Ike's Illness
Sir:
President Eisenhower's greatest assets are, as you stated, that he is liked and understood. This is, of course, a result of his complete sincerity and integrity, which cannot help being recognized. Surely he has proven that these basic qualities have done more for the U.S. in less than three years of his Administration than 20 years of the partisan politics of Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman could accomplish. Therefore it is imperative that his policies continue to be carried out by a Republican President . . .
MARYSE SALMONSEN
Portland, Me.
Sir:
. . . Are you booming Little Boy Blue Nixon for the U.S. presidency? I can see no resemblance between the once tear-stained face of Nixon and the gold-plated eagle that graces your Oct. 10 cover; in fact, the old bird looks very much out of place.
B. STALNAKER
Houston
Sir:
. . . You had better wake up and realize that there are more Democrats than Republicans in this country, and that your future depends on giving all sides a fair shake. Right now the odds are that the Republicans will not win in 1956. That would put you in a hell of a position. All we Democrats ask is fair treatment--equal treatment. We can lick the opposition with this. I don't give a damn that my subscription expires this month. I get the Democratic Digest, and that will well take up my time.
CREIGHTON MERRELL
Seattle
Sir:
... To state so casually that "No man in either U.S. party approaches him (Ike) in stature" is just too much. Fortunately, there are many men in at least one party who surpass Eisenhower in many characteristics. It is too bad that the Republican Party is so bankrupt (with its Jenners, Knowlands, Nixons, Dirksens and McCarthys). I do believe most strongly in the two-party system, but I would hate to think that our country would have to depend entirely on one man . . .
LAWRENCE G. OLINGER
Los Altos, Calif.
Sir:
. . . We could do better in choosing presidential candidates if they were chosen for their administrative ability, and not for their politics. Certainly some of our up and coming young (35 to 45) college presidents or business executives would be well qualified to run. The experience with President Eisenhower these past three years seems to indicate that executive ability is of prime importance . . .
DORIS WONISCH
Helena, Mont.
Sir:
. . . How about Henry Cabot Lodge stepping in as our next President to carry on the good work of Eisenhower?
SALLIE MONROE
Aberdeen, Md.
Sir:
. . . Sherman Adams . . . if Ike is disabled.
M. A. HAYE
Columbus, O.
Sir:
How about Milton Eisenhower? . . .
ALPHONSE GUTIERREZ
Rio de Janeiro
The Farmer in the Dell
Sir:
The farmers "grew much of their own food" clearly shows that TIME [Oct. 3] is at least 20 years behind the times ... in expressing the moldy urban view that farm people need hardly any cash income because they are practically self-sufficient . . . Today's farmers tend to produce one main item, sometimes two or three, but no more. They buy the rest with money, and their money buys no more than anyone else's . . .
ARDEN BENTHIEN
Bellingham, Wash.
Sir:
. . . Agriculture is at last succumbing to what the great portion of industry has, namely the corporation type of enterprise. No longer will we have many 80-to 120-acre farms with each farmer his own owner and operator, but we will have 1,000-to 10,000-acre farms with executives, white-collar workers, technicians and laborers As a small (215 acres) farmer, I don't like it at all ...
PAUL M. SHOGER
Aurora, Ill.
Sobs from the West
Sir:
O.K., fellers, I give up ... It is true, though unfortunate, that TIME, the biggest hodgepodge of slanted pseudo-sophisticated misinformation on the face of the earth, is, for reasons that you might not suspect, worth having. You see, I have to read it to check up on my friends . . . who are frequently guilty of TIMEConversation. This is a disease for which there is no known cure. Symptoms: patient exhibits smooth, well-informed opinion-taking stand on anything from Adenauer to Zeitgeist; is never at loss for any rationalization of Eisenhower policy, or any criticism of latest book by Bertrand Russell; will begin cocktail-party dissertation on latest TIME-covered celebrity at the drop of a capsule-summary; buys Brubeck album day after article appears; lauds Dylan Thomas and explains poems thereof ... is, in short, the very model of a modern man of the world. No sobs, no sorrows, no sighs. No doubts, no indecision, no brains.
. . . With my most sincere hopes for a speedy and well-deserved drop to obscurity.
ROBERT A. POTTER
Los Angeles
Time & Interest
Sir:
Now that the sound and fury of the Talbott investigation [Aug. 1 et seq.] has died away, and before the clamor of the 1956 "campaigning" session of Congress begins, would it be impertinent to ask: 1) How many Congressmen have business associations that might affect their votes on pending legislation, and 2) how many Congressmen are past 65--the accepted retiring age for labor?
MRS. JOSEPH HELMICK
Weirton, W. Va.
P:Of Congressmen who admit (in the Congressional Directory} to a date of birth, 55 Representatives and Senators are over 65.--ED.
Death of a Boy (Contd.)
Sir:
As a native Mississippian, I want to thank you for the very fine reporting you did [Oct. 3] on the Emmett Till murder trial. The handling of the case by Judge Swango and the prosecution renew hope against the almost overpowering futility of the verdict.
W. R. WATKINS III
McComb, Miss.
Sir:
Whenever the war news is slack . . . the biased editors of TIME capitalize on such controversial articles as the Till case.
I wish I could read the article TIME writes 2,000 years hence, when the Deep South rides in "white" and "colored" rocket ships.
GLORIA BARTON MORRIS
Aiken, S.C.
Sir:
. . . You dare to speak so self-righteously of blind hate and prejudice in conflict with the law, and in the same breath condemn a whole county, who had never heard of Emmett Till until a body was found in the river, just because you didn't like the verdict of the jury . . . Any Negro or white from anywhere in the world knows it is wrong to roll his eyes, whistle lewdly, make obscene remarks, and sling an innocent lady around as if she were a barmaid. Is it justice to make a hero of an immoral Negro? TIME could at least have the decency to disapprove of his actions and sympathize with his victim . . .
BENNYE CHATHAM
(A native Tallahatchie Islander)
Rose Hill, Miss.
Sir:
The story of Till's death--simply because the boy whistled "lewdly" at Mrs. Carolyn Bryant--has proved disgusting to the whole world . . .
JOSE DE BARROS FRANC,A
Sao Paulo, Brazil
Sir:
The latest atrocity from behind the Grits and Gravy Curtain moves me to suggest that Mississippi, Georgia and Unoccupied Florida secede from the Union forthwith, all white Deep Southerners to receive free passage to another Union more in line with their philosophy--that of South Africa. To fill this welcome vacuum, let us then admit Hawaii and Alaska to statehood. I am sure that they would contribute more to the glory of the U.S. than treacly novels, Neanderthal politicians and made-to-measure propaganda for the Soviet Union . . .
THOMAS H. SHANKS
Los Angeles
In a Glass Darkly
Sir:
Referring to the painting of Gabrielle d'Estrees, one of Henri IV's mistresses, reproduced in the Oct. 3 issue, you mention her mirrored profile "which disobeys all known laws of reflection." Has it not occurred to your Art editor that the reflection in the mirror is that of a lady-in-waiting, not seen elsewhere in the painting? . . .
JASON LINDSEY
Hollywood, Calif.
P:Despite the angles of refraction, it is indeed Gabrielle's reflection.--ED.
Sir:
A quick word of kudos for your Art section. It is an outstanding section in an outstanding magazine. As an interpreter of art history and a translator of the high-flown language of art critics, it is without peer in the field; its lack of condescension is refreshing, and in no wise detracts from the impression it gives of being knowledgeable.
HANK QUINTO
New York City
The Bad Woman's Wind
Sir:
I note this in TIME [Sept. 26]: "Los Angeles Smog: the serious indirect consequences on health, etc." One of the earliest references to smog can be found in the Chinese prose-poem by Sung Yu (300 B.C.):
The Man Wind is fresh and sweet to breathe and its gentle murmuring Cures the diseases of men, blows away the stupor of the wine, Sharpens sight and hearing, and refreshes the body . . . The Woman's Wind, the common people's wind, rises from the streets And narrow lanes, carrying clouds of dust . . . Now this wind is heavy and turgid, oppressing man's heart. It brings fever to his body, ulcers to his lips, and dimness to his eyes. It shakes him with coughing; it kills him before his time. To our Los Angeles Woman Wind, we resign ourselves.
R. BARONDES, M.D.
Los Angeles
The Crow That Crew in Brooklyn
Sir:
. . . Why the hell couldn't you have put Walt Alston on the Oct. 3 cover?
EDITH LANNING
Brooklyn, N.Y.
Sir:
. . . You certainly look very, very silly with the world champions' flag way down your gilded throat . . .
J. MELENDEZ
New York City
SIR:
AND SO WE ADD CASEY STENGEL'S NAME TO THE LIST OF THOSE TIME'S COVER HOAXED.
ELLIS B. HAIZLIP
Atlantic City, NJ.
P:And the name of the Dodgers' Catcher Roy Campanella too? (TIME, Aug. 8).--ED.
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