davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Nome nugget., 1938-10-10

the people who live in Alaska; stay in the country and develop it; use it's resources to create new resources; think of Alaska in ;erms of ultimate statehood who will force Alaska to the final goal.
 Alaska isn't self-supporting. Tn other words, it can't raise suffi- Sient revenues within its own bor ders to support a state govern ment It's the tail of the kite and has to look to Washington for Succor. But it doesn't need to be in that shape forever, as the Se- cretary pointed out, if Alaskans will point in the right direction, and try to become self-support- ing. And it would be ridiculous to suppose that a Territory of 60O,0OO square miles with the countless natural resources that Alaska has could not become self supporting if it actually directed its efforts toward doing so.
The Nome nugget., 1938-10-10

tNote: All salings subject te change without neee)
 yss HaxninA AgnG
The Nome nugget., 1938-10-10
WRITE YOUF OWN TICKET

MT. Harold L. Ickes, Secretary of the Interior, under whose de- partment comes control of the largest part of Alaska, dropped into town recently and left few potent suggestions for Alaskans to null over. Some of his sug- gestions are not going to be very we'll received. It isn't normal for a person to consider further tax on himself. It just goes against the grain. But whether We like it or not, most of us will admit that the Secretary was as right as the Sabbath in most of his utterances.
 For example, MT. Ickes said we'd have to change our psychol ogy; that we would have to get away from the idea that Alaska is a place to make a stake and then get out o1 10 live III Soutn- ern California or some other place that appeals to our imagination.
 We will have to change that scheme of life to the theme that Alaska is a good place ot live in, to establish home and to raise a family, he contended, or we will never reach that goal of statehood which We talk so much about but actually point little to- ward.
 The Secretary wasn't romano ing. He was talking facts which, being human, many of us like to sidestep, especially, if they hap pen to be facts which are person.
The Nome nugget., 1938-10-10
ally a bit disagreeable.

ally bit dlSagreeaDle.
 MT. Ickes said that permanent civilization can't be built on ex- haustible resources. Something must be built up to take the places of those exhaustible re- sources when htey actually be- come exhausted, he explained. We all know that you can't take everything away, put nothing back and hope to do it for ever without getting into jackpot.
 MT. Ickes was just giving us a bit of sound philosophy, his sights raised on the future. He was talk ing about statehood for Alaska, and the way to get it.
 Of course, if Alaskans want to continue to be, as he expressed it, "the tail of the Washington kite, there isn't much that can be done about 1t. The saying IS that the Lord helps those who help themselves. Washington is doing something about helping Alaska, but unless Alaskans help themselves there is a limit to which Washington can go. That was the theme of the Secretary's remarks.
 It's sound logic. There isn't a state in the Union which was made a state by the people who took their wealth and went aw- ay from that state. It was the people who stuck, made the state their home and developed re- sources 10 support it that brot about a star in the Union of Stat es. Alaska is no exception. It is
The Nome nugget., 1938-10-10
Forced Landing

CAPETOWN, South Africa, Oct 8,P)-With a shortage of fuel the "pickaback" seaplane Mer- cury, Britain's greatest experi- ment with long range bombing planes, made an emergency land ing 380 miles short of it's goal. The plane was attempting to break the worlds distance record in a flight from Dundee, Scot land to CapetoWn. The plane covered nearly 5000 miles.
The Nome nugget., 1938-10-10

Secretary Ickes gave us some thing to think about. He gave us something to act upon. But will we dot it? Have we got what It takes, or are we going to contin- ue to try and make a stake and then high-tail for the sunny south. Write your own ticket Alaska Juneau Empire
Imperial Valley press., 1938-12-15
THE CHAIRMAN
IS REASSURlNG

(Wall Street JournaD
Senator O'Mahoney, chairman of the
Temporary National Economic Commu-
mittee, divides the countrys thought
about the public regulation of private
enterprise roughly into two schools. One
would increase the discretionary con-
troll of government over business by set
ting up some form of tribunal which in
particular cases, in advance of action,
could tell business what it may or may
not do The second he describes as fa-
voring measures (which would more
clearly define the acts which are pro-
hibited and provide for better enforce
ment."
For himself, the senator expressly re-
jectS the first species of regulation as
dangerous to the economic life of the
country and to its political institutions.
Inferentially, he declares himself in fa-
VOr of the second type of regulation, but
he makes this reservation: If it is neces-
airy to enforce law in the sense of COM
pelling unwilling obedience the law is
almost certain to be a failure from the
start"
These are reaSsuring utterances from
the chairman of a probe which has
been pretty widely feared as planning
to put all business in handcuffs and leg
irons. Elsewhere in his address to the
Congress of American Industry in New
York City, Senator OMahoney asserted,
in effect, that there must be regulation
of free enterprise, that the complete self
regulation of trade and industry was
impossible That obvious truth no rea-
sonable man will attempt to dispute. The
reinsurance which business can neVerthe-
less derive from the senator's address
of Thursday last is that, so far as his
influence over the findings of the COM
mittee goes, it will not ask Congress to
increase discretionary bureau powers
over free enterprise beyond the minimum
absolutely indispensable to regulation,
as distinguished from repression.
That, to be sure, leaves regulation yet
to be defined and to be applied in Spe-
cific legislation, if and when we are to
revise the antitrust laws, so-called. But
it means, plainly enough, the open-mind-
ed willingness of the chairman of the
"anti-monopoly committee to hear busi-
ness in its own behalf and his sympathy
with the business mans demand for all
the freedom of action which he can safe
~ and reasonably be allowed.
Imperial Valley press., 1938-12-15
NATIONS, MEN
AND CHARACTER

We admire much the same thing in
nations and men, although we may not
always realize il.
We admire man, for instance, who
always keeps his word who never cheats
and who governs his actions by a rigid
code of craftsmanship.
BY the same token, we admire ma
tion which stands by its treaties, which
does not oppresS weaker nations and
which lives strictly within the code of
international ethics.
We admire man who can listen to
criticism of himself, and smile or better
STILL profit by the criticism. Adversely,
none of Us thinks much of the man who
refuses to hear himself criticized.
We admire national government
which can abide criticism and profit by
It. Vein America at least-cannot
place much faith in the government
which suppresses all internal criticism
and refuses TO listen to constructive critl-
cism from the outside.
So it is that most Americans have a
hearty respect and liking for the gov
ernment of Great Britain-and very lit
tie of either for the government of Nazi
Germany.
Britain permits all manner of criticism
from within, and listens patiently to
criticism from other sources. Britain
has never yet, in modern history, made
a serious international incident out of
criticism of Britain by another nation.
Germany on the other hand, sends
to concentration camps or the gallows
any of her own citizens who dare criti-
cize the national government-and she
takes as an insult to her national honor
any criticism from outside.
For the umpteenth time Nazi Germany
this week showed her deplorable lack of
national craftsmanship by refusing to
allow her semi-official representatives to
attend a London banquet at which Prime
Minister Neville Chamberlain was to
speak. The Germans objected because
they heard Mr.. Chamberlain was going
to criticize German newspapers.
Yet how many times has Adolf Hitler
criticized not only British newspapers,
but Great Britain herself, while British
listened?
1t is little to wonder at that he mud
ding, sole, conscientious British obtain
a far greater share Of the worlds good
will than do the Germans.
Imperial Valley press., 1938-12-15
CHALLENGING THE
WILL OF THE PEOPLE

An effort in the California Supreme
Court to cast doubt on validity of the
Nov. vote against the so-called $50
Every Thursday pension scheme can be
nothing more than an attempt further to
mislead those people who have been
talked into contributing heavy sums to
support the freakish plan.
That Irregularities on election boards
resulted in the landslide vote against
the scheme is a ridiculous contention
There would have had to be irregulari-
ties on every other election board in the
state-and certainly there can't be that
many crooked vote counters in Califor-
MIA.
1t is of a piece with the crazy conten-
tions of the schemes hackers, however,
that they should try to lead their fol-
lowers to believe the hogs of privilege"
bought every election board in the state,
just to defeat the program.
Somehow, we cannot believe many
people are going to believe this.
1t is a bit humorous, too, that in one
precinct where the pension people claim
ed there were more votes than voters,
the pension plan was favored by close
Imperial Valley press., 1938-12-15
Famous Sayings

If you remember the geometry
you studied in high school, you
may recall a stunt which went un-
der the high-sounding title of re
ductio ad absurdum."
The idea was that if you had a
theory TO test, and suspected that
there was something wrong with
it, you selected the diz2iest eX-
ample you could think of and car
ried it to its logical conclusion.
Then, when you had a thoroughly
cockeyed situation on your hands,
YOU proved that the theory itself
was phony. You did this by re-
ducing it to neutrality-suspicious. ad
abSurdum."
For a long time now the theory
that remote ties of ancestry and
language should determine a peo-
pies government has been widely
held. 1t led TO much map-making
ut the Versailles conference, and
more recently it gave Herr Hitler
a fine excuse for pushing his drive
to the east.
Now the Italians have picked 1t
up, looking toward expansion in the
direction of Tunisia and Corsica;
and it begins to look as If the old
high school process of reductio ad
abSurdum had set in.
1t may be quite true that the
bulk of TunisianS and Corsicans
are either of italian ancestry or
speak with a pronounced italian
accent. But if that means that
those territories should immediate
ly go under the italian flag, then
Uncle Sam himself is sitting on a
lot of subject peoples who are un-
der the wrong flag.
BY the theory the Dutch ought to
reclaim a good part of Pennsyl-
Vania, and Spain should take over
large portions of Arizona and New
Imperial Valley press., 1938-12-15
Barbs-..- -..-

A Boston judge ruled a man may
slash his Wife's clothes to ribbons
On further consideration the judge
ruled the husband can't slash them
while she is in them.
The cotton surplus might be dis
posed of by stuffing it in the ears
of southerners who are tired of
hearing about Dixie" Davis.
An economic royalist wants to
borrow the leaning tower of Pisa
from Mussolini. He'll use it for
local headquarters of the WPA.
Headline: France and Germany
Bury Hatchet." In whose hide?
Roosevelt urges ay-as-you-go
for defense costs. Why didn't
somebody think of that when we
were lending to the Allies?
Imperial Valley press., 1938-12-15

his life isolated within the gray
walls of a monastery. When this
Monk died Sc years ago, no one
dreamed that he would be remem-
bered. But 18 years after his death,
a paper was discovered that he had
written-a paper recording the re-
suits of years of experiments with
breeding plants = paper that
shook the scientific world and
wrote the name of Gregor Mendel
III luminous letters across the
armament of fame.
The story OF this peasant and
self-schooled Monk is one of the
most astonishing in the history of
science.
Three qualities were very large
ly responsible for his success; per-
severance, common sense, and a
flaming passion for knowledge.
Because he had once been a
farm boy, Mendel knew from per-
sonal experience that a pumpkin
seed will always produce pumpkins
and radish seed will produce rad
iSheS. But, WHY? That is what
he wanted to find out; so he began
to experiment in the quiet gardens
of his monastery. He crossed tall
garden peas with a dwarf variety.
The first generation produced
nothing but tall plants since tall
ness in garden peas is "domi-
nant' trait, and dwarfneSs is a
"receSsive" trait.
In the second generation, there
were almost exactly three times as
many tall peas as short ones. In
the third generation, the seed from
the dwarf peas produced both tall
and dwarf plants. For example, if
he took six seeds from tall peas,
he found that two of these seeds
would produce two tall plants that
would continue to produce nothing
but tall plants. But four other
seeds would produce three tall and
one dwarf plant and keep this
ratio up apparently forever.
Does all this mean little to you?
Well, the Mendelian Law is too
technical to explain here; but TO
scientists it is most Illuminating.
II enables breeders to perpetuate
almost any desirable characteristic
they concentrate on in plants or
animals. It enables them, for eX-
ample, to breed a strain of horses
that will always be PAGERS instead
of trotters.
Mendel's experiments showed
that you are tall or short, blond
or brunette, because of what you
inherited from your ancestors. 1t
also shows that these inherited
characteristics are found in the sex
cells Two cells, a male and fe1
male, unite TO form the human en-
bryo. Each of these cells contain
as chromosomes, and in these
chromosomes are the secrets of her
edity, You inherit from your an
cestors only the traits that are in
these chromosomes. The 48 chorm-
osomes in the male and female
cells can unite into many combina-
tions; so that is why there can be
twenty children in the same fam
ly and all of them different.
Imperial Valley press., 1938-12-15
Photographs

Almost one-tenth of the state OF
Maine consists of water.
The oldest glass works in the
world is the Imperial factory OF
Frontincannes, at Foret-Eu, France
supposed to have been founded il
the second century.
TWenty-seVen American borr
wives of British peers married To
heirs of peerages are now listed
And, by a curious cincidence, there
are the same number of American
women who are princeSses scatter
ed over Europe, according to LORD
The first story in which the
Donegal, writing in the Daily Mail
character of Sherlock Holmes, the
great detective, made his ap"
pearance, was in "A Study in Scar
let", published in 1887.
It is 27 years ago that the Camp
Fire Girls organized. Their OBJ
iect was and is to foster an in
terest in folklore, handicraft, citi-
zenship and the like. The organ
i1ation now has over 100000 MEM
berS.
The United States built fort
in 1916 at the mouth of the Rich
elieu river. Then it was found that
it was built on Canadian territory
1t was named Fort Blunder," but
Canada, in neighborly fashion
transferred the site to the U. S.
Under the auspices of the Inter-
national Ski federation, Poland viii
organize the international SIX
championships in 1889. The inter-
national federation comprises 2t
national ski associations.
What ever became of the old
fashioned Hun?
"The Good Earth" has won prizes
for everybody but the Chinese who
own it.
Imperial Valley press., 1938-12-15

TODAY'S QUIZ: Is that down.
swept coiffure the reason they call
him Hair" Hitler?
The girl who bought a steer for
$50, fed it for $50, won $500 in
prizes with it and sold it for $3,785,
should be looked up by the Depart
ment of Agriculture. She might be
able to give the department a steer
in the right direction.
Radio news announcers call that
city in Peru "Leema," but that
doesn't mean you have to use 1t
on your grocer when you ask for
beans.
James Roosevelt, accepting a
movie job, is starting his film
career in the approved Hollywood
fashion-from top to bottom.
Tons of steel junked from the
old Sixth Avenue elevated railway
in New York may find its way into
Japanese shells-but we hope we've
heard the last of it.
Imperial Valley press., 1938-12-15
An Economist S
Viewpoint
By John T. Flynn

Sometime ago l reported a plan
for an economic program for dem
ocracy proposed by a group of
Harvard and Tufts professors.
Readers have written to ask if l
approved the proposal for a con-
tinuing policy of government bor-
rowing. For some reason they
had the impression that 1 did.
The answer, of course, is that
do not.
But the subject is one of grow
ing Importance as are the facts out
of which that importance grows.
Our present capitalist system must
have investment functioning ac-
lively in order to keep alive. And,
for a variety of reasons, active in
veStment has been growing stead
lily less. Certain economists who
recognize this say the only way out
is for the government to take over
the function of investment. They
therefore insist that the govern
ment must do the borrowing. This
being a more or less frightening
prospect they defend it on the
ground that it is not as important
or serious as it seems, if the gov
ernment will see that the bonds
are distributed among the people.
Under these circumstances the
government will tax the people to
pay the interest but it will pay the
interest to them, one operation
cancelling the other.
With this theory I am in COM
plete disagreement.
There is another theory that the
government ought not to hesitate
to borrow since that is the only
way to keep the system afloat
And although after a while the
debt will become oppressive, the
government will shake it off by de
valuation. This seems cruel, but
the defense is that it is essential,
that for many years the borrowing
does actually produce a widespread
condition of relief and even makes
profits for the Well-to-do. While
devaluation will hurt their invest
ments, a failure to borrow would
hurt them-in fact, destroy them
very much quicker.
am also in disagreement with
this school, though 1 believe it to
be more logical than the first.
The fact is that it is impossible
to pile up public debts without also
piling up an immense debt service
load which is oppressive. And it
is impossible to distribute the debt
among the masses of the people
without destroying the very effect
sought by creating the debt
In the last six years we have
added billions to the national debt.
But most of this is in the possess
sion of the banks. The banks be-
long to a very limited number of
stockholders. The taxes to pay the
interest come out of the masses of
the people but the interest is paid
TO this limited number of stock
holders. It may not be heavy in
terest but certainly, whatever it Is,
the masses do not collect it.
It is only a matter of time when
we will have to fund this depres-
sion debt. When we do the inter
est charge on the whole debt will
be around a billion and half.
Thereafter that sum will be dis
turbing factor in every budget. Be
cause we have too heavy charge
we shall hear that We cannot do
this and cannot do that The ac-
tivities of the government will be
circumscribed The theory Of the
perpetual debt and its perpetual
expansion is an alluring one. But
it won't work.
Imperial Valley press., 1938-12-15
Bruce Cation Says
: BIood-Lanquaqe Rule Leads to Absurdity

Mexico. Sweden would get large
area in Minnesota and the Da-
kotas, and by right of discovery and
settlement should be entitled to
part of New Jersey. The French
would have a respectable claim to
New Orleans, and italy could lay
claim to a good bit of land along
Long Island Sound. Poland could
reclaim many city blocks in Chica-
go and Germany could assert title
to much of st. Louis and Cincin-
natl. New York City would be
split about 30 ways, considerable
territory in the west would go back
to the Indians, and Japan would
get Hawaii.
All of this is pretty absurd, of
course. Yet it follows quite logic
ally, once you accept the premise
that remote ties of blood and Ian
guage are all-important. And If
logical adherence to that theory
leads to absurdity in this country,
perhaps the same thing is true
elsewhere.
The plain fact is that tins bloodg
and Language business has been ovA'
erWorked an amazing degree
There are far more important con-
Siderations to be applied in deter
mining national boundaries, and
it is high time the fact was real
lied.
There have been so many mi
grations and SO much shifting and
intermingling of peoples that the
map can never be unscrambled and
peace can never be attained on
blood od-and-language basis. AS long
as that is the accepted Shibboleth
there will be wars and rumorS of
wars. The worlds hope for peace
depends on recognition of the fact
that some saner and more prac-
tical means of determining who
shall rule whom must be found
Imperial Valley press., 1938-12-15
GRAB BAG
One-Minute Test

l. What French city is noted for
its china and porcelain?
2. What is the oldest university
in England?
g. What two bodies of water does
the Suez canal connect?
Imperial Valley press., 1938-12-15
SIGNIFICANT STEP IN BEHALF OF
ORANGES, GRAPEFRUIT
(Visalia Times-Delta)

Organized retailers who met in Wash
ington to draft a program for distribut-
ion and increased consumption of this
years bumper crop of citrus fruits,
oranges and grapefruit may have taken
a most significant step in modern SELL
ing.
For the distributors proposed plan
where handling and distribution costs
be reduced in that "such savings be ap-
piled toward lowering consumer prices
and improvement Of producer prices"
There were other important provisions
such as the elimination of third grade
fruit from shipments, the provision OF
a maximum markup of % per cent, the
reduction of transportation charges, and
a permanent board to advertise and mer-
chandise the product
But the vital part of the program was
the willingness of the growers to share
their bumper crop, the bounty of nature,
with the ultimate consumer, the house
wife, by reducing prices.
Retailers of the country will do we'll
to watch this effort on the part of one
industry to move a bumper crop for the
ultimate advantage Of everyone along
the line, producer to consumer
Imperial Valley press., 1938-12-15

A peasant boy,
born In Austria
1l6 years a go,
achieved immor-
tality by discover
ing what makes
you what you are.
Gregor M e n d e |
never had a n y
money. He pos
sessed | i t t l e
schooling and abb
solutely no scien-
tific training. He
spent almost all
Imperial Valley press., 1938-12-15
Hints on EtiQuette

When you make a blunder at
the table, let is pass unnoticed un-
less it inconvenience some one
else. If you happen to spill some
thing on some ones clothes or the
table cloth, apologize and then for
get the matter. Don't say you are
sorry over and over.
Imperial Valley press., 1938-12-15
Words of Wisdom

Temperance and labor are the
two best physicians of man; labor
sharpens the appetite, and temper
ance prevents from indulging to eX-
ceSS.-ROuSSeau.