1921

The 1921 Florida party went off very well and Jerry Cutler has sent us colored snapshots of those present. Basra Buggies covered the affair in his latest Smoker and it will probably become an annual event. We hope it may be planned in April in future years so that late comers can participate.

Bob and Martha Burroughs are on a world cruise with many ports of call, including the Island of Bali which Bob found especially intriguing.

The Dud Robinsons, Katrina Forman, the Harry Chamberlaines and the RogerWildes are planning a get-together in Naples Fla.

Bob and Rosamond Loeb are indulging in a cruise on the Gripsholm to the Mediterranean and Black Seas. They will be followed a few weeks later by our honorary members Francis and Mildred Sears, getting away from zoning problems in Norwich, Vt.

Ralph and Caroline Steiner spent a pleasant three weeks in Mexico where Ralph employed his photographic skills to get vivid shots of the Azetc civilization. They eschewed the spots overrun by U. S. tourists such as Acapulco and Sanborn's restaurant, but were intrigued by Mexico City's Museum.

Bill and Linda Spencer plan to spend some time in May at the Woodstock Inn, and we have told them what a delightful spot that is. We have invited the pair to visit Crosby Hall and observe the suite on the third floor directly over the front entrance once occupied by the two of us. We missed the Spencers at the Fiftieth because they were in Europe. They were going to Greece, but Bill got cold feet. He can think of better things to do than go on a bomb-loaded plane trip.

Ambassador Ellis Brings, in his inimitable prose, has lost none of his crusading and dragon killing talent in a diatribe sent to the Washington Post entitled "Year of the Mouse, Day of the Drones—or Toward an Anti-Elite Diplomatic Service." It reads:

"Many centuries ago, the Roman poet Juvenal wrote that in every Great House there are Proud Servants.

"In the great House that has become the United States, diplomacy has been blessed by the contributions of its own Proud Servants. From Benjamin Franklin to Joseph Grew,, from Billy Phillips to Norman Armour, and from Jefferson Caffery to the late Tommy Thompson, it has been a dignified procession, formidable in its dedication to professional competence.

"It remains to be seen how many individuals of that caliber are likely to be attracted to a career established upon the employee-management relations of Executive Order 11636, recently unveiled by those apparently seeking to convert the Foreign Service into a Foggy Bottom Local of the Amalgamated Bureaucrats of the Potomac.

"Mechanics of the Motor Pool, unite; let the Ambassador put on his own damn chains! (The new procedure will then determine, seven months after the event, whether the Chief of Mission was justified in using the official automobile to call on the Prime Minister, on a morning when the streets of the capital were in a slippery condition.)

"Executive Order 11636 runs to twentythree pages, including a smug and flatulent preamble. The Order itself, ten pages in length, contains so much that is unintelligible except to specialists in the cant of the trade union, that thirteen additional pages are required to explain what those ten pages portend. The proposition seems to be advanced that there is an inherent conflict between Masters and Slaves, and that Management if not restrained by the vigilance of Organized Labor, will inevitably trample upon Employees. Hence it behooves the drones to swarm together, in order to curb the nuptial flight of Management (or at least to minimize exploitation and to magnify grievances).

"Those who believe that an objective of the Foreign Service is to agitate for less work, shorter hours, overtime pay and guaranteed promotions, will surely applaud the Order. Others may admire the elaborate edifice of Boards and Panels and Committees, dedicated to the survival of the unfittest. Others still may welcome the advent of yet another guild of ambulance chasers, the beady-eyed Grievance Gremlins, urging someone to complain, whenever an Ambassadress invites a Junior Wife to help arrange daffodils on the eve of an Embassy reception.

"In all those twenty-three pages, one searches for such phrases as responsibility of office, pride of accomplishment, selfsacrifice for the public good, patriotic professional performance, willingness on behalf of country to face hardships and peril. Or in one word—service.

"He who read Executive Order 11636 searches for those phrases, in vain.

There is no mention made of diplomacy in the Executive Order. That is understandable. In the Year of the Mouse, in the Day of the Drones, there won't be time for any.

Vice and Deputy Consul, at Large"

Secretary, New Boston Rd. Norwich, Vt. 05055

Class Agent, Box 247, E1 Prado, N.M. 87529