We had a little excitement here today for a change. The Japs opened up on us with artillery from the mainland south of here and dropped a few shells on Corregidor. We have been shelling the mainland for the past few days and it appears that the Japs wanted to send them back. Most of the populace in this vicinity scurried for the cover of the tunnel. No damage was done. They also shelled Forts Hughes, Drum, and Frank. I suppose it will be daily routine from now on, and in time we will get it hot and heavy, particularly if we give up Bataan, for that is much closer.
I held a conference here today on conservation of fuel oil, gas, and coal. We will be out of all kinds of fuel inside of three months at the present rate of consumption, and I don’t know what we will do when that happens. In the meantime, I am trying to devise means to reduce consumption. I believe we could chase all the Japs off this island right now if we had the necessary supplies for a sustained effort. However, that would require much greater expenditures of all classes of supply, and we can’t spare them. We must just sit here as long as we can and bottle up the entrance to Manila Bay.
The Legaspi went out again today for another try at getting a cargo of food from the south. We are also going to fix up the Yusang, a British ship, and send her out in a few days. Hope they get through.