David carefully pushed the bill away, back to my end of the table. I, of course, felt offended. Could it be that I had no right to subscribe to an American magazine? Why such discrimination? The editor whispered something to the publisher who ran out of the room and came back dragging Michael senior in once more. The father laughed. He apparently had no objection to the mailing abroad of the magazine which was being published under his sponsorship. All the periodical publications of good standing always have foreign subscribers. However, Michael senior had objections against any monetary transaction with countries abroad. It was agreed that the subscription would be handled on a clearing basis: the _Green Spring-Menemsha Gazette_ would be mailed to the USSR in exchange for our children's magazine _The Pioneer_. We shook hands on this transaction, concluded to the mutual satisfaction of the "high contracting parties." When we returned to the living room, the debate about the freedom of the press was still continuing. But the two sides had exchanged places. Gribatchov was the one who led the attack now; the idea of exchanging articles with _The New Republic_ had gradually excited him. Publisher Harrison, on the contrary, was taking a defensive stand: he was already foreseeing numerous difficulties obstructing the materialization of his project. The unionist leader was sitting on the sofa next to them. He was a tall man with a pale face with an ironical expression, and he was gently mocking the discomfited publisher. "Really, why shouldn't there be an exchange of articles with a Russian paper?" So finally they came to no conclusion at all. We were taking our seats in the car when David manfully shook hands with me and suddenly asked: "Maybe you will write from Moscow a contribution for publication in _The Green Spring-Menemsha Gazette_? Our magazine will gladly publish it, I can promise you." My negotiations with the editors of the _Gazette_ appeared to be more fruitful than the ones Gribatchov had had with _The New Republic_. JULY 16, 1956 Editors' Note: