Vote of Thanks

Sir:

The Great Debate rolls on, and we now have our giant among pygmies--Paul Douglas--superbly reported by TIME, Jan. 22. This for our day is Lincoln speaking at Cooper Institute. As Lincoln defined and resolved the issues of his time in that speech, so Douglas has now resolved and defined the issues of our day and hour . . . Lincoln's Cooper Union speech has been credited with winning for him the presidency.*It is doubtful that Paul Douglas has given the presidency a thought. Neither Republicans nor Democrats, if they would serve their country well, can ignore his potentialities . . .

There was a time when it did not seem maudlin to write into a public document; "We mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor." Paul Douglas has given us principles upon which we can rededicate ourselves--if we will.

VICTOR SIVERTSON

Chicago

Sir:

Douglas in '52!

W. H. HENDRICKSON Gunnison, Colo.

Sir:

An ordinary photograph of a wonderful man and a real leader, Paul Douglas, on your cover! . . . I think that your covers are excellent and that their backgrounds always have pointed and poignant significance. But, on the other hand, the plain photograph calls special attention to the man who is our only logical choice for the next President of the U.S.

MALCOLM CORRELL Stillwater, Okla.

Sir:

. . . Senator Douglas can embody, more .than anyone on the national scene, the unity we so desperately need.

.... JOHN L. SULLIVAN

Larchmont, N.Y.

Sir:

Shades of Patrick Henry and Teddy Roosevelt! Paul Douglas talks like a man.

B. A. PRINCE Westfield, Mass.

SIR: MAN OF THE YEAR--1951: SENATOR PAUL

DOUGLAS.

THOS. B. SAMMONS JR.

MISSION, TEXAS

"Period Piece"?

Sir:

Your Jan. 22 appraisal of Sinclair Lewis as "not a great writer, nor even a very good one" may be confirmed by posterity, but it still seems to me that the author of Main Street, Babbitt and Arrowsmith was something more than a mere clever mimic and pamphleteer.

If a novelist is to be judged by the vitality of his characters, Lewis should not be found wanting by that perverse minority of posterity that may still read books. Carol Kennicott is still with us, fighting her hopeless battle against the village virus in many a drowsy hamlet still untouched by TV. Elmer Gantry now brays at us from the loudspeaker over a national hook-up . . . And in some hidden laboratory, the incorruptible young Dr. Arrowsmith is now busy tracking down the clue to cancer or polio . . .

The Lewis gallery may not have the scope or the full-bodied exuberance of Dickens, but I believe it will linger in our memory a while yet.

EDWARD T. MCNAMARA Danbury, Conn.

Sir:

How dare you compare lovable, honest, confused, right-minded George F. Babbitt and the sanctimonious hypocrite Elmer Gantry? No knave, Babbitt. Once his conscience is awakened, he tries to fight the restrictions of his society, but of course he loses. I am all for Sinclair Lewis. Along with Remain Rolland and maybe a couple of others, he showed that in the 20th Century it is still possible to understand the foibles of humanity and yet have a warm love for people . . .

JOHN NEUFELD Ann Arbor, Mich.

Sir:

... It seems to me that Lewis' portrayal of the "semi-civilized barbarian" does not justify the term "period piece" in these days, when the only faith we have is in materialism --only we have gone Babbitt one better and put our hopes in militaristic materialism. Possibly a re-examination of the Babbitts which Sinclair Lewis portrayed so well will teach us to put our faith in something better during 1951.

MRS. T. S. THOMPSON Whittier, Calif.

Sir:

If Sinclair Lewis is not a great writer, America has never had one . . . Mark Twain was not a great writer until the American people woke up 50 years too late. By the same token, Walt Whitman was not a great writer, either. Nevertheless, when Lewis said: "I'm the best goddam writer in this here goddam country," drunk or sober, he was right.

WALTER BIEBER Arcola, Sask., Canada

Road Busters Sir:

Your transportation article of Jan. 22 gives comfort to the propagandists who would have us believe that transport trucks are causing excessive damage to our roads. That is pure myth . . .

Well-built roads can withstand any traffic. Engineeringwise, there is nothing to prevent the manufacture of quality pavements and the construction of quality roads. It is high time for highway officials to move into the 20th Century, and make an honest effort to come apace with the automotive industry.

H. G. ATKINSON JR. Columbus, Ohio

Sir:

Thank you for publishing the report of the Inter-Regional Council on Highway Transportation.

During the war years we saw the new state highway system of Mississippi, which had been protected by low load restrictions, torn to bits by unlimited Army & Navy vehicles. It was one of the sacrifices willingly paid by the people of that state in a period of war ...

The American Trucking Associations have a strong lobby which has hamstrung legislation such as that proposed in Ohio ...

Austin, Texas F. B. Frazee

Sir:

. . . The Ohio Highway Patrol weighing station checked 6,700 trucks (not 4,000), and 203 (not 356) were in violation of the so-called legal load limit. This constitutes a 3% violation (not 9%) . . .Of the 3% accused of violations, almost all were for uncontrollable axle weights, and not for gross overweight . . . The great majority of Ohio's truck operators are opposed to all violations of the state's highway laws, regardless of their inequity . . .

W. R. BULL

Highway Transportation Institute of Ohio Columbus

Evaluations

Sir:

A book such as Rommel, the Desert Fox, reviewed in your Jan. 22 issue, leads one to ponder the imponderables of life.

Here is an example of creating heroes of nen who, a short time ago, were anything aut. Now, and even during the time of conflict, these men sit back and evaluate and criticize each other much in the same manner as rival football coaches, apparently disregarding the fact that in the course of their efforts thousands of lives have been lost.

ROBERT C. RUMBAUGH Connellsville, Pa.

Sir:

Thank you for your review of my .book Rommel. I am very grateful and have no quarrel with it at all--except that I really did NOT say that I could not "help liking German generals" as a class. On the contrary, I said that I certainly had no affection for them (having fought two wars against them), but that I could not help liking General Bayerlein and a couple of others I mentioned. I stated the fact in the book because I, myself, found it surprising.

DESMOND YOUNG Mouans-Sartoux, France

*Lincoln addressed some of his remarks to Democratic Senator Stephen Douglas, his rival candidate for the 1860 presidency. -The two-week totals: 12,570 trucks checked, 350 (2.78%) violations.

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