f ,
THE NOME NUGGET
OLDEST NEWSPAPER IN ALASKA—MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS
VOL. 47.—No. 37. NOME, ALASKA, MARCH 31, 1944. PER COPY—15c
RUSSIANS
SIGN OIL
PROTOCOL
MOSCOW, Mar. 31.—(API—The
Japanese government received a
staggering blow from the west
when the Soviet government an
nounced it had signed the Proto
col under which Tokyo agreed to
surrender her oil and coal leases
in northern Sakhalin Island.
The Russians had contracted to
furnish Japan with 50,000 tons of
oil per years for five years be
ginning after the war, and in ad
dition to pay to Japan, five mil
lion rubles (about $9,500,000) un
der terms signed yesterday.
Japan promised to hand over to
Russia all property including
equipment, materials and food,
belonging to Jap concessionals in
northern Sakhalin.
The Japanese own the southern
half of the island which they took
from Russia in 1915. Russia s*il'
owns the northern half.
Sakhalin js a large island off
the coast of Siberia.
The oil and coal leases were
originally to run until 1970,
The Russians say they will sup
ply Japan with oil from the Oh
kinsky fields after the war, and
promised the Japs free export on
oil and coal from storerooms in
concess oned territory in northern
Sakhalin.
A view’ from London sees in the
Jap surrender of the contract so 1
far ahead of schedule constitutes
strong evidence of Tokyo’s desire
to remain at peace with Russia.
The island's coal and oil sup
ply contributed heavily to Jap i
war economy.
London interpreted the prema
ture surrender as a sacrifice t>
avert any dispute with Russia, j
MOVE INTO
NEW POSITIONS
ALLIED HEADQUARTERS IN
NAPLES. Mar. 31.—(AP)—Ger
man troops moved into two new
positions which were recently
evacuated by the New Zealanders
and Indian troops, on Monastery
Hill.
The Fifth Army still holds
points inside the city.
Small enemy groups attacked
inside the Cassino area, but tir
operations again overshadowed
the ground actions, and attacks
were repulsed.
On the Anzio beachhead 65 cas
ualties resulted as German planes
bombed an allied hospital area
headquarters said.
—
§> RAF SMASHES
AT NUERNBERG
LONDON, Mar. 31.—(AP)—A
great RAF armada of .over 2000
planes smashed the southern Ger
man transport center and Nazi
congress city of Nuernberg, and
other points in the Reich last
night, at a cost of 96 planes, the
heaviest loss ever taken in an al
lied air fleet’s single mission.
fkJL k U T I A N 5 fe A B t £ t A M I*—In this camp in Happy Valley on the Aleutian isle ot Adak live V. S. Navy Seabees enjaied
in construction work in that far northern latitude.
Smash Japanese Bases At Truk
ALLIED HEADQUARTERS IN !
THE SOUTHWEST PACIFIC, |
Mar. 37.f-(AP)—General MacAr- j
thur’s heavy bombers smashed
Japanese bases at Truk, in the
Carolines, and at Hollandia, New
Guinea, Wednesday and destroyed
72 enemy planes. This was the
first bcmfbing of Truk from U. S.
bases in $he south Pacific.
Liberators and other heavyp,
pierced strong enemy antiaircraft
fire to score more than 200 di
rect hits in shop and hangar areas,
parking areas and destroying 49
planes on the ground.
90 Zeros Challenged the raiders,
with a probable loss of 20 Zeros
The U. S. Attackers lost one
plane over Hollandia. where the
raid was made in two hot waves,
by Liberators, smashing 108
planes on the ground, and down
ed 10 out of 40 interceptors,
which the Japs were able to put
into the air.
On Thursday the heavy bomb
ers of the 7th Air Force had at
tacked the enemy bases in the
central Pacific area.
The communique also reported
navy Catalinas struck at Woleai
in the Carolines Tuesday and
made direct hits on the seaplane
base and airfield.
Woleai is 380 miles south of
Guam.
MOVE NEARER
TO HUNGARY
MOSCOW, Mar. 31.—'AP>—
Surging across the northern part
of the Prut river through captur
ed Cemowitz, Marshal Zhukov’s
First Army of Ukraine, was mov
ing up into the Carpathian moun
tains, toward Hungary.
Rumanian dispatches from the
front declared Zhukov’s van
guard rolled through Delatyn, 15
miles north of the Hungarian bor
der, where the pass of the Tar
tars leads through the Carpa
thians into former Czechoslovak
ian territory which was given to
Hungary whdh Hitler dismember
ed the Czechoslovakian state.
ATTACKS MADE
ON JAP-HELD
PALAU ISLAND
PEARL HARBOR. Mar 31.—
(AP)—Strong Pacific fleet forces
started heavy attacks on Japan
ese-held Palau Island, about 1050
miles west of Truk, and about
the same distance norhwest of the
newly captured Manus, in the Ad
miralty Islands. Admiral Chester
W Nunitz announced.
The attack started yesterday,
according to the communique, on
Palau, which is only 480 miles
east of the Philippines and is still
in progress
Japanese ships were observed
fleeing from the Palau area be
fore units of our fleet reached
there, in ‘attacking position.”
The communique explained that
the task force had been sighted
by Jap searching planes enroute
from the Carolines to New Gui
nea
The mere fact that the enemy
ships fled was definite indication
that the American task forces
were probably the same strength
of aircraft carrier forces which
had attacked Truk on February
16th and 17th, and the Marianas
on February 22nd.
APPOINTED
COMMANDER
LONDON, Mar. 31.—(AP>_
Major General Ralph Royce waa
appointed deputy commander of
the U. S. Ninth Air Force, under
Major General Lewis Brereton.
General Royce, who formerly
commanded United States army
forces in the Middle East as chief
of staff in the U. S. air forces in
the southwest Pacific, ‘‘will take
an important part in the planning
of operations during the entry of
Europe,” the announcement said
BRITISH FORCE
SURRENDERS
NEW DELHI. India. Mar. 31.
—<AP>—British forces surrender
ed Tiddim, the forward base in
the Chain hills in Burma, 100 miles
below Imphal, General Sir Claude
Auchinleck, British commander in
India, told the Indian legislature.
Japanese jungle fighters in par
j ties, spread over a front of nearly
200 miles, were persistently prob
ing deeper into Indian territory,
and had already penetrated the
main communications to the vital
' Manipur plain.
Auchenleck declared, however,
i Imphal itself is strongly defended,
; and declared such penetration
was not likely to be ol major im
portance.
FISHING PACT
ARRANGED
NEW YORK Mar. 31.—-<AP'—
Renewal of the Russian-Japanese !
fishing agreement to provide for
Japan’s fishing on the Siberian
sea-coast has been arranged after |
almost three months of negotia- j
tions.
NBC, in a broadcast from Mos- :
J cow, said permission for the Jap
anese to fish in Soviet waters hts
been a subject since 1936 for an
j annual agreement. Negotiations !
are usually a gauge of relations :
between the two countries.
i
Last year the agreement was i
signed March 26th, nearly three
months after the expiration date
of the old agreement, December
31st.
SALARY INCREASED
WASHINGTON, j\|ar. 31.—(APf
—The bill increasing the salary
of the Alaskan Secretary from
$5,600 to $7,500 yearly, today
passed the senate and was sent to
the White House for the Presi
dent’s signature.
APPOINTED
TO RANK OF
COLONEL
CAMP YOUNG. Calif.—Peter
/
Sather, Jr., assistant chief of
staff G-4 (Supply*, of Headquar
ters California-Arizona Maneuver
Area here, has been promoted
from the rank of lieutenant-colo- ,
nei to full colonel.
Born in Oksendalen, Norway,
he was taken to Alaska by his
parents, Mr. and Mrs. P. E. Sa
ther ol Nome. He attended
school in Nome, and was ap- J
pointed to the U. S. Military
Academy from Alaska in 1917,
and was graduated and granted a
lieutenant's commission in 1924.
A field artillery officer, he has
served at Fort Sill, Okla.; in the
Philippines; Fort Lewis, Wash.; i
on KOTC duty at the University
of Utah; Port Leavenworth, Kan
sas; at West Point; in Washing
ton, D. C.; Camp Claiborne, La.;
and in Sherman and Camp Maxey,
both in Texas.
ATTORNEY GENERAL
VISITOR IN NOME
Henry Roden, attorney general ;
fOr the Territory of Alaska, is a
visitor in Nome at present. As a
part of his visit here, Mr. Roden
has called a public meeting for i
Sunday afternoon, in th eauditor
ium of the Dream Theatre, at
which time he plans on discussing
the issues in the coming primar
ies.. Mr .Roden resides in Juneau,
and is now touring the Territory
on behalf of his seeking the posi
tion of Delegate to Congress in j
the primaries.
NOTICE!
President Chris Roast called
a meeting of the Chamber of
Coixfmerce for noon Saturday at
the North Pole Bakery . All
members are requested to at
tend.
Secretary. Loren Leach.
CIVILIAN
CREW Of 6
PERISH
WASHINGTON, Mar.
31 — (AP)— British
fighter planes from an
aircraft carrier, downed
a United States transport
plane and its crew of six,
by error, in mid-Atlantic
this week, the War De
partment and the British
Admiralty announced si
multaneously.
The fighters were pro
tective cover for a con
voy and apparently mis
took the four-engined C
54 transport plane for a
German Focke-Wulf 200
homher, when its identi
fication was not estab
lished as it approached
the convoy.
There were no passen
gers aboard, but the
plane was loaded with
cargo, which was being
flown by a civilian con*
tract crew, all of whom
w ere lost.
ROOSEVELT
ASKS BILL TO
BE AMENDED
WASHINGTON Mar. 31—<AP)
—President Roosevelt today noti
fied congress he was letting the
servicemen's vote become a lav#
without his signature, even though
he considered it wholly inade
quate, providing service men and
women an opportunity to ballot.
The President sent the message
to congress announcing his inten
tion to allow the controverted
measure to become a law at mid
night tonight.
In it he appealed to the States
to cooperate in making the meas
ure as effective as possible in
spite of its defective provisions.
The measure will let service
men and women vo'e on the fed
eral ballot only if they have ap
plied for state ballots by Septem
ber 1st and did not receive them
by October 1st.
In addi'ion, the governors of
the states must certify that the
ballots are authorized by state
Law. #
In the poll of governors, Presi
dent Roosevelt learned that at
least 20 states planned to do noth
ing about authorizing the federal
ballots, 19 would permit their use
or probably would, and that nine
were non-commital.
The President asked that the
measure, which he was allowing
to become a law without his sig
nature, be amended to permit all
persons in uniform who had not
received state ballots by the ap
propriate date, regardless of
whether they applied formally for
them, to use the federal ballot
without prior express authoriza
tion by the state.