Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1941-01-27
By LOUIS P. LOCHNER.

menu CAN 1 dl1Olu lily SucotS.
Both considerations have neces-
sary corollary: Invitations are
issued only a day or two before a
scheduled event.
AS regards possible visits by
bombers from England. every pro-
carefully and tries to make out some
sort of a guess for the immediate
future. He must be his own prophet,
for weather reports are military
secrets and the press no longer car
rieS them.
If he is convinced that today's
torrent of rain is likely to continue
for the next two or three days, the
host may decide to invite his guests
for an evening of conviviality on
the assumption that his English
cousins" won't come in such weather
Guests Come Early.
If he isn't sure of the weather, he
may deem it the part of wisdom to
invite guests to arrive as early as
4:30 pm, in the expectation that
they can depart in time to antici-
pate possible air raid alarms. II
there is one thing visitor dislikes,
it is to be caught between his hosts
home and his own in some strange
shelter.
And that's where another rub
comes in. Relatively few persons
are masters of their own time and
can afford to leave their jobs or
ofices in midafternoon, hence au-
tomatically many people invite 9TH
ers only for Sunday afternoons,
only to find that some whom they
hoped most to see have already
accepted invitations elsewhere.
Surprising the hosts calculations
are wrong. That means taking his
guests into a raid shelter with him.
Before inviting any one for an eve
ming, therefore, the host must plan
in advance on possible entertain
ment accommodation down below
for his guests
Even though no air alarms occur
entertaining is not an easy matter.
That was true all through the first
year vi Illc wal "llCll Oil dldS
were almost unknown in most sec
lions of the Reich. 1t is equally true
today.
Housewives ResOurceful.
Here is where the genius Of the
housewife comes in, for her prob
lem is that of providing hospitality
in country which is on strict
ration basis.
I remember reading story a
few months ago of princess OF the
royal Danish house who took ration
cards with her to some social affair
in Copenhagen and offered a GER
tain number of coupons to her host.
Here in Germany have encoun-
tered nothing of the kind. German
hosts would feel inSulted II you
tried to contribute even your ration
card to the family budget.
Anybody living under normal con-
ditions can hardly appreciate what
it means for a hostess to give real
dinner nowadays. not that there
isn't enough food in Germany to be
satisfied, but rationine means
strict limitation to person OF what
is necessary.
Hence if your hostess produces
complete meal it means in all like
lihood that her family has short
changed itself for weeks in order,
little by little. to save up enough
butter. vegetables, sugar and pota-
toes and that it generously shares
the lucky windfall of having OBJ
tanned say goose or chicken from
some friend out in the country.
So one nice day you wake up to
hear the telephone ringing and
some friend saying, Gould you come
over for dinner the dav after to-
morrow? We managed to get duck
today and we'd like to have you
share it with us. Please excuse my
inviting you on such short notice,
but of course I couldn't make ar
rangements until was certain OF
the bird"
There is still plenty of wine and
thin wartime beer around to COM
plete that part of the menu. Tee
totalers, however, must likely as
not drink plain water. for fruit
juices are thing of the past, at
least in the winter time.
1t was months ago that the aver
age German tasted real tea.
That goes for coffee, too
Germans probably have a greater
yearning for coffee than any other
people on earth and to have to do
without it is genuine hardship for
many. The "ersatz" of barley is
something quite different from cof-
fee, even though it bears the same
proud name.
We, as Americans. are in fortu-
nate position, being able to obtain
in foreign money. Good old Amer
lean dollars have lost none of their
potency as an international medium
of exchange.
Coffee Big Attraction.
On more than one occasion, when
inviting friends, I have informed my
guests that we would like to have
them over for a cup of real coffee.
With an almost pathetic eagerness
they would say:
What, real coffee? OF course
we'll come
I never know whether to feel
f1attered or humbled. I only know
that coffee is my best sales argu-
ment. Speaking of coffee. In a
fashionable hotel heard the fol-
lowing:
A guest called waiter:
Tell me, how is your coffee?'
And the waiter replied:
"Oh, not so bad. Half and half"
"What?" was the happy and de-
lighted rejoinder of the guest. half
real coffee and half ersatz? That's
fine. Bring me big cupful."
Sorry, mein herr" the waiter
confessed, realizing he had carried
a joke too far. Il meant half sum-
mer barley and half winter barley