
ard, Miller, Parsons, Tillion and
White.
Marie Drake, Author of
Alaska Flag Song, Passes
JUNEAU WP>. — Mrs. Marie
Drake, the author of the words to
Alaska’s Flag Song, died here yes
terday after a long illness.
Mrs. Drake came to Alaska after
the end of World War I and took
employment with the Territorial
Department of Education, rising
to the post of Assistant Commis
sioner in 1934.
She held the post until 1945.
There are no known survivors.
"DO IT ALL
WITH ONE CALL"
☆
Modern Laundry
AND
Dry Cleaners
*
Complete Dry Cleaning
and
Laundry Service
☆
FOR PICK - UP
Dial 2491
☆
Jim and Ruth McLean
Proprietors
Judge Hubert Gilbert
Gives Resume of
Coming Court Activities
Judge Hubert Gilbert gave a
resume of coming court activities
at the Chamber of Commerce
luncheon which get underway
March 12 here at Superior Court,
with the grand jury which is fol
lowed by trials.
Judge Gilbert stated that the
local court should be active
through March and April with the
amount of work to be done. The
local court is also hearing some
Anchorage cases on tape which
will be acted upon.
He also told of the new state
court buildings which are being
completed this month in Fair
banks and Anchorage which will
facilitate the work of these two
communities. He described the
new courtroom of the Anchorage
building as being very unusual
and compact and in a circular
shape. Rentals on these two facili
ties are estimated to cost the state
$lVfc million a year.
Bob Harwood reported on the
action of the Chamber in its sup
port of the city toward getting
funds for the water and sewage
system and what they have done
about finding out why Nome was
told only a week before it voted
in favor of the project that it
held a high priority due to the
sanitation needs of the community.
Just why sidewalks and other im
provements to another community
was more important is something
that is being inquired into.
Guests at the meeting were
Rev. Benjamin Laird of the
Methodist Church here on a
preaching mission at the Commu
nity Methodist Church and Dr.
Stan Stitt, dentist, of the Public
Health Service.
Supervisory Functions
Of IRS In Anchorage
Will Be Moved to Seattle
WASHINGTON UP) — Some
supervisory functions of the An
chorage Internal Revenue Service
office will be moved to Seattle as
part of a nationwide reorganiza
tion was announced Tuesday.
Treasury Secretary Douglas Dil
lon said the entire revision, af
fecting 12 offices in the nation, is
aimed at saving about $5 million
a year in overhead and adminis
trative costs.
Alaska residents will continue to
file returns in Anchorage and
Mortimer Caplin, IRS Commmis
sioner, said no taxpayer would be
inconvenienced by the change.
Washington Sens. Henry Jack
son and Warren Magnuson said
Caplin reported the Seattle IRS
office staff would be increased “to
some extent.” Caplin said he hopes
reductions at the Anchorage of
fice can be accomplished by trans
fers and normal attrition.
The Anchorage office, he said,
is the smallest in the nation, with
65 employes. The number to be
affected at Anchorage was not
specified.
RUSSIANS WILL
Try to Prevent
Destruction of
King Crab Gear
JUNEAU UP) — Secretary of
State Hugh Wade said Tuesday
Russia has pledged complete co
operation in preventing the de
struction of American king crab
fishing gear by Russian trawlers.
Wade said the assurance was
given by Dr. A. S. Babaev, a Rus
sian delegate to the recent North
Pacific Fur Seal Conference in
Tokyo.
Wade attended the meeting as
a representative of the State of
Alaska.
Babaev, Wade said, denied,
“with great feeling, that any fish
ing Vessel captained by a Russian
sea captain and manned by a Rus
sian fishing crew would deliberate
ly destroy or damage fishing gear
of another fisherman, particularly
an Alaskan fisherman after the
cooperation that has existed be
tween the two fishing fleets over
the years.”
Wade said Babaev told the U.S.
delegates that any incident that
was brought to their attention
would result in complete investi
gation and punishment, if facts
warranted it.
Babaev suggested that the Rus
sians be advised of the type and
kinds of markers used by Alaska
king crab fishermen, the general
area where they are located and
the density of the pots.
He said Russians would then
exercise “great and unusual care”
in these areas. Babaev suggested
that a radio beacon of some kind
tuned to the radio frequency used
by Russian ships be set up to
mark the general area where
American pots are located.
Wade said the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, the U.S. State
Department and the Alaska State
Department of Fish and Game, as
well as the American king crab
industry itself, had agreed to fur
nish information to the Russians
Babaev told Wade he planned to
stop in Vladivostok and notify the
Russian fishing fleet there of his
concern regarding the problem.
American fishermen complained
last year of a heavy loss of king
crab gear caused by the activities
of Russian trawlers which were
operating in the same general
area, off the southern tip of Ko
diak Island.
PROPOSE TRANSFERS
JUNEAU Oft—Two pieces of leg
islation were introduced in the
Senate Tuesday by Nome Demo
crats Lester Bronson and Pearse
Walsh.
The first, SB 130, calls for the
transfer of the Forestry, Parks and
Recreation branch of the Division
of Lands from the Anchorage area
to Juneau.
The other, SB131, would trans
fer the Division of Aviation from
the Anchorage area to the Fair
banks area.
' Miners & Merchants Bank of Alaska
"The Friendly Bank"
FULL BANKING SERVICES
To Northwestern Alaska Since 1904
— BRANCHES IN KOTZEBUE and BARROW —
Guaranteed
Dependable
Fuel Service
LP Gas
and Appliances
Office: Dial 2561 Res: Dial 2417
DEAL WITH CONFIDENCE AT
Green’s City Fuel and Transfer
ZIEGLER
and
QUAKER
STOVE PARTS
AND REPAIRS
OIL HEATERS