Oldest Newspaper in Alaska. “The News Of The Day In Pictures’* Member Of The Associated Press.
THE NOME NUGGET
VOL. 42. No. 82. NOME, ALASKA, FRIDAY, JULY 5, 1940 ^ce Per c°Py 13*
k
British and French Fleets in Battle
British Demand Surrender or Sinking French Fleet
Bomb Explosion Kills Two At New York Fair
British And French Battleships
Engage In Battle In Mediterranean
1 Following British Ultimatum
LONDON, July 4 ,(/P) — Great
Britain disabled or destroyed, in
a battle, or took over under her
own colors, “a large proportion”
of the French navy, lest it fall in
to German hands, Churchill an
nounced before the House of Com
inons today.
Even as he addressed the
House, the British and French
P naval units were still at large in
the Mediterranean or elsewhere.
Brushing the tears from his
cheeks former Premier Chamber
lain delivered to a tensely quiet
House and crowded galleries, an
account of the British and French
engagements which started Wed
nesday afternon off of Oran and
^ Mers El Kebir, Algeria, whicn
brought about, according to Chur
chill’s account the sinking of a
battleship of the Bretagne class,
and heavy damage and grounding
of a battleship of the Strassbourg
class, in addition to the sinking
I
I
or firing of two destroyers, an!
airplane carrier and the torpedo
ing of a battle cruiser of either
the Strassbourg or Dunkerque
class, as she joined other ships
in a dash toward the French con
tinental bass of Toulon.
Churchill said the battle cruis
er Dunkerque had been out of
action for many months and had
come to the British to carry out
the assault on French Me.rs El
Kebir.
With little interference from
Italy, Churchill said, many war
ships had entered the English
ports of Plymouth and Ports
mouth ten days ago.
The “battle” followed the sub
mission of British demands that
the French warships join the Brit
ish Of sail with reduced crews',
to a British port, or be scuttled
by their own crews within six
hours.
AMATEUR SHORT WAVE
NETWORK IS ORGANIZED
t WASHINGTON July — Nation
al Youth Administrator Aubrey
Williams reported that amateur
short wave radio stations are be
ing formed in to “networks” to
furnish communication facilities
in an emergency.
The N.Y.A. plan provides for a
series of amateur radio stations
to relay messages from Maine,
soi h to Puerto Rico and from
^ the Atlantic to the Pacific. It was
pointed out that such amateur
M networks would be available for
emergency communication when
floods, earthquakes, hurricanes or
other disasters disrupt ordinary
methods of communication.
Buy them by the bundle. Use
them for starting fires. For Jvale
at The Nome Nugget.
JAP TROOPS ALREADY
ARE IN INDO CHINA
TOKYO. July 3 — It was an
nounced that crack Japanese
troops entered French Indo
China nine days ago, acting to
cut by force the Central Chinese
Government’s supply lir.e, and
that an undisclosed number cf
Japanese warships have gone to!
Haiphong to “observe move-1
ments” of vessels which might
carry contraband for the Chinese
army.
KEEL IS LAID
WASHINGTON — The United;
crates laid the keel for its first
45 001 ton superdreadnaught
Ttnva at the Brooklyn Navy Yard.
Have The Nome Nugget sent U j
vou' mim'ne claim
Bomb Planted
British Pavilion
New \ork Fair
NEW YORK, July 5 (/P) — The
bomb which exploded and killed
two detectives at the World’s
fair was powerful enough to have
blown out the wall of the British
pavilion where it was planted,
the police reported. Commission
er Valentine said the bomb was
of the dynamite and shrapnel
variety and weighed 'about 20
pounds. The bomb exploded
after detectives carried it from
the pavi ion and pried open the
bag in which it was carried.
President Lists
Objectives For
f-; i mm
HYDE PARK. July 5 [JP)— The
five objectives which must be re
adzed before permanent world
peace is assured were listed by
President Roosevet. First among
them he put freedom from fear,
that, he said means disarmament.
He asserted this in a discussion
during a press conference and
came at a time when Europe was
fighting a bloody war and the
United States is embarking on a
vast riernse program under the
president’s personal direction.
This is hew he listed the objectiv
es: freedom from fear, informa
tion, religious expression and
want.
WILLKIE POSTPONES
FORMAL ACCEPTANCE
PHILADELPHIA, July — Wen
-dell L. Wil.kis, 1940 GOP stand
ard bearer, indicated a delay un
til after the Democratic Conven
tion. July 15, for formal accept
ance of the Republican presiden
tial nomination.
_ _ •
The former ill-fated submarine Squalus which sank last May with a loss of 26 lives is shown at
the United States Naval yard at Portsmouth, N. H„ as she retu ned to service with the navy re
named the Sailfish. The crew is shown lined up on deck with the officers saluting as the coi.unis
^sion pennant is run up. She was refiting at a cost of Sl.400,000. A rcently launched submarine is
seen in the background.
Aviation industry leaders shown ibovc in Washington heard fed ra officials urge -peed, efficiency
and economy in production of wa planes for the nation’s defense, left ti right: 1 a vrence Kell of
Bell Aircraft Corp. Buffalo; Glen * . Martin of Martin Corn.. Baltimore: Ph!tl:- hm-on of Poo’
ng Aircraft. Seattle: Guy Vaugh . P ^ dent Cartis-W'right d orp, of Buffalo.
British Demand French Fleet
Bottled In Alexandria Harbor
Either Surrender or Scuttle Ships
UNDATED, July 5 i/P) — Great
Britain kept powerful units of
the French fleet bottled up in Al
exandria harbor and were ready
to attack at the first gesture of
defiance as the German-mastered
French government broke of dip
omatic relations with its old ally.
British circles in Alexandria said
“We don’t know what will hap
pen or when the French will
make a decision. We only know
that no French ship will ever
eave Alexandria to surrender to
the enemy.”
It was clearly indicated that
any French attempt to slip out
of the harbor will result in a
repetition of yesterday's Anglo
French naval action in the west
ern Mediterranean, the greatest
sea .battle of the war. New details
of the flaming sea clash at Oran,
the French naval base in the
Mediterranean were disclosed by
a French admiralty communique.
The French battleship Bretagne
was blown up it said and the bat
tleships Dunkerque, Provence
and flotilla leader Mogador were
set fire by long range British
shelling. The French asserted
that the six hour ultimatum giv
en by the British that the French
either surrender or scuttle their
ships didn’t give the French fleet
time to weigh anchors before the
British opened fire. Apparently
many of the French ships had no
steam up when the ultimatum
was received.- The communique
said “Vice admiral Gensoul re
plied that there could be no ques
tion of the French fleet joining
the British fleet or being scuttl
ed. He said he would meet force
with force.”
While the British acted decisiv
ely to prevent the French fleet
from aiding Hitler’s projected in
vasion of the British Isles, Ger
man and Italian warplanes snip
ed at two British naval bases. It
, al:an warplanes twice showered
bombs on Alexandria. England’s
great base in the Mediterranean,
attacking both French and Brit
ish warships anchored in the har
■ bor with a toll of 15 killed and
7 wounded. A German raid on
England's home n. val base of
Port Aland on the southwest
' coast killed 11 civilians.
SALE OF U. S. SHIPS
IS HALTED
WASHINGTON — President
Roosevelt halted the projected
sale of 20 torpedo boats by the
Electric Boat Company to Britain
ion the excuse the 1917 Neutrality
Act made such sale of warships
! unlawful.
The United States Navy orig
inal y ordered the ships then ag
reed to allow the company to sell
them to Britain and deliver the
I United States order later.
Secretary of Navy Edison, in
his last press conference, also dis
closed Britain’s efforts to buy 111
World War destroyers has been
refused.
CIGARETTES AND LIQUOR
ARE HIT BY DEFENSE TAX
Peggy Lyle, assistant to the dep
uty collector’ of United States
internal revenue, received word
from the Tacoma revenue office
instructing her to collect a 101
percent increase on all 1941 spec
ial taxes.
A wire she received from Thor
W. Hendrickson, collector of in
ternal revenue in Tacoma, said:
“Every vendor of cigarettes, j
hard liquors, and wholesale beer
must take inventory at close of
business June 30. and hold for
instructions from the collector’s
office.
“No inventory of wine or retail
beer is necessary.”
— Fairbanks News-Miner
HONOR GUESTS AT
NEW YORK FAIR
NEW YORK. June 29 — Yes ter
day was "Alaska Day” at the
New York World's Fair. Miss Al
aska and Miss Nome were guests
I of honor, and many former Al
j askan residents of New York
City and other eastern points
\ were present
Donald MacDonald, member of
the International Highway Com
mission. made an address, urging
necessity of early construction of
the highway. Thos. Riggs. Jr., al
so a member of the commission*
was present. Miss Alaska and
Miss Nome took part in a broad
cast put on by Major Bowes.
Mayor LaGuardia and Delegate
Dimond were among the attend
ants.
An airmail letter received in
Fairbanks from Seattle relayed
advices received there regarding
the first visit of Miss Alaska and
Miss Nome to New York, when
they were on their way to Wash
ington, saying in part:
"An airmail letter from Jim
Gaffney, publicity director for
the Ten Park Avenue Hotel, says
Miss Alaska and Miss Nome had
a grand time on their arrival n>
New York. He gave them as a
courtesy a handsome suite 0:1 the
Seventeenth floor, overlooking
the Empire State Building — fit
for a Queen and her regal party.
“A'aakans in Seattle and other
coast cities are working with the
San FYancisco-Oakand Sour
doughs to help entertain them,
and have done everything to be
of service to the Dog Derby an±
ice Carnival.
"Minnie Motschman has really
been wonderful. She made a gen
uine hit while in Seattle — was
quiet and lady-like and is plenty
smart.
"Kay Kennedy is of inestim
able help in getting over public
ity. She knows the ropes. It
would have been pretty flat with
out her.”
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