THE .NOME NUGGET
Published Monday, Wednesday and Friday by the
NOME PUBLISHING CO.
NOME, ALASKA
E. P. BOUCHER . Managing Editor
CLINTON GRAY . Production Manager
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Entered as second class matter October 14, 1943 at the
postoffice at Nome, Alaska, under Act of March 3. 1879
THOSE 186 SHIPS
The government of the Soviet Union has apparent
ly moved closer to agreeing to return 186 naval craft
sent them by this country under the Lend-Lease pro
gram during World War II. After many years of
fruitless note exchanges, the Soviet Ambassador in
Washington informed the State Department several
weeks ago that representatives of the U.S.S.R. would
agree to meet representatives of the United States for
“discussion of technical questions connected with the
transfer of 186 naval craft.”
In one of the Soviet notes in the current exchange,
the Russians pointed out that they had returned to
the United States three ice-breakers, 27 frigates, 7
tankers and 1 dry cargo vessel, and that Russia agreed :
to return 186 naval vessels. This admission was
at least putting the Russians on record as obligated
to return these vessels to the United States.
If this indication proves an accurate appraisal, j
the Russians are preparing to remove one of the irritat- i
ing obstacles in the way of better relations between
the two countries. All Americans who know the facts
have bitterly resented the Russian refusal to return
these ships. It has been nine years since World War
H and the refusal to return vessels rightly owned by j
the United States throughout this long period is one
of that government’s most flagrant and open viola
tions of law and treaty.
NOVEL — AT LEAST
“Nothing can be more important to us than the
re-election of a Republican House and Senate this fall,”
Speaker Joe Martin told a luncheon meeting of the
GOP National Finance Committee.
Taking him at his word, the committee promptly
voted a war chest of $3,800,000 to underwrite 1954
campaigning. This is exactly twice the amount spent
in 1950, and sets a new record for Congressional elec-1
tioneering. The high cost of radio and television are
given as part of the reason for the big price-tag.
And we will suggest once more that the most ef-!
fective use of these new facilities might be to appear
from Washington — telling the constituents why the
vital business of representative government must go
on . . . election or no election.
i .. _ 11
DEATH SENTENCE
The year 1953 passed into history as the blackest
in the long, and sometimes glorious, annals of Ameri
can shipbuilding. During these twelve months not one
single contract for a sea-going merchant ship was let
to a single American shipyard. Meanwhile foreign
yards were “buzzing with activity.” Meanwhile, our
existing merchant fleet, built at high cost during the
war emergency and now largely obsolete, carried less
than 30 percent of our own foreign trade.
This is the background against which the Randall
Commission presented its recommendation “that the
determination of the active merchant fleet require
ments of the U.S. . . take account of the availability
of foreign vessels and of the importance ... of their
dollar earnings from shipping services.”
“In other words,” says Louis E. Wolfson, board
chairman of New York Shipbuilding Corporation, “for
eign credit first . . . then American welfare, American
standards of living, American business.”'
Basically, the question for the American people
to consider is whether or not it is now time to start
looking to our own interests—on the sea as well as
ashore—whether we shall build ships now, when we
can get our money’s worth; or again, for the third time,
build extravagantly after the chips are down.
Perhaps the Randall Commission did not know
that we paid our British allies 100 million dollars in
rental for the Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth to
send our troops over to save England.
Well-timed silence is more eloquent than speech
—and mop silence is well-timed.
Astronomy Notes
By OLAF HALVERSON
The reason why the mean sun
and the real sun seldom cross the
meridian together is that the orbit
in which our earth travels around
the sun is an ellipse.
In winter, when the earth is at
perihelion or closest to the sun,
the earth is attracted by the sun
with greater force so that our
movement is accelerated or in
creased. At perihelion we are
3,000,000 miles closer to the sun,
so that our movement along the
orbit is swiftest about the first of
January.
Our movement is slowest about
July 1st when the earth is at
aphelion or the greatest distance
from the sun.
In 1619, Kepler discovered the
laws concerning planetary motion.
He stated that the motion of the
radious vector, or the line joining
the planet to the sun, is such that
it sweeps over equal areas of the
ellipse in equal times.
"4-on" Duplicate Receipt 3ooks
at the Nugget
Quick House Approval Forecast
For Billion Dollar Sales Tax Cut
WASHINGTON, UP) — Speedy
and overwhelming House approv
al was forecast Thursday for a
bill to cut a wide range of excise
or sales taxes almost one billion
dollars.
But the bill, okayed by the
Ways and Means Committee over
opposition by the Eisenhower ad
ministration, tnreatened to set off
a storm in the Senate over an
other issue.
Sen. George (D-Ga) said he
might move to tack onto the ex
cise tax measure—when it hits
the Senate—his controversial pro
posal to increase individual in
come tax exemptions and thus
lower taxes, particularly for low
income families.
The administration argued that
the government cannot afford
now such broad and sweeping
revenue reductions as are pro
vided in the bill to cut to 10 per
cent all excise taxes now above
that level, except for liquor and
tobacco.
The changes would be effective
April 1—four weeks from today.
They would cut taxes ron movies
and other admissions, telephone
bills, rail, bus and air passenger
fares, jewelry, cosmetics, pocket
books, furs, luggage, telegrams,
sporting goods, cameras, pens,
mechanical pencils, lighters and
other items.
Presumably prices also would
drop on many of these goods, al
though perhaps not on movie tick
ets. Committee chairman Daniel
A. Reed (R-NY>, sponsor of the
bill, said the tax reductions would
be a stimulant to consumer buy
ing and thus would help the na
tional economy out of its present
dip.
The Reed bill also would cancel
about $1,100,000,000 in cuts in
other excises scheduled April 1
on liquor, tobacco, automobiles,
gasoline-, buses and trucks, auto
parts, and beer and wine.
Other things being equal, the
bill would add almost one billion
dollars to the $2,900,000,000 de
ficit President Eisenhower has
projected for the fiscal year be
ginning July 1.
House Republican leader Hal
leck ■ of Indiana said he planned
to bring the excise bill to the
House floor next Wednesday, add
ing, “the vote for it will of course
be overwhelming.”
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Batchelor Charged
Giving “Aid And
Comfort to Enemy”
SAN ANTONIO, Tex., UPI—'The
Army today ordered Cpl. Claude
J. Batchelor held on charges of
giving “aid and comfort to the
enemy” while he was a prisoner
of war in Korea. Fourth Army
headquarters here said that a pre
trial investigation will begin soon
to determine whether the evi
dence justifies trial by court mar
tial.
Batchelor was one of the Am
erican POWs in Korea who chose
to remain with the Communists,
but he changed his mind later.
Another who changed his mind,
Cpl. Edward S. Dickenson, 23, of
Cracker’s Neck, Va., has been or
dered to trial by court martial.
The Army emphasized that the
charges against him do not in
volve his temporary refusal to be
repatriated.
Batchelor, 23, told reporters he
didn’t believe he would be court
martialed for his activities in Red
prison camps. He said he wanted
a discharge when his enlistment
is up in a few days.
“I don’t know whether I’ll re
enlist or not,” he said. “I’ve made
no definite plans. I want to com
bat Communists, but haven’t de
cided which would be the most
effective way.”
Batchelor left his Japanese wife
behind in Tokyo. He said he
hoped to bring her to Texas.
Extra Police Protection
For House of Commons
LONDON, (/Pi — Prime Minister
Churchill and other members of
Parliament got extra police pro
tection in and around the House
of Commons Thursday to prevent
any incident similar to last Mon
day’s shooting spree by Puerto
Rican fanatics in the U.S. House
of Representatives.
Nationalist China Starts
Active Preparation for
Attack on Mainland
TAIPEH, Formosa, tP* — Pre
mier Chen Cheng said Thursday
Nationalist China is starting ac
tive preparation for an attack on
the Red-held mainland and “I be
lieve the counterattack . . . should
not be far away.”
Don’t let dust collect on lamp
bulbs and shades, advises the U.S.
Department of Agriculture, if you
want full value for the light you
pay for. When bulbs and diffus
ing bowls collect a film of dust
and grease, they should be re
moved and washed like any other
glassware.
NOTICE
The K.K. Public Library will
be closed Friday evening so that
librarians may see the high school
play.
The library will be open as
usual on Saturday afternoon from
2:30 to 4:00 p.m. 28