Brooke's Beauty

To the Editors:

Until I read your article, I had assumed that Brooke Shields [Feb. 9] was a victim of her mother's greed. Since she is surviving with such poise, and is enjoying herself as well, more power to her.

John Ledda

Marquette, Mich.

You know what comes between me and my settling down? Brooke Shields. I still fantasize about finding a girl like her: the earth's eighth wonder.

Nasser Sharief Jeddah,

Saudi Arabia

Isn't it a pity that a girl of 15 is conceded so much importance, even if she is pretty? By providing kids with too much too early, we are destroying the sequence that nature so cleverly devised. At that age, boys and girls, but especially girls, are blessed with innocence and candor. The world benefits from these qualities and so do the youngsters. Remember the Chinese proverb: Let the children rule and man becomes a fool.

William McAlpin

Antwerp, Belgium

A little girl is being used to make grown men drool, encouraging them to think that making out with children is the In thing. It is sickening to see this beautiful young person so exploited.

Lee Jens

Glen Ellyn, III.

How many men do you know who would allow the image of a 15-year-old boy to dictate how they're supposed to look in the '80s?

Ann Rex

Garden City Beach, S.C.

Rejecting Gilder

According to George Gilder [Feb. 9], our poverty is due to the progressive income tax, Government regulations and other sins of "liberal" economics. During the 19th century there were four financial panics of some severity: 1819, 1837, 1873 and 1893. During this time, there were no federal income tax (except for a brief period during the Civil War), no interfering regulatory bodies like OSHA, EPA, SEC. Yet, at about 20-year intervals, except wartime, our economy collapsed and severe poverty afflicted much of the population. Considering this history, Mr. Gilder's distorted view of American economics should be rejected.

Ross Stagner

Southfield, Mich.

It would appear that Gilder's book Wealth and Poverty is indeed the equivalent of an economic bible for the Reaganauts. Gilder's opinion that "to help the poor and middle classes, one must cut the tax rates of the rich" fits hand in glove with the attitude of another of President Reagan's favorites, Calvin Coolidge. Rather than trying to ease the burden of the poor, Coolidge too believed it was better to decrease the taxes of the higher income groups to avoid retarding economic growth. Although some of Gilder's research is entertaining, his ideas aren't new.

Tom DeMoss

Eugene, Ore.

Buddy, Can You Spare a Dime?

Contrary to People [Feb. 9], I have not thrown my hat in the ring for the Democratic senatorial nomination in 1982.1 am not a candidate. I am barely at the stage known as "seriously considering a race," which means, in English, where is the money going to come from?

Gore Vidal

Los Angeles

Aiding El Salvador

At a time when love of one's country is running high, I question how patriotic or American it is to be supplying $10 million worth of aid to a government like El Salvador's, which does not have the support of its own people [Feb. 2]. As Americans we pride ourselves on helping the poor and the oppressed. Nevertheless, American dollars are being used against the poor and the oppressed in El Salvador. Washington insists on sending military aid and American technicians to help the Duarte regime. Isn't this how our involvement in Viet Nam began?

Catherine L. Lavin Bridgewater, N.J.

You quoted me as saying about Salvador Cayetano: "His eyes, they are hard. I wouldn't like to be his prisoner." This gives the impression that I am a supporter of the inhuman junta in San Salvador against which Cayetano is courageously fighting. The opposite is true. I was not criticizing Senor Cayetano but describing what I believe to be the result of the imprisonment and cruel torture he has suffered.

Graham Greene

Paris

In Praise of Jimmy

It was a bitter disappointment for thousands of Americans when Jimmy Carter lost his bid for reelection. It was equally painful when the privilege and honor of welcoming home the hostages as President was denied him [Feb. 9]. But the most devastating blow was dealt by President Reagan in his failure to utter one word of public thanks to President Carter for his heroic and tireless efforts to bring the hostages home alive. Is this an example of the so-called Reagan "class"? Shame.

Sister Teresa Reddington

Belington, W. Va.

A man who valued peace above all else proved to himself and the entire world that nonmilitary methods of resolving international differences of opinion are the most successful. Jimmy Carter for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Patrick D. Brenner

Shippensburg, Pa.

I think Teddy, Billy, John Anderson and the hostages are the American Gang of Four that caused Carter's fall.

As an Egyptian, I would like to thank President Carter for everything he did to bring us peace. We'll always remember him as an honest President.

M. Sherif Kerdany

Cairo

Yellow Ribbons

Perhaps, as you say, the origin of the yellow ribbon as a symbol of longing for a captive's return is lost in the mists of folklore [Feb. 9]. The story my grandmother always told me, however, was that young ladies wore yellow ribbons around their necks to show that they were "spoken for" by a member of the U.S. Cavalry. The golden ribbon was a feminine version of the yellow stripe on the troopers' trousers.

Dianna Murphy

Lodi, Calif.

Why was yellow used to ensure safety and sympathy for the hostages' return home? Yellow vibrations stimulate nerve energy triggering the memory center of human thought. Yellow yells, "Forget me not!" The sun's yellow rays bestir all earth's creatures to live, learn and remember.

Yellow doesn't mean cowardice just because it warns, "Look before you leap." Traffic experts use that color for caution signs because yellow can be seen at a greater distance than any other color.

Yellow carries a lavender afterimage.

Stare at a yellow pencil for 30 seconds, then look at a white background and a lavender pencil will appear. Lavender authorizes compassion. Lavender trusts that a dream will come true.

Eloise Barnhurst

West Harwich, Mass.

RCA's Birth

In your story on RCA [Feb. 9], you refer to "the awkward ousting of the son of the company's founder." The implication is that David Sarnoff was the founder of the Radio Corporation of America. RCA was started in 1919 by General Electric Co. GE was soon joined in this venture by Westinghouse Electric Corp. and A T& T. Owen D. Young, an officer of GE, was named the first chairman of the board of RCA, and E.J. Nally was the first president.

At the time, David Sarnoff's title was commercial manager. He did not become president until 1930.

George H. Brown

Princeton, N.J.

O.K.'s Origins (Contd.)

You may now think that the discussion about the origin of the affirmative expression O.K. is getting out of hand. Still, I have to disagree with Readers Franklin Courtney Ellis [Jan. 19] and Andrea Galvacs [Feb. 9].

The letters O.K. derive from the Greek words ola kala, which mean all is fine or everything is good. The initials, which were used by early Greek sailors, were soon picked up by many foreign navigators and became international.

Costas Konis

Ruston, La.

I was interested to see the origin of the expression O.K. explained as "Old Kinderhook" and then as "Oil is Korrect." Another possible explanation is that O.K. derived from World War I. Each night, soldiers would report the number of deaths in their group to their superior. Thus O.K. would stand for "0 Killed."

Leon Godchaux III

New Orleans

Do as I Say, Not as I Do

Lee Iacocca wants us to buy American-made cars, especially Chrysler. However, "The Man Behind the Cigar" [Feb. 9] is smoking cigars made in the Dominican Republic, while "his longtime favorite brand is Cuban." How can he expect us to favor American products when he buys imports?

Alfred R. Korach

Tampa

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