The Great Debate

Sir: The "great debate" on TV showed that Kennedy has looks, charm, and the gift of eloquent speaking. I only wish Nixon could express his views with Kennedy's finesse. BARRY LYERLY

Boulder, Colo. Sir: Jack is the next of kin to the old medicines (I hesitate to call them snake oil) which were sold from wagons to people. It was claimed they could cure TB, baldness, hives, and any other affliction on earth. Undoubtedly Jack has created the greatest mass of hot air since Mrs. O'Leary's cow kicked over the lamp.

DAVID Y. SELLERS

Ithaca, N.Y.

Sir: A personal triumph for Kennedy, a personal debacle for Nixon.

JAMES W. CRAWFORD

Belmont, Calif.

Sir: Vice President Richard M. Nixon, "the man who stood up to Khrushchev" in the great Moscow kitchen debate, appears to have backed away from arguments presented by Senator Kennedy in the first "living room" debate on TV. It seems to me that a man who professes to have advised the President during the past eight years could have presented better arguments than agreeing with Senator Kennedy's comments for the better part of half the program.

JOSEPH J. BRAZAN

Waukegan, Ill.

Sir: Lincoln-Douglas have nothing to worry about.

W. E. WINDEN

Minneapolis

The Gang's All Here

Sir: It is quite possible that my longtime love for the home-town paper and Mr. Block's longtime production of wordless strokes of genius have something to do with it, but I cannot refrain from saying that your cover of Oct. 3 is a new peak, your finest! The figure of Castro alone says more than all the words of Sartre recently reported by TIME.

WALTER B. SMALLEY

Washington, B.C.

Sir: Both TIME and Cartoonist Herblock deserve medals.

MRS. T. R. DEMECO

Lancaster, N.Y.

Sir:

Just what good does TIME'S Oct. 3 cover do for anyone except that by it you vent your spleen? (I vent mine on occasion by writing letters to editors.) I do not think that it helps to ease international tensions, no matter if it graphically presents an essential truth. Furthermore, I seriously question your judgment when you say, "Khrushchev was reduced to chumming around with Cuba's Fidel Castro, and such enthusiastic courtship of Castro seemed a petty pursuit for so great a power." Would it be petty if Russia set up its technicians in Cuba, made it a real base of subversive activity in the Americas? Would it be petty if Khrushchev could persuade Castro to attack Guantanamo, and possibly substitute Russian ships and planes for ours at that base? There, now I feel better.

(THE REV.) WARREN P. WALDO

The Burke Haven Parish West Burke, Vt.

Sir:

Khrushchev's declaration of independence for all peoples of the world should meet with our enthusiastic approval as the first step to real disarmament. Therefore, let us hurry and schedule, for October, free elections in Russia, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, etc., and then resume the otherwise fruitless talks at the U.N.

ROMAN MAKAREWICZ

Gardena, Calif.

Sir:

The United Nations happens to be situated in this country, and Khrushchev has every right to head his country's delegation. Although we are a host nation, we must not feel that visiting statesmen should have our permission to attend the U.N.

SUSAN LEBOWITZ Lynchburg, Va.

Behind the Symbols

Sir:

You showed a photograph of Pope John XXIII wearing a tiara with a triple crown. What is the meaning of the three crowns?

BENJAMIN BLAISDELL

Minneapolis

P:The triple crown, or triregnum, evolved in the 13th century, and its original meaning has been lost. Some authorities say that the Pontiff's three crowns represent the "teaching, ruling and sanctifying church"; others UPI that they are symbolic of the Pope's being the father of the Princes of Kings, Pontiff of the World, Vicar of Christ on Earth.--ED.

Environment v. Man

Sir:

Kudos for your timely article on "Environment v. Man." Very good indeed!

BAILUS WALKER

Division of Engineering & Sanitation

Wayne County Department of Health Eloise, Mich.

Sir:

You are to be congratulated upon the forthright and comprehensive article concerning the widespread existence of pollutants which are endangering and undermining the health of our citizens. For the past 20 years, the Health Guild has been warning the public through literature, articles and mass meetings concerning these hazards that are infecting the air, water supplies and foods.

SYMON GOULD Director

The Health Guild New York City

Sir:

Re your article, "Environment v. Man": may I say first that the major part of its content is excellent. However, you say: "Sweeping new U.S. laws, violently opposed by the food industry, require manufacturers to prove that the multifarious chemicals used in the growth and processing of today's food are safe for human consumption."

The facts are that the food industries presented almost a united front in proposing the Food Additive Amendment to the Food Drug and Cosmetic law which is mentioned in this quotation.

This matter is of extreme importance because a number of food cranks are constantly accusing the food industry of opposing this food additive amendment and trying to influence the consumer into believing that the food industries are against adequate safety precaution in their food supplies. The exact opposite is true.

HOWARD O. HUNTER President

American Institute of Baking Chicago

P: TIME erred, sentences itself to bread and water.--ED.

What the First Lady Should Wear

Sir:

I really had to laugh over the article in the Sept. 26 issue on what the candidates' wives spend on their clothes. As long as their respective husbands are paying for their clothes out of their salaries and not dipping into the national budget--who could care less? Jackie Kennedy can spend $60,000 a year for clothes and wear sable underwear or Mrs. Nixon spend $600 per suit from Elizabeth Arden for all I care. I'm only envious.

NINA BURCH

Hollywood

Sir:

Do I detect a note of bitterness from those housewives who are disturbed at Jackie Kennedy's "chic"? May I say, on behalf of the male sex, that we love her "devil-may-care chic" and "floor-mop" hairdo.

SPERO KESSARIS Peabody, Mass.

The Favela

Sir:

It is often said these days that the people of the United States are ready to assume world leadership. When will they realize that with that leadership comes the responsibility for conditions such as those described by Carolina Maria de Jesus [in her best-selling book, Quarto de Despejo, about life in the Sao Paulo favela, or slum] ?

But tell me, where did Carolina learn to read and write? What is the literacy rate in the favela?

BURWELL GOODE Philadelphia

P: Carolina had two years of schooling, from age seven to nine. About 40% of favela dwellers are illiterate.--ED.

Arrest in Formosa

Sir:

Thank you for your article [Sept. 19] regarding the Chinese Nationalists' arrest of my father, Lei Chen, the respected publisher of the magazine Free China, and the head of an effort to organize the China Democratic Party as a legal and anti-Communist opposition group on Formosa.

This arrest is a despotic move by the Chiang Kai-shek government to suppress freedom of speech and to abuse basic human rights. It is despotism such as this that fomented the tragedy of Cuba and the China mainland.

(MRS.) EMILY LEI WONG

Elizabeth, N.J.

Battle of the Sexes

Sir:

Please allow me to congratulate Reader B F. Bayruns on his outright, earnest, objective summing up of our modern women.

Today what we have is a constant striving for superiority between male and female. Man is no longer considered the stalwart breadwinner of old; he is now brought down to the level of a junior partner in a family enterprise. The modern wife is judged not for her qualities as a mother and home-maker but for her qualifications and potential in the business world.

I predict that if this situation continues, within the next 20 years the basic roles of man and woman will be completely reversed.

NOEL G. JOHNSON Kingston, Jamaica

Sir:

Just what does B. F. Bayruns mean by "femininity" that he claims we females have lost? He means no doubt our sitting with adoring eyes at the feet of some male as he pounds his chest and tells us what a wonderful guy he is. Well, times have changed. Men now preface marriage proposals with "Of course, you'll have to keep your job." We have no time to sit adoring any more.

ESTHER M. ARMSTRONG

Los Angeles

Sir:

As long as Pop continues to concern himself only with such issues as "who will win the pennant this year" or "which beer holds its head the longest," why should he resent Mom's wearing the rather heavy mantle of responsibility which rightfully should rest on his shoulders? Especially since most of us would welcome the opportunity to again slip into something more comfortable !

VIOLA I. PARKS

Fort Dix, N.J.

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