IBS NOME NUGGET
OLDEST NEWSPAPER IN ALASKA—MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS
_ __
VOL. XL VII. No. 104. NOME, ALASKA, WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 29, 194 5 PER COPY_15^
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Propose Alaskans ,
Vote On Desire To
Be A State Or Not
WASHINGTON, Aug. 29—</P)—
A vote by the citizens of Alaska
on whether they want statehood .
is proposed by Rep. Bernett, Re
publican of Missouri, who is just
back from the Territory with
other House Territories commit
* teemen. Some members of the
House Interior Appropriations
subcommittee, who recently have
been to Alaska declared the Ter
ritory was not ready for statehood.
Taxes Would Rise
In an interview Bennett said
“the people should decide the
question for themselves at an
election. But before the election
they should be told the facts as to
just what it would cost them in
taxes. In view of the limited pop
ulation.” There are forty thousand
whites, forty thousand Indians
and Eskimos in Alaska, he said.
No tax^ is levied excepting the
4 federal income and business lev
ies. Statehood would mean a much
heavier tax to maintain the state
government.
Gel Rid Of Ickes
Rep. Bennett declared “the
greatest godsend that could come
to the people of Alaska would be
for the President to fire Secretary
of the Interior Ickes.”' He said
f Ickes has set aside much of Alaska
as a reservation for Indian parks
and other purposes, and “thus
(Continued on Page Five)
New Air Route To
Orient May
k Bypass Seattle
SEATTLE, Aug. 29—(/P)—Col
onel Armin F. Herold, manager of
the Seattle Chamber of Commerce
Aviation Department called an
emergency meeting of the area’s
business and political leaders to
* discuss the Civil Aeronautics
Board examiner’s recommenda
tion that Seattle be “bypassed” in
the establishment pf an airline to
the Orient via Alaska.
“They put one over on us,” Her
old said. He said the meeting was
expected to ask that the Pacific
Northwest be permitted to present
additional tesimony before C.A.B.
makes is decision. “It’s a thousand
miles shorter through Seattle over
tan air route the military have
been flying with ease for several
years,” said J. A. Earley, chair
l man of the Seattle Port Commis
sion.
■ .——■
YANKS* NATIVE ALLIES — Two Mongol warriors,
former head hunters and, violent haters of the Japs, pose for their
picture on northern Luxon, where they have proved invaluable in
C routine Jap straeflers from roueb terrain.
Old Glory Waves
Over Land Of
Rising Sun
OKINAWA, Aug. 29——The
I first American flag to be raised
over conquered Japan was at
12:10 p.m., Tuesday, Jap time, by
the Fifth Air Force radio unit,
known as the “Flying Circus,”
which was sent along with the
first airborne contingent, to set up
! a radio tower and contact mass
troops arriving tomorrow. Four
hours after landing “Flying Cir
cus” men hoisted Old Glory on
top of the radio antenna.
2,400 Half-Starved
Japs Welcome
End Of War
HONOLULU, Aug. 29 — <>P) —
The American flag was raised to
day over Mili Atoll in the Mar
shall’s, where twenty-four hun
dred half-starved Japs welcomed
the end of the war. They are
temporarily remaining on the
atoll until they can be removed.
■ Evacuate 300
Prisoners From
Thailand
! KANDY, Ceylon, Aug. 29—(/P)
—Evacuation of three hundred
prisoners of war from Jap war
camps on Thailand, some of them
j survivors of the U. S. Cruiser
Houston, began by plane from
Bangkok. The Houston had not
been heard from since the battle
of the Java Sea in 1942, until the
prisoners were found on Thailand.
The first group of approximate
ly one hundred twenty-two former
prisoners were released. The pris
oners were described as “generally
in pretty good condition.’’
FREE GOLD FOUND IN
NEW LOCATION
Free gold has been discovered
on the Kuskokwim in a new loca
tion, according to William E.
Wrather, of the Geological Sur
vey. The discovery was made in
the ridge dividing Tuluksak river
and California creek about three
miles from Nyac. The extent of
the deposit is unknown.
General Marshal
Partly Responsible
For Pearl Harbor
—
WASHINGTON. Aug. 29——
General Marshal, Army chief of
staff is held partly responsible for
the Pearl Harbor disaster by the
Army Board of Inquiry, but Pres
ident Truman, in releasing the re
I port, said the criticism was “en
tirely justified."
The President, who called a
special news conference to release
the long awaited Army and Navy
reports of the events leading up
to December 7, 1941, said he sided
with Secretary Stimson in reject
ing the findings as to Marshal.
The bulky three volumes of re
ports were sharply critical of
Rear Admiral Kimmel and Ad
miral Stark, also Maj. Gen. Short.
President Truman told reporters
' if courtmartial proceedings indi
! cated prompt and fair trials would
! be held for Marshall.
j The report said Marshall “failed
J in his relations to the Hawaiian
department in the following par
ticulars: a. to keep a commanding
general in the Hawaiian depart
ment fully advised of the growing
I tenseness of the Japanese situa
i tion, which indicated the increas
I ing necessity for better prepara
; tion for war, of which informa
tion he had abundance; b. To send
additional instructions to the com
manding general of the Hawaiian
Department on November twenty
eighth, 1941, when he evidently
failed to realize the import of
General Short’s reply of Novem- |
ber twenty-seventh, which indi
2 British Pi Msoners
Escape; Swim To
American Fleet
LONDON. Aug. 20 — </P) — A
Reuters British correspondent
aboard the British battleship the
Duke of York, broadcast that two
British servicemen who swam out
into Tokyo bay to meet the Amer
ican fleet were the first two Allied
prisoners of war to gain freedom
from a Jap prison camp.
The correspondent said the two
men were fished out of the bay by
a picket boat from an American
cruiser after they had escaped
from a prison camp near Yoko
hama by slipping through the
fence and walking thirty miles to
the bay shore. They saw the fleet
anchored and asked a Jap fisher
man what fleet it was. He told
them the ships were American.
The American Red Cross was
founded by Clara Barton in 1881.
cated clearly that General Short
misunderstood and misconsrued
the message of November seven
teenth and had not adequately
alerted his command for war; c.
To get to General Short the eve
ning of December sixth or early
morning of December seventh the
critical information indicating an
almost immediate break with
Japan, though there was ample
time to have accomplished this;
d. To investigate and determine
the state of readiness of the Ha
waiian command between Novem
ber twenty-seventh and Decem
ber seventh despite the impend
ing threat of war.”
-——
Stage Being Set For Formal Surrender
Of Japan; To Be Signed Sunday
Nimitz In Tokyo
! Bay; MacArtliur
There Thursday
J
OKINAWA, Aug. 29 — (IP) —
Fleet Admiral Nimitz reached
Tokyo Bay by seaplane this after
noon as General MacArthur wait
ed on Okinawa until Thursday for
the mass occupation of vanquished
Japan by eighteen thousand one
hundred fifty Allied troops from
sea and air.
Naval officials already have in
spected the Yokosuka naval base
at close range. Tokyo radio said
that the Yokohama Marine Trans
port Board building had been
chosen as general headquarters of
I the occupation forces. The first
American ship to dock at Yoko
suka of the task force of Com
mander Read Admiral Badger was
said to be the Cruiser San Diego.
This tentative schedule of
events was given: British troops,
two hundred fifty Royal Marines
and one hundred Royal Navy per
sonnel will go ashore on two Tok
yo Bay islands guarding Yoko
suka at 11:15 a.m., Nome time,
Wednesday; Americans will oc
cupy the third islet. Nine thou
sand Marines and twelve hundred
sailors will land at and near the
Yokosuka naval base about three
p.m., Nome time, Wednesday.
General MacArthur and his sev
enty-five hundred airborne troops
(Continued on Page Eight)