Protest

To the Editors:

Your readers may be interested in the following exchange:

October 8, 1969

Mr. Paul Goodman

402 West 20 Street

New York, N.Y.

Dear Mr. Goodman:

Enclosed is a copy of a Notice of Levy served on Random House October 6. In order for us to handle a matter of this sort, it requires quite a bit of internal administration and to avoid it all, I simply paid the $2.50 in cash to the revenue officer who served the papers.

The agent indicated to me that it was likely that as a method of protest you were refusing to pay the excise tax on your telephone bill. I do not believe that our payment of the levy frustrates your intent. It does, however, reduce our involvement to receiving the levy and writing this letter to you.

Sincerely yours,

Joseph M. Kraft

Counsel

Random House, Inc.

October 10, 1969

Joseph M. Kraft

Random House

Dear Kraft,

No, I am not at all satisfied with your handling of the Notice of Levy. I don’t know what your legal obligations may be, but my “intent” in matters of this kind is to harass the government that has been—shall we say?—harassing the people of Vietnam. In this context, I do not see why Random House too should not be slightly harassed with a bit of internal administration.

Yours,

Paul Goodman

New York City