Dear Miss

By last week, women in schools of education in 16 different states had received the mysterious letters. They were postmarked Seattle, and were signed "One Who Has Observed." They all began: "Dear Miss . . .

"What are you doing with your most precious years? Just where do you think you are heading? . . . Teaching is the worst matrimonial blind alley that ever a girl can get into. Many teachers never marry ... In the years to come, you may be spending your holidays alone, or your relatives may patronize you and allow you to look in upon them . . .

"You need not close the door on life. The moms and pops want your sacrifice . . . They wouldn't do it themselves . . . The people who operate these training institutions (old maid factories) are greedy for your sacrifice so they can continue in their positions . . . Don't let them bait you . . ."

The first report of such letters came from Kentucky three weeks ago, then from other states. The sender, whoever he was, gave the stunt a chain-letter twist by urging "dear miss" to send copies to five or six other "innocent and unsuspecting young people." Who in Seattle had it in for the U.S. public-school system? A crackpot, was one likely answer. Mrs. Pearl A. Wanamaker, superintendent of public instruction for the state of Washington, thought that too much time and too many postage stamps were involved; it sounded more like Communists to her. Last week the National Education Association asked the FBI to find out.

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