Detroit evening times., 1945-03-13
FAIR
ENOUGH
By Westbrook
PeeIer

GEN. CHARLES DE GAULLE,
LA BELLE, FRANCE.
Mon Cher General:
VOU and your people seem to
L think your troubles should
come first with us, but let me
tell you something. g.z
The party is over and France
is off the cuff and the best
thing you can do for yourselves
is pull down that trained thumb
of yours and quit standing by
the road waiting for a hitch.
We have an awful lot of our
own people, maybe more than
a million. living in trailers on
parking lots. and l wouldn't
even try to guess how many
others living in shackS and bar
racks who are likely TO kick up
a row if we don't pull up our
socks and somehow slap to-
gether some fairly habitable
houses when this war is over.
1t is so confused that we don't
exactly know ourselves where
they all came from or how Tar
from their old homes they find
themselves today and you might
say that a lot of them haven't
had their stakes down for years
and can't really call any place
home except just where they
happen to be-
Living in a trailer Is like
being a turtle, You tote your
home along with you and when
it began people thought il was
kind of cute, but that was just
for a short vacation and 1t Is a
very different thing for steady.
Even two people in one of
those things get into each
others way and on each others
nerves. but when there is
child or two it is just awful.
IT is worse than the old from.
L tier days because there are
SO many of them and they don't
know anything about prospect
ing or mining and most OF them
are strangers and surplus tenn
porary population in the war
plant towns where they are
now.
Then, in many Of our big
cities, the permanent housing
situation is very bad, what with
-dilapidatieH- -aFa-he- -fePa+fs-eF'
requirements since about 1910,
and in some neigIborhoods the
beds never get cold with the
people sleeping in relays.
To hear you people. a fellow
would think we didn't have a
care in the world. You would
think that If fellow Just had
the money in this country he
could walk in and buy whatever
he wants for himself.
Why, nowadays, you walk
into a store and you see rows
of empty shelves and all they
can give you mostly is the
hopes. Any cigarettes? Nope.
Sugar? Nope.
Steak? Nope. Bacon? Nope.
Chewing gum? Nope. Babies
underwear? Nope. Black pep
per? Nope. Sheets? Well maybe
next week.
THAT wonderful standard OF
| Il living that we used TO boast
so much about is way down
around the Bulgarian level, if
you ask me, and those cars that
the American workman used to
rattle around in so regardless.
with new ore every year or
two, are now. anywhere from
3 10 10 or II years old and most
of them are five years on the
! road.
And the gas is closely ra-
toned and lots of times even if
you have the coupons and the
money the guy just gives you
the same old nope.
This has been a very tough
winter, too, general, and right
in the midst of il comes up
fuel shortage, maybe not as bad
as yours. but pretty bad and
things might not have been as
bad if you people had scuffled
a little harder.
Anyway, be that as II may,
we have got our own headaches
and when there is little more
of anything we are going to
have plenty of takers right here
among ourselves.
The trouble goes way back, I
know, and 1t was mostly our
fault that you got to thinking
Of us as your rich uncle.
We tossed our money around
when we went tripping and
your prices were cheap and the
franc was down so we tore up
dough just TO show how extrav-
dgant we were.
But now, even though wages
are up here at home, well, the
prices have hoped, too, and the
soldiers who fought across
France have been on a parity
with your people and so when
they come home they won't
have any of those fond recol-
lections of stuffing a lot of duck
and goose liver with cham
pagne, too, for maybe two bucks
eighty.
YOU people better make your
Il plans 10 90 to work and
take care of your own needs
and not count on us for much.
The way it looks around here
we will have a market for all
those millions of cars and wash
-. r A