Evening star., 1944-05-07
BY Marshall Adams.

BY Marshall Adams.
Wartime shortages and ration prob
lens In the United States are tame
compared to those in Algiers, according
to Phineas Toby, who has just returned
to this country from Africa where he
spent eight months as lease-lend arbiter
between Casbah racketeers and inter-
national law abiders.
Formerly French citizen, Moroccan
by birth, Spaniard by parentage, Amer
ican by adoption, Toby, who has won
the title Of king of Algerian Black
Market Busters" relates intimate details
of life in conquered Algiers that should
give ration-worried Washingtonians
something to think about
If you were well-appointed Algerian
these days, you'd have to keep 90
centimes (1a cent? ready for elevator
rides to your apartment floor; furnish
bathtub for each time you moveds mix
your own hpstick colors from cast-off
tubes; have more coins handy for electric
current; convert your private stock of
Tunisian wine into "gasogene" alcohol
for your car, and, If you were sick, pray
to Allah that you'd get well, without
medication, unless you wanted to risk
such native cure-alls as ostrich eggs,
ostrich oil or ostrich frames sold by
Mohammedan medicine men.
He Knows Africa
Phineas Toby is qualified to speak, for
he has spent most Of his life in Africa.
His family In Mogador dates back 1000
years and he is childishly proud that he
didn't change his name when he took
out United States citizenship papers 20
years ago. He is wiry, black-eyed,
olive-skinned Latin with q habit of
speaking so rapidly, and lapsing into so
many foreign tongues. that only a
lnguist can keep pace. .,..
1t was Toby's way with Arabic, as we'll
as French, Spanish, Italian and German,
that first made him valuable to the Fed
eral Economic Administration, as a mis-
sion chief of the North African Economic
Board. But even his familiarity with
native tongues and habits did not pre-
pare him for the real facts of life in a
conquered territory. Here they are:
The Housing Shortage
The first problem that greets the new
conner, according to Toby, is the housing
shortage. Washington is underpopu-
lated in contrast to the Port of Algiers.
The Waldorf of West Africa is the
rambling Alleti Hotel. A small room is
worth $50 francs (about $1O, which is
cheap at half the price, since it main
tains the only casino In town, palm
sheltered balconies and almost enough
baths to go around. But, like most of
our own war-area havens, q day or two
at the Alleti is all the MANAGEMENT
allows, before you're on your own to
scour evil-smelling boarding houses for
shelter.
Even London's ridiculed lack Of plumb
Ing facilities doesn't compare with
Agiers. You are permitted only one
. bath every two weeks, and pay heavily
In silver If you insist that cleanliness is
next to Goodness. Every rooning house
has instantaneous gas bath heaters.
which boil water promptly as soon as
your coin hits bottom. If you are lucky
enough to be able to rent q fiat for any
length Of time, the law requires you to
bring your own tub and all other plumb
Ing equipment to each new residence.
Since you can't beg or borrow such
trif1es, you go respectfully dirty.
American love Of sanitation is not en-
tirely understood by Algerians. You
furnish your own soap, even at the
swank Alleti. Your ration quota is 10
grams a ounces, or / small cake) per
month. This Is not the quota for keep
Ing your skin alone 99-44/1OO per cent
pure; 1t must tide you over for all
laundering. If you approach the native
laundries with your bed linens and per-
sonal things, it's mo soapie, no shirtie. :"
Lack of Medicine.
The lack of medicine is tragic! That's
Algiers' crying need from lease-lend
Sulpha, iodine, bandages, boric acid, BIZ
carb. Toby's first and hardest unof1-
cial job upon arriving last February
was to scour every inch of the city
for a thermometer for distracted
mother with sick infant. Finally. upon
promise Of personally returning it to a
United States Army doctor, he obtained
one, only to find that the woman used
it upside down Clothing and food are
the second and third most serious Short
ages in this area, cut Off for two years
from French protectorate supplies. The
clothing scarcity wouldn't be credited
by the average American.
A possessive look steals over the fea-
lures of the best people" in Algiers
when they see newcomer wearing
well-fitting suits and shoes. Toby could
have sold his $13 Palm Beach suit for
$3.50 to several clothes-conscious
Frenchmen, whose once smart tailor
mades are patched until they're In
decent Even natcheS are a l,lYurv for