be," Morris
said. "In America, where the houses is heated, heavy underwear would
give you a cold, whereas in Norway and Sweden the demand for heavy
underwear is healthy because Norway and Sweden houses is like Norway and
Sweden plays, Abe, they are constructed differently from the American
fashion. They are built solid, but there ain't no light and heat in
them, and yet, Abe, the highbrows which is kicking about the American
style of plays is crazy about these here Norway and Sweden plays and
want American theayter managers to put on plays like them. In other
words, Abe, they are arguing in favor of the manufacture and sale of
heavy winter underwear for an exclusively B. V. D. trade, and so,
therefore, such high-brows could be ministers or they could be dramatic
crickets, Abe, but they might just so well save their breath with such
arguments, because the customer buys what he _wants_ to buy, and what
the customer _wants_ to buy the manufacturer manufactures, and that's
all there is _to_ it."

"And now that you have settled this here question of them 'Early to Bed'
plays, Mawruss," Abe said, "would you kindly tell me what the idea of
them Germans was in sinking all them white-elephant war-ships which
everybody with any sense wished was at the bottom of the ocean,
_anyway_, y'understand?"

"Well, I'll tell you, Abe," Morris began. "Them Germans being German,
y'understand, and having signed an armistice where they agreed to take
them war-ships to an Allied port and _keep_ them there, y'understand,
just couldn't resist breaking their word and sinking them war-ships."

"But don't you think, Mawruss, that when the Allies allowed the Germans
to sign such an armistice they was awful careless," Abe said, "because
if they wanted them war-ships to stay afloat, Mawruss, all they had to
do was to make the Germans sign an agreement not to take them war-ships
to Allied ports and sink them there, and the thing was done."

"How do you know that the Allies didn't get them Germans to agree the
way they did, so as to get rid of all them war-ships without the trouble
and expense of blowing them up?" Morris asked.

"I don't know it," Abe admitted, "but even to-day yet, Mawruss, them
Allied diplomatists is acting like they thought deep down in their
hearts that there was a little honor--a little truth--left in them
Germans somewhere, Mawruss, so the chance is that when that armistice
was signed, the Allies thought that at last the German