Made in Japan

To the Editors:

Restrict the flow of Japanese cars [March 30]? Never. We Canadians and Americans should thank Japan for turning us into quality-conscious automobile buyers. To ask Japan to cut back is to tell us that we will have to settle for second best. Compete for my sense of value, Detroit, and you can win me back.

David N. Kwechansky Toronto

It is comforting to know that Japan has relaxed its practice of dumping products in the U.S. It would be even more comforting if U.S. workers and businessmen could regain the jobs and businesses destroyed by this long-term practice.

L. Raymond Windecker Livonia, Mich.

For over a hundred years American management has used many different strategies for manipulating people, ranging from pay raises for faster work to behavior modification. Now U.S. businessmen are surprised to learn from the Japanese that it is not only more humane but far more productive to treat employees as human beings by giving them not only the dignity but the respect that they deserve. It is a true, but sad, commentary on American life and industry.

Bryan Burnett Piscataway, N.J.

If inflation is our No. 1 problem, Japanese competition is our No. 1 ally. If Congress limits Japanese auto sales, U.S. auto, steel and other industrial products will quickly rise in price, and the inflationary trend will be disastrous.

Alan B. Williams Augusta, Ga.

If Detroit ever got into genetic engineering, it would reinvent the dinosaur, complete with tail fins.

William H. Long Boulder, Colo.

If our Government tells me that I can't buy a Japanese car, I won't panic. I'll just put on my Taiwanese jogging shoes and get on a city bus (made in Germany) or a subway car (made in France), or ride around town on my Japanese bicycle while the free market is closed for emergency repairs.

Martin Stupich Atlanta

The auto industry's management and organized labor have just proved with their rebates that people will buy their cars if the price is right.

Lorus Grandt Wahiawa, Hawaii

Crime: America's Curse

In your discussion of gun control [March 23] you state that legislative proposals made last year to prohibit the sale, importation and manufacture of small handguns is "considered dead."

Your observation is premature. As chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, I plan to introduce legislation that will ban "Saturday night specials." The bill will strive to take these guns off the market. These weapons have absolutely no purpose other than to kill or maim human beings.

Peter W. Rodino Jr., Representative Tenth District, New Jersey Washington, D.C.

You Americans are a funny bunch. Faced with the most appalling crime statistics, how can you even argue about the importance of banning handguns? Constitutional rights, my foot! Your whole way of life is at stake, and you rave about rights that take you back to the jungle.

In Switzerland, where target shooting is almost a national pastime, nobody needs to carry a pistol to bolster his ego. Members of the N.R.A., please grow up.

Lionel Goei Lausanne

You failed to emphasize the most important factor for rising crime: television. When the nation's No. 1 entertainment emphasizes killing and assault, it is no surprise that violence is rising.

David M. Mills Walnut Creek, Calif.

Zealous Watt

Secretary of Interior James Watt [March 30] confirms our worst fears about the Reagan Administration. America's frantic thirst for fossil fuels has more than its share of advocates within the energy conglomerates and Government, and among consumers eager for a return to the days of cheap oil. It is preposterous that the nation's chief conservation officer should be counted among their ranks.

Ralph Urban Narberth, Pa.

I can understand why the bald eagle on James Watt's wall is giving him the evil eye. What I can't understand is why Watt doesn't replace the picture with one of a bulldozer.

Terry D. Younkin Salina, Kans.

There's a joke going around concerning the new Secretary of the Interior. How much electricity does it take to kill Smokey the Bear? Answer: one Watt.

Keith L. Hull ise, Idaho

Hasn't Secretary Watt learned that as many problems are created as are solved by the elimination of predators like the coyote? God may have intended humans like the Bible-quoting Watt to occupy the land until Jesus' return, but he did not intend that entire species be wiped out in his absence.

Nancy S. Rudisill Bedford, Pa.

Sic Transit

We persist in planning public transportation systems [March 30] that focus on Big City centers as if it were still 1940. Downtown has long ceased to function as the core of our metropolitan areas. If we are serious about getting Americans out of cars and into buses and subways, then our transit networks must recognize that today's urban travel does not focus on the central city. It is dominated by massive movement throughout surrounding suburban areas. What is needed are high-speed travel links among the regional shopping centers, airports and the light-industrial and office parks.

Peter O. Muller Coral Gables, Fla.

If the people in Sioux Falls do not want to pay federal taxes so that someone in Los Angeles can get to work on time by public transportation, then I see no reason to pay federal taxes to support the tobacco farmers of North Carolina.

Kathryn K. Scott Brookline, Mass.

Now is not the time for cuts in mass-transit operating subsidies. For larger cities such as Los Angeles, mass transit offers a more energy-efficient and economical way of travel than the car. Yet millions of Government dollars continue to be dumped into the highways. Someone should remind President Reagan that fuel saved by a mass-transit system in Los Angeles would benefit the entire nation.

Andy Lewis Madison, Wis.

Your article about the cracking frames on the New York Flxible buses points up the astonishing lack of memory in our automotive and aircraft industries. Any competent maintenance man knows that a cracked vehicular frame can only be repaired by fish plating with rivets or bolts. If that is not possible, the frame should be replaced. It should never be welded because the frame will only crack again.

Albert K. Tank Melbourne Beach, Fla.

No Bribery Here

Your "Big Profits in Big Bribery" [March 16] alleges that government favors may be had in Argentina by those willing to pay the price.

Your allegation is unclear as to when the bribes occurred. You can be sure it did not happen during the term of President Jorge Rafael Videla, which expired on March 29. He made clear at the outset of his administration five years ago that such conduct would not be tolerated.

Jorge A. Aja Espil Ambassador of Argentina Washington, D.C.

Foot in Mouth Disease

Your Essay "Oops! How's That Again?" [March 30] made me laugh from beginning to end. English is my second language, and I make many mistakes. Instead of feeling embarrassed, I feel humble and have learned to take everything less seriously, at least for a little while.

Nelda A. Sturgeon Wilmington, Del.

Your Essay brings to mind a "blooper" by a Providence radio newscaster. In talking about a man missing in Narragansett Bay, the announcer said, "He is presumed drowned by the Coast Guard."

Hans L. Heimann Cranston, R.I.

A few years ago, a television weatherman in Louisiana opened with: "Looking at the big map, we can see a cold mair ass coming out of Canada."

Bill Cantlon Silsbee, Texas

A letter to the editor of a local newspaper stated, "Since crime is the No. 1 problem of our country, we should make the death penalty more severe."

Terry Semones Monroe, Mich.

I've been a speech therapist for 14 years, but I make my share of bloopers. When I learned from my department head that I'd passed the dreaded university comprehensives, I wavered between "I'm so pleased" and "I'm so proud." I said, "I'm so plowed."

Mariel Ferre Dumin Clemson, S.C.

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