Evening star., 1942-01-01
Major Battle Raging Near Manila;
HEAVY Losses Inflicted on Enemy;
Japs Shell T hree Islands Of Hawaii
Stimson Luuds
Defense by
Macarthur

NlOS0uNu NuuUl
SECRETARY STIMSON repudiate'
story Japanese fighting in Phil
ippines are poorly equipped boys
Page Az.
RUSSIAN NEWSPAPER CRIT
CIZES United States for declaring
Manila open city. Page AS.
BY the Associated Press.
The War Department today
reported a major battle was ir
progress north of Manila ane
Philippine defense forces were
inflicting heavy losses on the
invaders.
A communique announced at tht
same time that three islands o!
Hawaii had been shelled by enemy
submarines, but there were no cas-.
ualties and virtually no damage.
A communique reported Philip.
pine developments up to $50 am
U1:3O pm, Manila time), in fewer
than so words, failing to disclose
whether the Philippine capital still
stood.
The communique said the points
shelled in Hawaii were Hilo, or
the island of Hawaii; the harbol
of Kahului on the island Of Maui
and the shoreline near Lihue, on the
island of Kauai. At Hilo, seconc
Hawaiian city, slight damage was
caused to a wharf. The harbor a.
Kahului was fired on five time.
without damage.
At Lihue, a few rounds were fired
setting fire to a sugar cane field.
Second Attack Of War.
The attack on Kahului was the
second of the war a submarine hav-
ing fired about 10 shells there on
December 16.
The communique was read at his
press conference by Secretary OF
War Stimson, who praised Gen.
Douglas MacArthur's defense OF the
islands as mastery"
Secretary Stimson told an in
quirer the War Department had
not instructed Gen. Macarthur to
quit the Philippines in the event OF
a forced capitulation to the Japa-
nese.
He said I'VE have to face the
facts of Japanese strength, and
added:
Il am confident we can and will
defeat the enemy in the end, but we
cannot by looking through rose
colored spectacles."
Heavy Enemy Losses.
He expressed belief that the
enemy had suffered heavy losses,
since the fighting had been very
we'll sustained" by the American
Filipino forces and the japanese had
to carry the attack to capable de-
Tenders.
Nj. Stimson refused to comment
on 0"iticism of the order making
Ne a an open city, observing that
"whln our people are fighting under
a most skillful commander in a
struggle which it had been recog-
nized for 20 years would be ex-
tremely uphill when it came, there
should be no criticism from us"
Nothing has occurred to indicate
that Gen. MacArthur's defense has
been other than mastery, he added.
Meanwhile, Washington steeled
itself against possible surrender OF
Manila and soberly considered the
best way to redeem Americas Far
Eastern outpost in the event OF its
fall to the japanese.
There were compelling reasons
to believe that the fall Of Man.
la might not be long delayed.
Wounded men of the American and
Philippine armies had been evacu-
ated on ship bound for Austria
liza. Heavy japanese forces even
earlier had been reported bearing
down on the city from both north
and south.
On New Year broadcast,
Premier Gen. Hideki TOTO of ia
pan asserted that 1T is only
question of time until Manila and
Singapore meet a fate similar to
that of Hong Kong" The British
crown colony fell to the Japanese
on Christmas Day.
Position Not Made Clear.
The hour-to- position of Gen.
MacArthur's defense lines was
not made clear in any of the
official communicates, although some
Axis radio broadcasts declared the
front was not more than 10 miles
from the commonwealth capital.
An Army communique issued late
yesterday said that resistance to the
japanese invaders was continuing
and described the moving of the
wounded to Australia.
Yesterday the Navy issued co!n-
munique. apparently intenIcd as
denial of Tokio claims that
Maui, Palmyra and Johnston Islands.
in or near the Hawaiian group. had
heen effectively bombed. The situa-
ton on those islands, the Navy said,
was unchanged since the last re-
port, which was received Decem-
ber "a.
All indications we're that Manila
must soon surrender to powerful
japanese forces slashing their way
steadily toward the city from two
directions regardless of the fierce
resistance of badly outnumbered de-
Tending troops.
There was only scant news,
. y~-yN,-C