Sirs I am always interested and occasionally amused at the way the editor of your Sport Department reports nationally interesting athletic events. The occasion for my latest bit of amusement is the comparison of the recent Drake and Penn Relays [TIME, May 4]. This fellow is obviously an Eastern man, or he would not attempt so often to belittle Midwestern and Far-Western events, nor would he show on occasions a total lack of understanding with regard to events held outside the eastern one-sixth of these United States.

If comparisons are still odious, it must have been extremely distasteful to your Sport Editor to consider the important aspects of the competition in the Drake and Penn meets this year. Compared in TIME were the 3,000 entries in the Penn carnival with the 2,000 at Drake. Not mentioned were the hundreds of high school, prep school, parochial school and grade school entries to which the Penn management caters, and which swell considerably its list of entries. Does this make the meet great? Not compared were the results of the respective meets, to most people far more important than the number of contestants. In 14 comparable events, athletes competing at Des Moines, under similar fine weather conditions, excelled those competing at Philadelphia in nine events. Athletes at Penn excelled those gathered here in but four. One was tied. To show that this is no accident, a study of Drake's superiority in comparable events for the last ten years shows Drake excelling in 85 to Penn's 63; last 15 years, Drake 122, Penn 86. Now TIME, which of the two comparisons cited appears more important?

Another humor-provoking excerpt states: "The biggest attraction of the Drake Relays, as usual, was Queen of the Relays." The Queen was beautiful and occupied an important ten minutes in our crowded time schedule Saturday afternoon, but if she was the biggest attraction, 18,000 people missed seeing: 1) a new U. S. outdoor record at 1,000 yards (time, 2:11.2) by Glenn Cunningham closely pressed by a fine Eastern runner, Harry Williamson of North Carolina; 2) a new U. S. outdoor record in the two-mile run by Don Lash (time, 9:10.6); 3) a new record by an American in the javelin throw by Alton Terry from Texas' Hardin-Simmons University (distance, 222.65 ft.).

It is not sporting, TIME, to speak without knowledge of our "extravagant ballyhoo," nor is it anything but a dig to speak of our "tiny university's (fulltime students: 1,248) huge stadium." If your man was disappointed in the showing of the Eastern athletes, why didn't he say so? And incidentally his story of the Pennsylvania carnival was built around the performance of a sprint relay team from Texas and two boys from Ohio State, a member of the Western Conference. Small wonder, is there not, in being unable to write about any of your effete Easterners.

In this letter, no criticism of the well-established and well-managed Penn Relays is intended. We have the greatest respect for our rival relay meet. But, when reporting these events for national reading, do it accurately and in the same sporting attitude in which athletes enter the competition at both Penn and Drake. In short, TIME, don't be Provincial! FRANKLIN P. JOHNSON

Director Drake Relays Drake University Des Moines, Iowa

In its story of the Penn and Drake Relays, TIME fully reported Runner Cunningham's record, characterized that extra-meet event as "No. i thrill." TIME'S sportswriter, no provincial, impartially observed of the trackmen at Philadelphia and Des Moines that "both groups gave spectators few records, many thrills." Space limitations prevented TIME from publishing a play-by-play account of either meet.--ED.

Chilled, Not Tossed Sirs:

I realize TIME'S space is valuable. But Mr. Harry B. Press's letter, "Heaven on Earth" [TIME, May 4], written as a backfire on my letter "Santa Monica's Bottles" [TIME, April 20j, contained such words as "peeve," "libel," "free board and room," "weary bones " etc Therefore I feel that TIME might give me a few more lines to say that Mr. Harry Press is really in no position to champion Santa Monica and Santa Monica's fog.

Mr. Press does not live in Santa Monica. His home is in a section of the beach frontage known as O'Sheenie Park. And it just ain't kosher for Mr. Press to speak with authority of Santa Monica's bottles, fog or movie stars.

On the other hand, I lived in Santa Monica for several years.' And I was chilled out--not tossed out.

ANDREW A. CAFFREY Los Angeles, Calif. Especially Grateful

Sirs:

I'd like to thank you warmly for your fair, intelligent symposium of the Hearst books [TIME, April 27]. Do I think that because it seemed to me that you gave me a shade the better of it? Perhaps. At any rate, I'm deeply grateful.

But I'm especially grateful for your appreciation of Fremont Older who always read TIME and enjoyed it.

CORA OLDER

Cupertino, Calif.

Question of Justice

Sirs:

Not that it matters, for after all the lives were lost, but just as a question of justice. TIME, April 6, under Transport, "Worst & First," claims that the courtesies of the Mexican pilot caused the terrible accident. According to official reports, it was the U. S. technical expert who was handling the plane when the accident happened.

Peons may sleep a midday siesta, but not a midmorning. Believe it or not, we Mexicans have to work for a living just as you Americans do. Unfortunately we have no "relief."

Why the desire of continuously depicting the Mexican people?

Courtesies and laziness are international.

Kindly pardon my poor English.

ERNESTO J. AGUILAR Mexico, D. F.

Kentucky's Colonelcies

Sirs:

At the time of your writing Shirley Temple [TIME, April 27] was not a Kentucky colonel.

Some two weeks ago Attorney General Vincent ruled that the 17,000 appointments to the colonelcy were null and void.

Yesterday in the absence of both Governor Chandler and Lieut. Governor Johnson, Governor pro tern J. E. Wise, reinstated the 17,000 with a blanket reappointment.

DIXIE ANNA BOND

State Tax Commission of Kentucky. Frankfort, Ky.

For further news concerning Kentucky and its colonelcies, see p. 34.--ED.

Correction

Sirs:

In the April 20 issue of your magazine on p. 22 under the caption Eastern Asia there appear statements concerning General Chang Chun, Minister of Foreign Affairs of China.

In view of the fact that these statements are wholly untrue and reflect most injuriously on his character and integrity, I write to ask that you retract such statements in the next issue of your magazine in space equally as prominent as that devoted to the original inaccurate statements.

Please, furthermore, publish my statement based upon authentic and reliable information that neither there exists such secret agreement between China and Russia as was referred to in the foregoing article, nor has Russian financial aid ever been accepted by General Chiang Kaishek.

TSUNE-CHI Yue

Consul General of the Republic of China New York City

TIME'S editors sincerely regret the publication of statements reflecting on the personal character of General Chang Chun.

Misinformed by sources it believed reliable, TIME has on investigation found that its characterization of the Chinese Foreign Minister was utterly untrue, herewith records its retraction.--ED.

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