The Waterbury Democrat., 1943-05-11
WASHINGTON PICTURE POST
CARDS

The visual poetry Of the Lincoln
Memorial that warns your spirit
and finds a home among your MEM
ores Modern Federal build
ings displaying their best architec-
tural manners, overlooking slum
areas bruised by poverty E. Cherry
trees wearing dainty blossoms -.
Firing squads of reporters shooting
sassy queries at public officials dur
ing press conferences Homeless
rumors racing from place to place
about town The sun wrapping
It's beauties around the long stone
finger of the Washington Monument
Lobbyists greeting those who
can do them favors as though they
meant it The majestic atmo-
sphere Of the Supreme Court edi-
flee where people converse in soft
whispers for fear of scratching the
vanished silence Nervous fin
gers OF typewriter keys drumming
out details Of the government bust
ness Pretty gals who came to
the capital for glamour and excite
ment, hemmed In by hard work dur
ing the day and surrounded by
loneliness at night.
Legislators who crossed swords
during public debate, ping ponging
friendly words in cloakroomS
The Capitol Dome white-w washed
with moonlight, the star among the
city's sights Swanky old man.
sions reeking OF history, now serving
as ordinary boarding houses for gov
eminent workers Nerve centers
Of war agencies sprinkled with lights
all night, because war is 24-hour
job F.. Human pell-melling through
hotel Hobbies The Well-mani-
cured tussles among social leaders
to get important guests The Lii
brary of Congress drenched with
culture, while people in buildings
around it are sweating TO protect
everything 1t stands for.
The best-dresSed men in town
Hoover's G-men. They are also the
hardest punchers ard the straight
est shooters Uppity embassy
parties which provide showcase for
good manners and stale gossip o.. 9.
A soldier and girl holding hands
on a park bench, while few blocks
away decisions are made that will
affect their whole future Tots
calmly strolling into schools to
learn history, as 1t Is being made
all around them q. Alleged secrets
being hushed about from place TO
If ilAa,,, a e1ipne ~
bunk that start nowhere and end
IN the same place The eX-
clamation point excitement around
WIZ agencies, where decisions are
made that affect Americans every
where today. and history tomorrow
:. Horn blowing motorists in traf-
fic jams giving your nerves tooth
ache.
The epidemic Of cocktail parties
that afflicts the city every evening,
where everybody tries TO make an
impression or get break . The
new huge War Dept. building, across
the Potomac, city In itself .,
Exasperated hotel clerks shifting
their tempers into neutral as they
try 70 handle the avalanche Of "im-
portAntS" Soldiers from nearby
camps on weekend leaves being
gobbled up by gals who outnumber
men eight to one The little tribe
of pro-Axis legislators who are try
ing to run Congress on Trojan
Horse Power Small time poll
ticos inflated with their own i'm
portance, trying TO hide behind a big
front.
Tails OF parked cars growing at
every public building E. Movie the
aters, jukebox joints, saloons, dance
halls, giving the entertainment Sec
tor a Whit OF Broadway's atmo-
sphere. But all gayety SINNERS
doWr to a whisper at midnight +. . :.
Uppity salons where intellectuals
gather to tWiddle their opinions and
juggle yaWns The many thriv-
ing palmists. astrologers and others
members Of the crystal-ball brigade.
Crowds waiting for tables III
eateries waiting in the clogged traf-
fic, waiting for interviews. waiting
for rooms. While natives Of the
Capital City wait for the war to end
so that they can fit themselves into
normal lives again Politicos,
treated like pleasant thoughts when
they had power, being ignored like
cigaret butt as soon as they lose
their Jobs.
The sign: Washington, the City
Bureauful' Twilights vclVety
glow coating the city with its ma
tural cosmetics, which most people
are too busy to notice . =. The out
of-tune symphony of sounds that
starts In the morning, snowballs into
an avalanche by midday, begins to
evaporate as evening piles shadows
in corners and buries Itself In the
silence Of midnight q. The unbut-