22E NOME NUGGET
OLDEST NEWSPAPER IN ALASKA—MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS
VOL. XLVII, No. 151 • NOME, "ALASKA, MONDAY, DECEMBER 17. 1945 PElTToPY —Tlfc
NEWS IN BRIEF
* LYNNBROOK, N. Y.—The fatal
shooting of Captain Austin Fith
ian, 30, aboard his Liberty ship at
Manus, in the Admiralty Islands,
and the arrest of five of his crew,
was disclosed Saturday by the
dead captain’s wife, who received
the information in cable from the
War Shipping Administration.
WASHINGTON—The Veterans
Administration disclosed that six
ty-three and a half million dollars
in loans to World War II veterans
have been guaranteed by the ad
ministration to date. More than
one hundred thousand GIs have
made application for loans under
the Bill of Rights, and forty-six
thousand, four hundred forty-two
have completed the necessary re
quirements for guarantees.
• MONTEVIEDO, Uruguay—The
Chamber of Deputies Saturday
unanimously approved the United
Nations charter and approved five
hundred thousand dollar increase
in the counrty’s contribution to
UNRRA.
TOKYO—Supreme Allied head
quarters announced that fishing
areas available to Japanese fleets
cannot be expanded unless the in
dustry demonstrates it has ex
hausted every possible means to
increase catches.
WASHINGTON—The War De
partment said that the serious
congestion of troop traffic out of
west coast ports is forcing home
ward bound soldiers to remain on
board troopships as long as six i
days after arriving from overseas.
9 The announcement came as ODT
Director Jay Monroe Johnson
warned civilian travelers they
would find little railroad or plane
space for holiday trips. He added
December troop movements would
the the heaviest of any month
since the beginning of the war.
ATHENS—Between 45,000 and
m
60,000 prisoners will be freed from
prison as a result of a cabinet ap
proved bill which grants amnesty
to all persons accused of crimes,
except murder, committed during
German occupation or the civil
war of last December.
LONDON—The current issue of
a British Medical Journal report
ed that a nineteen months old
child of a West African soldier
was the first known fatality from
^DT. The baby died four hours
after drinking approximately an
bounce of the powerful insecticide.
BUDDHA SHRIN E—Soldiers of the American Division's
221st Field Artillery gather around a Buddhist priest to question
him after he had offered special prayer for visitors at the foot
of the famous Buddha shrine at Karamura, about 50 miles from
Tokyo. The statue, one of the finest of its kind, is the outstand
v inf shrine in Japan.
Prince Konoye
Commits Suicide j
TOKYO, Dec. 17— f/P) —Prince j
Fuminaro Konoye, 54, three times
Premier of Japan, committed sui-i
cide by poison to escape the Amer
ican trial as a war prisoner.
A writen statement which Kon- j
oye rejected the “humiliation” of
facing the trial was disclosed sev- J
eral hours after Princess Kon- j
oye found the body in the bed-1
room at six a.m. The statement
accepted responsibility for the
China conflict.
His son Michitaka said his father j
left written documents defending
his part in the tripartite pact and
the preludes to the Pacific war.
Konoye was named a war crim
inal suspect on December sixth
and instructed to surrender at Su
gamo prison by midnight tonight.
He last was premier shortly be
fore Japan’s attack on United
States, and was succeededin Octo
ber 1941 by Hideki Tojo, the Pearl
Harbor premier.
MOSCOW — Ten low-ranking
German soldiers were brought be
fore a military tribunal at Smo
lensk to stand trial on a series of
war crimes charges, including the
accusation that they drained blood
from Rusian children for transfu
sion to German wounded.
Suicide Of Prince
May Cause Hirihito
To Abdicate
TOKYO, Dec. 17—(/P)—Prince
Konoye’s dramatic suicide by poi
son yesterday may have profound
repercussions in the Imperial
household as well as in political
circles. It is viewed as a new and
powerful blow to the prestige and
position of Hirohito. The Prince
himself, in his final hours, ex
pressed concern about the future
of the Imperial house as discus
sions of the possible abdication
were revived.
Some Japs said the suicide
might be the final factor toward
precipitating the Emperor’s resig
nation. Doubtless Hirohito person
ally felt the blow deeply. Konoye
had long been his close confidante
and it is generally believed the
Mikado placed great authority in
him.
A few hours after Konoye’s sui
cide, Marquis Kido, until recent
ly the Lord Keeper of the Privy
Seal, and another close adviser to
the Emperor, surrendered as a
war criminal suspect.
LONDON — King George the
Sixth celebrated his fiftieth birth
day with a dinner party for twen
ty pesrons at Buckingham Palace.
Blizzard Blankets
Western New York
A blizzard from Lake Erie de
posited up to forty-eight inches of
snow on Buffalo, N. Y., causing a
state emergency to be proclaimed
there, as a large part of the coun
try shivered in frigid weather.
Mayor Kelley of Buffalo order
ed the schools and most city of
fices closed and limited telephone
use to keep the lines open for
emergency calls. He asked citizens
to stay at home and guard against
fires. Temperatures are generally
below normal over a wide area
east of the Rockies.
The mercury fell to below zero
in east Montana and the Dakotas
eastward through central Illinois
and Indiana. The coldest spot in
the country last midnight was at
Glasgow, Montana, where it reg
istered twenty below.
The lowest temperature in Alas- ;
ka reported by the local Weather
Bureau, to the Nome Nugget was
reported at Barrow where the
thermometer reached five below
with clear weather.
“Emperor Guilty
Of Starting War”
TOKYO, Dec. 17— </P) —Mimp, j
Tokyo’s newest newspaper re- j
cently editorially declared that ]
Emperor Hirohito was responsible
for the war and advocated his
removal from politics through ab
dication. The newspaper did not j
advocate the elimination of the
Emperor system, but accused
Hirohito of starting the war, and
said he was responsible for the
situation in which Japan finds
herself today.
Asks Extension Of
Ship Regulations
_
WASHINGTON, Dec. 17—(fP)—
Delegate Bartlett asked the War
Shipping Administratoion to ex
tend beyond December 31 the reg
ulations allowing the carriage of
passengers between sout h e a s t
Alaskan ports on Canadian ves
sels. Bartlett said that American
vessels couldn’t furnish facilities.
NEW DELHI, India — U. S.
Army tabulations disclosed that
on the basis of the present prog
ress in demobilization there would
be 33,500 U. S. troops remaining in
the India and Burma theater on
February 1. At present there are
72,000.
Have Cooperated
Before. During and
Sinee War
WASHINGTON. Dec. 17—<>P)—
Mindful of the atomic age possi
bilities, United States and Canada
are beginning to work out joint
plans to defend North America
against any attack from Asia or
Europe across the north polar re
gions. Di-closing this, allied diplo
matic officials said one of the first
specific steps taken in this coun
try was the assignment of six ob
servers to accompany Canadian
army airforces expedition on an
eighty-one day Arctic exploration,
assigned to the task of gathering
military and scientific informa
tion.
This expedition is designated
“exercise muskox" by the Cana
dian government. It will cover
thirty-one hundred miles through
territory heretofore considered
an impenetrable barrier against
attack. Now, the diplomats say,
the wasteland area is regarded as
one of the potential approaches ter
some of America’s most vital cit
ies.
In two segments the expedition
is scheduled to start from Chur
chill, Manitoba, in mid February,
and from Edmonton, Alberta,
early in May. During the eighty
one days, the scores of men on the
trip will be supplied by air. The
air forces will obtain what offi
cials expect will be vital informa
tion on Arctic operations of ground
troops.
Scientists will gather essential
facts on clothing and odd equip
ment needed for ground opera
tions in the extreme cold. United
States has given the Canadian
government assurance of full co
operation in developing and car
rying out the expedition.
American officials say the co
operation between United States
and Canada is typified by the way
in which the countries worked to
gether on an air route from north
western United States during the
war, and are now working to
gether to liquidate the installa
tions.
Canada will take over highway
sections linking Alaska with
United States on April first, and
the land communication lines on
June first. Both of these were de
veloped to support a series of aeri
al staging fields which the Cana
dians built for United States to
help develop supply. American
diplomats say the Canadians paid
for every permanent air facility
! United States put in.