™s NOME NUGGET
OLDEST NEWSPAPER IN ALASKA—MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS
VOL. XLVII. No. 79. .NOME, ALASKA, MONDAY, JULY, 2, 1 945 PER COPY —15<
Senate Confirms
James Byrnes As
► Secy. Of State
WASHINGTON, June 2—(IP)—
James Byrnes was confirmed
unanimously by the Senate as
Secretary of State. The action was
taken in a matter of minutes after
^ the nomination was received from
the Whitehouse.
The Senate suspended its rules j
which require hearings on Cab-j
inet nominations to have a day
layover before a vote can be taken 1
on such papointment. This is done
* as a tribute by both Democrats
and Republicans.
The man who served with them
for years and later was associate
Justice of Supreme Court and
more recently director of War
Mobilization was confirmed and it
placed Byrnes next in line for the
# Presidency under the present stat
utes should President Truman not
complete his term.
Majority leader Berkley moved
to suspend the rules almost as
soon as the nomination was re
ceived from the Whitehouse. Mi
nority leader White concurred, as- j
serting “we all know Mr. Byrnes
•personally,” add that his length
of service in high government
“leaves no doubt in anyone’s mind
as to his qualifications.”
The confirmation gave Presi-1
dent Truman his fifth cabinet;
member of his own choice.
#
Truman Signs
OPA Price Control
Extension Bill
WASHINGTON, July 2—(If)—
President Truman’s signature on
the bill dramatically flown to him
in Kansas City brought the OPA
safely through the fiscal year end
crisis.
The measure extending price
stabilization controls one year was
signed and became a law shortly
, before the Saturday midnight ex
piration. Truman in a statement
Issued after his return to Wash
ington by plane yesterday reiter
ated that such controls will be
needed during reconversion in the
fight against inflation.
Australians Land
On And Dominate j
Borneo Island
I
MANILA, July 2—(JP)— Aus
tralian Seventh Division infantry
men landed in force Sunday on
the beaches before the great Bor
neo oil port of Balikpapan and
quickly pushed inland after the
most, intensive preinvasion bom
bardment yet made in the south
west Pacific. Losses were light.
Gen. Douglas MacArthur per
sonally commanded the invasion
the triumphant communique de-1
clared. This is the third landing
on Borneo and “secured the dom
ination of Borneo and driven a
wedge to the south, splitting the
East Indies and virtually complet
ing the tactical control of the
southwest Pacific.”
By LEE VAN ATTA
Representing combined Ameri
can press, with the invasion forces
at Balikpapan, July 1 (Delayed)—
General Macarthur drew an angry
Jap sniper’s fire this afternoon as
the Army’s Pacific commander in
chief surveyed enemy strongpoints
from the most advanced command
post, less than two hundred yards
from the Nipponese defense posi
tions striding first through damp
swampland and later up shale
hills dotted with Aussie-occupied
(Continued on Page Four)
Submarines Active;
Sink Eleven
Japanese Vessels
WASHINGTON, July 2—(if)—
The Navy announced the sink
ing of a Jap cruiser by a British
sub, operating under American
control in the southwest Pacific.
In addition, the communique
said, United States subs are re
ported as sinking ten enemy ves
sels in Far Eastern waters. They
1
were a converted gunboat, patrol
escort vessel, four medium mer
chant vessels, a small tanker, and
the cruiser of the Haguro class.
Janes Fighting Ships describe the
class of ten thousand ton standard
displacement with a complement
of 692 and carrying ten eight-inch
guns.
SALUTE FROM KING — King George VI salute* Star^
and Stripes during a visit to 8th USAAF headquarters In England, i
Americans And
Filipinos Beseige
Luzon Strongholds
MANILA, July 2—</P)—Three
Jap strongholds on northern Lu
zon are under American and Fili
pino pressure today while to the
0
east beyond Cagayan valley thou
sands of broken enemy troops
have been left to starve or at the
mercy of the guerrillas.
General Mac Arthur announced
5,240 more Japs have been killed
and 711 prisoners have been taken
bringing the total cost in the Phil
ippines to 419,000 Japs dead and
nearly ten thousand prisoners.
JULY 4th ISSUE OF THE
NOME NUGGET TO BE
PUBLISHED, JULY 3
Du* to th* fact that Ind*p*nd
•nc* Day, July Fourth, com*s on
W*dn*aday this y*ar, and W*d
n*sday b*ing th* regular publica
tion day of th* Nom* Nugg*t. w*
will publish th* mid-w**k Issu*
of Th* Nom* Nugg*t on* day
sarly, July 1
0 ■
f » ’
Maj.-Gen. Brooks
New Commander
In Aleutians
U. S. ELEVENTH AIRFORCE;
HEADQUARTERS, Aleuti a n s, i
July 2—(i^P)—Maj.-Gen. John B.
Brooks, former commander of the
Newfoundland base command as
sumed command of the Eleventh
Air Force.
He succeeds Maj. Gen Daven
port Johnson, who was reassigned
after twenty-two months in the
Aleutians. Maj.-Gen. Brooks came
here from the office of Joint
Chiefs of Staffs, where he has
served since last October. He said
the air force will continue to
pound Japan’s important Navy
base of Kataoka in Ahe northern
Kuriles and other enemy installa
tions in that area.
POSTOFFICE OPEN
10:00 A.M. TO 4:00 P.M.
The postmaster announces that
the office will be open from 10:00
a.m. till 4:00 p.m., until more help
is available.
B-29s Bain 4,000
Tons Fire Bombs
On Jap Cities
GUAM, July 2 — (£*) — Fierce
fires raged through four Jap cities.
touched off by a record of four
♦ #
thousand tons of incendiary bombs
rained down by nearly six hun
dred Superfortresses.
It was the greatest fleet of B-29s
ever to hit Japan with the largest
load of incendiary bombs ever
dropped.
The targets of the B-29s were
Kure naval base. Shimomoseki at
the western entrance to Inland
Sea; Ube. a major coal center and
top magnesium producing region,
and Kumamoto, transportation
and military training center and
war industry city on western Kyu
shu.
It is the greatest fire strike ever
made. Bomber crews returning
from the early morning raids said
some of the fires were visible one
hundred twenty miles aw*- _ _
For
mations hittmg ^ lndu,tria,
cities on rtr)Utjlern Honshu, main
of Japan would see the
glow from the other flaming cities
raided by other flights.
Twentieth Airforce headquar
ters reported to Washington that
two Superforts were lost, but that
twenty of the crew members of
the planes were rescued. Super
forts normally carry crews of
eleven each. Officially the results
were “good to excellent.”
The jubilant airmen described
the raid on the Kure naval base as
“quite wonderful.” Veteran raid
ers said it was the “best fire con
(Continued on Page Five)
Secy. Forrestal
Inquires Into Ship
Yard Manpower
SEATTLE, July 2—(IP)—Secre
tary of the Navy Forrestal is here
to inquire into the critical need
for manpower in the ship repair
program, the Thirteenth Naval
District headquarters said.
Secy. Forrestal arrived by plane
last night and spent the forenoon
at the Puget Sound Navy Yard
where he planned to inspect the
carrier Bunkerhill and other ships
under repair from Jap attacks.