Oldest Newspaper In Alaska. **llie News of I lie Dav in Pictures Menilier Of I lie Associated 1 rcss
THE NOME NUGGET
VOL. 44, No. 23. NOME, ALASKA, MONDAY, FEB. 23, 1942 Pt’r Cgp>' 154
Biggest Naval Battle of War Fought
Date For New Draft Lottery Is Set For March 17
Red Army Celebrates 24th Anniver
sary~6 Million Nazis killed In War
MOSCOW, Feb. 22 (AP) —Monday, Premier Joseph
Stalin told the Red Army in the order of the day on
its 24th anniversary, “We shall throw the enemy from
the gates of Leningrad and liberate White Russia, the
Ukraine and the Crimea. The Red banner will fly ev
erywhere it has flown before. The enemy is not yet
beaten and a stern struggle is ahead of us.” He point
ed out that Germany has allies fighting by her side,
and added, so far, we have not been in that position
yet. We succeeded in holding our own in the preamble.
Stalin said the Russian have been preparing ever
since the last war, to meet just such an attack as schcd
uled by Hitler. He said this is not the first time the Red
Army encountered the Germans.
Pravda, official Communist party newspaper, set
the keynote for the great celebration, announcing that
three hundred thousand Germans were killed between
December 6th to January 15th. The spirit of Hitler’s
army is broken it was said. German losses for the first
five months of the war was a staggering six million,
and everywhere in Russia, the situation was viewed in
a light of the night before Christmas. Correspondents
were allowed to explore vast snow-piled areas liberat
ed from the fleeing Germans and to see huge stores of
Nazi instruments of death which marked the route of
the retreat.
Axis Makes Withdrawal
On North African Front
Cairo, Feb. 21 (AP) — Ger
man troops and armored
forces withdrew to the
north after an encounter
with British patrols on the
Tmimi-Mechili line, west
of Tobruk, the British an
nounced.
ALIENS ARE MOVED
FROM CALIFORNIA
San Francisco, F„b. 16 — Hun
dreds of enemy aliens, the van
guard of many thcu-ands yet to
be moved from California’s key
areas, departed over the week
end. They were residents of 69
restricted zones for which the
government has set the evacua
tion deadline at midnight Feb. 16
Jap Version Of
Island of Bali !
Tokyo, Feb. 21 (AP) —
(From Jap broadcasts) A
smashing Jap naval vic
tory against heavy odds in
a midnight fight between
the islands of Bali and Lam
bok, and another Jap air
raid on Batavia with flam
ing destruction to 27 plan
es and military objectives
on a Java airfield, were re
! ported. Two Dutch destroy
ers were sunk and a third
heavily damaged by two
Jap destroyers, a commun
ique said, and two fleeing
Dutch cruisers were hit by
: torpedoes before escaping
into the night.
Evacuate Civil
ians from Darwin
—
! Canberra, Feb. 21 (APj
— Evacuation of civilians j
' from Darwin, which Jap
raiders bombed Thursday, j
was ordered as military au
thorities clamped strict con
trol over all activities in
the area. All women, ex
• i
1 cept nures are to be re
moved.
i
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PACIFIC
OCEAN
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GUAM
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CAROLINE IS
EQUATOR _
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/ND/AN <■
OCEAN
O SOO
MILES
Australia Is Last British Bastion in South Pacific.—Military quarters in Washington said the (all
o! Singapore Would add at least an extra year to a long Pacific war. A Japanese commenator
noted that Singapore’s fall would release troops for drive through Burma to conect with a pro
jected Axis drive through India. The fall of Singapore it was also said pould be a signal for a
swoop to take the rich Netherlands East Indies and would leave Australia as the United Nation's
bastion in the south Pacific between Hawaii and India. The establishment of a base at Welling
ton, New Zealand, guarded by the United States Navy has been revealed in news dispatches.
New Draft
Lottery Set
For March 17
Washington, Feb. 22 (AP)
— Selective Service head
quarters set the new draft
lottery for March 17th, it
was announced. The num
bers to determine the or
der of liability for service
for some nine million men,
will be enclosed in green
capsules. The men whose
numbers will be drawn
will be those who register
ed on February 16, when
1 men aged 20 to 44 inclu
sive, and not previously
registered, signed up with
local draft boards. The
new registrants will not be
called for about 2 months
after the lottery.
Japanese Radio
Trying Becloud
FDR’s
I Washington, Feb. 23 (AP)
— The State Department
said the Japanese radio at
Tokyo is “putting on its
biggest propaganda cam
paign” for the purpose of
tearing down the address
1 which the President will
j deliver tonight, on the war.
| Secretary Early read to re
porters, a memo from the
; g o v ernment information
agency to this effect. Early
| said the Tokyo radio report
ed that the President is
dodging all questions at his
press conferences, and
j placed the responsibility
for entry into the war dir
ectly on the chief execut
ive.
The President’s speech is
to be broadcast tonight, at
7 p.m. Pacific war time.
EX-KING CAROL NOT
WELCOMED IN U. S.
SAYS SECTY. WELLES
WASHINGTON, Feb. </p)_Hear
ing reports that ex-King Carol
of Rumania might come to this
country to head a “Free Ru
mania” movement, the United
States hung a “not welcome”
sign today.
Carol is now sojourning in
Mexico with his friend, Madame
Lupeseu. It was made abundant
ly plain here that his restoration
to the throne of Rumania is not
one of the war aims of the Unit
ed States.
In response to questions, Undei
| Secretary of State Welles said
! that a Free Rumanan movement
i in this country headed by Carol
j would not be welcome inasmuch
as it would not be conducive to
the war effort of the United Slat
i es or to national unity,
i He did not comment, however,
on the future status of Rumania
itself.
In Mexico City some weeks ago
Carol was quoted as saying he
had never abdicated his throne,
but only delegated his royal pow
ers to his son Mihai. His an
Biggest Naval Engagement of War
rr r r
UNDATED, Feb. 21 (AP) — A flaming sea battle,
bigger even than the battle of Macassar Straits, raged
into its second day in the shark infested waters off Bali
as Dutch and U. S. warships were officially credited
to have seriously damaged two Jap cruisers and two
destroyers so far as Allied warplanes dived and zoom
ed over the battle scene, slashing the invaders. One Jap
cruiser blew up it. was announced.
A War Dept, bulletin issued at Washington said that
at least ten heavy Americans, bombers, attacking the
Jap armada, scored direct hits on three enemy cruisers
and four transports and also shot down four Jap planes.
Four American planes were acknowledged as lost.
Batavia dispatches said the Java sea fight was the
first Allied naval offensive in the critical battle for the
Indies.
A bulletin from the United Nation's headquarters at
Java, said that planes sunk a large Jap transport and
scored a series of direct hits on enemy cruisers and
destroyers. The communique said “one cruiser, which
received two direct hits by heavy bombs, was seen sta
tionary and one fire."
Dispatches said the fighting began shortly after mid
night yesterday in Lombok Etrait, east of Bali, which
is already infested with Jap seaborne invasion hordes.
Lack Of Shipping Rather Than
Production
WASHINGTON, Feb. 21 (AP) — Crated war mat
erials are reported piling up on American wharves
awaiting urgently needed cargo ships to carry them
to the far Pacific front. Lack of sufficient shipping
rather than inadequate productions was described au
thoritatively as the most serious obstacle, after Rear
Admiral Emory Land, chairman of the Maritime Com
mssion, appeared before the Senate Appropriations
Committee yesterday. The committee acts Monday on
the 32 billion dollar Army and Navy bill carrying
$3,852,000,000 in direct appropriations and contract
authorizations, to construct 1470 ships, at a rate of
two a day.
Ex-Aid Says Gen.
*
Hold Long Time
..—
Gen. Douglas MacArthur, whose
brilliant defense of Bataan Pen
insula has amazed the world, will
be able to hold “for quite a while
longer,” in spite of the odds ag
ainst. him, Lieut. Col. G. W.
Spoerry predicted in Seattle re
cently.
The officer, who served on Mac
Arthur’s staff in 1922 and 1923.
praised the general’s military
genius in a talk before the Com
minify Council of the Seattle
Chamber of Commerce.
“If the odds are no more than
ten to one against him. as press;
dispatches say, he’ll be victor-1
ious,” he said. “But I’m afraid
the odds are more like 100 to
one. But even at that hell fight
to the last man and he can hold
out for quite a while yet.”
Called Fearless
Colonel Spoerry, commanding
the infantry unit of the army j
Reserve Officers Training Corps
at the University of Washington,!
said MacArthur’s brilliant sue-1
cess lies in his quick thinking
nouncement of his projected vis
it to the United States evoked
angry' protests from spokesmen
for various Rumanian groups in
this country, who explained that
their idea of a free Rumania did
not envisage a Rumania ruled by
Carol.
and the fact that his conclusions
ire always correct.
He is absolutely fearless and
will never order a man to do any
thing he wouldn't do himself.
That’s why hs men will fight for
him to the last.
“It is now the dry season in the
Philippines and the rains may
change the picture, but in any
event the Japjanese are due to
get a good soaking.”
To the slogan “Remember
Pearl Harbor," he added:
“And Don't Forget the London
Conference.’
He blamed that conference, the
apathy of the American people
and the move for Filipino inde
pendence for America’s inability
to help MacArthur.
Hits Appeasement
“To appease Japan.” he said,
“our conference delegates agreed
not to strengthen Corregidor.
When the treaty expired in 1936,
: congress, reflecting the attitude
of constituents, refused to nec
| essary appropriations. Filipinos,
fearing that the investment
might jeopardize their promised
independence were more than
lukewarm toward the plan, too.
j ‘And in the meantime, though
■ Britain and the United States
lived up to the naval limitations
I of the treaty, Japan ignored it
biult up her fleet far beyond the
ratio agreed upon. And now we
are engaged in a war of exter
mination with the Japanese shoot
! ing out old Model Ts at us, but
75 percent of the American peo
ple do not realize it. We must
not defeat ourselves by internal
fifth column activities that en
| danger our supply lines.”