Differences in Demeanor

Never has Berlin seen so many polyglot visitors. Every hotel is crowded beyond normal capacity and all its best known restaurants spend most of the dinner hour turning them away because there are no more seats.

Conversation in Adlon Hall at Tea Hour is reminiscent of Babel, with English running German hard as the predominant tongue and the Polish, Czech and Scandinavian Languages drowning out the customary Continental French.

English beyond doubt if the Latin of the modern world. In the press box at the Olympic Stadium and at most of the information offices more English is spoken than German. Yet in comparison with the crowds of Scandinavians, who make up the largest part of the foreign contingent, relatively few Englishmen or American are here. The Scandinavians, however, seem to get along better in English than anything else.

Scandinavians in the stands have adopted American cheering tactics and shout "Rah! Rah! Rah!" in unison.

Anybody interested in his fellowmen has been able to get a kick out of noting the difference of these foreign visitors. There is a good deal of truth in a familiar story which purports to classify national characteristics under such circumstances.

The Frenchman enters a hotel looking around with a general air indicating he would like to own it.

The German walks in looking as though some day he expects to own it.

The Englishman strolls in as though he does indeed own it.

The American goes in with the general air which seems to say he doesn't give a damn who owns it.

Control & language at the Games

The Olympic Organization Committee has announced that the results of the games cannot continue to be broadcast in three languages because it would take so much time that the broadcasters would be going all the time and spoil the show.

On the whole this is rather lucky. It was tried yesterday in the stadium, but the Americans found they understood German better than the variety of English used by the announcer.

The real control of the games is in the hands of the so-called International Olympic Committee. This body is composed of five noblemen and only two commoners. European aristocracy always has had a stranglehold on the Olympics as they were founded by Baron Pierre de Coubertin. The five all-powerful aristocrats here today are Count Henri de Baillet-Latour of Belgium, Baron Godefrey de Bloney of Switzerland, the Marquis de Polignac of France, Lord Aberdare of England and Count Bonaccosa of Italy.

The list of seventy-one members of the International Committee as a whole is rich with the names of titled sportsmen form all nations are preceded by Excellence or General.