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conflict, competition in our industry demands, as always, our vigilant attention. These and other problems can and will be resolved as they arise in our own house.
"At the same time," President George concluded, "I feel certain the otherwise bright and promising future of masonry construction will, in the years ahead, depend on our desire and ability to resist, in whatever prickly manner that may be necessary or appropriate, the continued intervention of government in the construction marketplace. As has been previously established, rape among the porcupines is unknown!"
Following his report, President George was accorded a standing ovation by the membership.
The subsequent speakers at the Opening Session of the Conference took similar swipes at the tangled government bureaucracy. In his keynote address, Ralph B. Rogers, chairman of Texas Industries, Inc., Arlington, Texas, reiterated President George's comments that stressed unified action to get a seemingly insurmountable task accomplished. Tracing his own personal experiences and business career, Rogers related how he spearheaded a campaign to convince the Nixon Administration to pass a bill creating public TV, thus giving the American public a wider choice of what it wished to view, as opposed to commercial television network programming. He was similarly involved with the freedom of expression movement and was instrumental in obtaining government funding for more medical research into rheumatic fever, an affliction which the medical community knew little about at the time.
These jobs got done, he said, not by directly tackling the Washington bureaucratic system but by urging people to personally contact their local congressional representatives. This systematic approach was successful in the face of overwhelming odds.
"It's amazing how far afield a man can go from his own profession and still get the job done," Rogers said. "But when you tackle something, do it right in your own backyard. And participate in causes as a leader, not as a follower. We should be running this country, not the bureaucrats."
Professional Bureaucrat Chides Bureaucracy
James H. Boren, Ph.D., said much the same thing about the federal bureaucracy as Rogers and President George, but he did it with satirical humor. Professionally Dr. Boren is chairman of NAVCO, McLean, Va., a design/engineering firm that does consulting work primarily with governmental agencies.
As an avocation, he directs an organization known as the International Association of Professional Bureaucrats in Washington. INATAPROBU, as he calls it, from time to time presents the "Order of the Bird" to appropriate individuals and agencies in government. The award, which is similar to Senator Proxmire's "Golden Fleece Award," chides bungling bureaucrats and helps to publicize their foul-ups. Forty-six Orders of the Bird have been given thus far, two of them to OSHA for specifying a two-way radio on a one-man operation, and for demanding that bridge workers wear life jackets above a river bed that had gone dry.
Echoing Ralph Rogers' remarks, Boren said, "We must step up our participation in the political process, not as a group but as individuals. One of the most serious threats to this nation is the growth and proliferation of non-productive bureaucracies, which are getting to be an uncontrollable giant. Think of it-there are now some 19.5 billion forms used by the federal government!"
Here's a sampling of some of the typical "Borenisms":
►Bureaucrats are not opposed to cutting red tape, as long as it is cut lengthwise.
The MCAA Executive Board in session in Dallas.
►Happiness in a bureaucracy is a scratched back.
►If you are going to be a phoney, be sincere about it.
►Bureaucrats are never strong about their positions on issues; they simply adjust the issues to fit their positions, if any.
►Study a problem long enough, and it will go away.
►Bureaucrats do not need language, only words.
►If you can't beat them, don't just join them; lead them.
►Crisis is the culture in which bureaucracies grow.
►Pornography to a bureaucrat is a blank sheet of paper.
►When in charge, ponder. When in trouble, delegate. When in doubt, mumble.
►Bureaucrats never change the course of the ship of state. They simply adjust the compass.
►If you don't have anything to do, do it with style. Dynamic inaction with style is a key to bureaucratic success.
►Bureaucrats rarely have sex with one another; what they do they do to the public.
The second and final session of the Conference convened at 9:15 Tuesday morning, February 26, with President George presiding. In the first order of business, the new Charter Associate Members of MCAA-17 in all-were officially recognized and presented with charters by President George.
A charter was similarly presented to MCAA's newest chapter, D/FW (Dallas/Fort Worth) in Texas. Henry Beckham, president of the chapter, accepted the plaque.
In a related activity, the Detroit, Mich., and Dayton, Ohio, chapters were acknowledged from the podium. Both were celebrating their 30th anniversary and became affil-
A beautiful day for the Masonry Industry Showcase.
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