Swing (Jan-Dec 1945)

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10 A. — "We were afforded absolute freedom and we were — well, wait! rU answer that in some detail : When I first talked about going over, last April, or May, I expected it to be an expensive trip because v/e told the Russians that we wanted to pay every cent of the expenses. I mean . . . because I want to feel perfectly free to be able to write and say exactly what I think about them when I get back. I thought I would take along three or four thousand dollars because airplane fares are expensive and we were going to take many airplane trips. The ruble is valued very high. "Now as a matter of fact, as it turned out, we were able to spend only a small fraction of that because ... we were a little naive, really. For instance, we didn't travel on regular airlines — they don't have regular air' lines. They have a lot of planes but they are reserved for government officials who want to get some place. Well, they gave our party two planes. Now, how arc you going to pay for two airplanes? No tickets are printed and they didn't have any schedule of rates. "Also, you go to a town and they take you out to a rest villa or dacha they call it — luxurious thing like a beautiful Long Island estate outside of town — and put you up. Well, this dacha is reserved ordinarily as a rest home for the members of the local government — for the high government officials to come out with their families. It's not a hotel and nobody ever sends a bill — nobody's ever made up a bill there — everything's always been 'on the cuff.' Well, how are you going to pay for it? You couldn't do ■n^ February, 1945 it . . . the whole thing is set up there as though some of you might ask me out to dinner and at the end of it, I'd say: 'Well, look, I want to pay.' Well, all right! What do you do? Hov^ do you make up a bill for things like that? Well, pretty soon we gave up the struggle. I know that I continued to struggle for a while. "I went to the Hotel Metropole there. We were invited to stay at the Embassy but I preferred not to and went down there and got a bill for . . . well — I was there a month in all and the first two weeks I got a bill and I glanced at it. It was for about six hundred rubles. I characteristically then paid no attention to it v/hatever, intending to pay when I left. "Well, we were there a couple of weeks more and I went down and I said, 'I'm awfully sorry. I seem to have lost the last bill. It was for approximately six hundred rubles and I want to pay out.' And they said, 'Well, we'll get you the bill here in a little while. Come back in an hour.' I came back in an hour and they said, 'We are very pleased to tell you that we have been informed that you are a guest of the Russian government.' And I said, 'Well, thank you very much, but under no circumstances can I permit you to do this. I don't want to be rude but I can't accept this and I want to thank you for your kindness but I insist on paying.' And they said, 'You absolutely can't,' and, 'We've had a lot of orders.' And you could see they did have their orders! So I pulled out a big wad of rubles and counted — one.