Oldest Newspaper In Alaska. “The News of The Day In Pictures’* Member Of The Associated Press
THE NOME NUGGET
VOL. 43. No. 40. NOME, ALASKA, FRIDAY, APRIL 4, 1941
U. S. Flatly Rejects Axis Protests
Secty. Hull Demands Recall Italian Naval Attache
Yugoslavia Prepares Worst-Fortifies Vardar Valley
U. S. FLATLY REJECTS AXIS
PROTESTS SEIZURE VESSELS
AND 875 OF CREW MEMBERS
WASHINGTON, April 4 (/P) —
The United States flatly reject:d
the German and Italian protests
against the seizure of 30 mer
chant vessels in American wat
ers. It was learned authoritative
ly that the U. S. refused the Axis
demands for the release of the
ships’ 875 crew members, now in
custody.
In rejecting the Axis protests,
Secretary Hull is reported to
have reaffirm d vigorously the
right of the United States to take
the Axis vessels into “protective
custody” after the discovery that
at least 26 of the vessels were
seriously damaged in what offic
ials believe was a concerted sab
otage plot.
* — II. —I. —I II ! ■ I I .1
German And
Italy Demand
Release Ships
WASHINGTON, April 1 </P) —
Germany and Italy demanded
that the United States release
Axis ships taken into protective
custody over the weekend, also
ithe release of the members of
their crews. It was learned reliab
ly that the demands were made
Germany Sends
Second Protest
—
WASHINGTON, April 2 (/P) —
' Germany sent a second protest
! to the U. S. it was reliably report
! ed, in connection with the seiz- i
ure of Axis ships. The new note
was said to Have complained ag
ainst the imprisonment of the
crews of the German vessels tak
en into custody last weekend.
Both Germany and Italy protest
ed earlier over the seizure of the
ships. Earlier today S:cretary
Hull tacitly rejected the demands
for their release.
in notes of protest lodged with
the state department by the Axis
embassies late yesterday. The
state department and embassies
alike declined to make public the
contents of the notes.
Germany and Italy were report
ed to have challenged the right
of the U. 5. to take possession
of the ships and put the members
of their crews in custody. In nei
ther note was any mention of sa
botage, the grounds the govern
ment .gave for taking over the
! ships, it was understood
U. S. DEMANDS IMMEDIATE
RECALL OF ADMIRAL LAIS,
ITALIAN NAVAL ATTACHE
40
Secretary Hull Asks Recall On Orders From President
WASHINGTON, April 3 </P) —
The United States demanded the
immediate recall of the Italian
naval attache at Washington, Ad
miral Alberto Lais, on grounds
that he was connected with the
sabotaging of the Italian mer
chant ships in the country. Sec
retary Hull sent a note to this ef
r feet to the Italian ambassador,
Prince Colonna on orders from
the President. The note declared
that Lais was “persona non
grata with this government as a
naval attache to the Royal Italian
Embassy at Washington,” The
note said the action was taken be
cause various facts and circum
stances had come to the atten
tion of the U. S. government in
connection with Lais “with the
commission by certain persons of
acts in violation of laws of the
United States.”
Secretary Hull said he couldn't
take up at this time the question
of whether similar action might
be taken against any Germany
officials in this country.
SOURDOUGH STATIONERY
Write to your friends and rela
tives on the ‘Outside’, using Sour
ough Stationery. They’ll get a big
kick out of it
Responsibility
Sabotage Laid
Admiral Lais
WASHINGTON, April 4 (VP) —I
The President pinned the respon- j
I sibility of the widespread sabot-1
I age directly to the Italian naval
attache and Hull curtly rejected |
the Axis protests against the Am j
ercan seizure of 30 G-rman and
Italian ships. It seems proven,
Roosevelt told a press conference
that a great deal of the sabotage
on Italian merchantmen was
j done on the order of Admiral j
! Roberto Lais, whose immediate
recall was demanded yesterday. ]
Asked to comment on this de
mand, the President said the
newspapers had all the facts then
added that sabotage of course is
illegal and only one course wras
open in rejecting the protests.
Secretary Hull dismissed Ger
many’s conception of treaty ob
ligations in the seizures as “un
thinkable in any civilized na
tion.”
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Pres. Allots
Half Billion
For 212 Ships
WASHINGTON, April 4 </P) —
The Presid'-nt announced that he
allocated a half billion from the
seven billion dollar lend-lease act
for 212 new merchant on about
50 or 60 new shipways.
He told a press conference that
he also authorized the exp ndi
ture of another half a billion for
existing military equipment to
be turned over to the nations re
sisting aggression.
At the same time the President
disclosed that if no fighting is
.faking place in the Red Sea, the
United States government might
remove that area from the list
ing as a combat zone, to permit
American vessels to carry car
goes there.
Only Pilot Hurt
In Crash Lar<*e
Eastern Airliner
VERO BEACH, Florida, April
4 (A') — All sixteen occupants of
a giant Eastern Airliner plane
which crashed in a terrific squal
lived to tell the story of hardship
and heroism. Only one or two es
caped without a scratch but in
juries to the pilot alone wer be
lieved to be dangerous.
Pilot Gerald OBrien guided the
21-passenger Douglas plane right
side up, landing in a pond about
9 a.m. yesterday. The 13 passen
gers and cr:w of 3 huddled in
waist-deep water until long after
dark when rescuers finally reach
ed the scene which was six miles
from the nearest highway and a
mile from the closest dry land.
Italian And
Germans Retake
Bengasi, Libya
UNDATED, April 4 (/P) — In
Africa, the only gains made by
the Italians was accomplished
with German support, retaking1
Bengasi in Libya. The British 1
minimized the town’s importance I
and said that it was indefens
bic but the British with
drawal was made only after
heavy lo os wer. inflicted on the
advancing German and Italian
Units.
Russian Ship
Aground On
Columbia R. Bar
ASTORIA, April 3 </P) — The
Russian motorship Voroskii is
hard aground on a ledge at dead
ly Peacock Spit just inside the
Columbia River bar. The vessel
was grounded by a high wind
last nigh.t and there is no im
mediate danger but Point Adams
Coastguardsmen held little hope
of pulling her free. No one was
injured.
The Voroskii is loaded with oil,
rags, oil drilling machinery and
lard, outbound for Vladivistok.
Bar pilot George Conway of
Astoria who was taking her to
sea, was still aboard this morn-;
ing but couldn’t be reached for
an explanation of the accident.
Thirty seven members of the
crew were removed by small
boats this morning and taken to
Hammond, Oregon, where they
are being held by immigration
officals. Among the 19 remain
ing aboard is the ship’s master
Captain Tookareff.
WH.CE HOUSE CALLERS—F.D.R.’S ears are cocked
often to listen to Thomas “Tommy the Cork” Corcoran (left), and
Bernard Baruch, who headed World War Industries board. '
HITLER CALLS HOME GERMAN
LEGATION STAFF YUGOSLAVIA
DECLARES WAR INEVITABLE
UNDATED. April 3 </P\ — War
alarms reached a vibrant pitch in
the Balkans as Hitler called
home the Germany legation staff.
Belgrade diplomatic circles de
clared he had apparently decid
ed that war with Yugoslavia is
inevitable.
Vladimir Macek, Croatian Pea
sant party leader announced that
he was entering the pro-British
King Peter’s new gove rnment as
vice-premier thereby making Yu
goslavia a united nation, under
threat of war. Previously the Ger
mans asserted that Yugoslavia
was torn by internal dissentions
among the Croats, Slovenes and
S-rbs.
In neighboring Hungary, the
Hungarian government was re
ported to have resigned after the
mystery-tinged death of Premier
Count Pal Teleki, aged 62, known
for his personal pro-British sym
pathies. Friends of the Count first
asserted that he committeed sui
cide. The Hungarian foreign of
fice however, said he died of
heart trouble. Although Hun
gary was a member of the Axis
alliance and dominated by Ger
many, Count Teleki won the so
briquet “the great tight-rope
walker” and was viewed by Hun
garians as the sole man striving
to keep his balance with Ger
many, just short of yielding com
pi tely to Hitler.
A coded telegram from Berlin
called for the withdrawal of the
entire Nazi legation staff from
Belgrade except the charge d’af
fairs and a miltary attache, Ger
man quarters declared frankly
that the- “withdrawal carries
grave implications and inevitab
ly war breaking out soon."
German motorized blitzkrieg
forces were reported massing in
large numbers on the Rumanian
frontier opposite the Yugoslav
town of Bela Crki. tess than 59
miles from Belgrade. Other fast
Nazi divsions are massed near
Czged in southern Hungary' oppo
site the Yugoslav border. In Yu
goslavia 1,200,000 men are in
arms but it remained a military
secret whether the Balkan king,
dom’s general staff will elect to
defend Belgrade.
YUGOSLAVIA RUSHES FORTI
FICATION V ARDAR R. V ALLEY
TROOPS SENT OPPOSE NAZIS
UNDATED, April 4 (/P) — Yu
goslavia’s general staff rushed
the fortification of the Vardar
River Valley, the key route to
Greece, and called more men to
the colors as the cabinet met in
session to consider the nation’s
war or peace declaration. The de
claration of foreign policy was
postponed and no decision was
apparently reached but the coun
try repared for the worst under
the fighting slogan “’One maintain
is worth 10,000 soldiers.” The
cabinet’s verdict, it was said, will
probably be reached tomorrow.
i
Military experts of the Balkan 1
kingdom, which is roughly the
size of Oregon and criss-cross d
by lofty ranges, said that only
about one-fifth of the country is
level enough to permit Ger
many’s famed blitzkrieg opera
tions on wheels.
A Yugoslav communique said
Belgrade, Zagreb and Ljubljana
will be proclaimed "open, unde-,
fended cities” in the event of;
war. Troops were rushed to key
points opposite German concen-1
Promincut
Alaska, John
Kelly, Dies
j 7
FAIRBANKS, April 3 UP) —
John Kelly, prominent pioneer of
Dawson, Nome and Fairbanks, I
died here this afternoon of a j
heart attack. He had been ailing
for some time.
trations in Austria, Hungary, Ru
manian and Bulgaria. Air raid
precautions were issued; black
out drills held and civilians for
bidden to travel so as not to clog
communications needed by the
military.
The German view expressed in
Berlin as the price for restoring
normal relations, would be the
complete repudiation by Yugo
slavia of American and British in
fluence.
One Greek newspaper quoted
Yugoslav foreign minister Nincic
as saying the situation was fast
developing toward a “war others
wanted to impose on us.’’
Possibly significant was the
German press announcement fol
lowing the Nazi occupation of
Bulgaria of a complete rising de
nunciation alleged to Yugoslav
atrocities against Germans. Such
a press build-up preceded the
Nazi attack on Poland in Septem
ber, 1939. The Newspapers also
pointed out concern over the
British army which is reported
massing in Greece.
For several terms he was a
member of the board of regents
of the University of Alaska, and
was long the secretary-treasurer
of the Mt. McKinley Tourist
Transportation Company. For
many years he was the local rep
resentative of the old Alaska
Commercial Company. In latter
years he was head of a local ac
countancy firm and was an exten
sive local property holder. He
is listed as originally coming
from Seattle.