THE NOME NUGGET
Published Monday, Wednesday and Friday by the
NOME PUBLISHING GO.
NOME, ALASKA
E. P. BOUCHER . Managing Editor
CLINTON GRAY ... Production Manager
Telephone: Main 125 , $1.50 PER MONTH
P.O. Box 618 $16.00 A YEAR
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Entered as second class matter October 14, 1943 at the
postoffice at Nome. Alaska, under Act of March 3. 1879
WASHINGTON ATMOS'FEAR
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“LIFE' REPORTER REPORTS LIFE IN RUSSIA
An exceptionally vivid picture of life under communism is
found in a long article which Life recently featured. It was written
by Emmet John Hughes, a veteran foreign correspondent who
is now on the magazine’s staff. Mr. Hughes applied for a Soviet
visa for the purpose of obtaining an interview with Malenkov. To
his amazement, the visa was forthcoming. He never got the inter
view, but he was able to see a good deal of Russia.
There were a few welcome surprises. Taxi service was good
and the hotels were comfortable. His baggage was not searched
and he found he was not followed by police. He encountered neither
hostility nor curiosity. He found little of the blatant totalitarian
propaganda he had expected. And Moscow has its outstanding sights
such as the magnificent ballet at the Bolshoi Theater, and the
unbelievably fabulous subwray, with its 39 stations “which are the
most fantastic underground structures conceived by modern man.”
But, Mr. Hughes found, the pleasant aspect of Moscow is
quickly exhausted—“the rest of the scene is painted in different
colors.”
For instance, as he wryly observed, Moscow “is a city where
women have been blessed with literal answers to all imaginable
dreams of equality with men.” This means that women must work
at all kinds of hard manual labor—carpentry, bricklaying, drilling.
Gangs of women clean the streets with spades and crude brooms—
a colossal task in winter. And, he discovered, beyond all else Moscow
is a city of queues. People stand interminably in line for just about
everything—especially, food. And the great masses of people are
poorly and often inadequately dressed.
Mr. Hughes made a particular effort to learn all he could
about the life of the Soviet worker—his wages, di.et, and housing.
He found that the people are the victims of “an elaborate ‘shell
game’ played with numbers, prices, wages and production figures.”
He cited the much publicized announcement that meat prices would
be reduced 15 per cent and fruit and vegetable prices 50 per cent.
The joker soon appeared. Simultaneously, all meat was regraded
into 12 categories—and the more edible grades remained high-priced.
And the vegetables and fruits could not be found in the state stores.
The state store, lie continued, with prices fixed by government
decree, “is a socialistically pure institution.” And the prices charged
—save for subsistence items—would stagger anyone accustomed to
America’s private and competitive retailing system. The average
worker’s wage in Moscow is about 650 rubles a month. A coffee
pot costs 92 rubles; a rayon shirt* 120; a cheap serge suit 1,500.
By this kind of price-fixing, the government swiftly and completely
siphons off the people’s earnings, and makes enormous profits. As
an example, the state buys beef tor 1.5 rubles a kilo (2.2 pounds)
and sells it for 12.5.
The relatively few at the top, on the other hand—high military
officers, important officials, and industrial executives — leading
artists—live extraordinarily well. The highest income tax bracket
is only 13 per cent on income above 1,000 rubles—which, as Mr.
Hughes observed, is a “dispensation of wealth enjoyed in no cap
italist nation of the West.” So much for the workers’ paradise!
City Council
Meeting Notes
The Nome City Council met in
regular session Monday night and
welcomed back Councilwoman
Rose Silverman who has been in
the States for several months.
The Street Committee reported
that the abundance of late snow
is costing the city about $300
a day for extra labor and equip
ment to keep the streets open
for traffic.
The Playground Insurance pol
icy was discussed by the Council
as the present insurance does not
protect the city in case of accident
and efforts will be made to con
tact both Alaskan and Stateside
insurance companies for an acci
dent policy. Mrs. Steve Andersen
stated that in addition to insur
ance the playground should have
more adequate supervision.
The inclusion of a narcotics
ordinance was discussed in com
pliance with a request from the
Federal government which is
being made to all incorporated
communities in the territory.
An adjustment on wages for
employes of the Nome Power
plant was discussed inasmuch as
these people no longer are pro
vided with free electricity.
The election board for the com
ing municipal election was named
and includes Mrs. Ray Tveter,
Mrs. W. McCarthy, Fred Rohn,
Mrs. R. Roell, and Mrs. Clyde
Godsbe.
The City Clerk was instructed
to send letters of appreciation to'
the Fire Department at Nome
Field and Lomen Commercial Co.
for their aid in the W. J. Russell
residence fire last week.
Carl Glavinovich resigned from
he City Council and his resig
nation was accepted by the Coun
cil so that he could file his candi
dacy for the utilities board.
Mrs. Jennie Martin lodged a
complaint against the city for
killing her dog, a young pup on
her premises, and this opened a
discussion on the seriousness of
the rabies situation here. Clyde
Glass and his crew could not be
present at the meeting to give
their version of the shooting as
they were fire fighting at Nome
Field.
Mrs. Martin also asked that the
city grant longer open hours to
liquor stores, charged that there
was much bootlegging of bottle
goods after the liquor store's close.
Mayor Anderson requested that
the bar owners and liquor store
dealers get together and work out
the present problem and present
their solution of it to the council
for consideration.
NOTICE TO VOTERS
Notice is hereby given that the
Annual Municipal and School
Board election will be held April
6, 1954, at the City Hall, Nome,
Alaska, for the purpose of elect
ing the following officers, viz:
Mayor, three members of the
Common Council for a term of
two years and two members for
a term of one year; City Trea
surer; City Clerk; and one mem
ber of the Nome School Board for
a term of five years.
Ordinance No. 363, entitled, "An
Ordinance of the City of Nome,
Alaska, vacating Third Avenue
between West B Street and Divi
sion Street as a Public Thorough
fare, and giving unto said street
a Lot and Block designation,"
shall be submitted for ratification,
at this election.
Polls will open at 8:00 o'clock
a.m. and close at 6:00 o'clock p.m.
CARRIE M. McLAIN,
City Clerk
Thousands of Japanese Soldiers Are
Buried In Iwo Jima Caves While UJS.
Marines Practice On Defense Of Japan
I WO JIMA, Uf)—(Unknown thou-'
sands of Japanese soldiers lie
buried in honeycombed caves be
neath Iwo Jima while American
Marines ironically practice on the
9-year-old battlefield to defend
Japan.
An Air Force chaplain who has
studied the fantastic underground
defenses said, “Ive seen at least
5,000 bodies.”
A Marine engineer said “There
may be 10,000 bodies here. We all
know there were 20,000 Japanese
here and only a handful got off.
It stands to reason the rest are
still down in the caves.”
The bodies are not buried. They
rest where the men died or were
carried.
Caves Off Limits To Military
The caves have been pllced off
limits by the military. However,
many bodies have been uncovered
accidentally by demolition squads
exploding old ammunition and
sealing off caves for maneuvers
by the 3rd Marine Division—part
of the American forces committed
to the defense of Japan.
>.
Marine Maj. Roland M. Daly of
Spokane, Wash., reported sealing
off two caves, one with 600 bodies
and the second with up to 1,400.
Although his estimates were hasty
and probably high, demolition
men report finding some bodies
in almost every big cave.
The caves are littered with old
and dangerous ammunition and
explosives.
Chaplain Capt. George S. Bie
ber, Williamsburg, Pa., has made
an extensive study of the under
ground positions since he came
to the island in October, 1953. He
has mapped 18 fantastic under
ground honeycombs scattered
over the five-mile-long island. He
has made no effort to map the
hundreds of smaller caves.
On Track of General's Cave
He is confident he is on the
track of the general’s cave, last
command post of Lt. Gen. Tada
michi Kuribayashi, who defended
the island to the death. The gen
eral’s fate has never been con
clusively proved. With him may
be documents detailing the full
grim picture of the underground
defense.
Many Japanese were buried in
mass graves after the Marines
seized the island. Bodies later
were taken from some of the caves
and buried. But many caves—in
cluding the mysterious general’s
cave—were never located, or even
suspected.
Some of the caves extend sev
eral layers down literally honey
combing the volcanic island.
Caves Oppressively Hot
Bieber has had to use oxygen
on one of his deep explorations.
The caves are oppressively hot
and sulphur fumes fill many.
The intense heat and the sul
phur fumes may have preserved
some bodies.
When the island fell,,Marines
sealed off hundreds of caves.
Erosion and earthquakes reopen
the passages. Blasting to seal off
entrance may reopen others. And
the depths of many of the caves
have never been reached. One
blast recently set off a chain re
action and explosions continued
for hours.
CLARK'S
Pet and
FLORAL
Cut Flowers . . . Corsages
Funeral and Wedding Orders
—CALL US—
Nome Drug Store
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Court Delays Decision
On Guardianship For
Orphaned Marquam Wells
LOS ANGELES, IP) — Superior
Court has delayed until April 8 a
decision on guardianship for Mar
quam Wells, 3, left an orphan by
the tragic death of his parents,
Cecil and Diane Wells.
Contesting guardianship of Mar
quam are his paternal aunt, Mrs.
Edna Westbrook, 46, of Fair
banks, and his maternal grand
mother, Mrs. Florence Yvonne
Ward, 55, San Francisco.
Their petitions were presented
Monday before Judge Victor R.
Hansen. Mrs. Westbrook claims
that a 1951 will of Mrs. Wells
named her guardian in case both
parents should die. Mrs. Ward
maintains that to return Marquam
to Fairbanks would be physchol
ogicallv detrimental to the child. |
Judge Hansen continued the |
hearing pending the presentation I
o'f a report by probation depart
ment investigators. The child is
being cared for here by Mr. and
Mrs. Allen Mansfield, friends of
Mrs. Wells.
Mrs. Ward suggested it would
be best to rear the child in San
Francisco, where she lives, so that
Marquam would not be exposed
to the tragic history of his par
ents’ death.
Mrs. Ward’s attorney told the
court that in Fairbanks the child
"sooner or later would be faced
with the shocking accounts of the
deaths of his father and mother,”
but with his grandmother in San
Francisco this would not be like
ly.”
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