Background for War

Sir:

In your Sept. 18 "Background for War" you twice mention the possibility that after a Russian occupation of Europe, it may again have, to be invaded and liberated by the U.S.A.

Your readers will be interested in what the Marquis Arturo della Scala, scion of one of Italy's oldest families and well-known lawyer, said to me in Rome last month . . .: ''If America wants to defend the liberty of Western Europe (and of the Western World), it can never do so by liberating Europe after a Russian occupation, but only by preventing it--by sending enough men and material, now . . ."

He--as well as other well-informed persons in twelve countries of Europe--assured me that if Russia decided to overrun Europe today, it could finish the job within [a week]. About 10% of the people in Europe would help the Russians, and about 80% would remain passive--believing that a fight against the Russians is hopeless under today's odds.

K. KAUFFMANN-GRINSTEAD, PH.D.

New York City

Sir:

. . . This "Background for War" impresses me as one of the best arranged, best expressed statements on any international matter that I recall ever reading . . .

GORDON STRONG

Dickerson Station, Md.

Sir:

. . . The "Background for War" made sense, but what about a Background for Peace?

Is there no chance that Stalin is leading from weakness? If there is only a bare possibility that the Politburo would be glad to "save face," and their hides, then we should leave the door open. By ruling out the possibility of a peaceful compromise, you made war more likely.

L. LEE LAYTON JR.

Dover, Del.

P: The nature of the Communist Party, not TIME, rules out the possibility of a peaceful compromise. TIME said: "Under these circumstances [60 U.S. and European divisions ready to defend Europe], the free world could reasonably hope that the Kremlin would suspend its present aggressive drive. Only under such circumstances would talk of the 'peaceful coexistence' of the free world and the U.S.S.R. begin to make sense. . ."--ED.

Sir:

. . . The Soviet rulers think of war in all-inclusive terms [including] economic and political warfare. We, on the other hand, think of war only in terms of formal declaration, and then formal [fighting] by our own uniformed armed forces . . . The Soviets are gaining important victories in undeclared warfare, while we debate whether or not and when there will be war . . .

The great majority of people both in the Soviet Union and particularly in the enslaved countries are violently opposed to Communism . . . What is there to prevent us giving aid to these oppressed people . . .? We would not be engaged in actual or official warfare; we still could go on debating in the United Nations . . . By giving adequate aid to the oppressed people in the Soviet countries so they may attempt revolts, we would be doing much more for ourselves, and for humanity at large, at much less cost and much less risk than by actual and official warfare against the Soviet Union . . .

C. L. JANIK

New York City

Watch on the Rhine

Sir:

Like many other women with husbands in the Reserve, I dread the thought of my husband leaving me and our three little boys again. But how anyone, after reading your cover story on Ernst Reuter [TIME, Sept. 18], can sit on his complacent backside and say, "Wait until after elections, or next year, or the next . . ." is beyond my comprehension.

. . . Let's do something for a change, instead of just talking about it. Better a Watch on the Rhine than holocaust on the Hudson, or a massacre on the Missouri!

MRS. JOHN M. SCOTT

Kansas City, Mo.

Molasses & Doughnuts

Sir:

In your groping for an . . . adjective to describe Senator Maybank's accent [TIME, Sept. 11 ], you made a poor choice in "molasses." Since he is a Charleston aristocrat, his speech is better described as a brogue, sharp, distinct, and staccato . . .

Perhaps you were trying a new trend in speech description. May I add one or two--the pancake twang of Mr. Truman (flat and Midwestern), the lettuce phrases of General Eisenhower (crisp), and the doughnut charges of Senator McCarthy (full of holes).

DAVID P. REESE, M.D.

Greenville, S.C.

Western Pacific Readers

Sir:

During a brief return to port for ammunition and supplies, this Task Group was provided with two hundred (200) copies of TIME, redistributed from the Tokyo Headquarters of Commander Naval Forces, Far East, and I understand that an unbroken sequence will follow . . . Distribution of the issue was made among our carriers, destroyers, and Marine fighter squadrons . . .

Your generosity and thoughtfulness in providing these magazines are genuinely appreciated by every man in the Task Group. We operate for long periods at sea with only infrequent and very short periods at our base, and we are starved for news. Poor radio reception and overcrowded equipment preclude all but occasional . . . news broadcasts, so you can realize how welcome your magazine is . . .

R. W. RUBLE

Rear Admiral, U.S. Navy

Commander Carrier Division Fifteen

FPO, San Francisco

Milling Around

Sir:

Regarding your Sept. 11 article on Bob Prescott and his Flying Tiger Line, wherein you state he painted one of his C-47s like a totem pole and flew a "fanciful" Texan and eight friends to Vancouver, B.C. for a weekend:

Thought you might like to see a photo of this rather flamboyant plane. It was painted by a pair of Walt Disney artists.

Now about that word "fanciful." In early '46, with plane priorities still operative, it was nearly impossible to get one seat, let alone eight, on a flight. We had to get eight men up there for one week to buy the world's largest shingle mill . . .

We sold the big mill a year and a half later for three times what we paid for it . . . You're sure you didn't mean "financiful"?

MAURICE ANGLY

Houston

P: Perhaps "flamboyant" would have been better.--ED.

Self-Made Doctor

Sir:

Self-Made Doctor [TIME, Sept. 25] is a sad commentary on the . . . medical profession . . . An individual with less than a high-school education is able to fool the authorities of several hospitals and their various staffs for five years . . .

Perhaps it does not take the scientific criteria that the medical schools claim to become a good doctor.

HUGO AACH, M.D.

Kalamazoo, Mich.

Sir:

The story of "Dr. MacLeod" is really worth reading over & over. Instead of the judge giving him one year in the pen, I am in favor of starting a fund [so that he can] get his diploma. Any guy that can do what he did is entitled to [it] . . .

JOE B. POWELL

Florence, S,C.

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