Character v. Show

Sirs:

In answer to Herbert Milton Maxwell (TIME, May 23) relative to his "$1,000,000.00 Car,"* I would beg to state that I am happy to believe that President Coolidge recognizes the difference between Character and Show. . . .

H. COULTER TODD

Oklahoma City, Okla.

Not Snobbish

Sirs:

I am a plain man, neither snobbish nor proud, and content to be so. As such I thank you for publishing the letter [TIME, May 23] in which Mr. Herbert Milton Maxwell so cogently points out that since the President of Mexico has a private train costing -L-375,000 our own President should not go about as might a "drummer" or "traveling salesman."

My father was English and I cherish the hope that the country of my birth may yet achieve the poise and dignity which mark and distinguish the land of my inheritance.

BRAMBURN SMYTH

Chicago, Ill.

Auto Races

Sirs:

I am writing to inquire why you have discontinued your heretofore accurate and interesting accounts of the major automobile races in America? Certainly America excels in the manufacture of racing cars, and unfortunately that sport is one of the most slighted of all of the competitive sports.

At one time, your magazine contained the most complete accounts of all of the races. Yet this season, several records have been made, and you seem to be entirely oblivious of the fact. Yet you devote many lines to accounts of minor pugilistic activities which to me are far less interesting, and can be obtained from any newspaper.

I am very pleased with TIME, and read it thoroughly. I trust that you will try and continue your reports of racing, and shall look forward to seeing them again.

PHILIP M. CHANCELLOR

Santa Barbara, Calif.

Let Subscriber Chancellor see this week's SPORT page.-ED.

Men Flayed

Sirs:

I can picture you, I can just picture you ! Your attitude [TIME, May 30] toward the Illinois Women's Golf Club for women only gives you away completely. Do you think women fear male criticism whether they wear knickers or hoop-skirts to play golf ? Never believe it! No, but women are sick and tired of having to share golf clubs with rude men, men with fat stomachs and dirty cigars, dirtier language, boasting, conceit, overbearing attitude on the course when they drive right into women who are playing and treat us like lepers. They cannot hit decent shots or act decently. Half the time they are drunk while playing and debauch the little caddies with their stories and actions. It is to get away from all that kind of thing that the Chicago women are having their own club, I'm certain. Wearing knickers has nothing whatever to do with it and anyway, I'm sure no member of the Illinois Women's Golf Club here would be so vulgar as to wear knickers at any golf club, even in the middle of the night.

ROSALIE EVANS

Chicago, Ill.

Roads for Women

Sirs:

At last something good has come out of Chicago [TIME, May 30]. I wish we could herd the women of this city off onto a golf course of their own and leave them there forever with their high heels on the greens and chattering on the tees. More power to Chicago! The thing should be carried further too. I'm for special women's elevators in office buildings, so a man doesn't get his lungs full of sickening face powder. Seriously I am! And what a blessing it would be if there were roads ' "for women only!" Put all the old hens and nice young things and horn-rimmed stickle-backs and back-seat drivers off on a boulevard of their own and let them ball up their own traffic and smash each others' fenders and scream and stick out their tongues to their hearts' delight. Yours for segregation of the impossible sex.

STANLEY BLOODGOOD

Philadelphia, Pa.

Handsprings, Headsprings

Sirs:

I note in TIME, May 16 that you refer to my 70th birthday anniversary as being celebrated with "able handsprings and head-springs," and the erudite commenter in a footnote says that the latter "is a spring performed by lying on the back and then jumping to the feet, the weight of the body coming at first upon the head and shoulders."

The movement you describe, and which I did, is not a spring, but a snap-up from the back, the upward impetus being given by a quick pressure of the back of the head against the ground.

The headspring, which, also, I did among other turns, is an entirely different movement. The acrobat stands erect on his feet, bends forward until the top of his head touches the ground and springs over to his feet after the manner of the handspring; but hands do not touch the ground, nor shoulders, nor any part of the body except the top of the head.

That which made my performance on May 1 at all notable was the somersaults forward and backward in the air; that is, clean turns from feet to feet without the interposition of any part of the body.* This performance was simply incidental with me, as I have been doing all these turns for something like 60 years, and expect to continue doing them some years longer.

IRVING K. POND

Pond & Pond, Martin & Lloyd (Architects )

Chicago, Ill.

Pouch

Sirs:

. . . When I meditate on the awful junk that I carry around in my pouch masquerading under the name of "magazines" and so forth, I often wonder why apparently sane people do not take the $5 that they annually spend for a number of worthless publications, and concentrate that amount on a subscription to TIME. Every time I've sent you 55 I have received $95 worth of knowledge.

HARRY KIMPTON

Carrier No. 2 (P. O. Dept.) International Falls, Minn.

Temptation

Sirs:

. . . My reason for terminating my subscription is rather a compliment to your effective condensation (subject to the above-mentioned difficulty which I ascribe to faults). My real reason for terminating the subscription was the temptation to read, and the tremendous tax on my otherwise fully absorbed time of yielding to this temptation.

I found it necessary to terminate the subscription in order to so apportion my own time as to fulfill the many inexhaustible and recurring duties which constantly press upon me. CHARLES A. BOSTON

Hornblower, Miller & Garrison New York, N. Y.

Prevents Polish

Sirs:

My only possible objection to your paper is that it arrives at 11 a. m. Saturday morning when I am putting the finishing touches on my Sunday morning sermon. It almost prevents the final polish (if any) of my sermon. It requires two hours for me to read it all!

L. H. MOUNT

First Baptist Church Beaufort, S. C.

Dutch Suggested

Sirs:

. . . Please run the picture of some great Netherlander on your front cover -best people on earth.

A. V. SLOTEMAKER

New York, N. Y.

North Dakotans Suggested

Sirs:

. . . I merely suggest, would be pleased to view some of North Dakota's Congressmen or Senators photos on the front page of your magazine.

GEORGE D. TRIPP

Hettinger, N. D.

Kings Suggested

Sirs:

I like to save my copies of TIME, not only for its news columns, but also for the portraits on the cover. Don't you think it. would be more in harmony with the general tone of the whole magazine if only the really "famed" were pictured on the cover? Give us Kings, Presidents, Premiers, other Statesmen, Scientists and such like. Leave others of relatively less importance or fame for the inner pages. E. KREUTZWEISER

Saskatoon, Sask.

Lindbergh Suggested

Sirs:

For accomplishing the outstanding historical and epoch-making event of crossing the Atlantic, I believe Charles A. Lindbergh was entitled to have his picture on the front page of your last issue.

K. F. BERTSCH

Buffalo, N. Y.

Bannard Suggested

Sirs:

Let me suggest as a cover for TIME : Otto T. Bannard if he isn't too modest to pose.

Who else could raise S:15,000,000 for one of our 400 colleges? And he'll get five million more for Alma Mater Yale.

GEORGE DOUGLAS MILLER

Alexandria Bay, N. Y.

Tancy Spellings"

Sirs:

What are "fancy spellings" in your opinion? Is plain, correct spelling to be considered "fancy"? Why did you sit Reader Gibbon down so hard [TIME, May 30] ?

T. K. SHEPHERD

Philadelphia, Pa.

TIME meant no harshness toward Reader Gibbon. TIME merely defended its policy of printing letters as received, misspellings and all.

"Fancy spellings" are spellings employing unnecessary letters, as "catalogue," "shoppe," "favour," etc.--ED.

Made a Mistake

Sirs:

I thought I could get along without TIME and the only reason I discontinued my subscription was on account of having numerous magazines, but I made a mistake, as TIME gives me more news than all the others put together. I can read TIME in my spare moments and know all the news that is going on.

Kindly renew my subscription for an-other year.

E. L. LEWITH

Wilkes-Barre, Pa.

Nephew, Madagascar

Sirs:

I am not an ex-subscriber and hope never to be one! After I have read my copy I pass it on to my nephew, who gets all his material for his oral themes in high school from it, and then every month I gather up all my previous month's issues and roll them up and send them to Madagascar to my sister, an American missionary to that island, and when she is through with it she never sees it again for the other members of the mission promptly confiscate it and keep it circulating.

DOROTHEA DAHL

Moscow, Idaho

Outweigh

Sirs:

The good qualities of TIME outweigh the bad ones many times over.

L. M. GILL

New York, N. Y.

Early 20's

Sirs:

I have your circular letter of April 20, and beg to inform you that I do not intend renewing my subscription to TIME.

I am about to state my objections, but before I do so will say that I am a young man in the early 20's, was special correspondent to the Timber Trades Journal (of London, England), and was a successful free lance at the age of 18 years. To-day I am about to become cooperating editor of the International Section of the American Friend, so that I think my experiences justify my criticisms.

TIME is a very admirable paper in that it endeavors to present a short summary of the week's news to its readers. Several of my friends who have seen the paper have remarked on this, but we have all condemned the half-witty style that you present your news with. Your titles are a point in mind, and are extremely disconcerting to the serious student that endeavors to have a handy record of present happenings in the world.

I shall be very willing to renew my subscription when you decide to cut out this objectionable feature, and so will many others that I know. Although I am without figures I do not hesitate to say that the Literary Digest is eating its way into your circulation. Several of the "Quality Magazines" have not hesitated to make a drastic revision in their policy when they found that they were on the wrong track, and it will be to your credit when you decide to take the same bold 'step.

I hope that same will be in the very near future, and will send you my subscription promptly when you do so.

JOHN O'HARTE!

Modoc Point, Ore.

Should Worry

Sirs:

. . . Don't mind what the Babbittry says of you. You are all right. The only live newsmagazine in the country. TIME obviates the deadly dull wading through clipped newspaper opinions trying to be fair to everybody and telling you nothing.

You should worry!

JOHN PUTNAM

West Haven, Conn.

*An error. Mr. Maxwell asked: "Is there a man or woman in the U. S. who would have less respect for our President if he traveled in the world's finest private train, costing perhaps $1,000,000?"-ED.

*For these "turns," Acrobat-Architect Pond employed a spring board. -ED.