Builder Soong
Sirs:
Your issue of Jan. 2 devotes two pages to the subject of "Outstanding Man of the Year." In your review of the various events which would designate an outstanding man for the year, did you consider the achievements of the Chinese Minister of Finance, Mr. T. V. Soong, who in addition to balancing the budget for his government, also headed the organization which repaired the ravages of the worst flood in modern history, effectively relieving the distress of 15 million flood victims and completely restoring over 5,000 mi. of dyke?
As an achievement in organization alone, the mobilizing of the necessary 1,400,000 laborers and the putting in place of sufficient earthwork to have built a bank 6 ft. high and 6 ft. broad completely around the world at the equator, should be sufficient to give a man this outstanding title, especially in view of the fact that this was done in sufficient time and with sufficient thoroughness to hold back the flood waters of 1932 which was again a high water year up to midsummer.
Possibly you would consider the chief engineer as the outstanding man in this case. His name is T. C. Hsi and he claims Massachusetts Institute of Technology as his alma mater. You may remember that this work was financed by the loan of American wheat plus a surtax on the Chinese customs revenue.
J. E. BAKER
Chief
Commissary Division National Flood Relief Commission
Shanghai, China
Brothers Ludington
Sirs:
JUST READ ARTICLE ON LUDINGTON AIR LINES ISSUE FEBRUARY TWENTY SEVENTH STOP WISH YOUR FACTS HAD BEEN LOOKED UP OR VERIFIED BEFORE PRINTING STOP WHEN LINE WAS FORMED MY BROTHER AND MYSELF STATED WE WERE WILLING TO PUT IN ONE MILLION DOLLARS IF EVER NEEDED STOP YOUR ARTICLE GIVES DISTINCT IMPRESSION AIR LINE WAS FIASCO AND REFLECTS ON US AND AVIATION INDUSTRY STOP NO AMOUNT APPROACHING ONE HALF THIS SUM WAS EVER PUT INTO LINES AND IN FAIRNESS TO OUR MANAGEMENT EMPLOYEES AND THE AVIATION INDUSTRY IN GENERAL I WISH TO POINT OUT THAT THE DEPRECIATION OF OUR INVESTMENT IN LUDINGTOX AIR LINES IS LESS THAN PRACTICALLY ANY WE COULD HAVE MADE OVER THE LAST THREE YEARS WITH THE EXCEPTION OF HIGH CLASS BONDS AND CERTAINLY LESS THAN A LIKE AMOUNT INVESTED IN OTHER AVIATION SECURITIES STOP TRUST YOU WILL CORRECT THIS IMPRESSION TO THE BEST OF YOUR ABILITY. . . .
NICHOLAS LUDINGTON
Santa Barbara, Calif.
Sirs:
JUST RECEIVED COPY OF MY BROTHERS WIRE TO YOU REGARDING ARTICLE ON LUDINGTON AIR LINES IN FEBRUARY TWENTY SEVENTH ISSUE
AND HAVE JUST READ ARTICLE STOP I WISH TO COMPLETELY CONFIRM HIS STATEMENTS
C. T. LUDINGTON
Miami, Fla.
In reporting the sale of Ludington Air Lines (New York-Philadelphia-Washington), to Eastern Air Transport for $250.000, TIME said: "Ludington set a new low for fares, a new high for economy of operation," added that Ludington had performed a feat unusual for an air transport line by managing to profit without an airmail subsidy the first year of its operation (1930-31). TIME erred in reporting that Ludington's $1,000,000 capitalization had been fully subscribed by the Brothers Ludington.--ED.
East Capital
Sirs:
TIME spells Tokyo with a "y," and I should be glad if you will explain why you use this style.
Among writers of English in Japan, the spelling is almost universally "Tokyo" but American newspapers seem to be about equally divided between Tokyo and Tokio, and I have seen Associated Press stories with two datelines using both forms.
Translated, the name of the city means "north capitol," the Japanese character pronounced "to" in this case meaning north, and the "kyo" meaning capital. Tokyo has always seemed to me to be the more accurate spelling of the way which the Japanese themselves pronounce the word, with a clipped "yo" sound on the last syllable.
However, several years of newspaper work in Japan failed to inform me whether there is an official spelling of the word or not.
I suspect before a uniform style is achieved, the city will have to return to its pre-Meiji name of Yedo. Unfortunately, this is variously spelled both "Yedo" and "Yeddo"--and pronounced "edo."
Incidentally, there are two villages in Texas of the same name and both of them are spelled "Tokio."
NEIL C. VANZANT
Manager
South Plains Farmer
Lubbock, Texas
The U. S. Geographic Board rules: "Tokyo ... not Tokio." But Manager Vanzant errs in his translation of "To," which means East not North. Yedo, name of Tokyo's site until 1869, means "Bay (Ye) Door (Do)."--ED.
Singing Brush
Sirs:
The next time you give me more of Mat Brush [President of American International Corp.] to read, I hope he will have a new hobby. I read four years ago of his elephants: again, in FORTUNE of his elephants; the third time a year ago of his elephants, and now the last edition (TIME, Feb. 27) once more tells the world that he collects elephants.
When I lived across the street, in Newtonville, Mass., from his family, I used to hear him sing as soon as he went into his house. I heard him sing from his bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, parlor, and even when he was running across the street to catch his train in to Boston.
Maybe he will take up singing in his spare minutes and we can see and hear him in opera. . . .
MYRA SCHOFIELD MAGNUSON
New York City
Big Open Stacks
Sirs:
May I correct a statement in the column headed "Athenaeum's Lady," in your issue of February 27:
"The Boston Athenaeum with its 300,000 volumes is the world's largest library whose stacks are open to its readers."
A recent investigation of this very point through the American Library Association has disclosed the fact that the Newark Library, of 500,000 volumes, is the only library, public or private, of this size which virtually has all its books on open shelves and offers free access to the general public.
BEATRICE WINSER
Librarian Public Library
Newark, N. J.
Sirs:
Your issue of Feb. 27 has the following statement on p. 20:
"The Boston Athenaeum with its 300,000 volumes is the world's largest library whose stacks are open to its readers."
Doubtless you are not aware of the fact that the library of Princeton University containing more than 600,000 volumes allows its readers access to its stacks. Perhaps there are others and larger ones which do the same but certainly Princeton is ahead of Boston in the race for the position of world's largest.
PHILIP HUMASON STEINMETZ
Union Theological Seminary
New York City
"Turnquotes"
Sirs:
As a magazine that has done more than anyone else except Walter Winchell, and perhaps even more than he, to create a lively, interesting and expressive American language, you appear the most likely promoters for a new word that 1 strenuously propose to introduce.
To those of us who write the news, it seems eminently desirable that there should be a special word to designate the perennial botherations of a stripe that can be really expressed only as an ilk, who, when their published statements get them into trouble, try to worm out by declaring loudly that they have been misquoted.
It is my proposal that in future such bon-hommes be designated as "turnquotes," and that your learned magazine refer to them as such with the permission and the blessing of the author of this word, who begs leave to subscribe himself
RUFUS TERRAL
Chattanooga Times
Chattanooga, Tenn.
Alertness & Dispatch
Sirs:
The alertness and dispatch of the Columbia Broadcasting System in sending the whole nation an account of the Zangara shooting by one who witnessed it at Miami surpass even Fred W. Mizer's unnewshawkliness in failing to recount the affair as it was happening to the audience of WQAM, 1,000-watts (TIME, Feb. 27).
Lining up a network in two hours for a remote control broadcast is a colossal news feat. Two days are the usual minimum for such a hookup.
Congratulations are due CBS. Edwin K. Cohan, technical chief of the chain, on vacation in Miami, reversed loops to New York, offered President-elect Roosevelt use of Columbia facilities, obtained a statement from him for the radio audience, secured an authentic witness, canceled New York broadcasts interfering, notified stations, announced the broadcast in record time for network alignment.
DAVIDSON TAYLOR
Radio Editor
Louisville Courier-Journal
Louisville, Ky.
Exception
Sirs:
. . . In a recent copy I saw an article regarding the motion picture entitled The Big Drive. I take particular exception to this picture because having seen it I realize that portions of it are not authentic in certain respects. There is a section of the film which deals with the bombardment of the famous Cloth Hall. Ypres. The scene purporting to show the actual bombardment of this famous building is not true in any sense of the word. The building has no resemblance as shown to the real thing and is a mislabeled shot.
I also take exception to the use of certain scenes of British troops which, from the spoken narrative, one is led to believe that they are American. I also take exception to the so-called hand-to-hand action shots. These are absolutely fakes as, if I am not mistaken, they came from a War picture made in Hollywood in either 1916 or 1917. ... If you note the uniforms as worn by the participants you will find they are not authentic, especially the German helmet worn by the so-called German soldier. This helmet is correct neither as to shape nor appearance and in reality was made in Hollywood from papier mache. . .
I take exception to the statement that these pictures are from secret files and never before shown; I admit that certain of the scenes I had never seen before but the majority I have seen before. A great many of the scenes can be found in the files of the U. S. Signal Corps at Washington and have already appeared countless times in official, released Signal Corps films. A similar production to The Big Drive entitled Powder River used a number of these scenes. The Eastman Kodak Co. in their Kodascope files offer a number of these same scenes as copies of official Signal Corps films. . . .
J. BURLING JARRETT
The Jarrett Museum of World War History
Atlantic City, N. J.
Albert Rule, producer of The Big Drive, which he claims to have assembled in the kitchen of his Battle Creek, Mich, home, insists that his film is authentic.--ED.
Greater
Sirs:
My jaw dropped when I read in your review of The Adventures of the Black Girl in Her Search for God that Irish Playwright George Bernard Shaw ''for years has twinklingly told the world that he is a greater man than Shakespeare" (TIME, Feb. 27). If your reviewer can produce any evidence that Shaw has ever, twinklingly or otherwise, proclaimed himself a greater man than Shakespeare, I will send him TIME for one year, and a crate of California oranges.
If he thinks to quote Shaw's preface chapter heading "Greater Than Shakespeare?" let him first note the question mark.
DONALD B. KIRBY
Glendale, Calif.
Said George Bernard Shaw: "If my play Widowers' Houses is not better than Shakespeare, let it be damned promptly.'' Let Reader Kirby send his TIME subscription and his oranges to No. 4 Whitehall Court (130) S. W. I. London. --ED.
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