To the Editors:

Billie Jean King did more for tennis than Jimmy Connors [April 28] could ever do. By the way, Chris Evert was the one who turned the public on to Jimmy Connors. Before they got together, it was Jimmy Who?

John Burkart Palo Alto, Calif.

Bill Riordan's statement that Jimmy Connors has "turned the public on to tennis" is like saying that Linda Lovelace has turned the public on to sex.

Don Enders Willingboro, N.J.

Win or lose against Newcombe, Jimmy will still be No. 1 for what he has done for tennis. His fellow pros owe him at least a "Good morning" for all the money he has brought into the game and their pockets.

Cynthia R. McGinnes Chestertown, Md.

There must be someone more deserving to be on the cover of your magazine than Jimmy Connors.

As a tennis enthusiast, I cannot see how he has contributed anything but bad publicity to the game. Anyone who thrives on the antagonism of the crowd and shuns his fellow players has deep psychological problems, not to mention a total lack of social amenities.

Karen L. Davidson Fairfax, Va.

As a professional sport, tennis has taken a gigantic leap in popularity. Credit has to go to the great players who are so much more numerous now than in the days of amateurism that we can expect first-class tournaments simultaneously on three continents.

In professional tennis, there is no longer the easy draw or easy first round. Anyone, on his day, might beat anyone else. That the top-ranking pros can keep their games at championship peak throughout the year continues to astound many of us who paced ourselves in a more leisurely way toward the major tournaments.

The game of a Jimmy Connors or a Margaret Court might be expected to sap too much energy for consistent performances. But the quality of play seldom seems to lose its edge.

Today's top professionals may not be greater players than the greats of the past, but they have brought new vitality, a new look and a high standard of technical skill to the game.

Helen Hull Jacobs East Hampton, N. Y.

U.S. women's singles champion four years in a row (1932-35), Helen Hull Jacobs beneficently popularized women's shorts for tournament play.

Tunnel's End

The debate over Indochina [April 28] is as revealing as ever. Although the war effort has failed, those who supported that effort will continue to lay the failure at the doorstep of every variable involved except their own gross miscalculations and erroneous assumptions. There never was anything but darkness at either end of the tunnel.

David E. Jakab Arlington, Va.

For future guidance: at $3,540 per acre, we could have bought South Viet Nam with our $150 billion and saved hundreds of thousands of lives.

Richard M. Sibley Mexico City

Professor Walt Rostow's letter [April 21] is a laugh. It is interesting that he, one of the main architects of our Viet Nam policy under President Johnson, admits that "substantial errors have been made." He and other hawks in high places were the promoters of the policy that got us more and more deeply involved in this tragic situation.

J. Vincent Conlin Madison, Wis.

It has been five years since Allison, Sandy, Bill and Jeff were killed by Ohio Guardsmen. They were killed because they, along with others, were protesting our incursion into Cambodia. What do we have to show for these five years of more war in Indochina except thousands of American soldiers killed, 1 million Cambodians killed or wounded, hundreds of thousands of refugees, rampant inflation in our land, unemployment and destroyed dominoes?

Allison was right when she stated, "Flowers are better than bullets."

Arthur and Doris Krause Pittsburgh

The writers are the parents of Allison Krause, who was shot at Kent State University on May 4,1970.

How come, when we engage in humanitarian activities re Viet Nam, we are atoning for our collective sins? Is it possible that China, Russia, etc., do not engage in such activities because they have no guilt in connection therewith, or because they have no conscience?

(The Rev.) Ben G. Hoffmann New Orleans

Surely we fought so long in South Viet Nam because we believed that all its people would suffer under Communism. I therefore propose that we evacuate the entire nation. Let them all vote with their feet and come to America!

To preserve their national identity the Vietnamese would have to be settled in one area. We have plenty of room--in Alabama, for example, where they would feel at home in the lush vegetation of that subtropical climate. Why must we give up on Vietnamization? It was not the policy but the place that was wrong. Vietnamization could work in Alabama, given the proper leadership. Mr. Nixon was correct in ranking Mr. Thieu among the top leaders on this planet. I nominate Thieu as the first governor of the new state of Vietbam.

David Winter Scottsville. Va.

Bicentennial Kohoutek

After standing around for two hours being sandwiched into a massive crowd, I came to the conclusion that the beginning of the Bicentennial was to be a disappointment equaling that of Comet Kohoutek.

One ritual was enough to make me realize the best way to celebrate was to do reading and exploring on my own. No crowds, no politicians--just Boston and its splendid history.

Barbara Licari Boston

As a resident of a state rich in Revolutionary history, I was interested to read how Americans would be celebrating the nation's Bicentennial. Conspicuous by its absence was any mention of the role of women. Too often history is dissected into the contributions of the few when credit should be given to the combined efforts of the many.

American women are among those who should be recognized for the vital role they played in the developing chapters of our nation's history. Linda Grant De Pauw, author of the first Bicentennial work on the women of New York State, cites examples of the diverse roles played throughout the colonial era. While Iroquois women determined important Indian issues, early Dutch settlers respected and encouraged their women's skills as traders. Revolutionary women not only accompanied their husbands into battle but often took up the musket themselves.

In TIME'S subsequent issues, attention might be given to the many Bicentennial activities focusing on the integral part women played hi history.

Mary Anne Krupsak Albany, N. Y.

Miss Krupsak is the nation 's first woman Lieutenant Governor.

Your article states that many Midwestern communities "have had to draw on events of a century after the Revolution," citing as an example the George Rogers Clark Exhibit that opens next February at the Indiana State Museum.

May I point out that George Rogers Clark captured the British fort at Vincennes, Ind., in February of 1779.

If it hadn't been for Clark and his small band, the Midwest edition of TIME might require foreign postage today.

Jan Finney, Curator of Education

Indiana State Museum

Indianapolis

Not Amused

The function of community colleges apparently is "fuzzy" to Caroline Bird and your writer of "Case Against College" [April 21].

Our member institutions do not amuse "superfluous 18-year-old" students. Average age in community colleges nationally is now over 28. Many students are adults and senior adults. More than half are already employed and attend college part tune to upgrade skills.

They don't need amusing.

Edmund J. Gleazer Jr., President

American Association of Community and

Junior Colleges,

Washington, D.C.

Oh, my God, another "expert" on education! Alas, Caroline Bird's homework was not well done, as your reviewer implied it was. Students are not locked into majors in their freshman year; they change majors as fast as the utility companies change rates.

Granted, college is not for everybody. However, it does keep kids off the street, as do sports, clubs and marriages. It is probably the least expensive of the four.

Robert Oris

Henry Ford Community College Dearborn, Mich.

TV and Crime

Why are we so reluctant to place some blame for the frightening "Crime Boom" [April 14] on the electronic devices inn all of our homes? If TV can make us buy a certain brand of deodorant and teach our children to count to 10 before age three, why can it not also be "programming" our youngsters to commit crimes of violence?

In addition to "calling attention to" deterrence of crime, perhaps Attorney General Levi should also call attention to the negative influence of many TV programs.

Shirley Hornberger Glen Ellyn, Ill.

Breathless

How thrilling to read that "Quality People," according to John Fairchild, are "people who do things, not people who lead idle lives" [April 21].

I am now waiting breathlessly for Mr. Fairchild to disclose what Jackie O. does that makes her one of the "Quality People" to the extent of rating six covers in W.

Lucretia Austin Cincinnati

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