Who is Professor Ezra Winthrop and Prof. Eric Einarrsson- The Brib from Collected Fictions and what is their importance?

Professor Winthrop is a senior professor, who is set the task of selecting another professor to chair a conference. Professor Einarrsson bribes Professor Winthrop in order to be granted the appointment. Winthrop appreciates the bribe, as well as Einarrsson's sense of fairness and impartiality, which he describes as uniquely American traits.