That the same shift of winds reminded us that we are running out of water in the West, and that this is a key shortage which may be next. That another kind of cold wind was blowing out the local independent publisher, and that lack of competition was now a key factor more and more in our society. So I will have something to say tonight about publishers and broadcasters and the book fraternity. But what I have to say on this subject and on energy and resources blows from some of my basic assumptions and beliefs. In not every case will they be yours, but you will better understand what I have to say when I lay them out in the beginning.
Competition is essential to American life.
Sometimes it is unpleasant and harsh. It's the law of the jungle that eliminates one drug store in a town too small to support two. But those who preach the most about competition sometimes practice it the least and understand it only slightly. There was a Sinclair Lewis character in the 1930's that reminded me of a man in my hometown. Thus it is with the Chamber of Commerce, the NAM, and I'm afraid some publishers.