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In pre-Munich Europe that would have been a pleasure ; Welles found it some what wearing. Says he: "In most of postwar Europe a motorist has to be nearly as self-sufficient as a Polar ex plorer — fully outfitted with extra cans of gas, spare tires, tools, etc. and mountains of documents." Furthermore, the ordinary conveniences of travel are still in short supply. The scarcity of food, of course, is too well known for comment, but Welles found soap at only two hotels—Claridge's in London and the Moskva in Moscow. Towels were almost as scarce. Laundry usually took six to eight weeks (for citizens, too), if you could get it done at all. As for hot water on tap—always a luxury item except in the U.S.—Denmark had even passed a law making it illegal to use fuel for heating bathwater. Russia's attitude toward it was obvious. When the Moscow Conference ended, the hot water in Welles's hotel room vanished, along with the soap.
These inconveniences, however, were only a small hindrance to Welles's newsgathering. In his entire eight months abroad he interviewed only two people of cabinet minister rank. Instead, he spent his time finding and talking to hundreds of experts of one sort or another—and to thousands of plain people. The result: some of the year's most revealing stories of Europe's travail. Cordially,
* Six, which carried his byline, included the reports on Russia (July 7) and Germany (Nov. 3), on Finland's people (June 16), titled Nobody's Satellites, and an interview with Poland's Prince ("There'll Always Be A") Radziwill (July 14).