Evening star., 1941-09-11

MeLemors. Once pegged as
a fellow who talked about the
weather and your hostess gave yeu
the buck-toothed girl who did social
work as a dinner partner and al!
ways found your eye when she
needed some one to run down to
the corner drugstore for extra ice
cubes. IA
But those days are gone forever. < p.
Now, with the movement of mech-
anized equipment and airplanes all
important in warfare, the weather
has been elevated as a topic of con-
versation until 1t holds equal rank
with yesterdays bridge hand. to-
morrow's trip to the dentist, Ickes'=
pipe line, taxes, initiation and Army
morale. ~
Right now there isn't anything
people in the United States are talk
ing more about than they are the
Russian winter How cold does ID
get in Russia? When does the snow
start falling? Does it get so cold
that people just freeze in their
tracks? I'll swear you can become
a social lion if you can talk authort-.
tatively about Russian winters. 7
was at a party few days ago and
the center Of attention was drawl-
ing Texan who had spent December
in Moscow 25 years ago. use
IF the Russians can just hold out
until December, they can't los6''
| he said. 7etc.
We all crowded around him. q
'Why?" We asked. .-.,,-
Man" the Texan answered, lin
December it gets so cold that no.
body but Russians can stand it.
Foreigners just freeze to death. ."77f
| "Aaaaaahi" "a
We all shivered in anticipation
of what was going to happen to the
| Germans once December came 10
Russia. Not a one of us thought
to ask the Texan how he, Dallas
boy, had managed to survive a De-.
cember in Moscow, where he ap-
parently had done nothing but stand
around and watch non Russians die
like flies in the bitter chill. go
--5
| Here in New York every one is.
interested in RuSsias weather.
A cab driver told me he wished
the papers would run the Moscow
weather report right along with
those of Denver, st. Louis, Miami,
Chicago, Los Angeles and New Or
leans.
Come right down to it." he said,
land Moscow's weather means more
to us than that of those United
States towns"
You may not believe it, but peo-
pie around here begrudge a nice
warm, sunshiny day. For some rea-
son they feel that if it's nice here.
it's nice in Russia and that If it's
raining here it will pe sticky over
there. A good downpour on Fifth
avenue cheers up lots Of them;
they can visualize the German
panzer units getting stuck in the
mud and German incendiary bombs
sputtering out. n.
I look forward to the first sneW
furry in New York. Weather.
conscious folk will Immediately in
terpret it as meaning a super
blizzard in Russia, with a complete
begging down of Nazi endeavor. 2.
~ 'ss.
1t is taken for granted in this
country that only Russians can
Withstand Russian winter. trust
that this is true, else all of us are
going to be very disappointed. Right
from the start of the German
Russo campaign we have been led
to believe that, come winter, the
Russians would need no other gem
erals than Gen. Snow, Gen. Iciele
and Gen. Frostbite. .7Oa
If the Germans have gone out
and equipped themselves with long
drawers, earmuffs and hot-Water
bottles, then they have played a
scurvy trick on us. But the chances
are they haven't. When a man
sets out on a six weeks rip eary
in the summer, he doesn't pack his
snowshoes and mittens. And the
Germans had it all figured out that
Moscow and back wouldn't take
more than six weeks. After their
successes elsewhere, they probably
took along tennis racquets for a
few sets on the Kremliu courts,
But anyway all hail to the Russian
weather. And I mean hail, too.
Not only hail, but snow ano ice.
These elements will not only help
to defeat the Axis powers, but think
of what a boon it will be to us
weather discussers, come winter,
come Russian winter. ~
| Distributed By McNaught Syndicate, Incl