THE NOME NUGGET
OLDEST NEWSPAPER IN ALASKA—MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS
VOL. 47.—No. 51. NOME, ALASKA, WEDNESDAY, MAY 3, 1944. PER COPY—15c.
TASK FORCES
SMASH AT TRUK
ON SATURDAY
FLEET HEADQUARTERS AT
PEARL HARBOR, T. H„ May 3.
—(AP)—Powerful Pacific Fleet
task forces smashed at Truk wPh
heavy carrier plane attacks Sat
urday and Sunday, then bombed
and shelled the supporting bases
of Ponape and Satawan Islands,
Admiral Nimitz announced today.
A total of 126 Japanese planes
were destroyed in the two-day
attack on Truk, where 800 tons
of bombs were dropped on the
Truk Islands’ shore installations
and harbor facilities and bat'er
ies were heavily damaged, while
carrier-based bombers blasted
bomb-torn Ponape, 440 miles to
the east.
Battleships, under the command
of Vice-Admiral W. A Lee,
pounded Ponape installations
with heavy guns Monday. Sata
wan, 189 miles to the southeast of
Truk, in the Nomoi Island group,
was shelled Sunday by a cruiser
under command of Rear Admiral
J B Oldendorf.
Admiral Nimitz said no Ameri
can shipes were damaged in the
operations.
The task forces were under the
over-all command of Vice-Admir
i al Marc Mitchell.
Aircraft losses were light, “a,
proximately 30 aircraft personnel
are missing.”
Gen. Mitchell’s forces carried
out the crushing strike with a
quick follow-up of the operations
supporting the Hollandia landings
on New Guinea April 22nd. 60
Japanese planes were shot down
in air combat in the first day of
the Truk attack, and 64 were des
troyed on the ground. Five enemy
planes were shot down by anti
aircraft fire.
Only one Japanese plane was
encountered on the second day of
the Truk attacks.
FACE THREAT
OF SECOND
AUTO STRIKE
WINDSOR. Ontario, May 3.—
fAP>—The Ford Motor Company
of Canada, faced the threat of the
second work stoppage in two
weeks, today.
b Members of Local 200. Automo
bile Workers of America, voted
to strike until a satisfactory so
lution was reached in the griev
ance procedure in the dispute.
Action was not unanimous, but
will affect 14,000 workers.
The decision came two: days
after the men had returned to
work to terminate the ten-day
stoppage of the plant which man
ufactures military vehicles.
L announces’
APPROVAL OF
WAR PROGRAM
1 b
WASHINGTON, May 3.—(AP>
v —The War .Food Administration
announced the approval of the
1IM4 agricultural conservation
piogram in t&sujAr areas, with a
million dollars in benefit pay
ment to farmers in Pue-to Ri
co, Hawaii and Alaska.
The program is substantially
the rame as last year with a
payment ailoted to Alaska of
$8,600
PROTEST USE
OF LIBERTYS
FOR FISHING i
* I
, |
SEATTLE, May 3.—<AP>—Can
nery workers joined with the;
fishermen in protest to the use of
Liberty ships for transporting
workers north for the Alaska
salmon run, in an official reso
lution which was forwarded to
the War Shipping Administration
by united cannery and agricul
tural workers' unions, which de
clared that the members would
| not sail on the Liberty ships un
; less they were materially
strengthened.
The membership flatly refused
I to go north unless they could
i leave on two ships, to be provid-,
ed by the administration, and in- j
i sisted that the crowded conditions
!
which prevailed last year would
not be tolerated.
Meanwhile the Alaska fisher
men’s union was completely un
appeased by a wire received from
Admiral E. S. Lund, head of the
WSA, which said, “The vessel as
signed to transport the fishermen
is a new type conversion, which
has been strengthened and is more
elaborate and comfortable than
previous travel conditions, and
will accommodate almost half
again as many more troops as i
there are fishermen involved in
the movement, and I feel that if
the vessel is satisfactory for
troops, it should be for the fish
ermen, aside from the fact , that j
this is the only vessel available.”
Andrew Vigen, secretary-treas
urer of the union, declared, “Fish
ermen working in the dry dock,
where they were assigned to the
vessel overhauled, reported the
increased accommodations of 350
bunks, which were built into the
hold, last year packed 1,000 men
in so tightly that many of them
got sick, and that this year are
going to put more men in better
accommodations.”
Vigen added: “The fishermen
put little stock in the report of
♦he strengthening of the vessel.”
ALLIED TROOPS
CAPTURE NEW
STRONGHOLDS
SOUTHEAST ~ASIA HEAD-1
QUARTERS, Kandy, Ceylon, Mayi
3.—*AP>—Allied troops captured
several additional enemy strong
points north of Kohima in an as
sault designed to lessen the Jap
anese pressure on the India fron
tier.
The base at Lord Mountbat
ten’s headquarters announced at
the same time forces at the south
ern end of the Burma front evac
uated the village of Paletwa, re
adjusting positions.
In northern Burma enemy
ground was won by Gen. Still
well's American-Chinese troops,
and they are still well in advance
of schedule
• • A*—Screen Actress Shirley Temple wears white sport# shirt
and short# for a same of badmlntou.
PLANES SMASH
SUPPLY BARGES
FROM WEWAK
ADVANCED ALLIED HEAD
QUARTERS IN NEW GUINTA.
May 3.—<AP>—Allied planes and
P.T. boats smashed 20 supply bar
ges with fleeing Japanese from
the isolated base at Wewak, and
other marooned enemy forces near
Aitape, headquarters announced
today.
The planes strafed the island
escape routes in those sectors,
where an estimated 60,000 Japan
ese are caught be*ween the allied
new bases of Medang and Hol
landia.
The new raid on Schouten Is
lands stirred a li'tle Japanese air
opposition and six enemy planes
were downed, and the raiders
damaged an enemy freighter.
Strong Japanese patrols oper
ating to the east of the allied
beachhead at Empress of Augusta
Bay, is a possible foreboding of
renewal of attacks which cost
the enemy thousands of men in
March in futile efforts
The Liberators which raided
Schouten Islands were heavily
outnumbered by 13 Japanese
fighter planes, but returned to
their base with only two of their
number damaged.
The patrol torpedo boats near
Wewak destroyed 11 barges ‘‘la
den with troops and supplies.”
Murder Charge
Placed Against
Arson Suspect
SAN FRANCISCO. May 3 —
(APi—A a murder indictment was
returned against George Holman,
49, today as a result of the New
Amsterdam Hotel blaze last
March 27 in which 22 were killed
and 30 were injurd. The indict
ment was voted by the county
grand jury, after District Attor
new Brown announced that the
evidence showed after police and
fire department investigation the
fire was believed started as re
venge against a girl friend who
lived there and who had spurned
Holman’s advances.
SELECTE D —Officer car ’ •
dues at the l'. S. Maritime Ser
vice officers school at Alameda,
< riif., picked aetress Joyce
K 't-lds "The girl we’d most
• use to he tiie knot \vit*».”
CLAIM 1.727 ~
JAP VESSELS
DESTROYED
ALLIED HEADQUARTERS IN
NEW GUINEA. May 2.—'APi—
Gen. MacArthur’s headquarters
today, in a special communique,
claimed 1,727 Japanese coastal
vessels, barges and schooners
sunk, and 3.548 damaged since
April, 1942.
The comprehensive review of
the anti-barge campaign said the
destruction had the effect of par
alyzing the enemy efforts to sup
ply and reinforce or exacuate the
17th and 18th Japanese armies,
which have been cut off in New
Guinea, New Britain, New Ire
land and in the Solomons, where
many thousands have been killed
wounded and drowned.
INVASION IS
FEARED IN
YUGOSLAVIA
ALLIED HEADQUARTERS IN
NAPLES, May. 3.—<AP>—An in
vasion of Yugo-Slavia is feared
said General Tito today.
“Germans in my homeland are
afraid of the allied invasion from
Italy, and have diverted four ot
their divisions in Yugoslavia to
guard the coastline.
In London reports come from a
forecast that Germans are rein
forcing the Dalmatian coast to
meet the possible thrust of the al
lies from Italy.
REPUBLICAN^ TO
MEET MAY 18th
JUNEAU, May 3.-^fAP>—Alas-1
ka Republicans will meet in con- j
vention at Skagway, May 18th,
the central committee announced
today.
The convention will adopt their
platform and elect a chairman,
secretai'y and four divisional i
members of the central commit 1
tee.
Three delegates will be select
ed as alternates for the national
convention.
WEST EUROPE
SCENE OF MUCH
DEVASTATION
—
LONDON, May 3.—(API—
Rail targets in western Europe
have been bombed so effective
ly that for the past two months
the rail lines in northern France
, and Belgium are no longer ca -
I pable of bearing the peak load
I necessary for the Germans to
repel the invasion, the Minis
try of Economic Warfare said
today.
The minister spoke as the air
war took a comparative lull, al
though Italy-based bombers hit
heavily at targets ranging from
France to Rumania, in rail cen
ters, factories and airfields.
Britain’s Mosquito bombers
dumped a load of two-tonners on
the German chemical center of
Leverkusen, in an overnight at
tack
The ministry spokesman said,
‘‘No freigh* yard between Col
ogne and the Bay o£ Biscay zone,
100 miles deep, is capable of
forming trains. Only military and
coal traffic is handled. Boys of
14 years of age. and one-armed
ex-soldiers are running the
trains."
Announcement last night said
that American and British sky
fleets based in Britain and Italy
have established a record in April
scattering a total of 80.460 tons
of bombs on Germany and oc
cupied territory.
DENOUNCES "i
DECISION OF
LABOR BOARD
•i
CHICAGO, May 3.—<AP>—A
spokesman for the CIO Union
of Mail Order Warehouse Retail
Employees denounced a decision
of the National Labor Relations
Board yesterday to conduct an
election by employees of the gov
ernment-controlled Montgomery-*
Ward plant within seven days, as
a ‘‘dirty deal".
Miss Myrna Seegendorf, publi
city direc'or of Local 20 stated:
"It is the dirtiest deal the
board has ever dished out to la
bor. Of course we’ll protest.
There’s a reign of terror in the
plant right now. To hold an elec
tion on such short notice is ridic
ulous.”
The company, at the expiration
of its contract with the union in
December, refused to renew the
pact, contending the union did
not represent a majority, and a
strike followed in the government
seized plant.
DECRIES USE OF
RATIONED GAS
WASHINGTON,- May 3.—<AP?
—Rep. Brown remarked before
a committee investigating black
markets that ‘‘Mrs. Roosevelt’s
use of gas has done more to prej
udice people against the rationing
program than anything else I
know.” He declared every mem
ber of the committee has received
letters of protest as a result.
SON BORN TO MR. AND
MRS. LOREN 4EECH
A son, named David Leech,
weighing six pounds, was born at
8:20 p. m. Tuesday at the May
nard Columbus Hospital to Mr.
and Mrs. Loren Leech of this city.
At present, both mother and babe
are doing fine.