E.M. in Our Tomorrow isn't fooled by the report on Il Duce's health: "It is natural that in a gigantic struggle of worldwide magnitude which is lasting for years and which means life or death to the nations involved there should be some bad news even for the side which is proving victorious."

Splashes: "If we are proficient in spreading rumors, we ought to be spreading some against our enemy." We are, boy, we are!

And from Berlin I detect a sigh of resignation: "The Wilhelmstrasse pointed out that in view of the fact that the Anti-Axis will spread rumors as well as sensational reports, it is better to await more detailed reports from Rome before forming a concrete opinion."

Ignacio Javier apparently is out; someone else did his 2045 News Commentary. The Japanese wised up to his practice of including juicy morsels of news in his broadcasts. A recent broadcast by his substitute on American immorality shocked quite a lot of people. We took a poll: Piñol clicked the radio off in three minutes, I lasted five, and Perlman managed it for eleven minutes. It was the most despicable stuff we ever heard — we all left our radios in a rage. Everyone agreed the Japanese hit new all-around lows for sheer dirtiness.

We've had many articles of guerrillas surrendering, but in truth, peace doesn't reign in the provinces. The Japanese still don't dare to venture outside the populated areas they control. To do so is to invite ambush; to chase guerrillas in the mountains, a mere exercise in futility.

To survive, the guerrillas go on provisioning raids or extort donations from locals. The better-organized groups print their own emergency money — redeemable after the war. From time to time, U.S. subs supply them with military equipment and other essentials. The display of a fresh American apple, orange, or an almost current magazine or newspaper, has a tremendous symbolic power to influence morale.

Guerrillas engage in occasional acts of sabotage, ambush military targets of opportunity, or go after military criminals or prominent collaborators just to keep the population awake — the easy pickings. They've been holding back because the Japanese take reprisals out on innocent civilians and because they know there'll be a better time for action. That's the American message: Prepare and lay low. It's a temporary stalemate — at least until MacArthur signals otherwise.

The Japanese offer amnesty to guerrillas that surrender, and some groups that find themselves betrayed or in dire straits take up the offer. For some, surrendering means retirement; for others it's only a temporary vacation.

Japanese propaganda may fool the propagandists themselves or their own civilians, but not the Japanese Army. It's said that they've already informed Tokyo that not one of them intends to return. They will stay, fight and die here. There's evidence that food and ammunition is being stocked in Bataan and Corregidor, and some buildings in Manila are getting fitted out with anti-aircraft guns and searchlights. All of this suggests that the Philippines may yet become a significant battlefield.