LETTERS

WHERE THE JOBS ARE

"How long before we realize that proper management of a company's people, its most valuable resource, is the key to long-term prosperity?" RICHARD D. TOWNSEND Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

I was disturbed by your article "Where the Jobs Are" [BUSINESS, Jan. 20], which placed undue emphasis on the pace of job creation for skilled workers and only briefly mentioned the troubles that unskilled workers have. Alongside the boom in job opportunities in high-tech and service industries, there continue to be serious difficulties in the labor market for workers who are less skilled. By emphasizing growth in specific labor markets, you may strengthen the misperception that there are many jobs available for the disadvantaged. JOEL POLLAK Cambridge, Massachusetts

You neglected to mention how many of today's jobs are leased or filled by contingent or contract workers. In addition, it is important to note that the growth in jobs, some of which pay well, disguises the fact that we are facing a crisis of employment for black males. The closing of the industrial age and its mass employment has left them out of the job equation. With so many high-paying jobs, why do we have the greatest disparity between rich and poor since 1945? There are too many workers looking for decent-paying, lower-skilled jobs. KIMBERLY A. SHANAHAN Pacifica, California

The problem of trained employees' "moving on" to other companies wasn't a concern until greedy corporations started trashing the time-honored tradition of job security. Mandatory service contracts that bind employees as a condition for receiving training are adversarial and largely unenforceable in the real world. They are not part of the answer, as your report suggests, but an extension of the underlying problem. DANIEL COBEN Somerset, New Jersey

Your story was one dimensional. What about the "hiring bust" that exists for talented, skilled first-time job seekers who get lost in the shuffle? The technological explosion may be providing jobs for those already established, but what about the little guy who consistently encounters a slamming door not because he lacks skills but because companies don't want to be the first to take a chance on him? DOUGLAS FISHER Boston

Some authorities estimate that a majority of job seekers cannot find work because they lack the basic skills for employment, such as getting to the job on time, putting in an honest day's work, being dressed and groomed appropriately, being drug free and getting along with fellow workers and the boss. These skills are learned in the home. Until we address this problem, no federal program is going to change anything. GIDEON JONES Tallahassee, Florida

SUING THE PRESIDENT

Paula Jones, you go, girl! If Governor Bill Clinton did have you escorted to his hotel room so he could pull his pants down, he deserves the pain you are inflicting by taking your case to the Supreme Court [NATION, Jan. 20]. If, on the other hand, your lawsuit is just another example of how America's out-of-control legal system allows anyone to initiate costly litigation without fear of legal or financial retribution--well, that's good too! The sound of trial-lawyer contributions pouring in to his re-election fund has clearly deafened Clinton to appeals for tort reform. The President works diligently to sustain this monster we call a legal system, and you, Paula, have turned it loose on him. Bravo! GARY STUSSIE Bowie, Maryland

If any man, including the governor, summoned me to his hotel room and I accepted the invitation, the responsibility for the consequences would be mine alone. America has been sue crazy for some time. Sexual harassment can easily be stopped by just saying no! DENISE PEREAU Clementon, New Jersey

The President is an American citizen and therefore not above the law. But anyone who thinks this case should go forward while Clinton is in office is a fool. I pay my President to do his job, not to have something of infinitesimally small importance distract him from the duties of the presidency. Perhaps Jones should think about the millions of American citizens and what they deserve instead of thinking only of herself. CARYN LAW Laramie, Wyoming

So James Carville's response to this case is, "Drag $100 bills through trailer parks, there's no telling what you'll find"? This comment says nothing about Paula Jones or the merits of her case, but it speaks volumes about Carville. BILL KING Nashville, Tennessee

THE SAGA OF NEWT GINGRICH

Considering the Democrats' dilemmas and the potential for compromise between the self-seeking factions in Congress, Gingrich's re-election as Speaker of the House of Representatives [NATION, Jan. 20] may not prove to have been the wisest course, but it does tell us much about U.S. politicians. Morality in Washington is obviously a sometime thing, where lapses can be excused after a plea of ignorance and carelessness. What did the Representatives' parents, their schools and churches teach them? And there are still people who wonder why so many of us don't vote. ALBERT CLARK Groveland, California

As a liberal, I was thrilled to see Republicans "Newter" the House! Speaker Gingrich will stand as a beacon of hypocrisy as he continues his partisan assault against the President. RICK EWING Lexington, Oklahoma

Gingrich's supporters said his misdeeds were the equivalent of jaywalking. Indeed! The vote re-electing him as Speaker was the requiem for Republican virtue. It is now confirmed: politics is about winning and losing, not about right and wrong. You should ask anyone to whom party loyalty is supreme the same question that Army counsel Joseph Welch posed to Senator Joseph McCarthy: "Have you no sense of decency, sir, at long last?" TOM ZWEMER Augusta, Georgia

Newt: your ethical credibility went South. And so should you--back to Georgia. You are no longer a viable leader. Do us a favor and get out of the way. TOM RINGLEY Big Horn, Wyoming

NEW PARK FEES WILL HELP

Your Winners & Losers item on new laws on the books in '97 had it backward when it criticized fee increases at some of America's national parks [NOTEBOOK, Jan. 13]. Higher entrance fees at the parks is an all-around winner for the visiting public and the parks. A week in some of America's most spectacular places still costs my family less than going to a movie. That's a good deal for us. Under the new law, the parks will keep 80% of the money they raise, using it for badly needed maintenance and preservation. That protects park resources and benefits visitors. The experimental fee increases initiated by the National Park Service are reasonable, comparatively small and long overdue. There are no losers here. PAUL C. PRITCHARD, President National Parks and Conservation Association Washington

LOCAL-HERO PHOTO

Please note that credit for the photo of local hero Florence Denomme of the Phoenix, Arizona, Flow from the Heart Foundation [NOTEBOOK, Jan. 13] should have been given to Teresa Allen. KAREN BERG Phoenix, Arizona

RIGHT NAME FOR A COOL DUDE

Your story on filmmaker and animator Mike Judge [SHOW BUSINESS, Jan. 20] made a mistake in referring to the co-creator of the new TV show King of the Hill. His name is Greg (not Glen) Daniels. He was also co-executive producer as well as a writer for The Simpsons program when he left for King of the Hill. MARY WARNER MCGRADE Pasadena, California

FUJIMORI ON THE OFFENSIVE

Please stop using the term guerrillas to refer to members of the Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement [WORLD, Jan. 20]. Anyone with minimal insight on what has been going on in Peru for the past few years knows that the appropriate term is terrorist or narcoterrorist. As opposed to other revolutionary movements in Latin America, the Tupac Amaru has no popular support whatsoever, and has never controlled any territories in Peru. It is sad to realize how in Latin America, chanting Marxist nonsense seems to justify planting bombs, kidnapping, selective assassination and extortion. People who in the U.S. would be considered criminals and terrorists in Latin America become "guerrilla fighters," "rebels" or even "freedom fighters." What is Peru to do to solve the hostage crisis? Release 450 violent criminals, so that they can resume their narcotrafficking activities? Or worse yet, adopt a communist economic program similar to Cuba's? These demands are irrational. ALFONSO MONTERO Hanover, New Hampshire

How can a small group of rebels impose its will on 20 million Peruvians who do not support its ideas? It almost seems as if the Tupac Amaru militants are acting out of pride and from a strange sort of fear that they are the last of their kind. ROBERTO KOCCHIU Wuppertal, Germany