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^ [[9]]

November 11, 1973.

Dear Alice:

I confess to being a Francophile. Three years ago, when Mary and I made a brief visit to France, I was distressed to note that the French seem to be acting more and more ^[[like]] Americans. In the past, wherever our customs differed from theirs, I usually found on critical study [[strikethrough]] the [[/strikethrough]] that the French behaved more sensibly than we.

For example, compare our respective public school systems. French youngsters on finishing grade school take scholastic tests. Those who rank highest get government scholarships that carry them on through higher education. The others can attend public vocational schools, but if they go to college it will be at theor own expense. That policy to be sure is "elitist", and to American educators "elitist" is a dirty word. So we try to educate everybody, even dull-witted or rebellious pupils, to the same level. We force them to attend classes together until they are 18 years old. If a pupil at the end of that time is still unable to read, he nevertheless ^[[g]]ets a diplom^[[a]]. He can even gain admittance to some colleges, and our goverbnebt will help him there financially.

The French know how to run a railroad. At least they did in 1917-18, and I hear that passenger trains still run in France today. I have only pleasant memories of French dining cars. Their food and wines were good, their prices reasonable, and I never had to stand in line to get in. Before the diner opened, a waiter went through the entire train, distributing tickets for servings at specified times. For each serving he gave out only enough tickets to fill the diner. If for example you had chosen to have lunch at 11:30 A. M., the first serving, you had only to present your ticket at the diner at that time. You could count on being seated and served immediately. The only hitch was that you had one hour in which to finish your meal and vacate your place. Another serving was to start at 12:30 P.M. That never bothered me.

On American trains there was no fixed time schedule, excapt for hooking on diners and dropping them off. I still begrudge the ^[[weary]] hours I spent standing in line, waiting to get into those diners.

When I worked in New York I often rode trains to Baltimore or to Washington. The dining car usually was filled when I got aboard. The occupants could stay there as long as they pleased. There would be few vacabcies for the next two hours or so. Unlike the French, who