A six-article series on the Second Front by correspondents Kato in Berlin, Wakayama in Zurich, Sakura in Lisbon, Enomoto in Budapest, Kago in Stockholm, Takata in Paris, and Oshima in Berlin ends today without arriving at any insightful conclusions. Sakura thinks the main landing will be in Northern France, Holland or Belgium, or "here or there," thus covering all possible landing sites. Kato says when the invasion starts, the war will enter the decisive stage; otherwise it will be "further prolonged."

"Railroad Blames Buy and Sell Agents" — for what is not mentioned. Not allowed on our railroads, according to the Rikuun Kanrikyoku, are rice and palay, tikitiki, fresh coconuts, corn and mongo beans, hides and meat, coconut oil, bark for tanning, and animals with the exception of three fowl per passenger. In other words, for all the blessings the railroad was supposed to shower on the people, FOOD, the most essential cargo, is FORBIDDEN.

On Tencho-Setsu, the Japanese did release some political prisoners from every occupied territory in East Asia ... except the Philippines.

La Vanguardia: "Plenty of Rice Arrives in Manila." It's a bad sign when a notice like this appears in the papers. Rice is now P350 a sack and skyrocketing (I bought four sacks at P250 yesterday through the graces of Placido Adad). Private Japanese firms have been buying rice right here in Manila, pushing prices up.

FLASH: Bicol Express Crashes — 900 dead and injured — undoubtedly the biggest train accident of the war. It occurred en route to Legaspi, on the zigzag downgrade between Camalig and Daraga. The company usually inspects the brakes at the Camalig stop — they've failed before but near the end of the downgrade. Maurice has ridden through there a number of times and always felt a crash was due. Strangely, the news is being suppressed.