What Does it Mean?
Sirs:
Carrots and umbrellas. Sir Stafford Cripps. India. Empire. Dominion. . . .
Is this the absolute inspiration of Florian, the artist, or is it advised by the TIME staff? It is good.
But just what does it mean? Do the carrots refer to Gandhi and his vegetarian habits, or to Cripps himself, as the article would imply? Do the umbrellas symbolize No. 10 Downing Street, to which you imply Cripps may move, or do they stand for the shelter, peace-in-our-time type of government prevalent until 1931 ?
Or are the carrots and umbrellas mere coloring matter, meant to mean one thing to the artist, another to the esthete reader, another to the newspaper man, mere pigment? Personally I don't think you know. . . .
COOPER WALKER
Garrison, Md.
> The carrots represent Vegetarian Cripps (called affectionately by his friends "Christ & Carrots"); the umbrellas represent the Chamberlain regime, to almost all of whose policies for Britain and the Empire he was long opposed.--ED.
Fairer Interpretation Sirs:
TIME of April 6 prominently states, on the basis of the April FORTUNE survey, that "the idea of 'Union Now' with Britain or any other nation was rejected by the people." I am sure you had no intention of misleading even the thoughtless, but may I suggest that this unqualified statement may have that effect? . . . That poll can also be interpreted to show a remarkable trend toward the basic ideas of Union Now.
Three years ago practically no one in the U.S. talked of forming a federal union of any kind with any nation. To spread the idea of a Union of Democracies, our Federal Union organization had to begin at scratch then and pull itself up by its shoestrings. Its resources have been trifling compared to the funds spent in that period promoting popular get-peace-quick-and-easy schemes such as isolationism, short-of-warism, etc.
The figures you cite show that the Union idea, after only three years of campaigning on this plane, is about as strong as isolationism is now. In the circumstances, that fact might reasonably be rated more remarkable than the fact that we are still far from having a majority.
On the other hand, public-opinion-poll experts have told me that it is extremely hard to find a way to word the Union Now question that will give accurate results. Other findings of the FORTUNE survey confirm the fact that the results vary widely, depending on how the question is put. Thus, whereas April FORTUNE shows 8.4% favoring a Union of Democracies, last December's FORTUNE, where the question was put somewhat differently, showed 59.7% favored it. Opinion certainly has not changed that much since then.
Indeed, the April FORTUNE survey itself reports also that 23% of this same U.S. public favored unrestricted immigration as regards the British Empire, 32% favored joint world policing with the British and 42% favored free trade with the British Empire. All three of these are fundamental features of the Union Now plan. . . .
Indeed, these detailed findings of the survey would seem to indicate that the more the public understands what Union Now really means, the readier it is to accept it. Our experience confirms this. . . .
CLARENCE K. STREIT
President
Federal Union, Inc.
New York City
War Christening
Sirs:
Casting about for a name for the current war, at the suggestion of President Roosevelt, I hit upon one which covers both the worldwide scope, and the "four freedoms" espoused by Mr. Roosevelt.
Let's call it the "Free-for-all"!
LLOYD BURLINGHAM
El Paso, Tex.
Sirs:
Let us honor this crusade to make the world a safe and decent place to live in by calling it the "Roosevelt War."
J. HAWLEY SMITH
Carrboro, N.C.
Sirs:
Why not call it "War-to-end-Wars, Jr."?
R. M. HAYES
Tyler, Tex.
> Other nominations, some facetious, some in earnest: The Bastards' War, Axis War, War For Freedom Forever, Dictators' War, The People's War, Survival of the Fittest, The Battle of Humanity, The Trouble, War for World Freedom, Stooge War, War of Extermination, Unnamed War, The Peace War, The Great War, Universal War, Hitler-Roosevelt War, War for Free Civilians.
Meanwhile, the President himself has made his own nomination: The Survival War (TIME, April 27).--ED.
Degrading Propaganda
Sirs:
The only useful purpose I can imagine in your reproducing Thomas Benton's painting . . . with explanations (TIME, April 6), was to arouse a storm of protest against the use of such material for propaganda purposes. At least you have succeeded in getting one old subscriber to write his first letter to the editor.
If Mr. MacLeish's enthusiasm for Mr. Benton's pictures finds expression in a Government policy, one result will be to alienate perhaps millions of Christian people in America from wholehearted support of the war.
Our greatest danger is that, in defeating the gangsters in control of Germany and Japan, we descend to their level of bestiality. . . . Not only does hate hurt the hater more than the one hated, but it is an unnecessary element in the fighting spirit. . . .
WILLIAM N. WYSHAM
The Board of Foreign Missions,
Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A.
San Francisco, Calif.
Three Demerits
Sirs:
Three demerits to TIME. You seem to have erred in your People item of last week on Wendell Willkie: 1) by stating that Mr. Willkie is "still" the attorney for 20th Century-Fox; and 2) by the sequence in which it is made to seem that Mr. Willkie stepped into the shoes of Joseph M. Schenck after Mr. Schenck's conviction for income-tax fraud; and 3) by quoting seriously Mr. Willkie's laughing crack that Mr. Schenck was "in temporary difficulties."
Truth is Mr. Willkie was never until now the attorney for 20th Century-Fox; he actually was called in not because of Mr. Schenck's resignation but because of the death of President Sidney Kent.
FRANCIS TURNER
Short Hills, NJ.
Analytical, Accurate
Sirs:
As an old subscriber, I want to thank you for the very moving analysis of English character as written so sympathetically by your correspondent (TIME, April 13). I do not like to contemplate the post-war period for America without the cooperation of the British Empire.
TOM BOTTERILL
Denver, Colo.
Sirs:
There was something about your article "As England Feels" that will make me keep it until it turns yellow with age. It will make a good history lesson for history students a generation from now.
CARL O. BENSON
McKeesport, Pa.
Sirs:
"As England Feels" tells us "Russia is immensely popular there and Uncle Sam is scarcely noticed." Look at that now ! Here we have been doing all but growing whiskers to look like Santa Claus in Johnny Bull's eyes. We'd better forget the whiskers. He'd probably notice us then and think we looked like the devil.
(REV.) WM. M. HOLUB
Epworth, Iowa
External Use Only
Sirs:
Referring to TIME, April 6: You don't mean to say that Author Rex Stout takes sulphate of ammonia and nitrate of soda internally, do you? We use these substances to fertilize vegetables in our neighborhood.
RAY WILLIAMS
Weslaco, Tex.
> So does Mr. Stout. Says he: "Recipe for a good beard: spread on sulphate of ammonia and nitrate of soda, sprinkle with beer, and rake well." --ED.
The Nisei
> The following letter is from a Nisei, who was evacuated from Los Angeles, and is now at the Owens Valley Reception Center, Manzanar, Calif. for Nisei and Japanese aliens.--ED.
Sirs:
. . . The condition of this camp is just about the best that we can expect under the circumstances. The Army ration we are given daily is better than we ever expected (they say that it costs 48-c- a day per person). And the Japanese Nisei boys are saying that they should not forget the fact that they are. Americans, even if some fellow Americans may think that they should be treated as political prisoners. The Federal officials who are administering this camp are very courteous and considerate toward all of us. We do not have a jail here yet, and the administration says that it will try to let the Japanese govern themselves as much as possible. A report that the evacuees here will not be paid more than $21 a month did very little, if any, damage to the morale of the evacuees. They are now saying that since they are being well housed, well fed and protected by the Government, money does not mean much. And we are now organizing what we call "Voluntary Helpers Corps." This organization is composed of young boys between the ages of 20 to 40, and its purpose is mainly to help out the evacuee families as they arrive here week after week.
. . . We believe that by mutual trust and spirit of cooperation alone may we be able to exert the maximum power of our nation and bring about the victory.
We have occasional sandstorms here in Owens Valley, but the climate is very good for our health. We are enjoying our new home to the utmost, and under the snow-covered High Sierra mountains our life is just wonderful. . . .
DAVID AKIRA ITAMI
Ex-Assistant Editor
California Daily News
Manzanar, Calif.
Sirs:
In your excellent magazine . . . you carried interviews with certain Americans, first and second-generation Japanese--among them [Isamu] Sammy Horino* who takes care of my garden. Sammy and I have had many conversations about Japanese-American relations before Dec. 7 and after. Of his patriotism I have no doubt. He is not a suave diplomat, smilingly betraying, nor is he a stiff-faced Shintoist bowing to racial superstitions. He is Sammy Horino, American-born, conditioned by the world we all know, with its faults and virtues. He might harbor the resentments mentioned, but it does not keep him from being a friendly, cooperative person. He hopes, as we all do, for a better world in the future. . . .
In the meantime, Sammy is going about his business, planting, weeding and mowing, helping his friends with their new problems, worrying that his invalid mother might not be able to bear the strain of either being parted from her family or leaving her home. Nevertheless he is packed and ready; he will do willingly whatever is necessary and buy a war bond, too, when he gets over his confusion and resentment.
GERTRUDE CONWAY
North Hollywood, Calif.
Sirs:
. . . We ask that the question of our loyalty be determined only by the facts, and not by the comments of embryonic fascists. Surely, if we are willing to being interned as a matter of morale and strategy, fair judgment is not too much to expect.
TIME itself has stated there has not been one act of sabotage by a Japanese, and the Police Chief of Honolulu has officially denied those fifth-column rumors which arose from the anger of Pearl Harbor. . . .
We shall cease to exist till victory, but do not deny us the right to live once peace is restored.
VICTOR ABE
San Francisco, Calif.
*Whom TIME quoted as saying: "Why should we support anything in this country with a whole heart? I don't mean any of us give a damn about Japan. We hope they get licked. . . . But nobody ever let us become a real part of this country. . . . And we're expected to buy bonds, too. Not me!"
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