Dear Sir, We had five damsels in distress on the shores of Bermuda. A Wonder Woman in the form of Bridget Marshall came to their rescue.

Bridget arranged shelter, transportation and provided a sense of security for these young ladies so far from home. She became their guardian angel. Without her intercession, their vacation could have turned into a nightmare.

As a travel professional it is refreshing to encounter not just Bermudian hype. (Ms Marshall) should adorn every advertisement displaying Bermuda hospitality.

ELEANOR FULLER Travel Agency Supervisor Southern New England Automobile Assoc of America `Truth' about the `truth' July 5, 1999 Dear Sir, I read with much interest the remarks made by Sergeant Jackman with regard to the matter of sexual harassment in the (Police) service.

He stated that the events recently outlined by ex-members of the service are "far from being true''. Unfortunately, that comment is far from being true.

There is no need to gloss over the truth that such activity has been taking place within the service for years. I would assume that members of the public are not that gullible.

Those members of the service who indulge in sexual misconduct would greatly appreciate all efforts to silence the threat of exposure. I used the words "sexual misconduct'' because it will encompass more than sexual harassment.

Let's be real, shall we? Whose conscience will be pricked first? The Police need to look a little deeper within their ranks on this matter.

There is a bigger problem that needs to be confronted. Not everyone advances in the service based on professional ability and it is unrealistic to believe it can be stamped out.

STAY TUNED Sandys Parish International perspective July 7, 1999 Dear Sir, I am writing in my capacity as Chairman of the International Companies Division of the Chamber of Commerce in response to a letter dated June 26 from "Fair's Fair -- St. George's.'' I don't usually respond to letters in the media, but I thought it would be a good opportunity to provide some more information on the international companies in Bermuda.

Let met start by saying that the letter from "Fair's Fair'' was a pleasure to read. It was well thought out and stated a position in a rational and clear manner and certainly brought up a number of good points.

The point I would specifically like to respond to, however, is the idea that international companies should attract some form of profits tax as "Fair's Fair'' doesn't seem to think that their current contribution to the Island is adequate.

The international company sector worldwide is a highly competitive one and when these companies come to Bermuda they are given an undertaking, in the form of a certificate, that they will not be subject to any form of tax on profits, income, etc., though they are still subject to all the taxes paid by local companies.

Were this exemption not provided, these companies have the choice to go to a number of other offshore centres such as Cayman Islands, Barbados, Guernsey and the Isle of Man, all of which would welcome them with open arms.

By virtue of having international companies in Bermuda, all of us reap substantial benefits, either directly through employment of the provision of services, or indirectly via the substantial contributions made by international business to the community.

The most recent numbers show that the physically present international companies spent some $596.3 million in Bermuda and paid $54 million in taxes and a recent ICD study concluded that without international companies on the Island each working person in Bermuda would have to contribute a further $8,742 to the tax base in order to maintain the current infrastructure.

In addition to this, international companies are the major supporters of the various charities and agencies on the Island and in 1997 contributed $9.2 million to charities in Bermuda.

As "Fair's Fair'' pointed out, international companies are also significant employers on the Island, although in terms of numbers, this area is still dominated by retail and hospitality.

I trust the above addresses some of the questions raised by "Fair's Fair''.

All of us recognise the tremendous pressure being felt by the retail and hospitality sectors and I think we should not lose sight of the fact that Bermuda would be a very different place had it not the support of international companies over the last decade.

It goes without saying that the presence of international companies comes with some stresses on the infrastructure in terms of rents, schooling, traffic, etc., but I think most Bermudians recognise that the advantages of having this sector in Bermuda far outweigh the negatives.

In closing, I would invite "Fair's Fair'' to either contact me through the Chamber or attend one of the discussions we have planned for some of the local clubs in the fall -- I would be happy to discuss this further.

DAVID EZEKIEL, Chairman International Companies Division Chamber of Commerce Standing room only June 30, 1999 Dear Sir, I have to rely heavily on bus transportation which, when it's available, is excellent.

The reason I write "when it's available'' is because of a problem that is of much concern to those of us who have to travel by bus in order to get to work and to get there on time.

More and more tourists are using the buses, which is good for our visitors and for the economic success of the bus operation.

However, like many others, I have to travel on one of the main routes for tourist attractions. Often, when the bus arrives at my stop, there is hardly any room left to get on. Sometimes, the bus is completely full and cannot stop to pick up any more passengers.

The bus is a necessity for me. Taking a taxi is simply out of the question. I cannot afford one.

It is a pleasure to see so many tourists on the bus enjoying themselves. It's something of an adventure for them, something different probably than they would do at home.

I enjoy the chance to "visit'' with them and answer their questions about Bermuda. In fact, it's a great opportunity for us to be Bermuda "ambassadors'' -- the kind the Tourism Minister urges us to be.

But, it is still imperative for me to catch a bus to get to work -- my livelihood depends on it.

I urge the Minister of Transport and the TCD to seriously look into this problem. Additional buses are needed during the periods of peak use by visitors.

I'm sure the Minister could easily verify the situation I am describing by assigning some representatives to travel on the buses at the appropriate times.

COMMUTER Smith's Parish Ministerial mess July 7, 1999 Dear Sir, After listening to the complaints of certain civil servants and some Parliamentarians about the vast sums of monies due Government coffers, I felt that the time had come to tell another side of the story.

Agreed, many people probably owe money to Government -- but on the other side of the coin (no pun intended) the Government owes money to numerous people and companies.

I use the term `Government' in the context of the civil service as opposed to members of the legislature. One Government official has advocated -- and rightly so -- Government pursue people that owe it money through legal means and even so far as to take those people to court.

It may interest people to know there is one Government department that has had an outstanding account with my company since April of 1998.

Despite several promises to pay, there are still some bills outstanding.

Interestingly enough, last October this Government department made a payment of approximately fifty percent of its bill.

Can you imagine, the Government has to pay in instalments. Several letters have gone to this department and all I have been getting are semi-empty promises to pay by cheque `by next week'.

Oh yes -- there was another payment a week or so ago, but still not to the full amount.

On a personal note, I was due to pay the same Ministry a bill by the end of May this year. I admit that I did not make the payment by May 31, but would you believe that within a week of that deadline I received a letter from that ministry threatening me with court action.

So what we have here is a Government department indirectly owing me money since April, 1998 and doing virtually nothing about it; and then I fall a week behind a deadline and I am threatened with court action! On a similar note, this same Ministry (which happens to deal with health) has for some reason refused to pay certain hospital/medical charges incurred by my wife at hospitals abroad.

There is one bill that has been outstanding since July of 1996!! There are a few others that have existed since October of last year. You can guess what happens -- the hospitals/doctors send the accounts to collection agencies who start to hound the patient's family.

This tardiness in payment also came about when both my parents -- at separate times -- required emergency medical treatment abroad. This department took what seemed like forever to pay the bill. (And, of course, we did get those collection agency letters then too.) Perhaps this department feels that nobody will take them to court -- and it may be possible that from a business point such legal action could result in the business concern being black-listed.

I can speak with full authority about one business that has this problem with one Government ministry, and I do feel that there are several others.

It really seems like the attitude of the department is that the business can wait and wait for their money, but when we (Government) send a bill it had better be paid on time, in full, or else! On a somewhat related topic, I was shocked to hear that the land valuation list had not been altered for some ten years -- well I wonder what the explanation would be for the fact that my family's residence received a bill some months ago stating that the property had been reassessed hence the land tax had increased.

The reason given was that the increase was due to renovations having been carried out. I found this most astonishing, since there have been no renovations to that residence for almost 20 years. How, I wonder, can an increase by justified on the basis of renovations having been carried out? In closing, let me point out that all of the situations mentioned -- my business not being paid, health and medical costs not being paid, land tax being increased for a non-existent reason -- all concern the same Government ministry, and that ministry deals with all of our money.

GARY KENT-SMITH Sandys Parish