10 APRIL 1964, Page 19

SIR,—In 'House Be Upstanding' (March 27) my compatriot, John Swaney,

seems determined to prove beyond doubt- -a point of which we are often accused, justly, it would seem- that Americans con- sider only the pompous important. What a terribly serious person he sounds, but then hc' may be very young-- and so, alas, is America.

W. S. SMITH

Villa Rayatar, Cala Gambit, Mallorca,S pain