Oldest Newspaper In Alaska. “The News Of The Dav In Pictures” Member Of The Associated Press
. ~" THE NOME NUGGET
VOL. 43. No. 17. NOME. ALASKA. FRIDAY, FEB. 7. 1941. Pnce per 15<
Last Italian Stronghold Libya Taken
Lindbergh Testifies Against Aid-to-Britain Bill
Passengers, Crew Killed In Crash Canadian Plane
BRITAIN CAPTURES BENGASI
LAST BIG ITALIAN STRONG
HOLD IN EASTERN LIBYA
UNDATED, F b. 7 -UP) — Strik
ing in a blinding sand storm.
Britain’s desert troops captured
• the Italian stronghold of Bengasi
in eastern Libya. British general
headquarters announced they
had cut the Fascist line of com
munications south of the city
citadel, about 350 miles from th
Egyptian frontier, and that the
* city surrendered yesterday. The
British said the Italians wore “de
moralized and outmaneuvorea"
in this latest British triumph in
4ho westward sweep which car
ried the Imperial Army of the
Nile across 400 miles of desert in
SI days.
The British also reported that I
more than 3,500 Italian prisoners
wer. ■ take n since the British
knifed into the Rod Sra colony
of Eritrea in East Africa and
many more are coming in.”
Bengasi is the capital of Ben
1 si province in North Africa,
Italy's last big stronghold in
eastern Libya.
* American Brothers Who Crossed i
Bering Straits In 1936 Without
Passports Are Now Cut Of jail
CHUNGKUNG, Feb. 6 (A1) —
Two American brother Peter and
John Stephen, who spent 34
months since 1936 in darious Rus
sian and Chinese jai s after enter
ing Soviet territory from Alaska
without passports, arrived Tues
day night, ending a three-week
truck trip from Lanchow in Kan
su province. The brothers, aged
27 and 29 respectively plan to
visit the U. S. 'imbassy and make
plans for returning home.
i
The brothers are motor mech
anics by profession and were
born in Scranton. Pa. They cross I
qd Bering Straits in a small boat
with just a few dollars and were?
r leased recently from jail in Ti
hua, the captial of Soviet dornin-j
ated Sunking through the efforts
of the U. S. embassy here.
Their father is C1..F. Stefaniak,
a naturalized American-Pole1
who lives at S'aellbrook, Sas
katchewan.
New Frequencies For Broad
casting Stations In Alaska
WASHINGTON — The Federal
* Communications Commission an
nounces new frequency align
ments of 735 of the country’s 3 ’
standard broadcast stations ef
fective at 3 a.m. on March 27.
Such shifting, it is believed,
will eliminate some of the long
complained of interference.
Among the stations assigned
w frequencies are KFQD at
Anchorage, 790 kilocycles
KGBU at Ketchikan, 930 ki o
cycles; and KINY at Juneau,
11G0 kilocycles. .
12 Die In
Crash Canadian
Air Liner
WINNIPEG, Feb. 6 </P) — The
nine passengers and three crew
m mbeiv of a Trans-Canada Air
line plane were found dead when
the wreck; ge of the plane, miss
ing since early morning was
found n r Armstrong, 391 miles
east of h re.
Italian Students
raradc Toward
"r. S. Embassy
ROME, Feb. 6 </P) — A crowd
if students bearing Italian and
German flags marched toward
tho United States embassy shout
ir.g “down with democracy.”
They turned down a side street
and didn’t pass the embassy it
self.
John \ inasit
Earned Ambas
sador to Britain
WASHINGTON, Feb. 6 </P) —
^resident Roosevelt nominated
John Winant, former Republican
Governor of New Hampshire, a=,
. 'onssador to Britain, succeed
,ng Jos. P. Kennedy.
The Nome 1 k iy Nugget came
everal forms of printing blank
'or vour conven nee — Dredgs
jogs, 'hawing n d drill reports
timing PeH1 lacer and Lod*
.neat"- Vouchers.
f -' -- - - " - - I
Reading from a prepared statement, Col. Charles A. Lindbergh told the House foreign affairs com
mittee that a transoceanic air invasion of the United States, landing troops, was “aboslutely impos
+ sible.” But he did say that bombing raids from across the Atlantic could do “considerable damage.” j
Lindbergh was a witness at the hearing on the lend-lease bill for British aid.
New Cruiser
Is To Be Named
For Alaska
WASHINGTON, Feb. 6 </Pi —
The President will name one of
the ten cruisers under construc
tion by the Navy, the “Alaska.”
T e Territory previously had
h warships named aft r it.
The others will be named the
C n. Hawaii, Philippines, Puer
ti R:co, Samoa, Albany, Roch
es . C lum bus, and Des M 'ines.
New Equipment
For l. S. Bombers
Hying Alaska
J c
SACRAMENTO — Experiment
al equipment designed to reduce
mechanical hazards encountered
by Army fliers in Alaska is be
ing installed for a 4:ngine bomb
er here at McLclland Field.
The bomber, in command of
Capt. Freeman arrived at Army
air Repair Depot a week ago af
ter a 15-hour flight from Fair
banks, Alaska.
Officers said the now equip
ment includes special devices for
draining engine oils as soon as
the ship lands, automatic shut
ters over the engine cowls to re
tain heat, insulated oil pipe to
insure the flow of lubricant to
the propeller domes in subzero
weather.
Additional e’ectrical conduits
are being installed to enable th:
fliers to plug in electrically heat
ed flying suits at any location
within the cabin in ordinary heat
ing equipment.
It is explained this merely
boosts the temperature in Arctic
zones from 40 degrees to 10 de
grees below zero.
Lindbergh Test
ifies Against
Britain Aid Bill
WASHINGTON, Fob. 6 UP) —
Lindbergh said that by aiding
Britain and other countries, the
United States is “encouraging
the war, prolonging it, and • in
creasing the bloodshed in Europe
without materially affecting the
course of the war.” Testifying in
opposition to the Administration’.'
British-aid bill before the Senate
foreign relations Committee,
Lindbergh said in a prepared
statement that if this country
were ever invaded the “respon
sibility would lie with those who
send our arms abroad.”
Under questioning by Senator
Connally, Lindbergh declared the
nation is already committed to
giving Britain some aid and de
clared “we should keep our prom
ises. I think it very important
that England be not beaten in
the war but I don’t think that
America can control it." Lind
bergh then said he believed the
repeal of this country’s arms em
bargo two years ago “encourag
ed the war” in Europe.
\>emi.il s-. toiuic, unsuccessful Republican candidate for the
presidency, waves farewell before boarding the Yankee Clipper
(background) in New York to start his trip to England as, in his
own words, “a private citizen — an individual determined to find
o |t what is going on."
To Make Call
On De Valera
LONDON Feb. 4 — Wendell
Wiilkie fie to Dublin, Ireland to
confer ith Eamon le Valera on
the subject of Irish ports and
bas s use of which has been re
peatedly sought by ihe British
to combat the German counter
blockade.
Wiilkie had tea with King
George and Pueen Elizabeth. He
went toBuckingham P: lace after
r turning to London from a hur
ried visit to E.re and Prime Min
ister de Valera in Dublin.
Willkie’s departure from Eng
land was marked by a rain of
English bombs which twice at
tacked the Nazi U-b at center at
Brest, France.
Wi lkie, b-fore leaving Eng
land said he pi mned to ask de
dera a series of questions.
‘1 shall 'laLkj. to him acrftss
his desk," Wiilkie d"C ared. "re
yarding neutral In h bases.”
After the talk wi: i deVal ra.
Wiilkie said he rn.gdt not be
able to reveal details of the con
versation.
Attitude of De Valera
So far de Valera has refused
permission to either British plan
ALASKANS TO GET
PRIORITY ON AIRBASES
Alaskan residents will be giv
en full consideration on Army air
base projects in the Territory be
fore any workers are imported
from the States, Col. E. S. Dunn,
District Engineer, U. S. Army, as
sur:d Gov. Gruening by radio
gram in reply to an inquiry oc
casioned by a press story of sev
1 eral days ago that 3,000 workers
>s .or warships to use Irish terri
rv f r operation against Ger
many's sea attacks which recent
ly have turned the waters west
of Ireland into a so-called “grave
yard of the At’antic.”
Willkie may g to Lisbon to
emplane for the United States.
It Is said he expects to appear
ih's week or early next week
‘-cf re the United States Sen
ate's committee on foreign re
la ions to t • tifv in favor of the
lend-lease bill.
Rote Given Willkie
Willkie spent 00 minutes tour
ing the bombed area of Manches
ter. In Manchester, he was ac
corded the singular honor of be
ing present.d with the “Red Rose
of i nca ter’1 • seldom offered
American visitors. The flower
was too 1 i.'gt to wc ar in his lapel
so he carried it in hand while
he toured Manchest r. The rose
giving rust cm dates back to the
W.r of the Roses, in the early
M:dd o A; s. When he had finish
. .! 1. s tour of M nchester, he
i 1 ■ • o ,v; r.i' n:
“I have f itmd the answer to
■ question I set out to ask. The
people’s spirit is magnificent. I
. n't believe any nation in the
world is more unit d in a cause
than the people of the British
Lias. I am more impressed with
what is still being produced by'
industry than by the damage
done.”
were to ’be hired in the States.
Colonel Dunn’s reply was as
follows:
“Re your radiogram of January
30, in connection with Army air
base construction, full considera
tion will bo given Alaskan labor
before workers are imported
from States. Anchorage office is
now preparing list of skilled per
sonnel required. Instructions will
be given that office to furnish
you direct a copy of the list as
soon as completed.”