Everyone's talking about rice. A government official blamed his own government for the crisis: "Rotten," he said, "corrupt from top to bottom." He knows of a PC man earning P1,000 a day from bribes. Matsuka thinks the situation is hopeless and the Filipinos will have to turn to the Japanese for help. They might rediscover their benevolence, and magnanimously grant us free passage of rice — on our own railroads.

The Taiwan Gas Company issued a circular to ALL employees ordering them to work one day a week in military construction: the fake building going up in the great Nichols-Nielson airbase. An eight-month pregnant girl was exempted. A nursing mother pleaded she couldn't keep her baby without milk all day. "Baby can wait until tonight," was the gruff reply. The Swiss working for the company asked for and got a reluctant exemption to avoid compromising their neutral status.

Remember Winkler? The Japanese took over his salt factory for a measly P250 a month. He says he'll protest to the German Consulate in Tokyo.

It was a blue day at the Astoria this afternoon. By 1615 they were out of ice cream, milk, cakes, and watermelon. Only coffee and some old Australian lemonade could be served.