The Wilmington morning star. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1909-1990, 1945-08-05
CAPITAL
COMMENT
Rv DAVID BRINKLEY
= Star-News Washington Bureau

| By DAVID BRINKLEY
- Star.News Washington Bureau -
From the White House, you can fire cannon
down Pennsylvania avenue and hit nothing but
Washington housewives shopping Tor cotton
house dresses which can't be bought and OPA
officials carrying hand-tooled genuine cowhide
leather brief cases filled with regulations which
can't be enforced
! This city is in the hot, moist grip Of the
doldrums-a malady that strikes other cities
in the summer but which settles over Wash
ington like heavy, damp blanket whenever
Congress is in recess-summer or winter.
With Congress transacting no business, near
ly all it's members have gone away. Some
went to the beaches to lie in the sun, some
went to their home states to look for the
home-cured ham and fresh eggs which are
an inevitable part of the polite ans patron
age, others-realizing that 1916 isn't far away
went to do little repair work on their politi
cal fences And a few-a very feW-stayed IN
Washington.
For these last unfortunate few who must
sweat out the summer in the oppress:pe mlsts
arising from the Potomac, the prospect is not
pleasant one The city is as pretty and
green as usual. but the only truly livable
places in town are the aforementioned bars
hotels, stores and theaters.
Agencies Active
The only activity outside these air-cooled
public places is among the agencies such as
the OPA, WIPE, ad infinitum, and in the CABIN
ct departments. In the agencies, you may
If Won care to-see shirt sleeved clerks and ad-
ADMINISTRATORS wading their persplrlng way
through orders, releases. regulations, cores
pondence and various other paper lmpedlmen-
ia. In the departments even without listening
okAS
Tuning about the threatened coal shortage next
winter, young Navy Secretary Forrestal rum
ming his Navy as bright young broker runs
his bond business, and Agriculture Secretary
Anderson making his daily prediction that We'll
soon have more food
That's the picture outside the cocktail bars.
Inside, things are different In far corner,
behind an artificial potted palm, you can see
seven junior Navy officers making an obvious
display of their interest in two OPA stenograph-
ers seated nearby dawdling over two tall, pink
cocktails and plainly enjoying the attention.
In another corner you can see three or four
middle aged men so earnestly discussing some
governmental minEtiae they've forgotten their
drinks. The ice melts and the sweat from the
glasses drips into their laps. In the middle of
the room, Immediately under the ornate chan
delier, are three smartly dressed women who
seem to be waiting for nobody in particular.
4Nedl l11e1il 10 youllS so1o1eI JuSI OdCk lIOIH
operseas who's brought his girl friend out TO
help him paint the town. She's dressed in a
tricky black dress, wearing those long gloves
and other of the newer glamorizing equipment,
but spelling the effect by continually scratch
ing the back of her neck and vigorously chomp-
ing gum.
No Apartments
Here, as everywhere else in Washington at
least half the people you are looking for a
place to live. Between drinks they moan about
the housing shortage and curse the landlords
who will rent apartments only to their friends
or to those willing to pay modest amount OF
graft. Every day the five newspapers carry
! one to five columns of ads under the heading
| Apartments Wanted With classified ad in
Washington you can sell dog or buy boat,
| but you can't rent an apartment
! Both in the bars and on the streets, you see
thousands of brief cases-considered by many
in Washington as their most essential piece of
| equipment.
Once, on one of the ciey's fancy new stream
lined street cars, an Immediately dressed
gentleman stepped aboard carrying a hand
fooled genuine covhide brief case, his name
carefully stamped in gold near the shiny Upper.
His bearing and appearance were that of
top-draWer executive, probably a regional CO.
ordinator of something or other. He opened
studied manner. Just then the car lurched and
his brief case, looked inside in careful
the case fell to the floor. Out rolled an empty
half-pint milk bottle, an apple and paper
wrapped sandwich. He quickly recovered the
apple and the sandwich and returned them
but the milk bottle had rolled down the aisle
and was banging against the seats There were
smokers here and there. He left the car at the
next stop.
| In Washington's streets and parks there are
monuments and memorials to practically ev-
erything and everybody Of importance in the
American scene, current and past. But there is
no fitting marble and-bronze tribute to Wash
ington's most popular weapon of World War II
| the hand-tooled genuine cowhide brief case
-V-
r.