Marine on Trial

Sir:

My sympathies go out to Colonel Frank Schwable, who . . . was tortured by the Communists and . . . put on trial in this country for falsely confessing that the U.S. had used germ warfare on the Chinese Communists [TIME, March 22] ... As for the value of such a confession to the enemy, I have seen no proof that it cost us any lives, or friends . . . After all, we were the first and, so far, the only nation to drop atom bombs on civilians, so we shouldn't be too squeamish about being charged with germ warfare . . .

GLENN WHEELER East Orange, NJ.

Sir:

. . . General William F. Dean said that he would never go to war again without a suicide pill as insurance against captivity . . . I shudder to think of the situation that would exist within the armed forces ... if it became commonly acceptable for all military men to gulp the "Dean bean" that they have been gingerly carrying around with them in their watch pocket for use when in danger . . .

JOHN P. LEONARD JR. Lieut. Colonel, U.S.M.C. Quantico, Va.

Sir:

I served under Colonel Schwable in World War II, and if the occasion should arise, I, for one, would be proud to serve under him again. What is expected of the American fighting man of today ? Is he expected to follow General Dean's suggestion and carry some deadly poison to take if capture seems imminent? Are the quartermasters to issue cyanide pills along with other combat gear? Are we, a Christian nation, now to become devoted to harakiri? Ridiculous! But that is the only logical sequence if Colonel Schwa-ble is not completely exonerated and restored to a full-duty status . . .

NATHAN BEDELL Major, U.S.M.C.R. (Inactive) Jacksonville, Fla.

Sir:

The armed services could learn a lesson from Colonel Schwable's experience. Wars from here on in will be fought over ideological issues, and future prisoners can expect to be subjected to all sorts of torture ... My son is in the service, and I have told him: if ever captured, confess if you must. Don't give away positions or troop movements, but subjects such as germ warfare and the like are absurd. The facts will be brought to light later regardless of what they make you say about it. You have a gun at your head ... Be practical, and stay alive . . .

LIONEL ORMSBY Los Angeles

Underwater Photographer

Sir:

The sport of spearfishing is really just coming into its own, and its future is almost unlimited. Congratulations on your timely and excellent pictorial feature on it [TIME, March 22].

Your readers might enjoy a picture I took of the photographer, George Leavens, in action under water [see cut]. He is using a special case that he constructed himself and that houses both his camera and light meter.

STANTON A. WATERMAN Sargentville, Me.

Refreshing

Sir:

How refreshing to see Polio Fighter Salk on the cover of TIME [March 29], after a double dose of McCarthy and his brash young rogues, Cohn and Schine! . . .

(THE REV.) GEORGE W. GOODLEY Wilmington, Del.

Dum Du Dum Dum

Sir:

The March 15 cover of TIME shows four bullets with "Dum Du Dum Dum" written over them to represent the classic Dragnet theme. If these were drawn, as I suspect, to represent dumdum bullets, I credit the artist, Boris Chaliapin, with the finest pun TIME has made in quite a while . .

HOWARD E. ROWEN JR. New Haven, Conn.

Sir:

. . . Your "Ides of March" cover portraying the well-known musical theme of Dragnet must have left . . . millions of Dragnet fans aghast . . .

(S/SGT.) RICHARD P. CONLON U.S.A.F. North Africa

Sir:

... I am assuming that the artist intended the music to be in the bass clef, and he should have marked the key signature . . .

ROBERT HAMMACK Van Nuys, Calif. P:I Let Readers Conlon and Hammack try this on their pianos.--ED.

Malenkov No. 5

Sir: Re "But Nobody Outsells G.U.M." [TIME, March 15]: Heaven save us from Communism if for no other reason than what the U.S.S.R. has done to the perfume industry. Imagine Ava Gardner slithering into a room enveloped in "Essence of the U.S. Cavalry." I wonder how "Riveter's Dream" or "Spirit of Capitalist Wall Street" would sell in the U.S. . .

JOAN OSBURN Lake Forest, 111.

P:I Just the thing to wear when seeing Marilyn. Monroe in How to Marry a Decadent Imperialistic Beast.--ED.

The Private & the Pentagon

Sir: Congratulations on your March 22 article exposing the Army's No. i goldbrick, G. David Schine, and his fellow travelers, McCarthy and Cohn. I think the American public has been duped though, because this trio was not out on the hills of Korea doing their Commie hunting where it wasn't quite so safe . . .

(THE REV.) MONTE B. BROWN (Former Chaplain, U.S. Army, Korea--class of '52) New York City Sir: I am offering, in suitably heroic couplets, a new indoctrination course for basic training in the U.S. Army: The chow is lousy and the beds are hard? You have to pull K.P. and extra guard? The corporal's rude, the sergeant impolite? The captain will not let you out at night? They will not let you have a private phone? It's clear, my boy, you don't know Mr. Cohn. You have a gripe? Don't tell the chaplain, son. You'll have to carry that big heavy gun, You'll have to march and even stand in line, Unless you know a certain Private Schine Who knows a man called Cohn who knows a man (I think the name's McCarthy) who really can Make generals run about like p.f.c.'s And chicken colonels tremble at the knees, And serve you tea in bed . . . You think I'm balmy? It could be Mr. Stevens or the Army . . .

H. A. ADAMS New York City

Significant Form (Contd.)

Sir:

Re Reader Stearns's views on galloping horses [TIME Letters, March 22]: maybe the drawing of the Stone Age horse isn't so wrong after all. Horses do on occasion have their front legs stretched out in front and their hind legs extending to the rear . . . The horse in the picture (enclosed) is crossing the finish line in a race at Gulfstream Park, and the camera caught him thus [see cut].

RONALD B. WOODARD Indianapolis

Man's Hope (Contd.)

Sir: The erroneous views of Geochemist Brown that the chief barrier to population control is the Roman Catholic Church with its doctrine against contraception [TIME, March 22] is to quote Paul (anti-Catholic) Blanshard. Surely Professor Brown must know that the regions where the birth rates are at a biological maximum are Russia, China, Japan, Indo-China, Africa, Egypt, Palestine and Turkey--none of which are in any way under the control or influence of the Roman Catholic Church and its doctrines ... It is un-Christian ... to make such outrageous accusations against the one church which is doing the most in the world today to alleviate the sufferings of the "dirt-encrusted, malnourished and disease-ridden children." ROBERT K. MANTON Bad Kreuzenach, Germany

Sir:

. . . We Roman Catholics will continue to annoy Dr. Brown and other theorists ... In cooperating with God to "Suffer the little children" to be born and given the opportunity to attain Heaven, we do not annoy Him.

WILFRED H. ROY Lampman, Sask.

Flight from the Factory

Sir:

Re your March 22 "Flight to the Suburbs": if some people were lucky enough to be able to flee from the city with its dirt, noise, industry and screaming advertisements, it is sad that industry should be allowed to pursue them and intrude upon their hard-won right to privacy. An eternal cycle results, and families will have to begin anew the futile flight to territory not yet infested by industry. The rapid spreading of factories and stores through residential areas horrifies me and many other people who want to breathe fresh air in their free time.

N. COAXES Montreal, Que.

More about Joe

Sir:

... I have not been very happy about your articles attacking Senator McCarthy. He is a good and capable man in the eyes of all freedom-loving people in the Far East. CHARLES LUK Hong Kong

Sir:

. . . Your vile falsehoods to destroy McCarthy should be jammed down your lying throats with a pitchfork.

D. YOUNG Sapulpa, Okla.

Sir: . . . Suggest that having exposed Communism, McCarthy now investigate its totalitarian cousin--Fascism. It, too, demands conformity in politics, religion, speech and press, and has its devotees among many professions, including churchmen. In what better way could the Senator prove that he is impartially devoted to exposing all internal enemies of America?

THEODORE CARCICH SR. President

Washington Conference of Seventh-Day Adventists Seattle

Sir:

I noticed the Veterans of Foreign Wars, post of Stoughton, Wis., denounced Joe McCarthy's claim of entering the Marine Corps as a "buck private," because he entered as a commissioned officer; that he (Mr. McCarthy) resigned from the Marine Corps months before his comrades in arms, and the war with Japan; further, that he claimed to be a "tail gunner," when he was only a ground intelligence officer . . .

If these claims are false, Mr. McCarthy owes the Marine Corps an apology ... If the claims are true, the V.F.W. post at Stoughton, Wis. owes Mr. McCarthy an apology. Information as to which party is correct should be printed in your magazine.

SERVICEMAN'S NAME WITHHELD Dallas P: McCarthy signed up with the Marines as a private in January 1942, with orders to report to Quantico for officer training, was commissioned three months later. In the Pacific he was an air intelligence officer and often flew missions in the rear gunner's seat. In March 1945 he applied for and got his discharge from the Marine Corps. Neither the Marine Corps nor McCarthy has officially answered the V.F.W.'s statements.--ED.

Sir:

Small wonder that McCarthy's pooch was on a cheese diet [TIME, March 22]. He has to stomach more in one day than Fala did in a year.

NORMAN GAAR Ann Arbor, Mich.

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