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THE NOME NUGGET
VOL. 43. No. 52. NOME, ALASKA, FRIDAY, MAY 2, 1941. Per Copy iu
Iraq Forces Attack British Airport
President Asks American Tankers For Aid Britian
Beaverbrook Is Head British Industrial Production
PRO-AXIS GOVERNMENT OF
IRAQ ATTACKS BRITISH AIR
PORT-HOLY W AR HINTED
UNDATED, May 2 (/P) — A
new threat to Britain’s life or
death struggle for her empire,
developed in the rich oil king
dom of Iraq, south of Turkey. A
E rlin radio intimated broadly
that a crisis might precipitate a
flaming “Holy War” in the near
east. The Syrian radio reported
that Iraq native forces were ad
• vanning on British "air bases and
reserves ar being called up. Si
multaneously, the Berlin radio,
broadcast a report that Iraq has
mobilized "al classes and special
units and the 1916 class of the
* regular army.”
Berlin asserted that Iraq’s “for
eign-exploit d Mosul oil fields
were now under the control of
special troops of Irag armed forc
es.”
Britain has Invested more than
a billion dollars in developing the
country and its fabulous oil
fields. It was in Kaiser Wil
helm’s dream of a Bagdad to
Berlin railroad trip as well a
heping to precipitate the World
War.
# The new British peril was
briskly fanned by Nazi propag
anda which arose from the land
ing of British troops at Iraq to
protect the east flank of the Suez
Canal. It is conceivable that in
the near east, millions of Mos
lems and Arabs might sweep into
action at the call of “Jihand” or
holy war.
The Germans also reported dip
lama tic activity in neighboring
Iran, formerly known as Persia.
Iraq Forces
Start Shelling
British Airport
NEW YORK, May 2 ,(£>)-— Hos
tilities between the British and
the pro-German government of
Rashid Ali A1 Gailani of Iraq,
broke out in that oil-rich mid
l die east kingdom, Iraq troops op
:ning artillery fire on the Brit
ish forcas, a British broadcast
heard in New York said. A re
port heard by both NBC and CBS
said the Ilragis In i n shelling
Habbaniyah airport, 60 miles of
Barhdad atdawn, with the British
] firhting back.
British women and children
were said to have been taken to
the airport for protection, before
the action began.
Lindbergh Is
Discussed In
, House Commons
LONDON, May 1 {&) — R. A.
Butler, undersecretary otf foreign
affairs answered “yes” when a
House of Commons member ask
ed him whether Lindbergh had
not “consistently always used his
influenc: to prevent effective ac
tion against Germany.” The ques
tioner, conservative member S.
V. T. Adams, in a brief discus
sion involving Lindbergh, brot
up a statement by Butler that
Lindbergh’s views of the str ngth
of the Soviet Union at about the
time of the Munich Pact in Sep
: tember, 1938, were considered of
i “no undue significance” by t'h?
British government. The House
cheered. Butler refused to an
swer Laborite Ellis Smith’s query
-whether Lindbergh used his in
fluence “along with a well-krfown
lady member of this House.”
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AXIS FORCES SLICE INTO EGYPT, CAPTURE SALUM
Axis forces, sweeping along the Libyan shore, sliced into Egypt and captured Salum. A British force
remained besiebed at Tobruk, skirted by Axis troops in their drive eastward, aiming at the Suez
Canal. British flags show dates when British took towns in westward drive. Swastika flags show dates
A\i armies reentered towns. The Germans, based at Tripoli, met the British first at El Agheila. It ap
peared that the British would fall back to Matruh.
ALL AMERICAN TANKERS
OF OVER 5,000 TONS ARE
ASKED FOR AID BRITAIN
WASHINGTON, May 1 (/P)—In
quick response to President
Roosevelt’s requests for ships of
this country for “all out aid to
democracies,” the Maritime Com
mission made plans to place 50
American tankers at the service
1 of the British within the next
few days. All op rators of Am
; erican tanks of over 5,000 gross
tons are being called on by the
aid pregram. The tentative plan
doesn’t call for the transfer of
the registry of the tankers to the
British, but for us outside the
war zone for the direct benefit of
the British.
Under the proposal, tankers op
crated by oil countries along the
north coast, of South America and
United States North Atlantic,
v 11 take oil to north Atlantic
s where it will be transferred
t British tankers for the re
mainder of the trip.
’tile Commission asked Presi
de-: R sevelt tonight to begin
to r, and up two 'million tons of
shipping to csrv abroad “vital
! v:.r materials.”
CHURCHILL SHAKES UP HIS
CABINET, BEAVERBROOK IS
DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER
LONDON, May 2 (JP) — Pre
j sumably acting still in criticism
of his war policies, Churchill
shook up his cabinet in a move
interpreted as making dynamic
i Lord Beaverbrook as virtual dic
; tator of Britain’s industrial pro-1
d uction.
| I
The millionaire newspaper pub j
| lisher was named to the newly- j
created post of minister of state.'
Britons expected him to assume i
I control of the production of all
war materials. Political observers i
!
said Beaverbrook's role is, in ef
fect, that of deputy prime min
ister.
Churchill also merged the min
istries of shipping and transport
and gave a new portfolio of war
time communications to Freder
ick Thomas Leathers, a virtual
unknown. J. T. C. Moore Bra
bazon, former transport minister
was given Beaverbrook’s old job
of aircraft production. Ronald
Cross, former shipping minister
was named high commissioner of
Australia.
20 Million for Inter
American Hiway
WASHINGTON, May 1 UP) —
President Roosevelt asked Con
gress to authorize $20,000,000 for
the construction an inter-Ameri
can Highway as far as the Pan
ama Canal.
Two Billion For
Two-Ocean Navy
Coes To Pres.
WASHINGTON, May 1 (/Pi —
The Senate sent to the White
House, the $3,415,000,000 naval ap
propriations bill containing $1,
515,000,000 to speed the construc
tion of 729 vessels of all types
now under way for the two
ocean fleet program. The Senate
provided for the expenditure of
$434,000,000 for naval aviation;
$350,000,000 now available for
payments on 7,129 planes now on
order.
Soviets Issue
Warning Against
Violating Frontier
The Russians isued a May Day
proclamation against the viola
tion of her frontiers within 24
hours after the Soviet press as
serted that German troops were
moving north through Finland
with tanks and guns. Russia’s de
fense commissar Timoshenko de
clared that the Red army is
ready to “offer annihilating re
buff to any encroachment by im
perialists.’’
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WAR DEPARTMENT HEADS AT HEARING
Undersecretary of War Robert P. Patterson (right*, checks over
the prepared statement which his chief. Secretary of War Henry
L. Stimson (left), reach before a new Senate Defense Investigating
committee at Washington, D. C. Stimson warned the committee
that the United States faced "a uangerrous emergency” which may
be very prolonged.
British Warships
Bombard Axis
Forces at Tobruk
UNDATED, May 2 i/P)— In the i
siege of Tobruk on the Libyan '
coast of north Africa, the British
middle east headquarters an
nounced that the British garrison *
counter-attacked and smashed 11 j
Axis tanks and inflicting heavy I
casualties. Big guns of the Brit
ish fleet lying off Tobruk harbor
were reported helping the garri
son by raining shells on the Axis 1
troop concentrations.
British sources at Cairo said
the loss of equipment in Greece,
wasbeing offset by the arrival of !
great quantities of new war ma- [
tcrials, much of it American;
made, now pouring into Africa.
•! f|
I SI
Are Colossal
_
UNDATED. May 1 (VP) — Hit- j
1 r’s bliitzkreig armies suffered
colossal losses of men and ma- i
chines” in the Greek campaign, j
it was officially reported, even as I
Britons rejoiced at the rescue, by I
sea, of 48,000 of the 60,000 BEF |
troops w^ho fought to defend
Greece. A communique by the
British Middle East command in
dicated that at least some of the
19,000 remaining men are still
being removed from the bull-t
spattered beaches of Grecian-Pel
oponnessus.
Total BEF casualties were list;
ed as 3.009 killed and wounded, j
Predict
Attack Suez
Within 10 Days
m
UNDATED. May 1 </P) — In
formed military circles in Lon
don freely predicted that a grand
scale Nazi assault, on Egypt and
thi Suez Canal via French man
dated Syria and Palestine, witt
break within ten days. At the
sametime these sources said other
Axis columns were striking from
Libya to join the others in a
giant pincer mov.ment.
Mussolini’s comrr.ard asserted
that Axis scouts put the British
to flight and seized armored
equipment in the region of Sal
um, Egyption frontier post just
over the Libyan border.
In the thre--weeks-old siege of
the British garrison at Tobruk,
80 miles inside cf Libya on the
north African coast, British head
quarters at Cairo acknowledged
that Axis troops penetrated the
strongholds of the outer defenses
this morning.
Berlin reported that the Luft
waffe opened an intensified offen
sive in the desert campaign,
bombing British troops and artil
1 ry position to pave the way for
Nazi foot soldiers.
Australia’s acting prim; minister
A. W. Fadden announced. Ger
man casualties gave no specific
figures.
Simultaneously, authoritative
quarters in London said the sec
ond contingent of British troops
landed at Basra, Iraq, at the head
of the P rsian Gulf, apparently a
move to counter any German,
threats at Iraq’s rich Mosul oil
field. Other British troops land
ed there on April 17 and 18.