The visit comes at a time when Bermuda has serious business in Washington involving the future of the American bases and the question of taxes on Bermuda-based companies. Right now the Clinton Administration is still forming its policy and it is vital that Bermuda make its presence known so that when the time comes it can voice its concerns in Washington. Much more can be done before policy is formed than after it is set.

It is an asset to Bermuda that over the years Sir John Swan has developed close contact with top people in Washington. He is doing that again with the Clinton Administration. Those contacts benefit Bermuda and can be relied upon to get Bermuda's point across in Washington. That is no small feat for a tiny country like Bermuda and it is the kind of access many larger countries envy.

It is inevitable that the giant country to our west has a massive impact on Bermuda. It would be very easy for the United States simply not to hear tiny Bermuda. Sir John Swan has been conscious of that and has kept in well with successive White House administrations. That does not happen automatically and it is not easy to achieve but it is of great value to Bermuda.

The return of the US bases will be one of the most significant events in modern times for Bermuda. It will take careful and informed handling. When it happens it will also take knowledge of how Washington works and that is where the Premier's contacts are so important.

Contrary to broadcast nonsense, there is nothing sinister about The Royal Gazette's News Editor flying to Washington to cover the Premier's visit. The Royal Gazette did its job, scooped the rest of the media and they howled.

The Royal Gazette learned that Sir John Swan was going to have talks in Washington. We scrambled to get our News Editor, Don Grearson off to Washington to get the story for Bermuda. Don Grearson also has access because he interviewed President Bill Clinton's new top White House aide, Mr. David Gergen, two weeks ago at Newstead. The broadcast media is complaining that it did not get a press release. We did our job and got the story first. That's the news business. It is strange to us that the broadcast media finds getting a top story "sinister''. Perhaps they confuse "sinister'' with "sour grapes'' since they learned of the Washington visit from The Royal Gazette's front page.

Given the importance to Bermuda of talks on the bases and talks about taxes on business handled by Bermuda-based companies, we wanted to be there for our readers. Sir John Swan is in Washington doing Bermuda's business. Don Grearson is there to report on what he is doing. They are both doing a job. We are proud we got there first. That's our business.