Evening star., 1939-12-09
Berlin Takes War
Quietly; Confines Talk
To Local Subjects
Clothes Are Good
If Not Always Smort;
Bluckout Is Worst
BY LOTHRoP sToDDARD.

BY LOTHROP sTQDDARD.
BERLIN (N.A.N.A).-To the new
conner, the outstanding impression
made by the Berliners Is Of q thor
ough-going impassivity. These peo-
pie seem stoldly casual. On the
streets their faces are usually ex-
pressionless. Almost never does one
see a conversation which Is really
animated.
In restaurants and cafes they
chat quietly, and snatches Of talk
that have overheard are nearly
always about personal or local az
fairs. Discussion Of the war or
other public matters seems to be
tacitly taboo.
One OF the most interesting exam
pies of Berlins impassivity is the
popular attitude toward the tightly
closed British Embassy, which Is
Just around the corner from my
hotel. There 1t stands, with gilded
lions and unicorns upon its portals
Offhand, it would seem as though
this diplomatic seat of the arch
enemy would attract some atten-
ton, especially on Sunday when this
part of the city is thronged with
out-of town visitors. Yet, though
have watched many times, I have
never seen a soul SO much as give
the building glance.
No Ban on English Tongue.
The same popular attitude is
shown toward our language. With
American acquaintances, I speak
English freely on the streets, in res
taurants, and in buses or subway
trains. Thus far I have noted only
casual glances, clearly animated by
curiosity at the sight of obvious
foreigners-and foreigners are rela-
lively few just now in Berlin. I
have heard of one or two remon.
strances addressed to Americans
speaking English in public, but
have had no such experience.
The Berliners seem to be surpris-
ingly we'll dressed. One sees many
suits and overcoaJs which have obvi-
ously been worn a long time, but are
always tidy and clean. This is like
wise true of other parts of Germany
which I have visited. In two recent
trips-one through Central Germany
to the Rhineland, the other to
Vienna-the people dressed about
the same. 1t is true that clothing,
like food, is strictly rationed, and
that you cannot buy suit or over
coat without bezugschein-an Off
cial permit. I am likewise told that
the cheaper fabrics, made largely of
wood synthetics mixed with shoddy
absorb dampness quickly, get heavy
and are hard to dry out. The clothes
look good nevertheless, though I
cannot vouch for their actual re-
sistance to rain and cold.
Clothes For Service, Not Looks.
One thing these clothes do lack,
however, and that is style. The
range of models is small, and they
are all built for service rather than
smartness. Overcoats are mostly of
the ulster type, and that goes for
tllC WOlllCll, wv. VI Soul OllC SCCo
well-dressed women according to our
standards. but the average Berlin
female of the species, with her ulster
cite or raincoat, her plain felt hat,
her cotton stockings and her low
heeled shoes, rarely warrants Sec
ond look. I may add that she uses
no makeup and seldom has her hair
waved. My biggest surprise in Vienna
was when I saw respectable-appear-
ing women and girls in leading cafe
casually take out their lipsticks and
freshen their makeup. Newly come
from Berlin, I nearly fell of my
chair.
The most unpleasant feature Of
life here is the verdunkelung or
blackout. For the visiting foreigner
at least, when evening falls. Berlin
becomes literally a city of dreadful
night" This blackout must be lived
to be understood. 1t Is almost total.
Trans and buses still run, but vir-
tually dark. The few automobiles
that circulate have their headlights
hooded save for a small slit which
emits only faint ray. You pick
your way warily through inky-black
streets, sensing rather than seeing
the passersby. Some people wear
phosphorescent buttons to avoid COL
lision, but they are minority.
Most persons carry small flash
lights, but their use is strictly cir
cumscribed. You are supposed to
use them only near the ground to
avoid tripping over curbstones, and
then only for an instant. Should
you flash 1t around to learn your
whereabouts or find the street num-
Der you are seeking, you will prob
ably be shouted at by one of the
policemen who seem to be every
where after dark. And you had
better not persist in that practice,
because misuse Of your flashlght
Is punishable by 50-mark fine,
which at par is about $40.
Kindly Solicitude.
So you stumble along as best you
can. Perhaps the worst hazard you
encounter is f1replugs. These are
squat pillars, twice as wide as our
hydrants and nearly six feet tall.
I know them well, because I ran
smack into one only last night,
bruised my forehead and chin, and
only by a miracle failed to smash
my left glass into my eye.
That episode brings out one
pleasant feature Of life here-the
basic kindliness of the Berliner.
Beneath a sometimes grun exterior,
he is friendly soul. I proved this
as I stood, half-dazed from the
shock, proclaiming in unconvential
English my opinion OF Berlin fire.
plugs. At that same instant I was
surrounded by twinkling flashlights,