Oldest Newspaper In Alaska. “The News of The Day In Pictures” Member Of The Associated Press
THE NOME NUGGET
VOL. 43. No. 49. NOME, ALASKA, FRIDAY, APRIL 25, 1941 Per Copy i*
British Driven From Thermopylae
Hull and Knox Call for More Active Aid to Britain
U.S. Neutrality Vessels To Patrol Far As Necessary
BRITISH TROOPS CLING
STUBBORNLY TO DEFENSE
LINE THERMOPYLAE ZONE
UNDATED, April 24 (JP)—Brit
ish expeditionary troops were re
ported still fighting desperately
in the Thermopylae sector, a hun
dred miles north .of Athens, in
what was apparently a rear
guard action to check Germany’s
blitzkrieg armies until the main
body of the BEF embarked from
southern Greece. German avia
^ tors d- scribed the scenes as of
wildest confusion, as Nazi Stuka
dive bombers rained death and
destruction on the troops jammed
or. British transports.
Berlin sources asserted that at
^ least 160,000 tons of ships have
already been sunk. An official
Greek communique acknowledg
ed that assaults iby waves of
screaming Stukas inflicted “con
siderable damage on ships and
other installations.”
While the fall of Athens and
the end of Battle of the Balkans
appeared imminent, authoritative
quarters in London insisted that
BEF troops were clinging stub
I
bornly to defense positions in the'
Thermopylae zone. In this histor
ic sector, the Germans claimed
yesterday that Pan.z r columns
smashed the British rearguard
and plunged on toward Athens.
The British spokesman declar
ed that reports from the British
flank turned out to be without
basis and said it was “very doubt
ful” if the Germans seiz d the
island of Lemnos near the Dar
danelles.
Hitler’s command gave details
.f the climactic struggle but
made no claim of a major drive
through tne Allies’ last ditch de
fens s. A German communique
said “in the fight with the Brit
ish rearguards, we succeeded in
breaking into the Thermopylae
p sitiens situated on especially
favorable-terfain between Larisa
and Lamia.” Thirty British tanks
were captured.
The Nazi spokesman yesterday ,
asserted that the Germans “at. ‘
nihilated” the British rearguards.
- HOPELESSLY OUTNUMBERED
BRITISH REARGUARD WITH
DRAW FROM THERMOPYLAE
UNDATED, April 25 «P)—Brit
ish rearguard troops, hopelessly
outnumbered fell back from
the bloody “hot gates” of Ther
^ mopylae and Hitler’s invasion
armies lunged forward in a final
drive on Athens, less than a hun
dred miles away.
Hitler’s command said bluntly
that Nazi units had “thrown the
enemy out” of the historic pass,1
overcoming the strongly fortified
defenses where the British and a
handful of Greek allies held out j
for more than two days. The
German break-through came 48
hours after Nazi quarters in Ber
lin prematurely declared Wednes
day morning, that the pass was al
ready taken and the British rear
Not Thinking of
Escorting Convoys
At This Time
WASHINGTON. April 25 {/Pi
President Roosevelt declared that
Arne' b an Neutrality Patrol ves
sels will operate as far into the
water- of the srven seas as it is
necessary for the defense of the
American hemisphere. He told a
press conference, how ver. that
the Administration is not think
irft» of escorting convoys at this
time.
He aim said that there is the
possibility that Greenland is part
ly occupied byAxis forces. He
said he didn’t know about this
but agreed that this statement is
surprising.He replied in the neg
ative to a question wheth:r the
occupation might be by fifth col
umnists.
He declined to be drawn into
specific comments design :d to
amplify his views on the convoy
situation but said thqt for a year
and a half vessels of the neutral
ity patrol have been operating
as far as a thousand miles in the
Atlantic from the eastern shor:
of Maryland. He said that there
have been erroneous reports and
assumptions that the patrol is op
erating approximately 300 miles
off the American coast.
guard “annihilated.”
The British middle east head-!
quarters acknowledged that BEF
troops had made a further with
drawal and “inflicting severe loss
es on the enemy” as they fell
back toward Athens.
Earlier dispatches from Athens
declared that grey-green waves
of Nazi infantry, storming the
pass, were driven off until the
Germans brought up heavy six
inch guns to shell the Allied de
fenders.
PICKETS SWARM AROUND FORD PLANT GATE
.v v .. .. .. .•••••• ......... .
1\ '
Union leaders directed pickets from this sound truck as they blocked the overpass at the main gate
of the Ford Motor Company at Detrdit where UAW-CIO called a strike.
TEAR GAS BOMBS HURLED BACK
*.• 'WAMftw,.. x M ~__
Allis-Chalmers strikers in Milwaukee, assuming the offensive, tossed back tear gas shell fired at
them from windows and roof of the plant by officers. This one zoomed toward its mark like a rocket
from the hands of a venturesome demonstrator.
SECTY. HULL AND SECTY.
KNOX CALL FOR MORE
ACTIVE AID TO BRITAIN
WASHINGTON, April 24 <JP)—
Two key figures in President
Roosevelt’s cabinet called last
night for more active steps to aid
Britain, one of them declaring
“We can net allow our .goods to
be sunk in the Atlantic”; and the
other demanding “Resistance
wherever resistance will be ef
fective.”
Secretary of State Hull, in
a Washington address said “Ways
must be found" to insure that
aid reaches its destination “in
the shortest time and in the max
imum quantity.”
In an even stronger pronounce
ment in New York, Secretary of
the Navy Knox declared “This is
our fight and we must see the job
through. We can no longer oc
cupy the immoral, craven posi
tion of asking another to make
all the sacrifices for this victory
which he recognize as so essen
tial to us. Our manhood and our
self respect demands that we
shall assume our part of the bur
den.’’ He asserted “Hitler cannot
allow our war supplies to reach
England for he will be defeated
if they do; and we cannot allow
our supplies to be sunk, or we
shall be beaten if they do.”
Hull declared “it makes a vast
difference to us who wins the
pr.sent struggle in Europe. The
difference is whether we stand
with our backs to the wall, with
the other four continent against
us, the high seas lost, and alone
defending the lost of the free ter
ritories on the earth, or whether
we keep our place in an order
ly world.”
Reinforcements
Of Ausies Ar
rive at Singapore
SINGAPORE, April 24 <£>) —
A great transport arrived, bring
ing formidable reinforcements of
men and machines. The main
body of the Australian imperial
force reached here on February
18th.
Australian - manned bomber
planes met the convoy 100 miles
at sea and circled overhead as
the big liner steamed through
Singapore’s protective minefields,
past the powerful harbor fort
U. S. FORCES BEING
SENT, PHILIPPINES
MANILA, April 22—The move
ment to the Philippines of forces
from the United States, principal
ly Coast Artillery, Air Corps and
infantry detachments has been
been heavily increased.
More than 2,000 soldiers have
been landed here during the past
two days from transports.
resses, to the naval bas: dock.
With the new arrivals, was
Lieut. Gen. Bond, Commander of
the British land forces in Malaya.
He said defense in terms of men,
guns and planes was nearing its
peak for tho time being, at least.
Asks Three and
Half Billion In
New Taxes
WASHINGTON, April 24 <&)—
Secretary of the Treasury Mor
gen thau asked Congress for three
billion and a half in. new taxes
for greater defense production;
to reduce non-d-fense spending;
and for safeguards against pro
fiteering. He told the House Ways
and Means committee that “Wc
faced a greater challenge than
any in the history of this repub
lic and calls for a much greater
response than has yet been
made.”
Morgenthau made no specific
recommendations about how the
new taxes should be raised. It
was said by other present that
th. Treasury’s viewpoint on these
Treaesury proposals was reported
to provide ste p increases in in
come taxes and surtaxes and may
force many persons to pay six
times as much income tax as be
fore. Also to put either new or
additional taxes on soft drinks,
liquor, cigarettes, gasoline and
many other commodities.
26.000 Ton German
Battleship Believ
ed Out Commission
LONDON, April 24 i(yP) — The
28.000 ton German battleship
Seharnhorst was “believed” put
out of commission for some
months and her mate the Gnei
senau also damaged by the re
cent British raids on Brest, the *
Press Association said.