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VOL. 42. No. 42. NOME, ALASKA, FRIDAY, APRIL 5, 1940 ^ice Per C0Py
Officials Testify Alaska Defenses
Germans Bomb Norwegian Passenger Ship 8 Times
11 Year Old Girl Slays 4 Members Her Family
Popular British War Cabinet
Revision Makes Lord Churchill
Head Of Sea, Land, Air Forces
--
UNDATED. April 4 (JP) — The
revision of the British war cabin
et. a popular move, made Win
ston Churchill the empire’s num
ber two man and pointed up the
British and Frqnch war against
Germany as Nazi air raiders
claimed new successes against
British seapower. Churchill be
comes practically dictator of sea,
air and land forces. Many sec
tions of the British public and
press, while approving of the ac
tion said it did not go far
enough. Cabinet duties were shift
ed but the personnel remained
largely the same. Critics felt that
more drastic changes were need
ed.
Chamberlain in a speech to his
conservative party council said
that Hitler “massed the bus’’
when he failed to use Germany’s
arms superiority at the start of
the war to overwhelm Britain.
He said he was “ten times as con
fident” now of winning the was
as at the outset.
The German high command an
I nounced that about 40,000 tons of
British shipping was destroyed
or damaged by bombers Wednes
day afternoon and that three Brit
ish “outpost” boats were destroy
ed and a destroyer included am
ong the damaged vessels. They
acknowledged that two German
planes were forced down and an
other is missing. The British said
they lost one person.
Bergen and other Norwegian
| coastal towns reported they
heard heavy gunfire at sea and
saw a number of planes and ships
in action. A German planes land
ed at Stavanger, Norway, and
was burned by the crew, but the
wreckage bore bullet marks.
The Japanese navy threatened
to “take action” if the blockade
was applied “illegally” to Soviet
Russian shipping destined for
Germany, by the entrance of
blockaders into a chosen strait.
Britain Forms Commercial Corp.
To Buy, Sell Products In S. E.
Europe That Germany Might Get
UNDATED, April 5 (/P) — An
uneasy pall of apparent inaction
hung over the war as French and
Germans reported the usual pat
rol skirmishes on the Western
Front, the Germans saying about
15 French were killed. The quiet
was more notable on the diplo
matic front. There was talk in
London of a possible joint British
and French parliament aimed at
^ forming an empire partnership
so strong that “no aggressor
dare challenge it.”
Britain readied her newest ec
onomic weapon an, Engish com
mercial corporation limited to
sell British products in south
eastern Europe and buy up goods
which Germany otherwise might
'get.
The liner Mauretania, presum
ably bound for Australia as a
troop ship is expected to leave
Honolulu after a stop for fuel
and water.
United States officials are keep
ing eagle eyes on the Japan-spon
sored government of Wang Ching
Wei in occupied Chinese terri
tory and are determined to hold
Tokyo responsible for any action
! which may infringe on American
| rights.
Norwegian Ship
Bombed 8 Times
By Nazi Planes
OSLO, April 5 (A1) — Bombed
eight times by German planes,
the Norwegian passenger ship
^Mira with two of its 107 passen
gers slightly injured, arrived
from England. The two were in
jured by bomb splinters. The
Mira, .an 1100-ton ship sailed
with a British convoy.
One passenger said: “The Ger
mans had several planes in one
attack and they came at us in
pairs. All the passengers were
standing on deck ready to go into
the lifeboats and had no protec
tion. Five bombs were showered
# on us and several exploded close.
, We could see a British destroyer
hit one plane.”
To “Take Action”
If Blockade Is
Done Illegally
TOKYO, April 3 (/P)—Warning
that Japan objects to the exten
sion of the European war to wa
ters near Japan was made in sew
eral representations to the Brit
ish by a naval attache in Tokyo.
Against cruising warships, the
admiralty spokesman said the
Japanese navy will take action
if Britain’s blockade of Soviet
Russia is done “illegally.” He
declined to specify what he re
garded as illegal action.
“SOURDOUGH”
STATIONEXY
At Nugget Office
Territorial Officials Testify Before
*
Committee Vulnerability Of Alaska
To An Attack l rom The Orient
—
WASHINGTON, April 3 UP) —
Territorial officials of Alaska
were put before the House appro
priations committee during a
hearing on military establish
ment theory if the United States
| is attacked from the Orient, it
will come through Alaska and
not Hawaii. The testimony was
I made public as a bill was intro
duced in the House.
Governor Gruening testified
“This great area of nearly six
hundred thousand square miles is
today defenseless.” He said it
was time the nation gave consid
_
eration to its defense.
Delegate Dimond told the com!
mittee that the shortest route be
tween Japan and the United Stat
es, from Seattle to Yokohama, by
the great circle route is 1.400
miLes shorter than by way of Ha
waii. He said there is a Japan
ese naval base within 750 miles
from the westernmost Aleutian
Islands at Paramussiru. Dimond
also said Fairbanks is in direct
line with Siberia and that Ber
ing Strait separating Alaska from
Siberia and Russia is only 54 mil j
es wide.
Earl of Athlone
Named Governor
Gen. of Canada
LONDON, April 3 (JP) — The
Earl of Athlone, aged 66, broth
er of the Queen Mother Mary,
and a former governor general of:
the Union of South Africa, was|
appointed governor general of j
Canada, to succeed the late Lord
Tweedsmuir.
Subscribe for The Nome Nugget
Secret Session
House Commons
Next Thursday
LONDON, April 4 (/P) — Pre
mier .Chamberlain announced a
secret session of the House of
Commons for next Thursday to
debate economic and warfare pol
icies. The only previous session'
during the war, on December 13.
was followed a month later by:
the removal of Leslie Hore Bel
isha as war secretary.
ARMY DAY—1940
A Proclamation
Senate Concurrent Resolution 5, 75th Congress, 1st Session
(50 Statute 1108) provides:
“That April 6 of each year be recognized by the Senate and
House of Representatives of the United States of America as
Army Day, and that the President of the United States be re
quested, as Commander in Chief, to order military .units through
out the United States to assist civic bodies in appropriate cele
bration to such extent as he may deem advisable; to issue a
proclamation each year declaring April 6 as Army Day, and in
such proclamations to invite the Governors of the various States
to issue Arrrvy Day proclamations; Provided, that in the event
April 6 falls on .Sunday, the following Monday shall be recog
nized as Army Day.”
* * *
Pursuant to that resolution President Roosevelt has issued a
proclamation designating April 6, 1940 as Army Day and has is
sued an order to military units throughout the United States, its
Territories and possessions to assist civic bodies in the appro
priate observance of that day and inviting the Governors of
various States to issue Army Day proclamations.
THEREFORE, I, E. I. BARTLETT, Acting Governor of Al
aska, do hereby declare April 6, 1940 as Army Day.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and
caused the seal of the Territory of Alaska to be affixed.
DONE at the City of Juneau this 26th day of March in the
year of our Lord nineteen hundred and forty, and of the Inde
pendence of the United States of America the one hundred and
sixty-fourth.
E. L. BARTLETT
Acting Governor of Alaspa
By the Governor:
E. I. BARLETT
Secretary of Alaska
. -- ■ ■■■-' ■ ■ ' ■ -
i
11-year-old Los Angeles Gill Who
Slayed Mother, 2 Sisters, Brother
Tells Her Father To ‘"Buck Up"
LOS .ANGELES, April 5 (JP>—
The sole survivor of a quadruple
slaying, 11-year-old Chole Davis,
clung to the story that she killed
only her mother and 3-year-old
brother. Police Captain Edgar
Edwards said he believed the
girl hammered to death her mo
ther, Mrs. Lolita Bjorkman Dav
is, her sisters, Daphne, 10, De
borah Ann 7, and Marguis, her
brother. He said he believed the
girl was attempting to disguise
the whole affair tried to burn
her mother’s body. She dragged
a mattress from a daybed in her
mother’s room and placed her
mother’s body on the mattress
and started a fire. The nightgown
was burned from the mother.
Dr. Paul DeRiver, police psy
chitrist called the girl the “cruel
est-blooded, coolest individual I
ever met.” She demanded a bot
tie of beer while eating dinner,
during qustioning. When refused,
she snapped: “Mother and I split
a bottle a couple of days ago.”
She said of her father “He’s
nuts,” and described herself as
a bookworm. When her father.
Barton, broke down and sobbed
“Oh, my poor baby,” she replied
“Buck up, Dad, don’t let if get
you down.”
The father was insistent that
the child was innocent and cried
repeatedly “Chloe couldn’t have
done anything like that, but if
her mother made her.”
3-\ r. Trade Treaty
Is Passed After
Some Opposition
WASHINGTON, April 5 (jP) —
President Roosevelt said he be
lieved it would be very harmful
to the nation if the bill to ex
tend the reciprocal trade treaty
act was limited to one year. He
spoke at a press conference short
ly after it was reported on excel
lent authority that vice-president
Garner would support an amend
ment to limit the extension to
that time. The Administration
supports a three year proposal.
President Roosevelt said it was
not good for the country to have
to scrap over tariffs every year.
WASHINGTON. April 5 OP) —
The Administration won its big
gest legislative triumph of the
session when the Senate passed
and sent to Roosevelt the legis
lation continuing the reciprocal
trade program for three years.
Passage came after the chamber
rejected every amendment to
the trade policy and the Key
stone administration. The foreign
policy was opposed by a coalition
of Republicans and western dem
ocrats. The vote was 42 to 37.
Mountain Climber
Found Frozen
On Mount Hood
MOUNT HOOD, April 3 (/P) —
Treacherous Mount Hood yielded
up the body of the second moun
tain climiber lost in the snow
fields since Sunday. The huddled,
frozen form of Gerald Herrmann
aged 28 of Milwaukee, Oregon,
was recovered 24 hours after his
snow blinded companion James
Lorenz was found. Hermann was
found three miles from the point
where Lorenz left him in a bliz
zard Sunday.
4 Negroes On Trial
Robbery, Assault
Of Fairbanksans
SEATTLE, April 4 ;(/P) —Merle
Edmundson of Fairbanks told a
jury he overheard the four neg
roes who robbed him and crim
inally assaulted his wife, at a
hotel room on January 27, say
they were considering taking
them “for a last ride and dump
ing us out on the highway to get
rid of us.’’ He testified after the
jury was chosen, as the trial of
James Gannaway, Fred Alderson
Junius Foster, and Chester Gage
accused of robbery and assault,
began yesterday.
He said he fought his way out
of a room with his wife after the
attack and broke through a pad
looked door to an alley.
He said he went to Alaska
when 8 years old and lived there
continuously until last October,
when he and his wife to whom
he has been married seven years
came for on a visit. The Four
accused have pleaded innocent to
both charges.
Deserted Tanker
I LISBON, April 5 (tf») — The
Portugese steamer Carvalho Ar
a'lija wirelessed they had found
an 8.000 ton French tanker aban
doned, drifting after aparently be
ing torpedoed in the Atlantic..
The damages were minor and
there was no trace of the crew.
The Portugese ship said she was
tawing it to Lisbon.
— ...
9 Arrested Killing
PHILADELPHIA. April 5 (/P)
| —Nine youths are under arrest
j for the slaying of Leroy Daniels
at the 16th Street corner gun bat
tie Sunday night in which detec
five Peter McCormick said cli
maxed a month’s feuding be
tween two rival gangs.