TII E N O M E NUGGET
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MEMBER OF ASSOCIATED PRESS
SHOWDOWN ON FREE
DOM OF THE SEAS
1
The nations of the world have
never been able to agree—espec
ially in wartime—on the degree
of freedom that should be grant
ed ocean-borne commerce.
We quarreled with England
ever this issue before the War of
1812 and with England and Ger
many before we joined in the
World War.
One of the first to define Am
erica's attitude was John Adams,
■who eventually became .Ameri
ca’s second president. In 1783 he
said of the powers of Europe:
“Each one desires to maintain
the exclusive dominion of some
particular sea or river and yet
to enjoy the liberty of navigating
©11 others.”
“For my own part,” he added,
“I think nature wiser than all the
courts and estate in the world.
®nd therefore I wish all her seas
and rivers upon the whole globe
free.”
Disagreement Over War Zones
When the U. S. first projected
her lease-lend program last Jan
uary a worried Reichfuehrer Hit
ler warned: “Whoever believes
he can help England must at all
events know one thing —every
ship with or without convoy that
comes within range of our tor
pedo tubes will be torpedoed.”
Previously he and II Duce had
defined the war zones in which
those torpedoes could be expect
ed.
In the face of this, President
Roosevelt insisted that America
was entitled to freedom of the
seas in all areas outside his own
proclaimed combat zones. He re
called that in the past the Am
erican Navy had taken action to
protect our shipping from “pi
rates” who ignored our right to
freedom of the seas.
Vastly complicating the picture
has been the fact that German
proclaimed and American-pro
claimed war zones have not co
incided. Two notable discrepan
cies are these:
Germany has included the wa
ters around Iceland in the war
zone, but America has not;
Germany has included the
northern part of the Red Sea, but
America has contended (since
Britain seized Italy’s possessions
in East Africa) that the entire
Red Sea is outside the combat
zone.
Recently these discrepancies
were highlighted by three clash
es at sea:
The Greer Incident — Shortly
after dawn on Sept. 4 the U. S.
destroyer Greer and a German
submarine exchanged shots about
2U0 miles southwest of Iceland.
American officials said the U
boat opened the fray by loosing
several torpedoes at the Greer.
All missed, The Greer, they said
counter-attacked with depth
bombs. FDR said the Navy had
been instructed to attempt to
’‘eliminate” the U-tboat.
Germany, in acknowledging
that it was her submarine that
was involved, said the destroyer
fired first and that the U-boat re
plied without knowing the de
stroyer’s identity.
She added that FDR was us
ing the incident to ‘‘incite the
"•rican people into war against
'■*
d Sea —
—>r af-,
0
unt
» in the
,.e Red Pea.
* Tne Peafarer, en
auez with American war
supplies, was dive-bombed while
floodlights played on American
flags painted on her sides. The
crew survived.
Sinking Of The Sessa—One of
4he Danish refugee ships taken
over by the Maritime Commis
sion was the Sessa. It was char
tered to the Marine Operating
Company of New York and later
was transferred to Panamanian
registry but remained under Am
erican ownership. Such a trans
fer is often made to permit ves
sels to enter combat zones barred
under the Neutrality Act.
Two days after the Greer af
fair three members of the Ses
sa's crew were picked up near
the same spot off Iceland. The
State Department anounced the
Sessa had been sunk by a sub
marine presumed to be German
last month and that 24 crew mem
bers — including one American
—were "presumed lost.” The ship
was enroute to the U. S. after
discharging a g eneral cargo in
Iceland.
After Americans learned of
these three new developments,
Britain’s Prime Minister Church
ill told the cheering House of
Commons:
“The Germans are much ham
pered on the American part of
the Atlantic by fear of trouble
with the powerful American na
val forces . . . This has been a
help to us but I wish it might
be a greater help.
“The enemy's tactics may
change. Hitler has . . . the great
est possible need to prevent prec
ious munition supplies” from
reaching England.
Authorized quarters in Berlin
denied there was “any general
order to attack American ships.”
American citizens who had
been marooned abroad for a
long time were told by the State
Department that they could em
bark for home on bel'igerent
ships if they cared to travel at
their own risk. Travel on bellig
erent ships had been forbidden.
Immediately after Berlin ac
cused FDR or seeking to “incite”
America against Germany it was
announced that he would make
an important broadcast.
Later he is said to have had
a premonition that he must see
his ailing mother at once. He
changed his plans for the week
end and went to Hyde Parv. The
night after he arrived she was
stricken. She died of an acute
circulatory collapse at the age of
86.
The bereaved son postponed
his radio address. Meanwhile the
Seafarer and Sessa sinkings had
further heightened the tension
betwen the U. S. and Germany.
Then—Orders to the Navy
Later that week the President
turned on his big guns. He or
dered the Navy to shoot first
when it encounters Axis sub
marines, surface raiders or air
craft in waters which this coun
try considers vital to its defense.
First Mr. Roosevel listed all
the attacks on American ships—
including an incident not make
public before. He said that in
July a submarine tried to get in
to position to attack a U. S. bat
tleship.
All these things, the President
declared, could mean noly that
the Nazis sought “to abolish the
freedom of the seas,” with no
American ship “free to carry on
any peaceful commerce.”
“We have not sought a shoot
ing war with Hitler,” he said
solemnly, "but neither do we
want peace so much that we are
willing to pay for it by permit
ting him to attack our naval and
merchant ships while they are
on legitimate business.’
SOURDOUGH STATIONERY
Write to your friends and rela
tives on the ‘Outside,’ using Sour
dough Stationery. They’ll get a
big kick out of it.
One highball and make it |
»l I | /// /M /
fajfsr*
4 *' ■
OLD
Sunny Brook 1
KENTUCKY STRAIGHT BOURBON WHISKEY BK 4ND ^
National Distillers Products Corporation, New York • 93 Proof ^
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Distributed by National Grocery Company, Seattle, Washington
About Convoys In The Atlantic
And Arming Panamanian Ships
—
By Drew Pearson and
R-obert S. Allen
WASHINGTON —Here is the
inside information regarding the
convoy of forty lease-lend ships,
31 of which the Germans claimed
were sunk a few hours after the
President’s “shoot-first” broad
cast.
What happened was that these
ships were the first to be con
voyed by American naval vessels
to Iceland. Secretary of the Navy
Knox announced that U. S. War
ships would ‘provide protection’
for British vessels to Iceland, but
even before his speech one such
convoy actually took place —
though officially it didn’t.
Officially, American supply
ships were enroute to Iceland un
der the ery heavy protection of
the U. S. Navy, and British sup
ply ships merely tagged along.
The navy did not turn the hitch
hikers back and they got the full
benefit of our guns. But officially
it was not convoying.
Anyway, this group of vessels
got to Iceland without mishap.
But then when it proceeded on
to England, Nazi submarines and
bombing planes attacked. The
Gormans announced that 31 out
of the forty ships were sunk. Ac
tually the number sunk was only
eight, though several others
were damaged.
This attack took place, how
ever. after the ships had left the
protection of the U. S. Navy and
were flying under the Union
Jack.
Panamanian Ships Armed
Not many outside the White
House know it, but the States
Department gave the President
some urgent advice the other day
to make public the fact that the
Pink Star, sunk near Iceland and
flying the Panamanian flag, was
carrying a four-inch gun on her
deck. Subsequently the President
announced the fact at his press
conference.
Prior to that it had been a
military and naval secret that
the Government of the United
States had bee narming Panama
nian ships. It was such a secret
i that the Government of Panama
itself didn’t know it. Nor did
i
I
the State Department know it un :
til about the time the Pink Star
was sunk.
Not even the Coast Guard,
knew it for a while, and almost
got into an argument with a Pan
amanian ship sailing out of New
York harbor the other day be-;
cause she carried a gun on her
deck. The Coast Guard had not |
been told at that time that the
gun had been placed there by
the U. S. Navy at the direct or
ders of the President himself.
The ships in question are the
80 vessels seized from the Axis,
27 of which now have been put
unti tservice under the Panam
anian flag. Panama had no ob
jection to the use of its flag
since the revenue is very profit
ab'e—$1 a ton for registration.
Naturally, registration of the vesl
sels under the Panamanian flag
was known to the Panamanian
Government. But it did not know
the ships were sent out armed.
This policy has come in for vig
orous criticism by advisers in
s de the Government on several
grounds. One is that no one knew i
what the Navy was doing. An
other was that the crews of the
merchant ships had no training i
in operating the guns. Thus the
fact that the ships were armed |
increased their chances of being1
attacked, since an armed vessel
is entitled to no courtesies under
international law.
All of this is one reason why
the Administration is anxious to
change the neutrality act to per
mit lease-lend cargoes to be car
ried in American vessels, thus;
getting aay fro mthe Panaman
ian flag. The President will also
ask Congress for authority to,
mount guns on American mer- I
chant,vessels. Finally, crews are
to be given gun training.
NOTE: Arnulfo Arias, Presi
dent of Panama, is in the ironic
position of being an admirer of
Germany, yet it is the Panama
nian vessels that are carrying
guns aimed against Germany.
Arias served as a diplomat in
Germany for some years, and has
given the State Department more
worry than any other Latin Am
I erican President.
Russia admitted the loss of Poltava and Red army divisions set
up a defense line on the east bank of the Vorskla river (1), as
the German high command asserted their offensive operations were
continuing successfully east of the Dneiper. Kharkov was their
newest objective. Russians said that large-scale fighting for pen
insular Crimea (2), cotninued and London sources said they learn
ed the attack had carried beyond Perekop.
PASSENGERS AND EXPRESS TO
ALL PARTS OF ALASKA
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RAINBOW SKYWAYS
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LEARN TO FLY
Farthest West Flying School
Eight-hour Dual Instruction Flight Course—$105
See: FRANK WHALEY, Certified Instructor
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MINERAL SURVEYOR, G. L. O.
Surveying for Patent
Office on Second Street, back of Polets
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Will be in town until about October 15
DEFENSE
BOND
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Q. Just what is inflation and how can it be mini
mized.
A. Inflation is a decrease in the buying power of
the dollar caused by a rising cost of living. This,
in turn, is brought about by a heavy public de
mand, resulting from a rapid increase in the
national income, for things which cannot be
produced in large enough quantities. Every cit
izen can help minimize inflation by buyng De
fense Bonds and Stamps.
Q. How can I get cash for my Defeise Savings'1
Stamps if I should need to redeem them?
A. Go to any post office.
Note.—To buy Defense Bonds and Stamps, go to
the nearest post office, bank, or savings and loan
association; or write to the Treasurer of the
United States, Washington, D. C., Also Stamps
are now on sale at retail stores.