Evening star., 1942-10-31
Americans Waiting
For Second Round
Knox Declares
BY the Associated Press.


Navy Knox that a huge japanese
naval armada had retired and
that American forces are holding
"every inch of ground we ever
controlled" on Guadalcanal Is
land stirred new hope today for
an eventual Allied counteroffen-
sive against Japan.
Round one of the flaming South
Seas battle is over, Secretary Knox
said yesterday, and American land,
sea and air forces "are waiting for
the second round to start"
Our grip on the vital Guadal-
canal airfield clinched tighter as the
japanese fighting vessels disap-
peared from the Solomons battle
scene with at least two more of
their ships-and probably four
heavily damaged by aerial bombs.
Enemy Shipping Blasted.
The threat of major Nipponese
naval assault to recapture the stub
bornly held island airbase was dis
PEELED temporarily even as bombing
planes under Gen. Douglas MacAr-
thurs Australian command again
plastered an enemy shipping base
with explosives, hitting warship
twice, setting another vessel ablaze
and probably damaging an aircraft
carrier and cruiser.
Proudly, Secretary Knox told of
the retirement of the japanese
warships from the Guadalcanal
area, adding that some of the Rising
Suns ships had returned to their
bases, while others departed to un-
disclosed destinations. But he made
1t clear there was no telling when
they would return for a stab at
Guadalcanal or at American bases
in the New Hebrides, New Caledonia
and the Fiji Islands.
While cautioning against regard
ing retirement of the japanese fleet
too optimistically, the Secretary
expressed "a great feeling of pride
in the way our men have met the
onslaught"
'They have done a superb job"
he said, adding that I'VE are in as
complete control of the situation in
Guadalcanal as we ever have been"
Some quarters expressed belief the
japanese battleships, cruisers, de-
stroyers and transports had left the
embattled Solomons area to bring
back more troops for reinforcement
of their Guadalcanal forces whose
efforts trus far have failed to retake
any of the ground the marines cap
tured in early August.
At the end of round l, as Sec
retary Knox called it on departure
of the enemy fleet, the Japanese,
since opening of the battle of the
Solomons, have lost at least IA ships
with three more probably sunk and
"a damaged
The United States Navy has an
nounced IA vessels sunk and one
damaged.
japanese losses in the Guadal-
canal ground fighting and aerial
combats about the island also have
been reported much heavier than
those of the Americans.
d Meanwhile, Secretary Knox de-
clared, there has been no inter-
ruption in our ations' to
the island and presumably Ameri-
can forces were taking advantage
of the absence of the enemy's fleet
to rush reinforcements and supplies
to the Guadalcanal garrison
Japs Berate U. S. Navy.
About the time the Secretary was
making his appraisal of the Solo,
mons fight Japanese spokesman
in Shanghai, Yoji Hirota, also was
having a press conference. Hirota
made sarcastic remarks about the
"tin-plated" United States Navy,
mouthed threats of what the Jap
anese Navy would do to Americas
projected two-ocean Navy, but
Hirota had only this to say of the
Solomons:
"A well-prepared American coun-
beaten back by the japanese Navy"
In other words, japanese spokes-
men still are publicly hedging on
the fact that United States troops
hold the Guadalcanal air field. Jap
anese officials never acknowledge a
setback Every battle operation is
either "a great victory or is simply
ignored.
But the Toxic radio broadcast an
other interesting dispatch on the
same program, this time quoting Ad-
iniral Kichisaburo Nomura, Ambas-
sador to the United States at the
time of the attack on Pearl Harbor
Nomura did not appear to have
the same confidence exhibited by the
Shanghai spokesman. He told
school teachers convention that ia
pan had to concentrate on industrial
expansion; Nomura apparently had
In mind United States strides toward
q two-ocean Navy.
,o Nomura also concluded with this
Interesting statement, as quoted by
the Toxic radio:
Germany in the First World War
was victorious in warfare but was