A memorandum is written not to inform the reader but to protect the writer.

Acheson’s remark is a dry observation about bureaucratic writing: internal memos often function less as vehicles of clear communication than as instruments of self-protection. By putting advice, warnings, or decisions “on the record,” the writer creates a paper trail that can later demonstrate diligence, shift blame, or establish that responsibility lay elsewhere. The line captures a perennial tension in government and corporate administration—between candor and career risk—suggesting that institutional incentives can distort prose into cautious, legalistic, and strategically ambiguous language. It also hints at why organizations can become documentation-heavy while still failing at genuine understanding or action.