Oldest Newspaper In Alaska. “The News of the Day In Piclurcs" Member of The Associated Press.
l THE NOME DAILY NUGGET
VOL. 38 No. 303 NOME, ALASKA. FRIDAY. DEC. 24, 1937. Per Copy 10ct«
U.S. Intercepts Japanese Spy Notes
Ford Runs Afoul Federal Labor Relations Board
Commander of Panay Indicts Japanese Naval Fliers
Espionage Plot
Uncovered Jap
Ship Detained
(By The Associated Press)
LOS ANGELES, Dec. 24, —
The U.S. Navy tightened its guard
over the Pacific Coast in Wash
ington and California, following
the seizure of Orient-bound let
ters aboard a Japanese fishing
boat, while U. S. Customs agents
hinted at a widespread drive on
espionage activities.
Destroyers continued to patrol
off San Diego and San Pedro
fleet bases while the Mare Island
navy yard at San Francisco was
ringed with extra guards.
Reports on the raid yesterday
of the Japanese liner Tatsuta Ma
ru by Customs «gents just be
iore sailing time from San Fran!
cisco were not immediately al-:
lowed publication.
Official confirmation was given
to the raid by District Attorney
Frank Hennessy, whose agents
garnered a sheaf of letters, de~!
dared by the San Francisco j
Chronicle to be connected with
the operations and activities of
the Bremerton Navy Yard.*
Hennessy said he did not know
1he contents of the letters.
The Chronicle asserted that
customs agents and postal inspect
■ors had redoubled their vigilance
in recent weeks in an effort to
intercept suspicious mail address
ed to far eastern destinations.
The seizure in Los Angeles of
the one hundred-foot tun clipper
Nancy Hawks, registered Ameri
ean-Japanese, was followed by
bn announcement from federal
officials, of another and possibly
five more boats being suspected,
of Japanese ownership, and that!
they were being detained.
Windsors Get A
Another Slap In
British Society
LONDON, Dec.24—To the Duke
and Duchess of Windsor, another
social slap was administered
when Burke’s Peerage announc
ed the College of Amis refused
to accord any precedence to the
Duchess of Windsor, American
born and twice-divorced, for love
of whom the Duke abdicated the
throne.
No Ranking Among Nobility
The refusal of the College of;
Arms leaves the Duchess without
any ranking among the British
ncibility.
Almost simultaneously with the
announcement by Burke’s Peer-;
age was the report from weli-in-i
formed sources that applications;
for presentations at tre New Year
season's court are receiving the
close scrutiny of Queen Elizabeth
Must Have Queen's Approval
It is said no young ladles or
matrons will courtesy before their
royal highnesses who has not ft-;
eeived the expressed approval of
Her Majesty. Many members of
Hie so-called international set
who found favor at court when
the Duke of Windsor, as King
Edward VIII, was on the throne,
are persona non grata now.
Hangchow Has
Been Captured
Say Japanese
(By The Associated Press)
SHANGHAI, Dec. 24, -Japan
! esc officials tonight announced
1 that Hangchow, rich Chinese sea
port and capital of Chekiang
province, a hundred miles south
of Shanghai, had been captured
by Japanese troops, simultaneous
ly entering all gates.
The fall of the city to the in
vaders who overran thousands of
square miles of territory came as
United States authorities made
strong representations to the Jap
anese over the reported insult to
the American flag at Wuhu Dec
ember 13th.
No information was immediat
ely forthcoming on the extent of
the fighting around Hangchow,
but indications were that the city
had capitulated to avoid bomb
ing, shelling and street fighting.
Six Americans in Hangchow
were believed to be safe.
1000 Attended
Community Af
fair Last Night
—
The largest crowd to attend a
Community Xmas Tree Celebra- ]
tion in Nome of late years, turned j
out last night at the public school
auditorium, where both the Office,
of Indian Affairs school students,'
and Nome public school students1
presented an unusually interest-;
ing program.
A large Christmas Tree, beauti- j
fully decorated, was placed near;
the stage.
Following the program the ap
pearance Of Santa Claus and hisi
reindeer on the stage, elicited
cries of welcome and gladness
from the hosts of children assem
bled in the hall.
With some assistance, Christ
mas stockings were distributed to
the children who filed past the
stage and on to receive ice cream
cones, making their evening com
plete.
Tlie work of the Community
Xmas Tree Committees is one to
be applauded. Good Cheer is
being distributed to many needy!
cases in Name thru the means of!
this annual event, and makes fori
a fuller and more happier Christ-1
mas for all.
Alaska Juneau
Declared A 15 !
Cent Dividend
_
(By The Associated Press)
SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 24, —
Alaska Juneau declared its usual1
extra dividend of fifteen cents a
share to be paid along with the;
regular quarterly dividend of 15
cents February first on those
shares on the records January 1st.
You can save $2.00 by i
vance for the Nome Daily
THE COMEBACK. German dirigible builders were undaunted
by the (ate ol the Hlndenbnrg which exploded at Lakehurst, N. i.
Construction work proceeded on the new sky boat, the LZ130, at
Krledrichshafen. Here is the nearly covered skeleton in the hangar.
Santa’s Reindeer
Are Real States
Gov’t. Service
(At the request of the Nome
Nugget, the Reindeer Service has
contributed an article for the
Christmas issue as follows):
People who have come to the
reindeer country from other lands
once thought of reindeer only as
the steeds of Santa Claus. It s
pleasant to remember, especially
at Christmas time, the pictures
que fancies which the word "rein
deer” inspired—gracefully leap-,
ing, tawny-colored creatures, in
jeweled harness, prancing over
roof-tops on fairy-feet! And al
ways at the end of the team of
enchanting reindeer was the jolly
red-clad figure of Santa Claus,
symbol of generosity, suggestive
of an abundance of good things.
The time comes to each person
when he stops believing in Santa
Claus as a physical reality (tho
few deny the truth of the merry
mood and joyous generosity whi
ch his name suggests). To many,
in that part of the big world call
ed “Outside”, when Santa be
comes only a fancy his reindeer
do, also. But to those who live
Within the Charmed circle of nor
thern latitudes, reindeer are no
rpere imaginary joy-foringers.
They are not seen to do such
tricks as prancing over housetops;
but there Is something akin to
magic—or miracle—in them; for
they breathe icy air, drink bitftr
ly cold water, nibble at meager
food; and transform this scant
nourishment into meat that is
good and skins that are warm,
and provide this food and cloth
ing for people who need them.
A way to realize the goodness
of reindeer is to think: What if
. they. like our childhood dreams
of Santa, turned out to be only
dreams with no physical reality?
Eskimos are born in the cold
countries and must of necessity
Eve there. Without reindeer,
what could they use for food and
clothing? Caribou, seal, birds?.
All the possible answers, because
of location or scarcity, can be
ruled out in favor of reindeer.;
None of the uncertain possibili
ties can compare with the good
tasting meat and warm, adaptable i
skins of the reindeer. Caribou:
are no longer available to dwell- ;
ers near the western coasts. And
■ it is hard to imagine capturing
enough seal and birds to supply!
food and clothing equal to that!
provided by the 38.000 reindeer’
used in the course of a year by!
'Native people—an average of;
3,000 a month, or 100 a day thru
i out the year!
To all non-Native people whoj
are. in a sense, visitors in the,
cold lands and strangers to bitter j
winds, the privilege of buying
reindeer skins has the merits of
; a treasured gift. Let all who
■ wear reindeer parkas and muk
luks take them oft for once and
try to go about their business;
But the experiment need not be
tried, for the dangerous misery is
easy to imagine. And for con
trasting safe comfort the reindeer
1 are to be thanked. Other furs
might be obtained; but they are
harder to get and more expensive
to buy.
As to the value of these gifts
from reindeer we can only guess.
A reindeer roaming the far-away
hills may not be worth anything
in money-value; but once its skin
has been made into clothing, its
worth is difficult even to guess.
Not all value can be measured in
dollars; and a reindeer parka,
muktuks, and mit/ts are, to a man
who would freeze without them,
worth all that his life is worth!
Board Decided
Ford Violated
The Wagner Act
CBy The Associated Press)
WASHINGTON, Dec. 24. —The
National Labor Relations Board
deciding that the Ford Motor Co.
had violated the Wagner Labor
Disputes Act declared that the
concern showed “unconcealed
hostility to unionization and an
tagonism toward home workers
“through the employment of hir
ed thugs to terrorize and beat
union members’’.
The board also accussed the
company of violation “thru co
ercion”.
The Ford Motor Company was
ordered to reinstate twenty nine
employees who, the decision said,
w.r dischargd for union activity,
which was in violation of ethe
Wagner Act.
The company was further dir
ected tr stop discouraging mem
bership in the United Automo
bile Workers of America, or any
other union.
DETROIT, Dec. 24. — The
Ford Motor Company announced
it would appeal the decision to
the U. S .Circuit Court of Ap
peals.
The company's only comments
on the act of the National Labor
Relations Board, were contained
in a brief statement:
“The decision of the Board is
based on prejudice. It is not
founded on facts in the record.
It is wrong and unjust. The com
pany will appeal the decision to
the U. S. Circuit Court of Ap
peals.”
I
CUBA WILL TRY
THREE-YEAR PLAN
HAVANA Cuba, Dec. 24, (VP)—
Cuba’s strong man, Col. Fulgencio;
Batista, who virtually is dictator!
in the island republic, has inaug
urated a three-year plan for the.
economic development of thej
country. His plan covers all;
phases of agriculture, commerce;
and industry, and contemplates a
condition of general prosperity at.
the end of the three-year period.
In the meantime, the state will!
maintain strict supervision over;
all phases of activity.
Batista not many years ago was
a private in the Cuban army_ and
was a leader in a revolt that was
staged to oust commissioned of
ficers from control. He now dom !
inates the military and political
life of the republic.
Batista announced at a press
conference today in Havana that
his plans for the welfare of Cuba
provides for the “continuance of
the most friendly relations with
the United States.”
It is fun to wonder why we
learned about Santa Claus as a
plup person pulled by reindeer,
instead of as a sunny south-Afri
can driving a span of lions. The
history of folk-lore might give us
the answer. But in the cold lands,
at Christmas time, it is enough to
know that the reindeer is the
best of creatures and worthy of
association with all generous and
comfortable thoughts.
Punishment Has
Been Inflicted
Responsibles
(By The Associated Press)
TOKYO, Dec. 24, — The Jap
aiiese government acknowledged
full responsibility for the sinking
of the U S. gunboat Panay by
Japanese planes, and said that
the flying squadron commander
“and all other responsible” had
been punished.
They further assured the Am
erican government “that definite
and specific steps" had been tak
en to prevent any recurrence of
the incident.
Japanese foreign minister Hir
ota personally handed the note
to U. S. Ambassador Grw at 7
P. M. tonight, after approval by
the cabinet and the sanction of
the Emperor had been obtained
The text of the note was not
published in Japan.
Hirota did mi make clear how
the responsible parties were pun
ished, except to say, it was ac
cording to law. The note said
the sinking “was entirely due to
a mistake."
Commander Of
Panay Tells Of
Attack On Ship
(By The Associated Press)
WASHINGTON, Dec. 24, —The
wounded commander of the U. S.
gunboat Panay reported official
ly it had been sunk without warn
ing by Japanese naval planes,
which he said flew' as low as
"perhaps two hundred feet” to
drop bombs.
Lieut. Commander James J
Hughes also said that the craft
was marked with huge flags
when the attack occurred.
He said that three hours be
fore the bombing the Panay was
boarded by Japanese army offi
cers who vainly sought informa
tion on the movements of Chin
ese troops.
The first report came without
warning, he said, from two Jap
anese naval planes which power
dived from an altitude of "font
thousand feet". The Panay was
then subjected to fifty six minui
es of intensive bombing and ma
chine gunning.
He said he was informed that
two boats bearing wounded to
the river bank had been machine
gunned by the attacking planes
Worker Crushed
By Falling of Big
Beam On Job
(By The Associated Press)
LONG BEACH. While dozens
of shoppers looked on John Ser
eda, 42. was crushed to death
when a three-and a half ton gird
er which had been lifted from a
truck by a crane toppled over
and pinned him against a small
beam on the ground.