franchises has been their impact on small local fast food restaurants. Would they put the Reid's and the Green Lanterns out of business by swamping them with advertising and technology and bulk buying? Now that the franchises are being designated for the countryside rather than the towns, the Dockyard or "sensitive areas'' it seems entirely likely that they will put an end to "local'' restaurants.

Where will the franchises go in Bermuda? They will have to go in areas already designated as "commercial'' which means the small cluster areas of shops and super markets...Somerset Plaza, Heron Bay, Shelly Bay, Collector's Hill, Enterprise Grocery, North Village, South Shore Warwick East, Spanish Point, Serpentine Road, St. John's Road, Wellington, Devil's Hole, Flatts, Dock Hill.

All of those areas are logical fast food franchise sites and they are all now served by small local businesses which, we think, will be threatened by any fast food franchise.

From all the indications right now, these fast food franchises will not be owned by the people who now own small restaurants but they will be owned by people like Sir John Swan. The fat cats of the UBP are now dividing up the small restaurant business. Why are the politicians picking on small restaurants? Is that progress? No. Is that economic opportunity for Bermudians? No, it's opportunity for the rich and the politically well connected to get richer. Is that care and concern for Bermudians? It is taking care of a small number of Bermudians who are quite capable of taking care of themselves.

The strict controls which the hand-picked committee has recommended for franchises will doubtless be good for the aesthetics of Bermuda but they do not in any way change the dreadful example of a grant of McDonald's to Grape Bay Ltd. Also, the welcome aesthetics do not change the competition these foreign franchises will create for small Bermudian businesses, many of which have been around for a long time.

The Committee on Franchise Policy says that restricted areas include Hamilton and St. George's. It fails to say that both the city and the town are on record as not wanting these franchises. It seems to us that once the towns made it clear they were opposed to franchises then the committee would have understood that franchises are not welcome in Bermuda. But, no, the stacked committee decided to let them be scattered about the countryside. Clearly, the committee was intent on finding a way to let franchises into Bermuda.

To her great credit, Phyllis West Harron did her best to protect Bermuda.

History will judge the committee chairman and the other eleven members. The people will have to judge this United Bermuda Party folly.