The Cuban Disaster
Sir:
Another anti-Communist force has been beaten by Communists--by Communist Cubans supplied with fighters flown by Communist pilots, by Soviet tanks manned by crews trained by Communists.
The U.S. has become the greatest third-rate country in the world, a world not dominated by democracies, but being chewed up piecemeal by Communist aggressors. Communists took over in Cuba, are taking over in Laos while we worry about world opinion. It is time to stop stewing and fretting about world opinion.
Americans have become so gutless and cowardly that if Florida were invaded from Cuba and Texas from Mexico, we would probably call a 14-nation parley and cede the Southern states to them as long as they didn't cross the Mason-Dixon line.
It is time for Americans to stand up and fight for what they believe in. I'm tired of reading pieces of concise logic and skilled phrase. What I am looking for is a little love for and pride in our nation. I wonder if anyone else feels that way.
GLENN H. MOTTAZ
Los Alamos, N.Mex.
Sir:
At times we tend to forget the purpose the original 13 banded together for--to stop permanently outside aggression. Why couldn't we offer the Cuban people statehood? This would be much, much more than K. could offer them.
WILLIAM S. GRAY
Hawthorne, Calif.
Man in Space
Sir:
So the Russians have done it again! What a tragic waste of talent has gone into the duplication of effort in the U.S. and the British Commonwealth. With British genius for original research and U.S. genius for application and production, we could be way out in front.
The blame for our failure must lie fairly and squarely on the U.S. The Truman Administration, by its refusal to share atomic secrets, abruptly ended the Churchill-Roosevelt understanding about the full exchange of information. All too tragically the rift between us is widening. There seems to be a sneaking satisfaction in this country that the Russians have again licked the U.S., and more than a sneaking satisfaction in the U.S. about the continuing decline of the British Empire.
It is not too late for the U.S. to dismount from its lofty pedestal and renew the Churchill-Roosevelt understanding on a basis of full equality, with no strings (or royalties) attached.
K. D. BARRITT
Ashtead, Surrey, England
Sir:
Gagarin's alleged space flight, as reported is so full of contradictions as to be unbelievable. Your naive acceptance of this Russian hoax as truth is an insult to the intelligence of every thinking American and does a grave injustice to those engaged in our own space program.
JAMES S. TEMPLETON Chicago
Sir:
If the U.S. had chosen to use, in an all-out space effort, about one-half of all the money, know-how, skill, materials and enthusiasm that we have put into foreign aid programs, we would not only have a man in space, but we would in all probability have a foreign aid program going for anything that moves on Venus and Mars. I doubt if the people of this country would have it any different really. One of the unwritten laws of the land is that we put our money up where our mouths are.
(MRS.) MARCIA A. SCARDINO Rochester, N.Y.
Sir:
Tell me what would the cost be for an insurance policy from Lloyd's of London for a spaceman ?
HENRY S. KAISER JR.
Washington
P: Lloyd's is not ready to insure spacemen. Try them again in 25 years.--ED.
Mustaches
Sirs:
May I be the first to identify the owners of the bushy upper lips in TIME, April 21? My guesses (from top to bottom): Mikoyan, Stalin, Hitler, Niven, Cantinflas.
ROBERT J. WILSON JR. New York City
P: You missed by a jew hairs. The first one was British Field Marshal Sir William Slim.--ED.
Thoughts About Laos
Sir:
I'm the wife of a U.S. Navy pilot presently attached to the U.S.S. Coral Sea. I hate to see my husband involved in fighting in Laos; but above and beyond my personal feelings', I hate to see my country continue in its "wishy-washy" attitude toward Communist aggression. Will we ever step in and fight for what we believe in? Or are we going to give ground in Laos, as we did in Korea and Viet Nam, until there is no more ground to give ? KARLEEN P. TURNER Oakland, Calif.
Tarnished Oscars
Sir:
All I know about motion pictures is what I read in your reviews and see advertised. (I'm a missionary.) But I wonder if anyone else had the same impression I did concerning the Academy Award presentations. The "best" of the American motion picture industry: a comedy concerning the adulterous use of an apartment; best actor--the portrayal not of an honest evangelist but of a sin-ridden imitation; best actress--in the role of a woman of no virtue. God help us! Doesn't this add up to an awful moral degeneracy in our midst? Aren't the folks in Hollywood, who are responsible, disturbed?
(MRS.) LOUISE PRINSELL Ventnor, N.J.
Where Dr. Dooley Started
Sir:
I am among the thousands of St. Louisans who were thrilled to see the article recognizing the achievements of radio station KMOX and its manager, Robert Hyland. It was on KMOX that my son was given the first opportunity to describe his work through weekly programs recorded at his hospital in Laos. These programs played a significant role in winning understanding and support for Dr. Tom's efforts.
KMOX's afternoon information programing is wonderful, but it's only part of the full story of this outstanding radio station's contributions.
MRS. THOMAS A. DOOLEY SR.
St. Louis
Birch Bite
Sir:
As one of the young Americans who is deeply interested in the preservation of complete individual freedom for every U.S. citizen through conservative political philosophy, I am grateful for TIME'S portrayal of the John Birch Society as "wayway right" of the main stream of the current conservative movement in this country. There is a deplorable tendency in some journalistic quarters to lump the "sane" conservatives, represented by Senator Barry Goldwater and William F. Buckley Jr., with an "insane" element, represented by Robert Welch and his "Birch-Barkers."
The conservative conscience of America firmly believes it must be heard if the values responsible for our national greatness are not to be obscured. TIME has been fair in granting this conscience a voice from "time to time," and especially by making the necessary distinction between it and fanatical extremists who twist and distort what honest conservatism seeks to do for America. (THE REV.) PAUL J. PFADENHAUER Merrick, N.Y.
Sir:
It must be evident to at least some Americans that all this finger-pointing to the John Birch Society is just a Communist maneuver to detract attention from what they are doing. It would seem advisable for our responsible Government officials to spend less time harassing known Americans, and more enacting laws against the Communists for the protection of Americans. Then we would feel no need to band together in little groups for our very survival. And, incidentally, your survival, too.
SHIRLEY J. WEIDIG Costa Mesa, Calif.
"Benefits" in Bolivia
Sir:
Your excellent and accurate article on Bolivia merits a brief commentary.
The $170 million of U.S. assistance to three leftist governments of the Movement of National Revolution has failed to attain any benefits whatsoever for the Bolivian people and has not even merited anyone's gratitude.
And this is not only economic folly but a grave political error as well, if the psychological attitude of the Bolivian people and its evident dislike of the M.N.R. regime is borne in mind. I counseled that these dollars, instead of being placed at the disposal of the government, be deposited in a special account of the Ministry of Education, and under the supervision of Point Four officials in La Paz, to pay the salaries of the poor Bolivian teachers that presently earn the equivalent of $20 per month and, with the remainder, to build schools, both urban and rural. Thus two positive ends would have been attained: an honest and efficient administration of these resources and a sense of gratitude toward the U.S. Government. Now, instead, these funds have only served to meet punctually the salaries of the armed militia, torturers of decent citizens.
ENRIQUE HERTZOG-Buenos Aires
The Eichmann Trial
Sir:
It is now more than 15 years since the Nuernberg trials were held. If war criminals are to be tried at this late date, surely it is the responsibility of the descendant of the authority that created the Nuernberg court, the U.N. Yet we have one state, Israel, setting itself up to judge a war criminal--a state, moreover, that did not exist until after the Nuernberg trials; in other words, a state against which no war crime could have been committed.
Can this fact be neatly overcome by making the laws of the then nonexistent state retroactive to a suitable time? Israel deliberately violated Argentine sovereignty by forcibly removing an Argentine resident. To top it all off, Israel is now staging a "trial," the very legality of which is highly questionable.
P. TH. STEPHEN
St. Thomas, Canada
Sir:
The Eichmann trial should remind atheistic tyrants like Khrushchev, et al. that despite their disbelief, they can "be sure your sins will find you out."
ERNEST L. MCLAUGHLIN Union, S.C.
Review
Sir:
May I thank you for the so kind and so comprehensive article about my book, The French Revolution. Coming from the U.S., where I spent so happy days (I got married there!), this article was a splendid surprise for me.
GEORGES PERNOUD
Paris
Bad News
SIR:
IN A FLASH WE PROTEST YOUR GRAPHIC BUT UNDERDEVELOPED EXPOSURE OF OUR DON WRIGHT. HE HAS BEEN, HE IS, AND WE HOPE HE ALWAYS WILL BE A STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE MIAMI "NEWS" AND NOT THE FORT LAUDERDALE "NEWS."
ED PIERCE
MIAMI "NEWS"
MIAMI
Brotestant Disraeli
Sir: You printed a letter without comment that a Benjamin Disraeli, 19th century Britain had a Jew as Prime Minister. Disraeli, though born to Jewish parents, was baptized at the age of 13 and remained for the rest of his life a faithful member of the Church of England.
WALTER L. ARNSTEIN Assistant Professor of History Roosevelt University Chicago
The Kerr Tree
Sir:
About your cover story on Playwright Jean Kerr: let the Russians go to the moon. Me ? I want to go where the Kerrs are !
ROBERT RONAN Alhambra, Calif.
Sir:
What in heaven's name adorns the Kerr cocktail table? Can it be a marshmallow tree?
MAEANN MYERS Wantagh, N.Y.
P: It's an eggshell tree. Dyed Easter egg shells are Scotch-taped to a branch that is painted with Scuff-Kote shoe polish. The Kerrs make one every Easter.--ED.
Mr. McNamara v. G.E.
Sir:
I have read in the April 7 issue of TIME a report that "General Electric testily challenged President Kennedy's assertion that a nuclear aircraft is a remote possibility, said that it recently proposed to perform the first test flight of its engine in 1963 for less than one-fifth of the additional billion dollars mentioned by Kennedy."
The quotation to which I have referred and the statement issued by the General Electric Co. do not properly reflect the facts on the basis of which President Kennedy has recommended cancellation of the develop ment of the nuclear-powered military aircraft. I hope you will present to your readers the full story:
In March 1961, General Electric proposed to initiate early flight testing of a nuclear-propulsion system through the use of a test reactor mounted on a B52 aircraft. The reactor to be tested in flight is one designed for ground test and would require extensive modification, with resultant diversion of energy and skill, at considerable cost to the reactor development program. The purpose was to demonstrate reactor performance. However, the thrust generated by the reactor would be inadequate to sustain flight, and the proposal would contribute little toward the development of a fully nuclear-powered aircraft. In summary, it can be described as a stunt.
Among the factors leading to this Administration's recommendation that the total nuclear-powered aircraft program be canceled were the following:
1) Two approaches have been followed in power-plant development--first, the direct-air-cycle system and second, an indirect-cycle system. Although additional expenditures of $750 million would be required to complete the development of either system, neither system has great potential for growth into military usefulness.
2) The direct-cycle system, designed by General Electric, is cumbersome and requires excessively heavy shielding as protection from radiation. The air passing through the reactor picks up a fraction of the fission products and exhausts it to the atmosphere as fallout during takeoff, landing and normal flight. As a result, it is unlikely that the aircraft could be operated from normal commercial or military airfields.
3) The indirect-cycle system, although requiring less shielding, is an extremely challenging engineering task. As an aircraft power plant, it does not appear practical for combat use. Fifteen miles of tubing carry liquid metals at temperatures up to 2,000DEG F., and there are 26,000 welded joints. A leak would constitute a severe hazard.
4) Neither system would appear to permit flight at altitudes in excess of 35,000 feet. Both systems would probably be limited to subsonic speeds, and both would present severe operational and ground-handling hazards, particularly in the event of a crash.
5) The Joint Chiefs of Staff have stated repeatedly since 1959 that there is no specific military requirement for an aircraft with the characteristics of the plane under development.
The cancellation of the development of this nuclear-powered aircraft does not mean the discontinuance of research on high-performance nuclear reactors. President Kennedy has directed continuing research in this field by the Atomic Energy Commission. ROBERT S. MCNAMARA Secretary of Defense Washington, D.C.
* Bolivia's President 1947-49. -- ED.
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