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THE NOME NUGGET
OLDEST NEWSPAPER IN ALASKA—MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS
* VOL. 47.—No. 13. NOME, ALASKA, FEBRUARY 2, 1944 PER COPY—15c
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Capture 10
Beachheads
• On Island
(By PHILLIP REED)
ABOARD FLAGSHIP AT
KWAJALEIN ATOLL. Feb. 2.—
tAP»-^-Army and navy amphibious
troops yesterday completed a ser
^ ies df lightning assault strokes,
capturing 10 islet beachheads.
Today they are fully engaged in
major assaults against the main
stronghold at Kwajalein, Rois, and
Namur Islands, pivotal bases in
the Japanese held Marshalls.
Resistance on the opening day
was light or non-existent, and
casualties were light. Mahy Japs
were slain and quite a number
captured. *
The enemy is now defending
the three main islands against
the greatest war fleet in history,
0 including hundreds of planes of
all kinds, plus a record concen
tration of land-based artillery,
continued to churn the palm
hooded coral islands into flaming
shreds of vomiting clouds and
dust, and pillars of smoke rising
thousands of feet high, in the all-:
out offensive to blast a hole in
Japan’s pre-war stolen empire,
consuming 14,495 tons of bombs
and shells, enough to fill 288
freight cars..
The deadly three-day bombard
0 ment from the air and sea, deci
mated the Japanese aerial
strength. Not a single enemy
plane was sighted during the at
tack which was aimed at Kwaja
lein proper.
The northern assault forced Roi
and Namur into battle, where
fighters, bombers and ack-ack fire
shot down 18 enemy planes, and
destroyed 51 >on the ground.
TELLS OF TAX |
STRUCTURE
V
r WASHINGTON, Feb. 2.—(AP)
—Lack of adequate tax structure
in Alaska, was today reported to
Interior Department Secretary,
Harold L. Ickes, by Governor Er
nest Gruening of Alaska.
.The governor said “Alaska has
no tax system worthy of the name.
Its tax structure is a patchwork
affair which gradually developed
since the days when the territory
was a district and a primitive un
developed wilderness.”
Gruening said there was.no cor
^ porate or personal income tax, no
sales tax, no tax on gasoline, and
he said many corporations and
partnerships and individuals were
enjoying substantial income with
in the territory and pay no taxes
whatever.
American steamship companies,
whose entire business is to and
from Alaska and one outside port,
pay not a single cent of tax to the
^ territory.
According to the governor, some
fifty million in gold leaves the
territory each year without any
tax whatever.
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AIRWAYS
Alaska Airlines
Pilot Weaver arrived at Nome
on Tuesday from Kotzebue Can
dle and Deering, with Mrs. Wal
len, Mrs. Buck and Christ Roust
* Don Emmons arrived from
Kotzebue on Monday with mail
and Jack Burke.
♦
CHILLY WINTKR ROAD.-Winter view of the Alaska military highway aaar Koldera
Silver on the Alaska-Token border. All road work Is now eompleto from Fairbanks to Dawson Creek.1
U. S. Troops
Land On
Island of Roi
PEARL HARBOR, Feb 2.—(AP)
—United States troops landed in
the Marshalls near Roi in Kwa
jalein atoll and established beach
heads.
Admiral Nimitz reported today
that the Japs were putting up
strong opposition but the initial
information indicates that Ameri
can casualties so far have been
moderate.
This is the first time an inva
sion has been attempted on any
territory which the Japs held be
fore Pearl Harbor.
Our troops are fighting to take
the island which the enemy has
been preparing for a quarter of a
century.
Nimitz said the Fourth Marines
Division, headed by Major Gen
eral Harry Schmidt, landed in Roi
Island area, and the seventh in
fantry, commanded by Major Gen
eral Charles Corlett, landed in the
Kwajalein area.
The plan presumably calls for
securing the lightly defended is
lands near Kwajalein and Roi and
then blasting at those two strong
points of the Kwajalein atoll,
preparatory to capturing them
CHARLES LEVINE
DIES, AGED 57
- •
Charles Levine died at the May
nard Columbus Hospital last Mon
day afternoon, after having been
ill for some time.
Last Saturday he had gone to
the hospital complaining of some
abdominal disturbance, possibly
appendicitis, but died Monday aft
ernoon of heart failure.
He is survived by a sister, Anna,
and a brother, August, in Blaine,
Washington, and several other
brothers and sisters of unknown
whereabouts.
Wired instructions from August
Levine states the funeral will be
held here. U. S. Marshal Ben Mo
zee is in charge of arrangements,
and the funeral has been set for
two o’clock Friday afternoon, from
the federated church.
GRANTED THE
RIGHT TO
FORM POLICIES
LONDON, Feb 2.—(AP)—The
(Soviet Union has given its ts
I member republics the right to
make their own foreign policy
have their own army forma ton;
This is a significant move in the
drafting of a new Europe after
the war.
The first reaction in London to
the plan was that Premier Mar
shal Stalin’s proposal for a pro
gram decentralizing the USSR,
was strikingly similar to the ac
tion taken by the British, Imper
ial Council in 1926
There was a natural hesitancy
to comment on the Soviet move
without further study, but it was
logical to assume the next step
would be for the Soviet Republics
to request recognition from other
countries. Once this was granted,
each, presumably, would have a
voice in the peacetime organiza
tion.
Significant to appear in London
was Molotov’s assertion, the
change would ‘serve further to in
crease the authority of our coun
try in the eyes of peoples to the
east and west"
SUPREME
SOVIET ADOPT
PROPOSAL
MOSCOW, Feb 2—(AP>—The
Supreme Soviet (Russian Parlia
ment), adopted unanimously the
proposal of Foreign Commissar
Vyacheslav Molotov, giving six
teen individual republics within
the Soviet Union their own com
missariats, national defense, and
foreign affairs, with the right to
raise their own armies
Formations would deal directly
with other countries.
The Supreme Soviet also elect
ed Nikolai, secretary of trade un
ions, its first vice-chairman.
Its presiding officer, Ammbun
tin, vice-president of the country,
named Michael Walinin, proposed
president.
Candidates
File For
Primaries
With the readline for filing for
Territor:d office set for Tuesday
n' ' - week, the following can
i. dates have presented their
names to the voters, for consid
eration at the primaries to be held
April 23th:
Second Division—For Represen
tative Democratic: George Mad
sen. A Caste!, B G. Baker, Ed
ward Anderson. Walter Taylor, M.
J Walsh, of Nome: and Wallace
Porter, Haycock; W. E. McDon
ald. Coffee Creek; Elisabeth Cross,
Deering. Republican: V. G. Seif
fert, Bert Bell and Harold Bayne,
all of Nome. Independent—Thom
as A. Morris. Nome.
Republican candidates for the
long-term senator position are
Chas. D. Jones and Henry Miller
of Nome. Democratic chandidates
for the same position are Tolbert
P. Scott and O. D. Cochrane.
Republican candidate for the
short term senator position is L.
E. Ost, of Council. Democrafcc
candidate is Frank Whaley.
For the unexpired term of sen
ator. the republican candidate will
be C. Dudley Warner of Nome,
and the democratic candidate.
Howard Lyng, of Nome.
In the Territorial filings, A. H.
Ziegler, of Ketchikan, has filed for
Delegate to Congress, while E. F.
Wann, republican, has filed for
the position of highway engineer.
TO GRANT
AUTONOMY
WASHINGTON, Feb. 2.—-(AP)—
Moscow's announcement of
plans for five of the 16 Soviet
republics to be granted a degree
of autonomy, was regarded here
as being part at least of the Rus
sian territorial problems in inter
national significance.
Five of the 16 countries, it is
noted, covers a territory which
was made part of Russia within
the last few years, and as a re
sult of joint political and mili
tary action of various kinds pro
posed the reorganization.
Stockholm Says
City Near Point
Of Demolishment
* ,
Invasion
Bulwark
By Navy
PEARL HARBOR. Feb. 2.— !
(AP>—Bulwarked by more than
two million tons of naval, strength i
invading the Marshall Islands, .
which is the back-door route to '
the Japanese empire, the battle i
raged lor Kwajalein, the key posi
tion, and is of such importance
that the conquest of the strategic
island, may in due time topple the
Nipponese from the Pacific.
The United States marines went
J ashore to the north and won posi
| hens near the enemy's Hoi air
base on the northern end of the
Kwajalein atoll, and nearly 60
miles to the south infantry vet
erans from the battle of Attu, un
,Gon. Gorlett, landed close to the
Kwajalein islet, the heavily forti
fied shipping, seaplane and sub
marine base, struck the fortified
center of the western Ralik line,
in the Marshall atolls, by-passing
the eastern Radak line, as well as
' those atolls north and south of
Kwajalein.
‘‘We placed them in such a posi
i tion,” Rear Admiral Richmond
Turner, commanding the amphi
bious operations, said, “We can
; either take them or let them with
er on the vine.”
ALLIES NOW
IN CONTROL
ADVANCED ALLIED HEAD
QUARTERS IN NEW GUINEA,
Feb 2.—^AP>—Disclosure that al
lied control of the Dutch New
Guineas south coast extends 150
miles beyond the Papuan border,
was contained in the headquarters
report that Dutch and Australian i
soldiers smashed an attack of!
barge-borne Japanese.
The Japanese were defeated in !
the attack on the allied post at
the mouth of the Eilanden river,
which is about 600 miles north
west of Port Moresby.
The Japanese barge-borne troops
lost at least 60 of their number
in attempting the deepest south
ward penetration of Dutch New
Guinea.
The spokesman in General Mac
arthur’s headquarters said three
barges, probably constituting a
scouting party, was sighted in the
early hours of the morning and
attacked by ground forces. Later
five more were attacked.
The first three barges were
sunk with all on board believed
to be lost. The others were forced
to retire.
This marked the first time the
Dutch have been reported in ac
tion with the Australians.
Planes from Solomon Islands
bases hit Japan’s big Rabaul base
in three attacks. A medium car
go ship was sunk in the harbor,
and fires were set there. They also
destroyed two medium freighters.
LONDON, Feb. 2—RAF Mos
quito bombers stabbed at Berlin
again last night and set the air
raid sirens howling in the devas
tated German capital, in their
round-the-clock bombing schedule.
The night fleet raiders alao
attacked other targets in western
Germany.
The Air Ministry disclosed that
the RAF had loosed 16.500 tons of
bombs on Germany during Jan
uary to break all monthly records.
Stockholm dispatches quoted
travelers arriving in Berlin say
ing.
“The capital is a dead city. Ten
more attack on a scale with recent
ones, would finish it completely.'*
ALLIED TROOPS
CONVERGE
NEAR CASSINO
ALLIED HEADQUARTERS IN
ALGIERS. Feb. 2.—(AP)—Ameri
can and French troops were con
verging north of Cassino and have
torn away several miles of the
Nazis’ strong Gustav line, advanc
ing deeper into German held ter
ritory.
In the struggle to the west of
the Anzio bridgehead, allied in
vasion troops three back strong
German counter-attacks, w’est of
Littoria and supported by tanka
and artillery, they advanced a
short distance on that front.
With aerial support, British
troops were fighting hard neat*
Campoleone, only 16 miles below
Rome. American units are at
grips with the enemy near Cister-.
na, 14 miles northeast of Anzio.
Headquarters declared that the
Germanes were still building up
a large force near the beachhead,
also our reinforcements wer$
pouring into the area 14 miles
long and eight miles deep.
The Berlin radio said there wa*
an estimated 250,000 men engaged
on both sides.
SAYS NOME IS
AS PICTURED
“I like Nome because it’s lika
I thought Alaska should be!”
Such were the words of Mrs*
Ghyneth Perry, whose home is in
Richmond, Calif., a short time
after her arrival in Nome from
her post as assistant to the Post
Engineer at Oakland, Calif.
“Nome isn’t the ‘Hell Town’ it’s
touted to be back in the States,’*
remarked Mrs. Perry. “If only the
folks back home could see and
enjoy the gorgeous sunsets we
have here and view the antics of
the famed Northern Lights, maybe
there would be more of an exodus
from the States to this locality,’*
Mrs. Perry, a clerk in the local
payroll office of the Engineers,
has a sister living in Oakland. Her
mother and two sisters are at pres
in Watsonville, Calif. Her young
son is living at the home of a sis
in that city, also.
“And another thing,” the come
ly clerk stated emphatically:
“I like the people of Nome, to^
—they’re swell!”