Evening star., 1949-01-02
Berlin Tense
With Nerves
By Morion Doyle CompbeIl
Speciol Correspondent Of The Stor

BERLIN.-This city is like q
sprawling dentists Office. Every
bodys nervous.
Some Americans here manage to
appear unconcerned. Some smoke
and drink a bit more. A couple Of
the wives clubs have increased the
bridge sessions from one afternoon q
week to two.
To the visitor who returns to Ber-
lin after a years absence, the va
ried American reaction appears to
add up to the same thing. When
1948 began, tension could still be
called an acquaintance. At the be-
ginning of 1949 it has become a
member of the family.
Berliners, both Germans and the
Allies stationed there, tend to limit
their talk to the latest development
in the city. They do not easily dis
cuss where they think the Develop
ments might lead.
The news OF each event travels
fast. Each rumor seems to rever-
berate against the walls around the
city and echo back louder than be-
fore. Americans, puttering around
on five gallons of gas a month, see
each other more often now on the
Army buses. Some of them ride the
German subway. When they reach
the Russian sector they usually get
off.
Diet Monotonous
The atmosphere here is hard to
reproduce on neWsprint. Printed
paragraphs, no matter how vividly
written, cannot convey say just how
cold 25 pounds of coal per eight
weeks can be. They cannot say just
how frugal three canned pork
rations month can be. They cam
not describe just how dark one
rationed candle a month and four
hours of electricity day can be.
Neither Germans nor Americans
have a word of complaint about the
airlift. Nor do they praise it ex-
travangantly. They ran out of ex-
travagant words long ago. Now as
they go about their work they
merely glance occasionally toward
the sky, where C-54 appears every
three minutes in good weather.
COMMENT" said an American.
"As far as those boys in those planes
go, I'm speechless.
But do you know" he said, Just
how concentrated a concentrated
balanced diet can be? l think only
a war veteran knows that mo-
notony."
A girl typist tried to explain.
TT is not that we don't have
plenty to eat" she said. 1T is that
you suddenly get SO conscious Of
everything you eat and drink and
smoke.
You know some boy unloaded it
at Tempelhof Air Field last night,
or yesterday morning or during the
fog on Wednesday afternoon"
Candles Highly Valued
Any visitor to England, France or
Germany is used to requests Tor
cigarettes and chocolate and gaso-
line. 1t is a shock to find Americans
asking for matches, candles, fash
light batteries and gasoline They
need the candles to light their
rooms when the electricity is off,
and the matches to light the can
dies. They use flashlights to read
street signs at night. When name
in Russian lettering appears below
the German street name, they have
wandered by mistake into the Rus
sian sector.
The airlift is not only bringing in
everything Berlin eats, drinks. wears
and uses. 1t also is trying to relieve
the desert island complex by taking
Americans on leave to Frankfurt for
s35 a round trip. Seats are hard 10
get.
This correspondent rode into Ber-
lin on a 1O0-pound sack of flour.
The suitcase was jammed up against
20-pound carton of oatmeal. At
Tempelhof was an acquaintance
who used to talk about the latest
plays and automobile models and
Capitol Hill developments.
mo candles?" he said. mo flash.
light batteries? Anybody can lend
you a nightgown. Next time bring
something interesting in that suit.
case"