American Notes MEMORIALS

The music segued from Brahms to Red River Valley, the language from the Book of Common Prayer to A Cowboy's Prayer, evoking "that last inevitable ride . . ." Such simple touches in last week's memorial service in Washington would have pleased Malcolm Baldrige, who died four days earlier, crushed by a falling cow pony while roping a steer. In his eulogy, Ronald Reagan described the late Commerce Secretary as direct and unpretentious. He told of how Baldrige had ordered his staff to interrupt him for only two types of phone calls. "I was one," Reagan said, "and any cowboy who rang up was the other." In deference to Baldrige, Reagan decided not to begin the search for his successor until this week.