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Why the Herald Tribune?

I think somebody gave me an introduction to somebody on the Herald Tribune. I don't know who it was but I did have an introduction.

That reminds me, when I talked about literacy at the business school, when I got to the Tribune my French would often get the better of me and I would write a story about the problems of circulation in Times Square and would find next morning a note from the City Editor about my English.

You stayed at the Herald Tribune from 1936 until 1938, was it?

No. I stayed there only about ten months. I stayed there until May of 1937.

Why don't you describe that period.

What an extraordinary world! What I was really aiming at was to be a foreign correspondent. No chance obviously, I didn't have the experience for that. But I remember trying to edge my way into it, I thought, by asking to be ship news reporter, because I made the point that I spoke French, German, some Italian, and, after all, the ships did bring quite a lot of foreigners. I was flatly turned down by whomever, saying, “They should learn to speak English.” Which was part of the attitude of America at that point, you know. We hadn't joined the world yet. It's very difficult to