OBSERVERS ARE SAYING .
[To the Editor of THE SPECTATOR.]
SIR,—I plead guilty. It was I who wrote " more than one observer is saying . . ." to which " Janus" rightly calls attention.
But I plead guilty more to the use of jargon than to a foolish remark.
In the course of a day a diplomatic correspondent sees and talks with a great many official representatives of various countries—including this one—and in almost every case has to conceal the sources of his information.
One is, therefore, when pressed for time, inclined to fall back on a reprehensible jargon in which it is generally agreed that " observer " means official or unofficial foreign representa- tive well qualified to speak.
Perhaps that is vague, too.
As for the opinion quoted: while it was indeed my own, the fact that it was held (as I intended and failed to convey) by others and by " official foreigners " as well, seemed to me to carry more weight than a mere affirmation of my own belief.
But I'm not complaining : I was guilty of a solecism.— Yours, &c.,
A DIPLOMATIC CORRESPONDENT.
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