Oldest Newspaper In Alaska. t4The News of the Day In Pictures'" Member o! 1 he Associated Press
THE NOME NUGGET
VOL. 44. No. 120. NOME, ALASKA, V inesday, Sept. 2. 1942. p,ir Cj™
Rommel Renews Egyptian Drive
Nation-wide Meatless Days In About Four Months
Government Decides on Nation-wide
Meat Rationing In About 4 Months
—
WASHINGTON, Sept. 1 (/P) — The government
has decided on nation-wide meat rationing in about
four months, in view of what Agriculture Secretary
Wiekard called, an abnormally large demand arising
from record, high civilian purchasing power. Civilians
will be limited to about two and ahalf pounds of meat
per person weekly, the average of the last ten years.
Meatless days will assure the armed forces through
out the world that the will get meat, also that civilians
will be supplied next year.
----... - -
MOSCOW, Sept. 1 (/P) — An unusually gloomy
communique by the Russians acknowledged that Ger
man tank forces have driven still closer to Stalingrad
in advances on two sectors southwest of the key Volga
city, in a supreme effort to knock Russia out of the
war. The Russians are fighting fierce defensive battles
northwest of Stalingrad, but had withdraw to new de
fensive positions on one sector in the southwest, and
the Nazis drove a wedge into the Soviet defense in
another.
War Risk Insurance Is Clarified
Bn Word From President Corporation
Ambiguous clauses in the pol- :
icies of war risk insurance issued
by War Damage Corporation arc j
clarified in a statement issued by 1
W. L. Clayton, President of War
Damage Corporation.
The statement issued by Mr.
Clayton reveals that the protec
tion under war risk insurance is
somewhat greater than is gen
erally supposed.
This statement was sent to
Delegate A. J. Dimond, w'ho in
. turn sent it to A1 Anderson, See
retary of the the Alaska Miners
Assoeiaton, of Fairbanks. Ander
son has been in touch with Dele
gate Dimond and the War Dam
age Corporation seeking to se
cure war risk insurance protec
tion in the case of an actual in
vasion. -
Copy Of Statement
The following is a copy of the
statement issued by Mr. Clayton,
President of War Damage Cor
poration:
“Dear Mr. Dimond:—Mr. Jones
has placed in my hands your
letter to him of July 11th. en
closing copy of telegram dated
July 9th adressed to you by Mr.
A1 Anderson, Secretary of the
Alaska Miners Association, Fair
banks, Alaska, relative to insur
ance provided by War Damage
Corporation.
“The Act approved March 27,
1942, (Public Law 506, 77th Con
gress). authorizes War Damage
Corporation to provide reason
able protection only against loss
of or damage to property, real
or personal,
‘which may result from en
emy attack (including any
action taken by the military,
naval or air forces of the
United States in resistng en
emy attack).’
Language Of Statute
“In view of the restrictive
character of the statutory author
ization, the policies ofinsurance
made available by War Damage
Corporation cointain, in the in
suring clause, the exact language
of the statute.
“Our policy of insurance does
not expressly except from cover
age losses through “capture” or
“seizure,” but is not intended to !
cover mere capture or seizure of
real property in the absence of
physical damage or destruction
by enemy attack. In the case of
valuables, or of readily portable
or perishable property, I agree
with your view that it. may well
be considered that seizure by the
enemy honstitutes loss by enemy
attack.
“Insurance against mere 'seiz
ure" or “capture” appears in
some respects desirable, but
would in our opinion, be inad
visable, as applicable to reel pro
perty, and to most sorts of g 'inl
and chatties, for the reason that
it would nvolve assumption bv
this governmental agency of li
abilities that would mature im
mediately upon enemy capture of
a locality, however temporary
the resultant enemy possession
Upon recapture of such area and
property by United States forces,
liability on the part of this Cor
poration for the original captur
might thus result in unjust en
richment, at taxpayer’s expensi
of persons whose property had
been only temporarily occupied.
In other situations, such cover
age would place upon War Dam
age Corporation vague and un
certain liabilities for problem
atical losses.
“Pillage and looting, like burg
lary and theft, though committed
in war time, and even when
facilitated by conditions incident
to enemy attack, are not covered,
except when committed by the
enemy, and amounting to or form
ing a part of an enemy attack.
“It is bi'lieved, therefore, that
the insurance supplied by War
Damage Corporation follows th
intention of Congress, as express
ed in the recent Act. Under War
Damage Corporation policies of
insurance, it is not necessary to
determine, as you suggest, who-1
ther losses have been caused “by
the guns of the enemy or by the
guns of our own forces," since
physical damage by either is
equally covered.
“With best wishes,
“Sincerely yours,
“W. L. CLAYTON,
“President.”
Rommel's Armies Make Advance
■’av l)e Start Expected Offensive
LOXDOX. Sept. 1 (/P) — . ■ y a two months pause,
Gen Rommel’s reinforced a : rested desert arm- be
gan an advance against the southern flank of the Allied
defense lines in Egypt, which may be the start of the
long expected defensive.
1 he British War Office announced that Rommel, us
ing ••mured units, “pushed forward” near El Himei
mat. 21 miles south of El A! mein, and was immed
iate ug tged bv the Allies
New <• S. Forces Go Into Action
Against 141,000 Axis t roops In Egypt
LGX*DON, Sept. 1 (/P) — An eight-mile German;
drX into the minefields on southern flank of the
El A imein line in Egypt, , riming the Qattara de
pre:-i n. was reported in Ca •• by a Reuters dispatch.
Nr\ S. forces went into n in what appeared
to b' developing major tie. Another German
thrust, evidently seeking a s • spot in the center of
the X it X? ;ne, was stopped
Tr r w-est American medium bombers in the n rth
Afr . - mpaign. the stron B-25’s, like those which
bombed Tokyo, went into act for the first tin e with
complete American crews, b :Hoarding Axis transport
columns. Supporting Americ a fighter pilots di-u • ^ed
unu dally large German dX bomber format!, n- .mb
arm. i ed vanguards.
Perhaps 141.000 Axis troops, between El Alan
and Bengasi, are said locked with light British for, •
l ighting In
Two Areas Of
New Guinea
Mac Arthur's Headquarters
Sept. 1 (TP) — The Austral
ian troops who neatly trap
ped the Japs at Milne Bay,
are mopping up scattered
enemy units while other
Allied ground forces clash
ed with Japs at Kokoda
and Salamaua.
A severe night bombing
attack was made on the,
Jap air base at Lae. Ten
tuns of bombs were drop
ped among grounded en
emy aircraft, buildings,
and installations. A com
munique said five large
fuel dumps, many build
ins and aircraft were de
stroyed and fires were vis
ible for. 30 miles.
There was sharp fighting
at Kokoda, at the base of
the towering Owen Stan
ley range.
Jap Forces
Fight Toward
Fort Moresby
V
MacArthur’s Headquarters
Sept. 1 (TP) — Jap ground
forces, fighting their way
overland in New Guinea,
toward Port Moresby, at
tacked Allied positions at
Kokoda with increased
fury, but Allied planes
twice strafed the Japs
heavily.
■ uy Defense Bond* and Stamps
Foreign Minister
Togo Resigns
His Office
Tokyo, Sept. 1 (/P) — J. p
foreign minister Shigen ri
Togo resigned his office
and it was taken over by
Premier General Hideki
Tojo. The Tokyo radio an
nounced that Togo, forme
ambassador to Berlin and
Moscow, gave up the port
folio of overseas affairs on
December second, before
Pearl Harbor, but retain !
control of the Foreign Min
istry.
Survey Ft. Norman
Whitehorse Air Route
WHITEHORSE. Y. T. — C v.
McConachie, general manage; f
Canadian Pacific Airlines div.
sion, has left Edmonton in a
plane piloted by Bud Potter and
accompanied by four oil officials
to blaze a new, 450-mile sky trail
from Fort Norman to White
horse. At Fort Norman the plan*
will head west across the tower
ing peaks of the Rockies on ;
route never before traversed If
this pioneer flight proves suece.-n j
ful it is destined to becom* one
for regular plane passenger and
transport service between F id
Norman, where the oil field, an
located, and Whitehorse, the
metropolis of the Yukon Terri
tory.
Capt. Yarbrough Is Promoted
Capt. E. T. Yarbrough, U. S.
ArmyAir Corps, has received his
appointment to the rank of ma
jor within the last few days,
according to word received by
Mrs. Stella Young. mother of1
Mrs. Yarbrough, who resides at
Douglas, Alaska.
American Metropolitan Papers
Favor Northwest
lligiiwav Supply Line to Alaska
Recent issues of several of the largest and most in
fluential New York papers have gone on rec md em
phatically in support of the Dimond Bill, now before
Congress, for an appropriation of $25,000,000 to build
a highway to Alaska from the Pacific Northwest along
the "A” route. Among them are the Post, th Times
and P. M. The New Y rk Herald-Tribune s mported
the measure with the following forceful editorial:
. Neither the attack a Dutch Harbor nor ti ■ eccupa
ti-on of the westernmost of the Aleutian Islands by
the Japanese has driven home to the American people
the importance of Alaska in the war against J. jan.
Hardly any attention has been paid to a bi'l intro
duced into Congress by the dele .ate from A iska to
be built along the route approved by the Canadian
and American commissions which studied and survey
ed the possibilities.
The reason for th-, ndifference is not that the in
land route now being u it is considered to bn ade
quate. The average person has n - idea that such w *rk
is in progress.
The real trouble is t a the American pe >pie are
imazingiy ignorant of Ala P md of Northwest Can
ada and have little idea f the geography of tl ■ region.
i' - i3 why the t ■ f 1
J Dirunid, the delete to Congress from, ‘ . ’ . , and
Mr. Donald MacDonald, who for 20 years has been
fight mg for an international highway to Alaska, de
• special c< nsideration. These men know whereof
they speak.
their a mnent boils dwn that, ap; 11
m the difficulties of construction oi the route now
being built to connect various airports on the way to
\i iska i thi ough supply road is net ss try in ordtr t j
make possible the transportation to A1 ska of the in
creasing amounts of war materials and men that are
needed there,
Th -v insist ,! it the route agreed upon by the Can
id an and American commissions is the most advan
d be built as soon 1 • ■ The
two routes converge at Whitehorse, but south of that
point the route approved by the Alaska International
Highway Commission runs down one , f the interior
va’Jeys *o Prince George, in British Columbia, where
a- the road now being built runs far inland.
Among the advantages of the route approved by
the commission is that it give t the coast 1
stip of Alaska south of the main body of Alaska pro
pel'. Another advantage is that the rainfall and snow
fall conditions along this route are favorable, there
being only one short strip where heavy snowfalls cccur.
In the Dimond proposal there are two main consid
erations—questions of fact and questions of strategy.
The questions uf fact concern such items as the na
ture of the terrain, the amount and distribution of pre
cipitation in the form of rain, fog and snow and the
accessibility of the route to all parts of Alaska.
The questions of strategy center about the extent
to which that territory will have to be used in the war.
It is the contention of those who have studied the
international route that the questions of fact can be
answered favorably to the project.
To lay students of strategy it would seem that Al
aska’s importance is more likely to increase than to
decrease. With the possibility that the water route to
Alaska may be exposed to raids, there seems much to
be said in behalf of an addtional link to the internal
highway.
Certainly Mr. Dimond’s propsoal should not be ig
nored on the ground that the route approved by the
International Highway Commission was considered
when the decision to follow another route connecting
the airports was made. Condtions have changed since
that decision was made.
Alaska unquestionably needs a supply line.