Is There a Barnum in Bailey?
To the Editors:
If F. Lee Bailey wins the Patty Hearst case [Feb. 16], he should consider becoming a magician. He will not only have created the illusion of innocence, but shown as well his wizardry at masking guilt.
Thomas Vetter
Lynbrook, N. Y.
There is a bit of the Barnum in every Bailey.
Tom Fiedor
Dearborn, Mich.
Why are they holding the Hearst trial in a San Francisco federal courtroom? Was the Cow Palace booked?
Neil G. Barclay
San Francisco
I sure hope that if I decide to rob a bank, I make off with enough cash to afford a lawyer like F. Lee Bailey.
Bob Paterson
San Anselmo, Calif.
Now I know. Bailey's first initial stands for Fame, Fortune and Fiction.
Arlene Bennett
Downers Grove, Ill.
It's too bad the jury for the trial couldn't be sequestered in individual 2-ft. by 4-ft. closets. There's no doubt in my mind what their verdict would be.
Jane Leirer
Munster, Ind.
Tania was a shadow. The state is prosecuting Patty for crimes committed by her alter ego.
William Adams
Baleville, N.J.
The late William Randolph Hearst was one of the founding fathers of sensationalized news. Now his own granddaughter has fallen prey to what he promoted.
Victor F. Pizzolato Jr.
Bossier City, La.
Billy James' Genes
For decades the Rev. Billy James Hargis [Feb. 16] begged for millions of dollars to fight the Communists and the Devil. TIME now exposes Hargis as a bisexual and says that he blames his "chromosomes and genes" for his behavior. It is refreshing to learn that Marx and Satan aren't responsible for everything that goes wrong.
William Ingram
Dayton
As a lifelong friend of Dr. Hargis, I have never seen any indication of any moral impropriety on his part. He is a family man, a gentleman and a dedicated preacher of the Gospel. There is not a more honest, sincere and dedicated Christian patriot anywhere. He is respected internationally as a humanitarian and as a man of high moral, ethical and spiritual standards.
The TIME article is an obvious attempt by the forces of Satan to silence the voice of antiCommunism.
Robert J. Reed, Pastor
First Southern Methodist Church
Dallas
The exposure of Billy Hargis' homosexuality confirms what should be obvious: the most vehement critics of homosexuality are those who are fighting hardest to hide it within themselves.
Mary Gordin
Fresno, Calif.
So the Christian Crusader is a closet queen! The only thing that could shock me now would be to find out that Madeline O'Hare is a closet Christian.
Barbara Santee
New York City
The Job Brill Did
Your piece attacking Steve Brill as a liberal "hit man" [Feb. 16] was a barbaric attack upon a precise young writer. Americans for Democratic Action particularly protests your distortion of Brill's statement at A.D.A.'s press conference launching his careful study of Senator Jackson's domestic record. Brill said with candor that his study was not objective in that he had long believed Jackson's claim of domestic liberalism was a myth. He set out to prove, and did prove, that Jackson is a domestic conservative as much as he is a foreign policy reactionary. TIME ignored Brill's thrust and failed to mention his most relevant point--that Jackson was unable to find any errors in the piece. We presume that Brill's piece in Harper's on Jimmy Carter did the same workmanlike job that he did on Jackson.
Joseph L. Rauh Jr.
Former National Chairman
Americans for Democratic Action
Washington, D.C.
I nominate Author Brill for the Donald Segretti Award of 1976.
Suzanne B. Scian
St. Petersburg, Fla.
Honorable China
Now is the time to determine whether the People's Republic of China [Feb. 16] really wants to be a friend. If the Chinese keep Nixon we can assume that their intentions are honorable and friendly.
Brad Hogue
Beaumont, Texas
Ray Shock
I have just read Jerry Ray's letter [Feb. 16] and I'm shocked that you printed it in its original form. It's a shameful way of prejudicing people's opinion against what the man has to say.
Vivian E. Williams
Chicago
Warm Note
I have read with keen interest your excellent and timely article on frostbite [Feb. 2] and also Dr. Mills' article on the same subject, which you quoted. It is impossible to overemphasize that the old wives' remedy of rubbing a frostbitten part with snow or ice is the worst conceivable thing to do.
The wet, rapid-rewarming approach to frostbite treatment was pioneered by Dr. Mills and Dr. Robert Whaley in Anchorage 16 years ago. This is one of the few areas of medicine in which no major change has taken place for a long time. Bill Mills is the pioneer in this field. Skiers, climbers and cold-climate residents owe him an extraordinary debt of gratitude.
Bradford Washburn, Director
Museum of Science
Boston
Atomic Split
To call nuclear power "one of the best hopes for meeting U.S. energy needs in the last two decades of the century" [Feb. 16] is a value judgment best left to your readers after you present them with facts, and one with which I disagree.
Craig J. Dorsay
Eugene, Ore.
What seems most incredible to me about the article on the three resigning nuclear engineers is the implied aura of conspiracy with which it was suggested that the "San Jose 3" (that makes them sound like criminals) might have been "politically inspired." By what dark motivations? A "reverence for life?"
Peter W. Sinclair
Midland, Mich.
Appalled
It appalls and angers me that male presidential candidates, who will never have to go through the agony of an unwanted pregnancy, can take such a self-righteous stand on a personal decision like abortion [Feb. 16].
Elizabeth L. Holmes
Kelso, Wash.
Faithful Follower
Mr. Sheppard's review of Adam Smith's Powers of Mind [Oct. 27] identified me as "a former follower of Guru Maharaj Ji." I was a follower of Guru Maharaj Ji; I am also a present follower. A misstatement like this adds to the confusion created to date in the reporting on the work of Guru Maharaj Ji.
Tim Gallwey
Encino, Calif.
Strauss Wronged
Your reference to the late Professor Leo Strauss's "vision of the general leftward trend of world politics" [Feb. 2] is truly unfortunate. The choice of the word vision suggests that he looked forward with favor to the triumph of the left. Exactly the opposite was the case, as everyone familiar with his teaching and his many books knows well.
Leo Strauss explained the crisis of the West more cogently and powerfully than any teacher of his time. In doing so, he sought to help us preserve what remains of justice and excellence in the world and ward off the descent into tyranny and degradation.
Robert A. Goldwin
Special Consultant to the President
Washington, D.C.
Eternamatic Forever
I was troubled by misinformation in an otherwise amusing article: "Keeping a Watch on Brezhnev" [Feb. 9].
Eterna is a Swiss watch manufacturer with an established reputation largely due to the excellence of its "Eternamatic" movement. I suspect this is the wristwatch that Mr. Brezhnev owned. But chrome-plated? We would never resort to such plating, as our customers are entitled to better.
Peter P. Morf, President
Eterna Watch Co., Inc.
Grenchen, Switzerland
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