Evening star., 1946-07-03

/
in minerals. 1 am not rich in any
thing.
In fact, Russia and I have but
one thing in common-one person
rules us both. Stain rules Russia
| and my wife Jean rules me. Let
us not get into a discussion as tc
which of these dictators is the
tougher, but 1 am willing to give
to l anytime, anywhere, and most
husbands will be able to guess the
one I'm backing.
Burned Up to a Cinder.
That Russia is my topic today was
prompted by an item which ap-
peared in the column of my syndi-
cate colleague, Leonard Lyons. Ac-
cording to Mr.. Lyons, when Kon-
stantin Simonov, the Soviet author
neWspa perman, left these shores for
Russia by plane, he carried, in ad-
dition to suits. caps. watches ano
ties for himself, the following items
for his wife: Two fur-trinmed coats
pairs of shoes, 6 hats from Lilly
Dache, lingerie, "a pairs of nylon
stockings. 5 leather bags, II Reyn-
olds pens, radios, IL belts and a
mess of other stuff. Also, by ship
a refrigerator.
To say that Comrade Simonov's
haul burns ME up is to put it mildly
1t fries me, fricassees me, pressure
cookers me, sautes me and reduces
me to a crisp cinder. In the first
place, that booty makes him a rich
man when he gets home. knowing
a bit about what Russians paid
American soldiers for American
goods on the black market in Berlin
and other places, I'd guess that
Comrade Simonov will be able to
retire within five days after he hits
Moscow.
Secondly, why was Comrade SIM
onov given the privilege of buying
all this stuff when American moth
ers whose sons sleep under white
washed crosses, widows whose hus-
bands will never see another SUM-
rise, and sweethearts whose lovers
lie nameless in graves, have no
chance to make such purchases?
Down to Earth.
wish it were possible to quote
some of the words the distinguished
Russian author r-newSpaperman must
have written about this country be-
fore he came to visit it. Let's get
down to earth. I don't, as an Amer
ican, like my wife to have to stand
in line for one pair of nylons, dream
in vain of new refrigerator, while a
Russian flies away with "a pairs of
nylons and a refrigerator of the
latest make.
If that is part of State Depart
ment good will, peace on earth, the
State Department can have it. Soft
soap is very curative when applied
in proper doses, but I never heard
of any one winning a battle by
throwing suds all day and all night.
Suppose 1 were distinguished
author r-neWSpaperman visiting Rus
sia. What do you think I would
bring back to my loved ones as
souvenirs? I don't know, but my
guess is that would return with
a rusted chip off the Iron Curtain,
a 17-jeWel request that I never re-
turn. 100 1916 model editorials blast
ing this country as capitalistic, war
mongering and decadent, and an
up-to-the-minute kick in the pants.
The only thing that delights me
about Comrade Simonov's haul is
this: When he sits at home of an
evening and plays a merry blast
against the United States on his
typewriter, his beer will be chilled
by an American refrigerator, his
wife will be warm because of the
American coat on her back. and
he'll be able to know what time to
send his copy down by glancing at
an American watch.
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