Senate Flayed

Sirs:

Why is a Senator?

Subscriber Cooper in TIME, Dec. 30, wants to hear from TIME readers which is better for the country, snappy action by the House, or airy-contrary delay by the Senate, due to "independent-thinking" Senators.

Which reminds me of what Washington said to Jefferson when the latter, returning from France, asked why have a Senate, to which Washington replied by asking why he poured his coffee in his saucer. And Jefferson answered, "To cool it off."

It seems that the Senate now acts more often not to "cool off" legislation, but to inject heat. Possibly the independent thinking is only individual advertising.

Certainly some Senators appear to act not so much as chosen "representatives" of their state, but as Senators-at-large; and the pity is that they are at large.

J. B. SAGER St. Louis, Mo.

Santa Fe Raise

Sirs:

In the Dec. 30 issue I note you inquire for further news in regard to employers raising wages of their employes.

Effective Dec. 1 the AT&SF Railway (Santa Fe) following negotiations with their Association of Clerical Employes, granted said employes (clerks, stenographers, etc.) a 5% wage increase. A short time later the supervising chief clerks were granted a similar increase to maintain the same ratio in wage scale.

L. E. HAUCK

Ncwton, Kans.

Not So Shrewd

Sirs:

TIME, Dec. 30, p. 41, col. 1, at end, tells of the trials of Postmaster Shamus O'Brien, of Florence, Kan., and of his rescue by Ben Minturn of Chicago, who sent a check for $1,000 worth of stamps. TIME concludes: "Shrewd Friend Minturn could, of course, exchange his stamps for cash at the nearest post office."

Perhaps Shrewd Friend Minturn was not so shrewd--nor TIME either. Section 163 of the Postal Laws and Regulations of 1924 reads: "Postage stamps, or special delivery stamps, whether affixed to envelopes or not, shall not be redeemed for the public nor exchanged for other postage stamps, stamped envelopes, newspaper wrappers, or postal cards. . . ." And Postmaster Shamus O'Brien might well keep in mind the provisions of the Act of March 4, 1909 (now in title 18, section 331 of the United States Code) prescribing quite a penalty for postmasters who induce purchases for the purpose of increasing their pay or affecting the allowance of facilities at their office.

ERWIN N. GRISWOLD

Office of the Solicitor-General Washington, D. C.

Never Heard Parodies rs:

An article published in your issue of Dec. 23 under the title of "Montezuma, Tripoli, and Beyond," contains the following reference to "The Marines' Hymn": "But hard boiled fighting men on the outer marches of the U. S. Empire have little use for hymns of peace. More likely are they to drown out anything suggestive of home or homesickness with their Corps anthem, "From the Halls of Montezuma," a song of many unprintable versions." (italics supplied)

The italicized words carry a very unsavory suggestion, yet one does not lightly question any statement published in TIME. One presumes that such statements are to a reasonable extent based upon facts. On this presumption it seems pertinent to ask, when, or how TIME ever conceived the idea that there is any unprintable version of ''The Halls of Montezuma"? Let me say to you, to all writers for TIME and to all its readers, that all Marines, rank and file, honor that anthem and hold it in the highest esteem. To them it is not a song to be desecrated by unprintable versions, or in any other way, and any attempt to do so in any Marine Camp would be summarily dealt with. During almost 26 years of service in the Corps, dating in fact from February 16, 1904, I have never heard any version of "The Halls of Montezuma" which was unprintable, or which could not be sung in any gathering, public or private anywhere. . . .

R. B. PUTNAM Lieut.-Col., A.P.M., U.S.M.C. Marine Barracks Quantico, Va.

Sirs:

In your issue of Dec. 23, under "International," you mention the Marines' Hymn as "From the Halls of Montezuma, a song of many unprintable versions."

For nearly 13 years I have heard it sung by Marines in many lands and not once have I heard included in it a word which could be termed "unprintable." Your description of our hymn will be resented by all Marines.

HARVEY S. NEWGARDE,

First Sergeant, U. S. Marines U.S.S. Texas New York

Do all Marines agree?--ED. Rebuke

Sirs:

All Indiana will rise to rebuke you for referring to Paul Dresser as author of "The Wabash Blues" (TIME, Dec. 23, p. 40).

Dresser, "as everyone knows," is the author of "On the Banks of the Wabash," immortal theme song of Hoosierdom, and likely to burst forth wherever two or more loyal souls are gathered together in the faith.

MAXWELL BROKE

President

The Business Letter Institute Indianapolis, Ind.

Sir: Shades of Lew Wallace and James Whitcomb Riley!

Under your discussion Dec. 23 of Theodore Dreiser you say (His song writing brother Paul, author of "The Wabash Blues" still calls himself Dresser).

As a personal friend of Theodore Dreiser permit me to suggest that his brother Paul has been dead for more than fifteen years. (See Twelve Men--"My Brother Paul.") He in collaboration with his brother Theodore wrote our famous State song, "On the Banks of the Wabash" and not "The Wabash Blues." There is a movement on foot in Terre Haute, Ind., to bring the body of Paul Dresser back to Indiana and bury it with honors in a beautiful park beside the Wabash River. ARTHUR H. SAPP,

Past President Rotary International Huntington, Ind.

Sirs:

Surely everybody knows that Paul Dresser wrote "The Banks of the Wabash" which is so sloppily sentimental as to make most expatriated Hoosiers hang their heads in shame to think the legislature adopted it for a state song. But why libel Dresser further by accusing him of writing "The Wabash Blues." I don't say Dresser never wrote such a thing, for I don't presume to keep apace of all the modern tin-can rattles which radio-tenors gargle in a falsetto whisper. But if he did commit such an atrocity why not let the world forget it? "The Banks of the Wabash" was bad enough, though the chorus is passable, but surely he could not have degenerated to the level of a "Blues" writer.

I refer to TIME, Dec. 23, 1929, p. 40, col. 3. FRED A. SHANNON

Manhattan, Kans.

To Indiana and the memory of Paul Dresser (ne Dreiser), apologies for an incredible slip.--ED.

In One Breath

Sirs:

Since your issue of Dec. 2 I have been trying to pronounce the titles of the Duke of Alba, as listed on p. 27 in less than three breaths. It took me a week's practice to reduce it to two. By Christmas day I accomplished it in one. If you doubt me, I will come to your office and prove it. You may have a Spaniard on hand to see that my pronunciation does fair justice to the task. Furthermore, I challenge anyone to beat my record of one breath for the whole title. A. E. HAMILTON,

Managing Editor Camp Life Brooklyn, N. Y.

The title:

JACOBO MARIA DEL PILAR CARLOS MANUEL STUART FITZ-JAMES 10th DUKE OF BERWICK, 17th DUQUE DE ALBA de Tormes, Duque de Liria y Xerica, de Arjona, de Montoro y de Huescar, CONDE-DUQUE DE OLIVARES, MARQUES DEL CARPIO. Marques de Coria, de Eliche, de la Mota, de San Leonardo, de Sarria, de Taragona. de Villanueva del Rio, de Villanueva del Fresno, de Barcarrota y de la Algaba. 24th CONDE DE LEMOS, Conde de Lerin. de Monterrey, de Osorno, de Miranda del Castanar, de Andrade, de Fuentes de Valdepero, de Gelves, de Villalba, de San Esteban de Gormaz, de Fuentiduena. de Casarrubios del Monte, de Galve y de Siruela, CONSTABLE OF NAVARRE, 14 times Grandee of Spain.--ED.

Receivership, not Bankrupt

Sirs:

My attention has been brought to the enclosed clipping which appeared in the Dec. 2 issue of TIME, and as Publisher of Musical America I feel it my duty to correct a misstatement made in the eleventh and twelfth lines of an article headed "Taylor Predicament;" namely "editing Musical America, which under his regime went bankrupt."

Musical America, a publication which has been in the musical field for 31 years, did not go bankrupt under Mr. Taylor's regime, or any other regime. Trade Publications, Inc., a holding company formed in June, 1927, to direct the destinies of Musical America and five other publications, called for a receiver last June. The integrity of the various publications was preserved throughout the crisis, and it was my pleasure to purchase at the sale Musical America and The Musical Trades, which, as I have stated above, were in no sense bankrupt.

JOHN F. MAJESKI

President

The Musical America Corp. New York, N. Y.

Pi to the 30th

Sirs:

In TIME of Dec. 23 you quoted Sir James Hopwood Jeans's formula for remembering the value of Pi to the fourteenth decimal as "How I want a drink, alcoholic of course, after the heavy chapter involving quantum mechanics,'' each word-length indicating a digit in Pi.

May I offer the following formula to your reader-mathematicians as more practicable, inasmuch as rhyme is often more easily remembered than prose.

3 1 4 1 5 9

See, I have a rhyme assisting 2 6 5 3 5 8 9

My feeble brain, its tasks sometime resisting,

7 9 3 2 3 8

Efforts laborious can by its witchery,

4 6 2 6 4 3

Grow easier, so hidden here are

3 8 3 2 7 9

The decimals all of circle's periphery.

I have copied this from the writings of the Rev. William F. Rigge, S.J., deceased, who years ago was professor of astronomy at Creighton University,

JAMES A. SHANAHAN

Omaha, Neb.

Wingshooting, Cont.

"Wingshooting, Cont." (Letters, Dec. 30, p. 4). "The gun is aimed directly at the object in flight, firing as the barrel is moving with the bird." Wrong and right. It is necessary to both lead and follow through, or the duck supper will be a pork roast.

Example: Duck traveling 50 m.p.h. 50 yds. from muzzle of gun. Shot charge at 900 ft. per sec. requires 1/6 sec. to travel 50 yds. Duck at 50 m.p.h. travels 264,000 ft. per hr.--73 1/3 ft. per sec. or 12 2/9 ft. in 1/6 sec. If you shoot directly at him you are mathematically certain to miss him 122/9 ft.

Is Dr. Falk a member of the S. P C A ?

I like TIME.

GERALD RYSDAM

Pella, Iowa

Brindisi, Athens, Moscow

Sirs:

"When TIME Shall Be No More" meant nothing to me but an empty phrase until I began to miss TIME on a trip around the world last summer.

Like a long lost friend I found a copy of TIME in a seaplane while flying from Brindisi to Athens. Months later I discovered another one in a barber shop in Moscow. . . .

CROMBIE ALLEN

Editor

The Daily Report Ontario, Calif.

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