SWPC Head, with Eye on Business, Would Sell English 'Makings' of a Good Soda, Cup of Coffee
WASHINGTON, Oct. 28 (UP) — What England needs is about 10,000 drug stores so a man can get a chocolate soda when he feels like it and a good cup of coffee and if you think Maury Maverick is kidding, think again.
The soda and the coffee will be good for the British. America can sell them the makings of the drug stores and that’s where Mr. Maverick comes in. He’s chairman of the Smaller War Plants Corp., just returned from three weeks in Great Britain looking over the chances of little business doing some business across the seas.
His suggestions about doing away with cartels, exporting machine tools and modifying Lend-Lease you can read about on another page: here you can learn about the British coffee and egg situation. It’s tough enough to make a strong man weep.
“Worst Coffee in the World”
The rotund Maverick, who used to be Texas’ most colorful Congressman and who still wears electric blue shirts and red plaid bow ties, said the British were nice people, but that they made the worst coffee in the world.
“It always was bad coffee,” he told a press conference in the green and gold lushness of a Federal conference room. “My father was over there in 1872 and he said it was bad. I was over there during the first war and it was bad. And it hasn’t gotten any better.
“I don’t know what those people do to their coffee. I don’t believe they use coffee to make their coffee and something’s got to be done.”
Mr. Maverick said he also didn’t think so much of the British breakfast, consisting of oatmeal, sausages mostly made of oatmeal, and powdered eggs.
Devastation is Enormous
“I never actually tasted a rotten egg,” he said, “but these powdered eggs smelled rotten and I think they tasted rotten and when I complained about them, the English said, ‘well, you sent ‘em to us’.”
Mr. Maverick said he supposed the censors would be sore for his mentioning it, but that the devastation in England is enormous.
“You could look for a mile down the street in London and it was like a Texas prairie,” he said. “Why, in England, alone, they need 4 million houses. In Western Europe they need 40 million. There isn’t enough bricks and lumber in the world to build all these houses. That’s where we can do some good: sell ‘em plastic building materials, hardware, floors in sheets.”
Cites Need of Good Coffee
We also can sell ‘em 10,000 drug stores, complete with soda fountains and coffee percolators.
“There’s no place in all England where the young folks can get a chocolate soda,” he added. “Or a cup of good coffee. I’m advocating the 10,000 drug stores so these things will be available and then we can sell ‘em the stuff to build the drug stores with.”
Having announced all this, Mr. Maverick said: “Now I’ll answer any questions except who I am voting for for president and anybody who doesn’t know is so dumb, he ought to get out.” He answered questions then on exceedingly serious subjects. Nobody asked him for whom he was voting. Nobody wanted to sound dumb.
The Pittsburgh Press, October 29, 1944
WASHINGTON, Oct. 28 (UP) — What England needs is about 10,000 drug stores so a man can get a chocolate soda when he feels like it and a good cup of coffee and if you think Maury Maverick is kidding, think again.
The soda and the coffee will be good for the British. America can sell them the makings of the drug stores and that’s where Mr. Maverick comes in. He’s chairman of the Smaller War Plants Corp., just returned from three weeks in Great Britain looking over the chances of little business doing some business across the seas.
His suggestions about doing away with cartels, exporting machine tools and modifying Lend-Lease you can read about on another page: here you can learn about the British coffee and egg situation. It’s tough enough to make a strong man weep.
The rotund Maverick, who used to be Texas’ most colorful Congressman and who still wears electric blue shirts and red plaid bow ties, said the British were nice people, but that they made the worst coffee in the world.
“It always was bad coffee,” he told a press conference in the green and gold lushness of a Federal conference room. “My father was over there in 1872 and he said it was bad. I was over there during the first war and it was bad. And it hasn’t gotten any better.
“I don’t know what those people do to their coffee. I don’t believe they use coffee to make their coffee and something’s got to be done.”
Mr. Maverick said he also didn’t think so much of the British breakfast, consisting of oatmeal, sausages mostly made of oatmeal, and powdered eggs.
“I never actually tasted a rotten egg,” he said, “but these powdered eggs smelled rotten and I think they tasted rotten and when I complained about them, the English said, ‘well, you sent ‘em to us’.”
Mr. Maverick said he supposed the censors would be sore for his mentioning it, but that the devastation in England is enormous.
“You could look for a mile down the street in London and it was like a Texas prairie,” he said. “Why, in England, alone, they need 4 million houses. In Western Europe they need 40 million. There isn’t enough bricks and lumber in the world to build all these houses. That’s where we can do some good: sell ‘em plastic building materials, hardware, floors in sheets.”
We also can sell ‘em 10,000 drug stores, complete with soda fountains and coffee percolators.
“There’s no place in all England where the young folks can get a chocolate soda,” he added. “Or a cup of good coffee. I’m advocating the 10,000 drug stores so these things will be available and then we can sell ‘em the stuff to build the drug stores with.”
Having announced all this, Mr. Maverick said: “Now I’ll answer any questions except who I am voting for for president and anybody who doesn’t know is so dumb, he ought to get out.” He answered questions then on exceedingly serious subjects. Nobody asked him for whom he was voting. Nobody wanted to sound dumb.
The Pittsburgh Press, October 29, 1944
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