THE NOME NUGGET
OLDEST NEWSPAPER IN ALASKA—MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS
VOL. 47.—No. 57. NOME, ALASKA, WEDNESDAY, MAY 17, 1944. PER COPY—15c.
WADKE ISLAND
CONSIDERED
DEFENSELESS
ALLIED HEADQUARTERS IN'
* NEW GUINEA, May 17.—'AP>—
Today Wakde Island, adjacent to
Dutch New Guinea mainland,
was virtually defenseless against
air at‘acks, and was scarred and
seared again with a 200-ton load
Of bombs.
The Japanese are still hanging
On to an area of from one to ten
miles, just northwest of Holland
ia.
The latest raids brought t'
more than 750 tons of explosives
the bombloads unloosed in three
days on the limited targets of
Wakde’, Sarmi and Maffin Islands.
A headquarters spokesman
said that Monday’s raiders had
demolished gun positions near the
airdrome on Wakde, and demol
ished large buildings. The raiders
also set fires and caused terrific
explosions to supply stores and
ammunition dumps.
Other raiders ran into sharp
opposition in the Schouten Is
lands, 260 miles west of Hol
land ia, where fighters downed 20
Japanese interceptors.
The Wewak and Hansa Bay
areas on New Guinea, and also
Rabaul on New Britain, took
daily poundings, while o+her
raiders hit Woleai in the Caro
lines, in the far south of the
group. No interception was en
countered.
The Liberators started fires on
Woleai, 525 miles west of Truk.
ROOSEVELT
ASKS MONEY
FOR DRILLING
WASHINGTON, D. C., May 17.
—<AP)— Yesterday, President
Roosevelt asked congress to pro
vide $1,217,000 to start oil drill
ing work in Alaska, and empha
sized the increasing need for oil
in the Pacific war.
The request followed state
ments of naval officials before
the House Naval Committee yes
terday.
Production in Elk Hills, Calif
ornia, reserve would be quad
rupled because of the increased
petroleum needs.
In writing to Speaker Rayburn,
the President said work in Alas
ka should be undertaken jointly
with the War and Interior De
partments, the former doing the
drilling in the vicinity of Wide
Bay, and the latter undertaking
surveys in other locations.
BOY SCOUT ACTIVITY
ON THE UPGRADE '
The Boy Scout moyement in
Nome continues with unabating
interest as more local boys enter
the ranks.
B. G. Baker announces that
most of the boys already are
studying the work necessary to
*t become a good scout.
The fii’st thing they vvill learn
is the Scouth oath:
“—On my honor I will do my
best; to do my duty to God and
my country, apd to obey the
Scout Law; tp help other people
at all times; to keep myself physi
cally Htronf, mentally awake apd
morally straight.”
To be a So©ut a boy i$ust
not only know how, but m^t also
do what « right, iy hi« actions,
will his friegga b*>9W him.
MOSQUITO BOMBERS I
AGAIN BLAST BERLIN
LONDON, May 17.— <AP>—
RAF Mosquito bombers blasted
BeriiU last night, and British
b. $ed heavy bombers renewed
their smashing offensives on the
fortress of Europe. There were no
lo-ses in the raid on the capital,
which was the first since the
ninth of May. '•
There is no indication of ac
tivity qyer the continent today on
account of the bad weather
WIDEN GAP
IN PEIPING
HANKOW AREA
CHUNGKING, China. May 17.
— CAP) — The counterattacking
Chinese forces in southern Honan
Province of central China were
widening the gap between the
forces on the Peiping-Hankow
railway to 22 miles, between Kio
shan and Mingkiang, and captur
ed a third station, the Chinese
central news agency reported to
day.
On the Salween front, in south
western China, the High Com
mand announced a series of suc
cesses, which, however, did not
appreciably change the previous
ly reported positions.
2O.O0O enemy troops and a
village inside the strategic Mam
ien pass leading to the main Jap
anese base at Myitkyina, in Bur
ma, have been captured.
DOWNEY GAINS
NOMINATION
SAN FRANCISCO, Cal., May
17. — <AP> — Senator Sheridan
Downey was renominated yester
day by California democrats, after
he had failed in his try for the
republican nomination, and will
face Frederick Houser, 40-year
old lieu'enant governor, rn the
general election.
The democrats pledged their
52 delegates to vote for the fourth
4erm, and the republican conven
tion votes will see Governor War
ren with the 50 votes pledged to
him.
FISHERMEN
VOTE ON OPA
AGREEMENT
SEATTLE, May 17. —<AP) —
Vessel owners and fishermen of
the Seattle and Vancouver hali
I but fleets, voted to start fishing
. if they can be guaranteed an OPA
| ceiling on all fish caught, Harold
E. Lokken, manager of the Seat
tle Fishermen and Vessel Own-,
ers’ Association, reported today, i
Lokken said a meeting will be
arranged with buyers to guaran
tee not less than the ceiling price..
The fishing boats will put out!
to sea within three days after a
final agreement is made.
PURCHASES D. B. CAMP
HOME IN NOME
Mrs. Kristie Waldheim has pur
chased the D. B. C«jqp home
across from the Northern Light
A Power Co., pwer plant. i
___ 1
ICR. AND MRS. MICIEUII
RETURN TO NOME MONDAY
Mr. gnd Mrs. Cnrl O. Miojkolson,
returned |o Nome Monday via the
Pan American Airways, and have
already moved hyt? their home
«« the earner el Second and R
I *UeeN. 1
B
HELICOPTER ‘RESCUE Illustrating one of the uses of helicopters In the air arm of tho
U. S. Coast Guard, a helicopter aids in a simulated rescue in the Atlantic.
NEW THREAT
TO FISHING
OF JAPANESE
AN ALASKAN BASE, May 17.
—(AP>—A new threat to the vi
tal seafood supply of the Japan
ese. has been disclosed here re
cently.
The threat comes as a result of
attacks of American planes
against Japanese vessels believed
to be part of a Japanese fishing
fleet in the northern Kuriles.
Both army and navy planes ex
changed gunfire with the Japan
ese vessels, which were though |
to be fishing off the north Kur
iles on May 13th and 14th, in low
level attacks.
These attacks added a new
threat to the already deplefing
food supply under attack on
Paramushiro and other islands of
the Kuriles, where some of Jap
an's largest fish canneries are lo
cated.
An army Mitchell bomber en
countered two surface craft on
May 13*h and made a machine
gun attack, the plane being
slightly damage in the encoun
ter. ,
The next day a navy Catalina
flying boat made a similar at
tack and acquired a punctured
fuel tank in the encounfer, but
returned safely to its base.
The start of the fishing season
is expected to bring a new test
as to whether the enemy will
maintain control of the Kurile
waters.
Before the war the Japanese
fished far to the north in Bering
Sea, and west into Alaskan wa
ters.
STILLWEL’S
FORCES NEAR
MYITKYINA
•
KANDY, Ceylon, May 17 —
<AP>—General Joseph Stillwell’s
north Burma forces pushed the
jaws of tfce tr*p, which are clos
ing about ICamajng, to within
nine miles on one leg, and 15
miles on the other lag, of their
advancing feraes 90 the Japanese
Mogaung Valley base, it was re
ported today.
Front line dispatches disclosed
that another cd bis forces, north
of MyitJcyina, puyhed to within
4# (piles of that base.
ARTICLE PROPOSED
BY WENDEL WILLKIE
7/ASHINGTON, D. C„ May 17.—
<AP>—Grant Palmer, Readers’ Di
gest writer, told the special House
Committee on the investigation
of the Federal Communications
Commission about a proposed ar
ticle criticising their actions,
“was proposed” by Wendell Will
kie, but was never published.
Af*or Commission Chairman
Fly, protested about the libelous
Representaiive Miller, and asked
her to appear on 'he charge;. Fly
was “suppressed” and questioned
as to whether the charges involv
ed any tinkering with the “free
dom of the press.”
GEN. ARNOLD
_
WASHINGTON, D. C„ May 17.
—'AP>—General Arnold testified
that the Detroit foremen’s strike
is one if the most serious setbacks
the air force has had since its
inception.” » «
- ~ *
i He added :
. “If it is continued, it might en
able the German air force to re
cover just when it is reeling un
j der our blows.”
| The hearing was recessed short
| ly afterwards to permit the meet
i mg of the foremen union execu
| tive board to consider the labor
: board demand to call off the ser
ies of strikes, which left nearly
50,000 war workers idle in the
Detroit area
The union is independent and
seeks employer recognition for
collective bargaining purposes.
General Arnold said:
“We of the military forces are
not interested in the relative mer
its of the dispute, but it is incon
ceivable in our point of view, as
to how you can have strikes in
| industries in which production of
materials is so essential.”
JOHN DROST, 64.
DIES AT MORNINCSIDE
Word has been received by the
Commissioner’s office that John
Drost, 64, died in MomingsicJe
Hospital Mareti 6: Mr. .'Drost wfcjs
b«rn in Krakow, Poland, in 1680,
and cam* h> Alaska and mined
for gold- He has, for the past 13
years, been in Momingside.
Tejtl them you saw it advertised
in The Norpe Nugget
RADIOS TELL
OF INVASION
OFFENSIVE
LONDON May 17.—(AP —Eu
ropean radios rumbled steadily
today wi♦ h the talk of the mighty
United Nations' offensives in the
offing, to the wes. and the east.
Berlin announced that Field
Marshal Rommel had completed
what may be a final check-up on
the Atlantic Wall.
Lt. Gen. Ditmar, the Nazi ra
dio commentator, acknowledged
that Hitler’s legions may be
thrown back on both sides, as
‘‘there is no such thing as com
plete preparedness.”
A S’ockholm dispatch said it
was reported there that Field
Marshal General Karl Von Krund
, sted was named as supreme com
mander of the invasion defenses,
with Rommel heading one army
group.
WRITER IS
LISTED WITH
EXPATRIATES
!
BARCELONA, Spain, Ma> 17.
—(APi—Larry Allen, AP war cor
respondent, and Pulitzer prize
winner, after 20 months among j
war prisoners, wdth Italians and
Germans, walked off the German
exchange ship Gradisca, bronzed
and smiling today.
‘‘Gee, but it’s wonderful to get
a breath of fresh air again, but
tell Kent Cooper I want to stay
at work,” was his greeting to
Amabassador Carlton Hayes.
Allen was among the 900
| American and British, who were
! exchanged for 700 Germans, was
j captured in a commando raid at
Tobruk when he was assigned to
| the British Mediterranean fleet
j in September of 1942.
GEORGE ADE, DIES
AT INDIANA HOME
__
BROOK, Ind., May 17.—(AP>—
Qfeorgs Ade, 78, fan|ed author,
.and Humorist, died last night of,
i $$ __ J
PIONEERS ATTENTION!
Pioaxw will hmi at 8:00
f nu Vwlawdar. May 17. at
tfc* Maafcifc Taatpl*
Robert Baldwin.
SaoaBtkry.
GERMANS LOSE
GROUND ON
ITALIAN FRONT
NAPLES. May 17.—
(.AP) — Brtish units
drove northward into the
Liri Valley behind Ca*
sino. and the fall of that
stronghold appeared im
minent today.
Front line dispatches
said that the crack Ger
man parachute troops
which had long defended
the bloody bastion, ap
peared in danger o£
'winding out their careers
in that area.
ALLIED HEADQUARTERS IN
NAPLES, May IT—iAPi—The
Germans have been thrown out
of most post' ous across the
mouth of the gur.-studded Liri
Valley, and great tank battles are
being fought along the entire
Gustav line, south of that corri
dor to Rome, which is over-run
by armed forces.
Headquarters announced that
the Fifth and Eighth armies are
plunging forward and are in close
contact with the Adolph Hitler
line, the main defense barring
the way to the Anz:o beachhead.
The allied command appeared
to have won the chance at which
was aimed the destruction of the
Germans in Italy.
The Liri Valley, spread out
west and south of Cassino reach
es northwestward 20 miles before
it closes to a bottleneck in the
mountains at Ceprano, 50 miles
from Rome.
The German communique de
clared: “A great ba'tle of attri
tion" was raging, and admitted
their troops were falling back.
It added:
“Troops have for six days been
offering heroic resistance to great
enemy superiority.” (
,i British forces took Pignatarc*
which is an important strong
point, four miles southeast of
Cassino, in a smashing flank at
tack with the American Fourth
Army, into heavily fortified Cas
tellonorato, less than four miles
from Formia, finding ruined pill
boxes and the streets littered with
enemy dead. They also won the
village of Scauri.
EXPECT EARLY
RESUMPTION
OF ATTACKS
LONDON. May 17.—(APt—Ger
man broadcasts indicated the
Nazis were expecting an early re
sumption of large scale Soviet
attacks on Lwow and Kovel in
northern Rumania fronts, where
the Russians are reported as
massing great strength.
Russian dispatches declared
that German attacks were hurled
back northwest of Tiraspol with
heavy losses.
Soviet airmen bombed heavily
the Nazi-held city of Polotsk,
near the Latvian-Polish border.
NICKLESONS MOVE
TO ANDERSON HOME
Mr. and Mrs. J. W. Nickleson
have moved into the Jack Ander
son home, east of the old Lomen
dock. Mr. Nickleson works for
the Lomen Commercial Co.