The Waterbury Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1917-1946, 1943-07-09
A LONDONER IN NEW YORK

(By Thomas Edward Healy, war
correspondent of the London Daily
Mirror. Mr.. Healy has campaigned
with the French army, 1934-40,
Alexander's army, in Burma, 1912,
and with Montgomery from Egypt
to Tunisia, 1942-43. He left Paris
five hours before the Germans &C.
cupied it; was congratulated by
Churchill and Wavell for his Burma
war reporting)
This is the voice of FRENZY
alien. I've been reporting this
United Nations war since Septem-
Der, 1899. But first thing l had to
do when I sought permission to
visit USA was fill out form for
aliens. This peacetime form is all
rules and a yard wide, full of highly
personal, cryptic questions. 1t floored
me. Only two questions I'm certain
] answered correctly were could
] read and was 1 masculine. They
asked me also If I'd ever been in
sane. Even in the evil NaI pre-
war days when I went often to
Germany the formalities were never
80 tough, and I'd never been called
an alien. 1t seemed a symbol of
our life and times that you and We,
SO (as l believe) fundamentally alike
in thought and aspiration, should
build and maintain barriers to asso-
citation and understanding. Symbol
of OUR times, too, l never saw Lib
erty as we steamed upriver. Liberty
passed by as l was answering an
FBI quiz. Very charming, very cour-
teous those FBI men, but the 60
UNCOVER they gave me wasn't less
thorough for being SO friendly. Is
1t too much to hope that after war
the American and British peoples
may share common citizenship in
each others countries? That would
be war aim. 1t might even pre-
vent World War 3.
was entirely unprepared for
New York. Years spent in the
jungles of Burma and on the vastly
deserts of Egypt, Libya and Tri-
politania were poor training grounds
for this exhilarating contact. A
strange city - but the natives are
friendly. Everything has been said
OF New York, but was surprised
at its smooth, velvety functioning,
the politeness of the inhabitants;
not surprised at its fascinating WIN
dow displays, its high prices, its
nothing for nothing, and damn
little dollar for a dollar" attitude.
London has nothing of New Yorks
spirit or character. Paris had, a
little; the same tempo, same fruity
smell of gasoline, same gusts OF
warm air uprushing from the sub
ways, chestnut trees. Nostalgia broke
over me like a wave of sight of
those chestnuts, recalling Paris
Maytime in 1910.
Sydney has something OF New
York, in it's waterfront, its ir-
regular skyline, its hamburger heav-
ems and gay, gaudy and swift taxi
cabs. New YorkS women and Sgd
ney's have certain kinship, too. The
skilful makeup, 1.-THE figures, slim
ankles and Well-shod feet. Il am
not disloyal to you, you gallant
British women who fill our factories,
clean our streets and man our gunsD
On Fifth avenue maidens in uniform
are rarer than on Londons Picca-
dilly. But those I saw rated back
ward glance. Unlike British Wo-
mems service uniforms, seemingly
designed by repressed spinsters as
revenge on their sex, US Women's
uniforms are chic, feminine, fire.
quently fantastique. Perhaps &C.
casionally un peu trop fantastique,
devised more for front-roW Choir
ines than for front-line corps.
There's something to be said for ugly
uniforms: those who volunteer to
wear them must be pure PATRIOTS.