ere we have some
comments upon service in our restaurants, right here in Zagurest, from
an evidently widely published American travel reporter. He contends
that the fact that there is no tipping leads to our waiters being
surly and inefficient."

He glared up at his right-hand man. "I have never noticed when I have
dined at the Sumadija or the Dva Ribara, that the waiters have been
surly. And only last week I enjoyed _cigansko pecenje_, gypsy roast,
followed by a very flaky cherry _strudla_, at the Gradski Podrum. The
service was excellent."

Kardelj cleared his throat. "Perhaps you receive better service than
the average tourist, Zoran."

Jankez growled, "The tourist trade is important. An excellent source
of hard currencies." He glowered across at Josip. "These are typical
of the weaknesses you must ferret out, Comrade."

He put the reports down with a grunt. "But these are comparatively
minor. Last week a truck driver attached to a meat-packing house in
Belbrovnik was instructed to deliver a load of frozen products to a
town in Macenegro. When he arrived there, it was to find they had no
refrigeration facilities. So he unloaded the frozen meat on a
warehouse platform and returned to Belbrovnik. At this time of the
year, obviously in four hours the meat was spoiled." He glowered at
Kardelj and then at Josip Pekic. "Why do things like this continually
happen? How can we overtake the United States of the Americas and
Common Europe, when on all levels our workers are afraid to take
initiative? That truck driver fulfilled his instructions. He delivered
the meat. He washed his hands of what happened to it afterward. Why,
Comrades? Why did he not have the enterprise to preserve his valuable
load, even, if necessary, make the decision to return with it to
Belbrovnik?"

He grunted heavily and settled back into his chair as though through,
finished with the whole question.

Aleksander Kardelj became brisk. He said to Josip Pekic with a smile,
"This is your job. You are to travel about the country, finding
bottlenecks, finding shortages, ferreting out mistakes and bringing
them to the attention of those in position to rectify them."

Josip said glumly, "But suppose ... suppose they ignore my findings?"

Number One snorted, but said nothing.

Kardelj said jovially, "Tomorrow the announcements will go out to
every man, woman and child in the People's Democratic Dictatorship.
Your word is law. You are answerable only t