THE NOME NUGGET
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Entered as second class matter October 14, 1943, at the postoffice
at Nome, Alaska, under the Act of March 3, 1879.
Nome, Alaska, Wednesday, August 9, 1950
ABSENCE STRENGTHENS U. N.
In Moscow, we read that Pravda, communist news
paper, declares that the United Nations is half-wrecked
and that its flag is serving a “coalition of imperialists
and beasts of prey.”
The truth is that the United Nations was more than
half-wrecked by Russian tactics and that its only oppor
tunity for effective action, in international affairs, de
pends upon the continued absence of the Soviet Union
from its councils.
We see no net loss to the world in the boycott that the
Russians and their satellite nations placed upon the
United Nations. They were not attempting to make the
organization an instrument of world peace but, instead,
busily endeavored to use it as an instrument to further
the aims of the communist world.
A GENERAL WHO CHANGED HIS MIND
Lt. Gen. Bedell Smith, who served this country as
Ambassador to Russia, admits that when he was first
ordered to use psychological warfare he thought it was
a crack-pot idea but that after going to Russia he chang
ed his mind. ,
The general recently pointed out that in a struggle to
win the support of men, their allegiance is not secured
by force or the threat of force. He suggests that we “an
alyze why communist troops in Korea are fighting like
the devil” whild the Southern Koreans, who, we think,
represent democracy, did not do so well. He believes
that it is because Soviet propaganda has been extreme
ly effective.
Continuing, the general declares: “It’s an idle thing
to preach democracy to a man with an empty belly.” He
thinks that the Asiatics, for example, are interested first
in a rice bowl or something fod himself and his family
and that generosity does not take the place of a plan
that will get these people on their feet, with the' oppor
tunity to do something for themselves.
FATE OF PRISONERS UNKNOWN
The fate of a large number of German war prisoners,
held by the Soviet Union, is undetermined and the gen
eral suspicion is that they have either died in work
camps, or been executed by their captors.
There has been a number of reports of Japanese and
German prisoners of war, held in what amounts to
slavery by the Russians. The Soviet Union has stead
fastly refused to follow agreements relating to data
about prisoners of war and, consequently, the fate of
thousands of the captives is uncertain.
Recently, the United States and other governments
expressed concern over the “continued detention” of
German prisoners of war in the Soviet Union and called
upon the Russians to permit an impartial investigation
of the “actual fate” of the captured men. The notes must
have been dispatched with the idea of keeping the rec
ord straight, because there is no reason to believe that
th Soviet Union will pay any attention to them.
Many a business goes to the rocks because the head
men are afraid to act decisively. ... If you agree with
everything the editor writes you have no more sense
than the editor. . . . The trek of the statesmen of the
world to Washington can be explained, by one word,
“cash.” . . . The meek may inherit the earth but, in the
meantime, somebody has got to keep it running. . . .
Advertising may not solve the business man’s problems
but it will solve the shopper’s problem. ... A blinding
streak of lightning, followed by a sharp thunderpeal,
causes a sinner to pause and think. . .. With a common
defense the western democracies come close to begin
ning something like a federal union.
Korean Situation
At A Glance —
(Continued from Page One)
Tuesday at nightfall. Maj. Gen.
I John E. Church, commanding the
! 24th Division^ ordered the bridge
: ehad cleared out by darkness, but
lated said it probably couldn’t be
| done before tomorrow.
The fresh doughboys launched
a counterattack which plunged
ahea^l for a mile half way up an
; important ridge against fierce Red
mortar and small arms fire.
The main fighting on the Nak
tong River front was about 30
' mile sto the north in the vicinity
j of Waegwan and east of Kum
| chon, posing a ragged threat at
| Taegu in an area whose terrain
, might be hard to defend.
In the extreme south the U. S.
Marines scaled valley walls and
battled over rugged hills to rescue
the Fifth Regimental unit from a
communist flank attack which
temporarily stalled the leather
, neck drive.
On the extreme northeastern
i »
end of the front, the Reds exerted
heavy pressure against defending
South Korean divisions, but the
attack was reported “contained.”
Allied warships off ongdok pound
ed enemy installations.
Other U. N. naval forces steam
ed north for long range bombard
ment of North Korea’s east coast.
Five American warships, includ
ing a heavy cruiser, struck at
Tanchon, 125- miles north of the
38th parallel dividing North and
South Korea. It was the first ma
jor shelling north of the parallel.
British, Dutch and South Korean
vessels plastered Inchon on the
West Coast for two hours. It is
the port of Red-held Seoul.
American F-80 jets smashed at
Seoul and shot up railyards against
the heaviest and most accurate
Red anti-aircraft fire of the war.
Seoul was hit by B-29’s yesterday.
Other American fighter planes
were constantly in action along
the battlefronts.
An intelligence officer at Gen.
MacArthur’s headquarters estim
ated North Korean losses in the
| six weeks of the war were 44,500
men. Washington announced yes
terday that the confirmed and an
nounced American casualties to
date were 153 killed, 1,590 wound
ed and 873 missing, up to Aug. 6.
The Soviet Union faced another
rebuff in the United Nations Se
curity Council on the Korean
question, but was expected to
strike back with its 44th veto. A
council session today was to open
the second wpek of the east-west
diplomatic battle at Lake; Success,
with the delegates still wrangling
over procedural matters.
Wednesday, August 9, 1950
North Korean communists pre
pared to flee from burned-out
Chinju today ahead of a strong
American offensive in the south,
and other Reds retreated on the
central Naktong River front in the
best day for United Nations forces
since the war began.
Marines and infantrymen in the
three-pronged southern offensive
threatened to snaw shut a trap .on
thousands of Red troops who had
been massed for a drive on Pusan.
The Reds were menaced by a pin
cers movement only seven miles
away from a link-up.
Gen. MacArthur s headquarters
summary quoted U. S. airmen as
saying the Reds were getting
ready to abandon Chinju, which
was to hove been their jumpoff
point for a drive on Pusan, U. S.
supply base 55 miles to the east.
To the north, Americans and
South Koreans battered enemy
forces which threw bridgeheads
across the Naktong River, menac
ing the road-rail junction of Tae
gu. The South Koreans wiped out
one bridgehead, and Americans,
supported by some fresh troops,
reduced the others in bitter fight
ing.
Communiques and front reports
for the most part contained the
most cheerful Korean was news to
date, particularly in the central
and southern sectors.
In the southern United Nations
“limited offensive,” U. S. 35th
Regimental Combat team troops
punched to within seven miles of
Chinju, Red jumpoff point 55
miles west of Jusan. The southern
arm of the offensive swung tow
ard a join-up with the 35th after
Marines and Fifth Regimental
Combat team troops burst out of
a bottleneck in a night attack per
sonally ordered by Maj. Gen. Wil
liam B. Kean.
The 5th Combat Team troops
drove to a point five miles west
of Chindong and Fifth Regiment
Marines fought several miles
southwest of Chindong in the
drive to join up with the other
Americans. They had been block
ed in the areas for two days by
fierce North Korean artillery fire,
but their night attack caught the
cofnmunists off guard.
Thousaids of Re dtroops have
been assembled in an area just to
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the north of here and the new
American thrusts threatened to i
cut them off. The enemy was said r
#
to be rushing down reinforce
ments from the north and throw
i ing them a peacemeal in the
I Chinju theratre in a desperate ef
I fort to prevent the junction of the
Americans at Pansong, about
eight miles east of Chinju.
The 5th Regimental Combat
team was only seven miles from a
linkup with the .35th Regimental *
combat team to spring one trap
and cut off a Red escape route.
i
The communique of the 8th
Army reported that “aggressive
minded United Nations troops car
ried out successful action in every
engagement with the enemy.”
Elements of the U. S. 24th Divi- j|
sion, reinforced by fresh troops
| from the Second Division, applied
heavy pressure on other bridge
; heads across the Naktong in the
I area of Changnyong, 23 miles
southwest of Taegu, where the
j Reds sent additional troops and
some tanks across.
These bridgeheads were to be
the beginnings of the main Red
thrust against Taegu. The Red
plan of attack now apparently is
thrown off balance.
Intelligence officers in Tokyo
regarded the Naktong crossings in
the Changnyong area as a major ^
thrust, although 8th Army reports
minimized them. Military men in
Washington also showed concern
about the Naktong River thrusts,
viewing them as potentially dan
! gerous to Taegu.
In the air carrier-based Marine
pilots supported the southern
drive by the American ground
forces, hitting hard at the artill
i cry and mortar which have been
! slowing the U. S.offensive action.
Strategic rail and road targets in
North Korea weer blasted yester
I day in widespread strikes by U. S.
j bombers. B-29’s again hit Pyong
yang,. Red capital, and other stra
tegic targets. B-26 twin-engine
bombers hit Inchon, communist
| held seaport west of Seoul.
Marine pilots reported that
North Korean soldiers used wo
men and children to prevent bomb
ing of their troop concentrations.
On the diplomatic front. U. N.
I Security Council members map
ped strategy to break the one
man filibuster by Russia’s Jakob
A. Malik, council president for
August. Informal conferences in
volving virtually all delegations
except the Russian were under
way. The council recessed yester
day until Thursday afternoon af
ter a bitter debate over Korea,
which Malik used as a springboard
for anti-American propaganda.
Malik refused to allow the Amer
ican resolution of July 31 denoun
cing the North Korean aggression
to come up for discussion, and
tried to ram through one of his
own condemning the Americans.
In Washington, Democrats and
Republicans maneuvered to get
their own versions of anti-com
munist and anti-subversive bills
before the Senate, and two House
committees* raced- to get to the [
floor first with legislation.
Congress also wrestled to bring
to completion legislation which
would give the President standby
wage and price controls and power
to impose rationing if the threat
of inflation borne by the Korean
crisis should, warrant it.
In New York, Henry A. Wal
lace, former Democratic Vice
President of the United States, re
signed from his Progressive Party *
because it condemned American
actions in Korea.
-- ^
Alexandre Eiffel, builder of the
Eiffel Tower, also designed the
lock for the Panama Canal.