vacations to visitors and it rents space to international companies who find it convenient to do their business from a well governed and welcoming Island.

Both sources of income require that Bermuda be well run, serviced by good communications, safe and politically stable. Visitors will not holiday in an environment where they feel in any way uncomfortable, certainly not at high prices. Companies can pack up, close up, and leave Bermuda if Bermuda ever becomes uncomfortable for them. Visitors and companies are not here because they have to be here but rather because it suits them to be here. If we make them uncomfortable, they will leave.

A large number of companies left the Bahamas and many of them came to Bermuda when Sir Lynden Pindling's government did not take good care of them. Exactly the same thing happened with disastrous results in Panama during the government of Manuel Noriega. There is a prominent Bermudian who refers to Sir Lynden Pindling and Gen. Noriega as "Bermuda's two best friends in the international company world''. The point is that companies can and do move when they are made uncomfortable.

Bermuda's business is delicately balanced and keeping it operating at a level which benefits all Bermudians does not happen by accident, nor is it easy. It takes care and expertise and experience to make Bermuda work well. That is extremely important because when countries go broke they do not go broke and disappear. When countries are in poor shape they go on and their people suffer. Not anyone can run a country well.

Bermuda would still be here if it were badly run but it might be poor or it might today be like the Bahamas, once successful but now run down and in debt and working hard to recover. The gift to his people of Sir Lynden Pindling who came to Bermuda by private jet to help open Alaska Hall, is a country in debt and in bad shape. That happened because Sir Lynden did not take care of tourism and drove some valuable companies away from the Bahamas.

Bermudians, especially some politicians, have to remember when they complain about Bermuda that the answer to success is stability. If we ourselves convince the world that Bermuda is a badly run place then people will believe us because we are the experts, the Bermudians. That can only do the Country that we all care so much about a great deal of damage.

We think that too often people in the public eye are careless and hurt Bermuda hoping for personal or political gain. That is not the way to behave toward our Country because an image of stability and security is of paramount importance. Too often some politicians would have people believe that Bermuda is an unstable disaster area run by uncaring and alien fools. Anyone who knows Bermuda is aware that is simply untrue and unsupported by the facts.

The fact is that it is shameful that Bermudians intentionally damage Bermuda.

There is nothing wrong with having opinions. There is nothing wrong with disagreements kept in the Bermudian family. There is nothing wrong with constructive criticism aimed at making Bermuda better.

There is a great deal wrong with degrading Bermuda for personal or political gain. It is wrong to run for Parliament for the cash. It is wrong to run to settle old scores. It is right to run to serve Bermuda. We can only hope that as an election approaches some politicians will stop degrading Bermuda because they are damaging their Country.

This is the best of the islands, the best run, the best looked after, the best fed, the best housed, the safest and the best respected. We think it also has the best people. But we see signs that some politicians do not behave in the best interests of Bermuda. That concerns us greatly.