Old Fuds
Sir:
Regarding Alan J. Gould's definition of how old is "old" [TIME Jan. 19; Feb. 9]: we have a pretty good one in the Navy--young studs, old fuds and lieutenant commanders.
F. N. HOWE Captain, U.S.N. Minneapolis
Pope or President?
Sir:
Why does TIME claim the office of President of the U.S. of America to be the "highest office in the world?" While realizing that the office of President carries with it tremendous power and responsibility, I should think that the world's highest office is that of the Pope. Pope Pius XII is the leader of more than 400 million people and, as the Vicar of Christ on earth, is surely the most exalted person in the world.
C. E. ALLEN Bristol, England
The Studebaker Story
Sir:
Orchids to TIME, [Feb. 2] for the Studebaker story! . . . For the first time, you've actually made my mouth water for an American automobile.
TRUE A. RICE JR. Leavenworth, Kans.
Sir:
Studebaker, Vance and Loewy deserve an A for effort but only a B-minus for accomplishment of purpose. When I have need of a back seat or luggage space, I use my year-old Studebaker; when I want to enjoy driving, I use my M.G. ... I would gladly settle for a single car, priced under $3,000, that would combine family-car utility with sports-car handling and performance . . .
It is well known that enthusiasts differ warmly as to what, exactly, a sports car, or even a compromise sports-type car, is. But they agree unanimously that it is something more than a slick body hung on a typical Detroit (or South Bend) chassis that "needs $150 worth of extra equipment to turn the front wheels.
LAWRENCE T. REID Boston
Sir:
. . . You overlooked [the] sports car designed by Frank Kurds of Glendale, Calif., builder of the most famous chassis used on midget race cars and for several years on the winning car at Indianapolis. Kurtis is now producing his newest sports car [see cut]. The purchaser may have a selection of Chrysler, Lincoln, Hudson, Mercury, Cadillac or other engines at from $5,000 to $6,000 . . .
FLOYD CLYMER Los Angeles
Backhands Across the Sea
Sir:
As a visiting Briton, resident for the past eight months in the U.S., I am constantly amazed at the almost daily abuse and vilification of Britain and all things British, so evident in both the American press and American manners. Your magazine's counter-criticism of the British press [TIME, Feb. 2] therefore strikes me at best as being a chronic case of the pot calling the kettle black.
L. J. RANKINE Palisades, N.J.
Sir:
. . . You tend to exaggerate the lily-white coverage of Britain by American newspapers when you do not mention Colonel McCormick and other isolationist papers in this country. Even papers which are not anti-British . . . emphasize how expensive those countries are for us rather than the debt we owe them for holding the line in two wars until we were ready to make our own sacrifices for the world's freedom . . .
KATHERINE ROBERTS Long Beach, Calif.
Sir:
. . . Perchance Mr. [Beverley] Baxter might benefit from a bicycle trip through the good, solid American countryside. There he might find some who would be in a homey, talkative mood, thus imparting to him yet another side of U.S. life ... If it's conversation he wants, any housewife over here could bring him down to earth in nothing flat. He'd find that a good portion of us are college graduates, as are our husbands. We're usually a family of four with the usual pets. We do our own housework, worry about mortgage payments, food budgets . . . We drive cars that are not the newest models, and we don't have chicken every Sunday. We haven't had a real family vacation in years--we can't afford one. We listen to good music, we read good books, and when we can manage it, we see an occasional play--maybe once a year . . . We try to set a good example by living in such a manner that both we and our children may learn to live with confusion without ourselves becoming confused...
We are a religious people--if not always in our church attendance, at least in our approach to the problems of human beings . . .
SHIRLEY F. BECHTEL Park Ridge, Ill.
Sir:
. . . [British Reporter William] Connor is cordially invited to occupy our spare bedroom for a weekend if he should decide to return. We have a two-year-old gangster who would, I'm sure, leave many impressions that he would not forget nor report.
WILLARD S. LEVINGS
Needham Heights, Mass.
Sir:
As an Englishwoman, I remain quite calm when reading American criticisms of my country's politics, coffee, cooking, or even British women, but your Jan. 26 reference to the "effete British voice" made me furious ! My dictionary defines effete as "exhausted, worn out with age . . ." Does TIME mean then that the speaker was an old man with a quavery voice? Or were you referring to the mode of expression and pronunciation? If this last is the case, then I venture to say that the British accent, be it Scots, Lancashire, Cockney or merely Mayfair, has more vitality, variety and general caress to the ear than the flat, nasal monotone that passes for speech in the U.S. . . .
WINIFRED PHILLIPS Hove, Sussex, England
Death of a Preacher
Sir:
TIME's Feb. 2 story of the death of the North Korean preacher due to manhandling by U.S. service personnel undoubtedly is shocking to many Americans. However, it confirms my observation during a reserve-recall tour in Japan and Korea: as fast as the diplomats make friends for us in that part of the world, many service personnel, with their cocky, bullying and overbearing mannerisms, lose these friends for us. How long will this careless attitude of some of the troops be tolerated by the top brass? . .
JAMES LEWIS Jackson, Miss.
Sir:
Will you please see that the enclosed check for $5 reaches the widow & children of Pang Wha II . . . ? If you will, please convey to her the hope that she will learn soon that the stupidity and evil she has learned to associate with some Americans is not true of us all ...
HELEN GROVE MEYER Hamden, Conn.
P: Reader Meyer's check, along with other such contributions, has been forwarded to the Board of Foreign Missions of the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A., 156 Fifth Avenue, New York 10.--ED.
Highland's Fling
Sir:
As a born & raised Clarksburger and newspaperman, I was delighted to see your Feb. 2 piece about Newspaper Publisher [Cecil] Highland's latest--and this time (glory be!) unsuccessful--attempt to strangle progress in the old home town . . .
KERMIT HOLT Glenview, Ill.
Sir:
I am rather positive that I speak for untold thousands when I say thank you for your story on Publisher Highland of Clarksburg, W. Va. [He] violates every legitimate concept of journalism, and dissipates its ethics in one broad, selfish sweep . . .
HAROLD MCWHORTER Weston, W.Va.
Sir:
Your article stirred up quite a tempest in our city . . . The whole town was seething with glee ! The local radio stations announced from time to time where copies of TIME could be obtained. On a radio program for the March of Dimes, 1,000 copies were offered to people who contributed to the charity and claimed their copy. In short, your magazine turned the town upside down ! ... It will be almost impossible for you to realize the caliber of this service to the populace here, or the magnitude of the words "thank you'' which have echoed through the town . . .
H. E. ("GENE") HAMMOND Clarksburg, W.Va.
The Heart of Texas
SIR:
TIME'S FEB. 9 STORY ON DALLAS' $12.5 MILLION-AIRPORT BOND ISSUE IS INTERESTING BUT INACCURATE, AND UNFAIR TO BOTH FORT WORTH AND DALLAS. DALLAS ADOPTED AIRPORT MASTER PLAN IN 1946 AND LOVE FIELD IMPROVEMENTS ARE PART OF THAT PLAN. IT IS BASED ON COLD, SCIENTIFIC ANALYSIS OF AIRPORT NEEDS OF DALLAS AREA, AND OF THE ADVANTAGES OF A CONVENIENTLY LOCATED CLOSE-IX AIRPORT . . . THIS ANALYSIS WAS CONFIRMED IN 1952 BY A STRICTLY OBJECTIVE SURVEY [WHICH] SHOWS BOTH EXPANDED LOVE FIELD AND FORT WORTH'S NEW AIRPORT WILL HAVE ALL THE TRAFFIC EITHER CAN HANDLE BY 1960 . . . DALLAS-FORT WORTH AREA IS ONE CONTINUOUS METROPOLITAN DISTRICT WITH 1,000,000 RESIDENTS. DALLAS ORIGINATES PREPONDERANT PERCENTAGE OF COMBINED TOTAL AIRLINES PASSENGERS, SO NATURALLY WE DEMANDED MOST CONVENIENT POSSIBLE AIRPORT FACILITIES . . .
AMERICAN AIRLINES IS MOVING ITS DIVISIONAL OPERATING BASE FROM FORT WORTH'S OLD MEACHAM FIELD TO THE NEW FORT WORTH AIRPORT. IT IS ALSO EXPECTED TO RESTORE TO FORT WORTH SOME FLIGHTS FORMERLY SCHEDULED THERE BUT DISCONTINUED BECAUSE MEACHAM WAS INADEQUATE FOR DC-6 OPERATIONS. IT HAS NOT ANNOUNCED REMOVAL OF ANY LOVE FIELD OPERATIONS. DALLAS HAS NO QUARREL WITH FORT WORTH. . . .
STANLEY MARCUS CHAIRMAN, AVIATION COMMITTEE DALLAS CHAMBER OF COMMERCE DALLAS
The Hand of State
Sir:
You may be interested to know that the signature of John Foster Dulles [TIME, Feb. 2] reveals a brilliant extrovert, as compared to Dean Acheson, the brilliant introvert. Secretary Dulles' high, straight-lined, strikingly original capital letters indicate self-assurance and the ability to cope with big problems . . . The fluent illegibility of his other letters with their rounded formation and slightly forward slant shows a swift, uninhibited mentality combined with amiability . . .
MURIEL STAFFORD Granby, Conn.
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