The Daily Alaska empire Newspaper, December 9, 1941, Page 1

THE DAILY ALASKA EMPIRE VOL. LVIIL, NO. 8900. “ALL THE NEWS ALL THE TIME” JUNEAU, ALASKA, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 1941 MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS PRICE TEN CENTS JAP SHIPS OFF PACIFIC COASI Precaufions fo Be Taken For School ( (ase, Sudden Emergencies The members of the Juneau Pub- lic School Board have been re- quested by the Juneau Civilian De- fense Unit, in conjunction with Superintendent of Public Schools A. B. Phillips, to put into effect a plan of procedure for the dispersal of the Juneau Public School chil- dren should air or other enemy raids be made on Juneau. The members of the Board, R. E. Ro- bertson, Walter P. Scott and Rus- sell R. Hermann, have issued the following statement: The plan, until we are advised by competent authority of its in- advisability, contemplates as quick- | ly as possible upon receiving warn- ing that the children shall dis- perse to their respective domiciles without congregating in groups and without remaining on the streetsg any longer than absolutely possible. Outside City Children 1. Children, whose homes are not in Juneau, will be temporarily assigned to homes in Juneau, as an air raid would likely render school bus transportation tempor- arily impossible. Mr. Phillips by| letter will contact the parents of | these children who do not reside in Juneau, so as to obtain as far| as possible, the parents’ expression of their preference as to what homes their children should be as- signed to in Juneau temporarily until conditions permif their ac- tually being sent home. Children of parents who do not so express their preference will be assigned to} homes of Juneau residents who| will be solicited to take such chil- BLACKOUT AL NIGHT IN JUNEAU hildren in in groups; with the younger chil- dren in charge of escorts as above stated. Non-resident children, of| H i H course, instead of proceeding to“ Joms Pa(l“( coas' m their own homes, will promptly broes 1o e homes 1o v, 10fal Darkness they have been assigned. | 5. Children will be Instructed to[, T "ens D24 2 xapid iniuation| seek as much shelter as possible, al war {REbCRMDY, when 8| if a raid is actually on, and to [ry‘zi:f:;‘:; l‘li‘;nalcitym il:g(;“‘ mo"‘clloclk to not expose themselves whi -1 b i y selves while en-|qq xness until 8:30 am. today. route home. | Thus. Juneau joined with cities the length of the Pacific Coast in precautionary moves prompted by reports that Japanese aircraftcar- Discretion Necessary 6. Naturally considerable discre-, tion must be left to the judgment of the Superintendent of Public|riers were as close as 20 miles to Schools as to whether or not the|sections of the coastline. The sec- children should actually be sent|ond blackout was ordered on in- forth from the building while a|structions from the Army Head- raid is actually in progress. BUt|quarters on the Pacific Coast. our present thought on the sub-| Red-eyed civilian defense guards- Ject is: Less danger would occur men went to their jobs this morn- | to the children as a whole by hav- |ing a little the worse for lack of ::mz ll’:;m K;l‘iSDel'S?dmx their hhomes |sleep after taking guard shifts dur- | ven though a raid is on than t " keep thcfu congregazed1 tin nmz"",‘g thern:ghL ‘:‘lhere \-jas b‘ut e school buildings; and, if warmng' sy owev_ex.. o dueal : 3 , people answered the first emergen- Is received in time, to try to get|cy call. The signal from the fire all children home before the raid horn was garbled and led to an oceurs. jamount of uncertainty for the first 7. Through the teachers of the|few minutes after it sounded. When various grades, every effort will becity street lights were extinguished, made to impress upon the children however, homes followed suit. the importance of carrying out thi:.l Second Blackout It was the second blackout of plan. the evening for the Capital City of Alaska. The first alarm sounded at 7 p.m. and the city was dark for 15 minutes in a practice ses- sion. The sccond call came complete surprise. | Perfect cooperation was lent the Recommendations We recommend: ! 1. The Mayor and Common Council level off the ground at least to some extent immediately beneath the concrete viaduct which carries Calhoun Avenue near Fifth| NO BLACKOUT IS PLANNED FOR TONIGHT Signal Will Sound If Em- gency Declared by Military Officials The Juneau Ctiy Council will) pass a war emergency ordinance | this evening to put teeth in black- out; guard duty and other wartime regulations necessary to protect the city, it was decided at a brief meet-| ing of the city fathers following| There will be no blackout to- |Juneau’s first blackout last night.| night unless special orders to | The ordinance, to be drawn up| douse the ci lights are re- |today by Grover C. Winn, city at- ceived from military officials at | torney; R, E. Robertson, attorney \ \ Sitka, it was declared late this afternoon by Mayor Harry I Lucas and Defense Chief Frank Metcalf. Rumors that a blackout would be signaled at 4 p. m. and con- tinue through the night were without foundation, Lucas and Metcalf stated. President 7 Goes on Air 7 Tonight WASHING TON, Dec. ! { | | | i dren into their homes. Street, in the vicinity of the Sea- Escorts for Kiddies view Apartments, We have exam- 2. The younger children wlll!incd this site, and it is sufficient have assigned to them as escorts|to accommodate probably 200 chil- High School students, who live injdren. It would not be bomb proof, the immediate vicinity of the!but would undoubtedly afford shel- homes of such younger children,|ter against machine-gun fire and to escort them from the schools|from flylng shrapnel except on the to their respective homes, westerly side. Horn System Possibly a wall, sufficiently heavy 3. A system of horns will be set to protect against such up in each school building for use|should be built along the western | only in case of air or enemy war side which is now open and ex- raids, which alarm will be con- | posed, leaving sufficient openings trolled from the office of the Sup- at each end to afford light and erintendent. i ventilation as well as means of en- Children’s Instructions |trance and exit. 4. Children will be instructed,| 2. This matter be called to the upon alarm being given, to imme-|attention of the authorities in diately put on their wraps and charge of the Catholic Parochial then promptly leave the school School so they can buildings and to immediately pro- some plan intended to protect the ceed to their homes as fast as pos-|pupils of that school in case of sible, and to travel singly and not ,any such raid. OAKLAND U.S.MARINE SCHOOLS INSURANCE | | (losE Up SKYRO(KETS\AU raid authorities, it was pointed out, declare a lighted match in an i | | OAKLAND, Calif., Dec. 9.—all! NEW YORK, Dec. 9—American | schools in metropolitan Oakland marine insurance underwriters sky- have been ordered closed as an air | rocketed their war risk rates for raid precaution. This was done | United States ship cargoes icday, ‘after reports that a Japanese air- |boosting the premium to and from plane’ carrier may be hovering off | Hawaiian Islands to $4 per $100 missiles, | promulgate | _relatives in Seattle and Spokane. the Pacific Coast. STOCK QUOTATIONS | Yesterday's stock market in New | York closed with Alaska Juneau| at 2%, American Can 71, Ana-| conda 24%, Bethlehem Steel 56%, Commonwealth and Southern 3/16, Curtiss Wright 7%, International Harvester 44%, Kennecott 3214, New York Central 8%, Northern Pacific 4 7/8, United States Steel 50%, Pound $4.04. DOW, JONES AVERAGES Dow, Jones averages yesterday were as follows: industrials 11252, rails- 27.16, utilities 15.16. B e SOUTH FOR CHRISTMAS H. L. McDonald, of the Alaska Steamship Company freight office here arid Mrs. McDonald sailed south | on the steamer Mount McKinley to | spend the holidays vacationing with | ——— valuation from the previous rate of five cents. precaution by Douglas citizens and | residents out the highway, plung- | imt: the entire Gastineau Channel | |area into complete darkness, ex-| |cept from a faini reflection thrown |up by the blanket of snow which | shrouded the district. During the first blackout session, | four sources of illumination marred | the complete darkness of the 15- minute period. The string of red |lights from Radio Station KINY's transmitting tower showed up in bold contrast to the surrounding black, while three channel markers Iclose to the city blinked through- out the brief unlit period. Channel Lights Out During the emergency dark ses- sion, however, the radio tower lights were extinguished and a small |army boat here, went into the channel and turned off the lights. | Some members of the local de- fense council, stationed in the barbor aboard a small boat at the time of the first blackout, later warned against the use of flash- lights. When civic defense guards first reported to their squad lead- ers, flashlight signals were said to almost outline the city. Guardsmen were also warned against lighting matches. London otherwise dark city can be distin- guished by a plane 1,000 feet in the air, ——.— DOCTORS MAY BE ' ASSIGNED T0 BE They warned, however, that a & 2 A blackout signal tonight, although :"'r:‘:f:‘a;“;’r‘m":“' “l’;'e‘ "“:':::: not anticipated, may be sounded tonight at 7 oclock (Pacific at any time if a danger warning Coast time) and will make a is flashed here from military more complete documentation. officials. 5% | Meantime, Juneau residents were busy today arranging tar paper, black oilcloth and other lightproof covers for windows, | in preparation of many blackout | signals in the coming weeks. VIND'(AIES ! — ., 1 \Contempt of Court Verdicis NOW SECRET | keversed-Black Upholds | Freedom Speech, Press Reports of Electras and Lodestars fo Be Withheld Until Planes End Trips As a precaution against releasing information on weather conditions to enemy sources, Pan American Airways today was ordered to keep movements of all planes seret until after the planes have reached their destinations, the local PAA office announced. Henceforth, flights of Pan Am- erican planes to and from Juneau and north and south points will not be revealed until the planes have landed. With the local office forbidden to reveal schedules to the public, it will be useless in the future to telephone the company for information. Rushing Blackout Preparations Today Hotels Juneau are rapidly preparing today for continued blackouts, and. hotel staffs are put- ting black paper on all windows, in | | WASHINGTON, Dec. 9. — The Supreme Court yesterday reversed contempt of court convictions | | against The Los Angeles Times and | Harry Bridges. | Associate Justice Hugo L. Black, | ! who delivered the majority decision, asserted that the First Amendment | to the Federal Constitution pro- | hibits “any law abridging freedom of speech or freeodm of the press.” | The newspaper was convicted on | charges growing out of publication of editorials about cases prior to | their final settlement. | Wildlife Men Ordered for Defense Work Game Commission Nofifies Entire Staff fo Cooper- ate with Army The Alaska Game Commission to- day went on an all-out war effort War Emergency, City Ordinance, o Be Passed By Council Here Tonight representing the civic defense coun- cil, Mayor H. I. Lucas and other officials, will provide penalties for| failure to follow emergency instruc-| tions and otherwise give civic de- | fense guardsmen authority to direct | activities of citizens in case of em-| ergencies, it was intimated. Councilmen will meet at T7:30 o'clock tonight to approve the or-| dinance, it was decided ROOSEVELT PUTS NAME TO MEASURE 777777 | Declaration of War Against| Japanese Signed Yes- | ferday Afternoon | WASHINGTON, Dec. 9—Presi-| dent Roosevelt signed the declara- | tion of war against Japan at l’lfl; o'clock (PST) yesterday afternoon,| formally setting the nation to its| task of achieving what he calls “an inevitable triumph.” | While Republican and Democratic leaders of the unified Congress look- ed on, the President took the last| step in the series of fast breaking developments which started with | Sunday’s deadly raid by the Japan- | ese on the American Territory of | Hawail. | Navy Escorls Arrangedfor Alaska Ships 1 No More Passenger Lists fo. Be Announced on Ships | Leaving for Northland | SEATTLE, Dec. 9. — All foreign shipping was cancelled here today when drastic naval port regulauons’ were invoked. ' All ship movements of coastwise, intercoastal and the Alaska mer-| chant service were banned from piblication because of the war. 1 Ferty fishing vessels which operate | from Hecate Strait to California were bound for Seattle to be tied up indefinitely. Rear Admiral+ Freeman, Com- mandant of the 13th Naval District, | said armed escorts will be provwed‘ by the Navy Department “for all| important vessels going from the bothi o 'roumis Sadi Igbre Ao thnt basis as Executive Officer Frank |Northwest to Alaska ports.” lights may be used. Dufresne notified all wildlife agents | At the Baranof Hot.el, all guest proceed at once to their head- |senger lists will be released on rooms and apartments are beinZ g.arters and help in every way pos- |northbound vessels leaving Seattle. prepared nol. only for an emer- gency, but on a permanent basis. All windows and skylights not ab- solutely necessary for diffused day- sible in defense work. Dufresne'’s letter to agents read: ON EMERGENCY The possibility of assigning doc- |tors to be on call in specified first |aid districts will be discussed at the 2 meeting of the Juneau Medical So- |ciety called for « tonight at 7:30 o’ ova an lo'clock. Physicians of Juneau will }ancmpt to lay out plans to place | doctors dnd alternate doctors on call Authorization was wired U. §.|! various b L e Commissioner Francis Jones at| ..o the First Ald Units to reach Cordova late yesterday to start a| search for Angelo DeMault, Cor- :::: :1;"':‘::;""2{“3:: ‘;‘1 “ca’s:‘";; dova resident several days overduc . 2 emergency. on a trip to LaTouche, it was an-; ¢ nounced this morning at the office The soclety will meet in the Ter- of Gov. Ernest Gi e ritorial Building which has been s DS AT prepared for a possible biackout. DeMault left Cordova a number g e A of days ago in a small boat and| since has not put in at LaTouche| or at Valdez, Jones wired the Gov- ernor’s office here. Jones believed ing man. | WASHINGTON, Feb. 9.—It was ————e— unofficially reported in Congress to- The greatest recorded depth of |day that a seven-day week may be Search for light have been painted black. you are authorized and requested to Suitable arrangements have also cooperate with all defense agencies been installed for all exit doors to the fullest extent. No field trips and windows. should be made from your head- | The Baranof Coffee Shop will quarters until specifically authorized | continue to run for the conveni- DY the executive officer. Temporary | efice of transient guests. loans and use of equipment for de- | At the Gastineau Hotel, prepara- [€NS€ Purposes is hereby authorized.” | tions were being rushed to cover £ 1 all windows -with black paper. All The New York Philharmonic-; windows in the lobby will also be svmphony Orchestra is the oldest covered, as soon as the guest rooms orchestra in the United States and are finished, the third oldest in the world. | All rooms in the Hotel Juneau are being light-proofed this after- SW -B 13 4t Canistmas noon, and later the lobby will also V4 receive attention. Until that time, lights will be extinguished. * LIFT DRAFT WASHINGTON, Feb. 9 — An- nouncement was made today. that the draft age may be raised and it might take about five days search | any ocean s in the Pacific — 35,000 |effective very shortly as emergency BUY DEFENSE STAMPS with power boats to locate the miss- | feet, Ilegulnnon. include all those between the ages of 18 to 44, The ruling means no more pas-‘i | - - the game | | “During the present emergency‘R u l E S s E | to FOR MINERS, BLACKOUT result in shutdowns of varying | extent in the Alaska Juneau l { | | | Gold Mining Company mill and mine, General Superintendent J. A. Williams said today. Scope of all shutdowns will depend on the time of the day, Wwilliam said. Both mine and mill will continue to operate on day shift. On afternoon shift, the mill, surface work, main rail- road and bulldozers will stop | operations in case of a blackout. On graveyard, the mill will shut down and there will be no work in the mine while the blackout is on. ' BUY DEFENSE BONDS iV WIDE PATROL; SEARCH BEING MADE FOR ENEMY Following three air raid alarms sounded over the San Francisco Bay area early last evening, with a second and then a third alarm at 2:30 o'clock this morning, the United States Army and Navy of- ficials announced that unidentified warships, and also possibly air- plane carriers, were off the Pacific Coast. The Navy Department immediately ordered a criss-cross flight patrol 600 miles to sea and this is being maintained today. In the Philippines, the Army Defense forces are reportedly creating havoc among Japanese attacking forces and it is said a large number of planes have been destroyed. The Philippine Islands report three air attack alarms and bombs were dropped in the vicinity of Manila and some blazes were re- ported from that area. Japanese landing forces are reported on Luzon Island. Midway Island is reported under bombardment by the Japanese. The Japancse Fleet, according to Axis forces, is reported steam- ing toward the Hawalian Islands to make contact and engagement with the United States fleet. Tokyo expects Rome and Berlin to declare war on the United States. Reports from Tokyo state Russia will remain neutral. German sources declared that Tokyo is prepared for air raids. Axis sources rumored also that the great Japanese port of Kobe has been subjected to a bombardment. New York’s Mayor LaGuardia has arrived in Los Angeles (o take over Civilian Defense. Immense air forces are being concentrated today over strategic points of the Pacific Coast. Washington, D. C., will undergo a partial blackout tonight. Gov. Langlie, of the State of Washington today met with de- fense leaders and called for 10,000 more defense men to go on duly. The Hongkong radio reported Japanese land forces had been put ashore on the Chinese coast but had been halted by artillery fire from the mainland. It was officially announced the Japanese drive on the sector began at dawn yesterday, the Japanese moving cauti- ously and most of the clashes taking the form of minor skirmishes. Canadian troops were reported to have participated in the main- land battle. Hongkong was under an air raid alarm all day long and British ships fought off Japanese planes. Dangers of air raid on Seattle was brought forcefully home to- day when Harborview Hospital officials announced they have on hand several thousand air raid identification cards and have pro- vided 50 additional cots in an air raid emergency ward. Mexico may declare war very shortly against Japan, it was de- clared today by sources close to the southern nation. It was also stated that beginning December 10 Mexican troops will start mov- ing through U. S. territory on their way to lower California to per- fect a defense set-up against Japanese. Formal declaration of war against Japan, Germany and Italy was made in Chungking last night by the (;hlnau government. The war declaration went into effect at midnight and ends the long period of undeclared hostilities which have existed between Japan and China, New York and the New England states went through their first air raid alarm last night, as tension grew in Berlin and seemed headed for a declaration of war against the United States. Secre- tary of State Cordell Hull today declared he believed Germany may follow the example of her axis partner Japan and make a swift at- tack upon this nation. From Washington today it was announced that both House and Senate swiftly approved a repeal of the restriction which has for- merly assured that selectees in the military service of this country would not be asked to serve autside the United States and its pos- sessions. Also in Washington, today, President Roosevelt sent to the Sen- ate for ratification the settlement agreement recently drawn up be- tween this country and Mexico regarding disposal of oil and farm land owned by United States interests and seized by the Mexican government. A radio broadcast from Manila, by Royal Arch Gunnison, for- merly of Juneau, was picked up locally this merning. Gunnison said that he was broadcasting from a temporary sta- tion set up at the tidal basin. Gunnison warned that reports from Tokyo were greaply exag- gerated and designed to foment unrest in the Philippines with the idea of proviking a revolution of the Filipinos against the United States. The attempts were unsuccessful, Gunnison said. Tokyo reports that Japan had put out of commission several air- fields near Manila were not true, Gunnison said. Airfields near Manila were still operating and in fighting condition. Al the time he was broadcasting, between 12 midnight and 12:30, Manila time, an air raid alarm was sounding, Gunaison said. In South America, Guatemala declared war on Japan, and Ar- gentina and Brazil joined in a broadening front against Japan, pledging cooperation to the United States. War declarations by the latter two countries were expected momentarily. Guatemala froze all Japanese assets in the country and its Legis- lature cheered President Roosevelt as the war bill was passed. Cuba prepared for a war vote, Colombia posted guards in Japanese seitlements and Germans and Italians in Panama were rounded up as the country acted swiltly to stamp out any possible sabotage activity. In Mexico City, 50,000 workers paraded through the capital's streets, shouting “the future of Mexico is with the United States!"” Many of the reports received by The Empire today are from other sources than the Associated Press and are therefore not officially confirmed. Reports Last Night The Pacific Coast, from Southern ,California to the Aleutian Islands, and beyond, was last night, as again today, on the alert for any infor- mation of possible attacks from the ocean side by enemy craft, sea or alr. Early last evening, many sections of the Pacific Coast went on black- outs, California was blacked out for two and a half hours when the lights went on again when it was announced the emergency was over, (Con!mufi \;rfiue Thru‘)‘