Hull's Hunch
Sirs: The march of, German troops into Poland recently was undoubtedly of little surprise to Secretary of State Cordell Hull. The reason: In TIME, July 17, p. 19, he is quoted as having privately made the following statement to Congressmen. "Hitler will march in September--unless we pass this legislation" (repeal of the arms embargo). Prognosticator Hull deserves praise and acclaim for being so farsighted and foretelling this momentous event.
BERNARD ROSENBAUM Detroit, Mich.
Holton Plan
Sirs:
The letter of Mr. E. P. Holton of Los Angeles [TIME, Sept.11], suggesting that Great Britain grant the United States title to the British possessions in the Western Hemisphere, including all Pacific islands, but excluding the Dominion of Canada, received a favorable vote in this community. I have submitted the proposition to several business and professional men and there has not been a single objection to the proposition.
HARRY T. BURN President
Sweetwater Bank & Trust Co. Sweetwater, Tenn.
Sirs:
Record one vote for Mr. E. P. Holton's plan for the settlement of England's debt to the U. S. It is the only way in which England could discharge her debt, and it offers the only sensible reason for giving England our support in her present difficulty. In addition to Mr. Holton's suggestions, I suggest that Newfoundland and Labrador: 1) be given to Canada, 2) be given complete independence, 3) be given to the U. S.
WALTER R. LOVEL San Pedro, Calif.
Sirs:
I absolutely agree with E. P. Holton. England should pay her debt to us by giving us some of her island possessions in the Western Hemisphere. I say some, because I have visited most of the islands mentioned, and I think one or two should be given back to the Devil. . . .
Miss A. STODDARD Boston, Mass.
Sirs:
Writer E. P. Holton . . . hits the nail right on the head. . . . Great Britain, no doubt, would readily agree to this method of paying those old war debts. We know she wants to pay but just never seems to be able to get the money. . . .
R. B. HAZER North Bend, Ore.
Sirs:
The settlement proposed by E. P. Holton has my hearty approval. I have spent several months in Britain, and think she would respect us more if she paid.
FLORENCE ASCHER ROBERTSON Topanga, Calif.
Sirs:
The letter of Mr. E. P. Holton ... is the idea of a narrow-minded bigot who is never satisfied unless he is sticking his nose in someone else's business. This is the one thing that people in this world need to overcome if we expect any peace in the future. How can anyone suggest a fair payment of a nation's debts by subjecting a small minority of that nation's people to live under another flag and a different form of government? . . .
G. K. CORKUM Sioux City, Iowa
Sirs:
Before the avalanche of suggestions gets started, Mr. Holton of Los Angeles and others seem to forget that Canada belongs ONLY to the Canadian people and in consequence is not available as payment for anyone else's debts.
T. D. INGALL Mount Royal, Que.
Sirs:
My vote on E. P. Holton's suggestion about the British West Indian islands is no--another Sudetenland.
J. W. JAMES Youngstown, Ohio
Sirs:
Bermuda is far too lovely to ever be prosituted by Americanization. I'd vote--No.
J. T. MACELROY Philadelphia, Pa.
Sirs:
Is there anything else TiMEreader Holton would like?
EDWARD WHITNEY Moncton, N. B.
> The vote so far: For, 49: Against, 60. --ED.
Ireland's Leaders Sirs:
Noticeable to me, as it must have been to many other Americans of Irish birth or descent, was TIME'S (Sept.11 issue) omission of Ireland's leaders in the list of those of other European countries as of September, 1939 . . . In her position as a mother country and considering her present political status, Ireland (especially Eire) would seem to be inadequately represented by the named governors of the British Commonwealth of Nations. Nor can a citizen of Eire, as exemplified by Cinemactor Errol Flynn, be reasonably designated a Briton when Cinemactor Raymond Massey is designated a Canadian. . . . Seemingly, Mr. Flynn and others like him would be subject to military call from Dublin, if anywhere. Eire yet adheres to her declaration of neutrality in World War II ! . . .
DAVID D. JONES McConnellsburg, Pa.
> Eire's leaders are: President, Douglas Hyde; Premier, Eamon de Valera; Defense Minister, Frank Aiken. Northern Ireland's: Governor, The Duke of Abercorn; Premier, Viscount Craigavon of Stormont.--ED.
Youth & War Sirs:
At present our government is preparing industry on a vast scale for a climax known as "M" day. It has been brought to my attention by several people concerned with the coffin industry that their business is being completely overlooked. During World War I the shattered remains of Americans were buried in foreign coffins, thereby showing how we failed to give domestic employment to hundreds, as well as dividends to the coffin stockholders. Therefore I am hoping that TIME will support this noble cause by demanding that our government order from various coffin makers hundreds of thousands of coffins and have them shipped to Europe so that I, who am of the draft age, and thousands of other American youth may have the satisfaction of being laid away in a coffin marked, "MADE IN U. S. A."
BRONSON P. CLARK Antioch College Yellow Springs, Ohio
Sirs:
For some time I have wondered, now that Europe is at war, are we American Youths under age 30 represented in Congress? As our government is now organized the major proportion of Senators and Representatives are now in their 40's and 50's and beyond the limits for military service. Logically we American Youths who are between the ages of 21 and 30 would make up the volume of American soldiers, and should, therefore, have the right to assist in voting ourselves into a war. Why can't we be represented in Washington by a separate "Youth Congress," one representative from each state with a maximum age limit of 30? Is it democratic to let the age 40 and 50 vote the death sentence for the age 20 and 30? If such a plan would be organized I am sure that we would be satisfied. Do the Youth Readers of TIME concur with me?
DEAN M. KERL Lincoln, Neb. > Do they?--ED.
Sirs:
TIME erred--Sept. 18, p. 10--in stating " . . . The People, by whose consent alone the U. S. can go all the way to war.". . . . Those who have the most to lose--youths under voting age, but old enough to draft-- have absolutely nothing to say. For the true voice of The People, how about a referendum with only parents and males subject to draft, voting.
E. K. BACHSCHMID Washington, D. C.
>The principle sounds just; but how about a referendum on tax bills with only taxpayers voting?--ED.
Sirs:
. . . I find myself wanting to tell you, perhaps for a selfish reason, what I think about the war in Europe, and my corresponding reactions to recent issues of TIME and LIFE. The selfish reason is that, being 26 and unmarried, I should be called upon to fight for my country if she went to war. To me there seems to be very little that is startling about Germany's being at war with the rest of the world. She cannot live on what she has, for her manner of coin (goods & services) is barred from the markets. To appraise Germany's actions from a moral standard is, I think, to completely miss the fundamental truth that people won't starve. . . . And confining my view to the international ethics of England and France respectively, it seems to me that they do not possess this survival value; that they will provoke conflict until they are destroyed. . . Naziism was born of circumstances which need not have come to pass; its brutality is not gratuitous but rooted in grinding necessity. Thus while there is truth in the saying that this is a war between totalitarianism and democracy, it is far more true to say the sort of liberty which the democracies know is rooted in and limited by their position as privileged nations. . . . . . . We are a thoughtful people with a remarkably developed social conscience; our times have hardened us to making uncomfortable changes and being somewhat loyal to uncomfortable truths; we are in the mood for an affirmative viewpoint, and, I believe, for a fundamental change in our manner of living together.
JAMES P. RICH New York City
Lochner ot Czestochowa
Sirs:
The somewhat baldish, civilian-clothed "German soldier" in your picture of Czestochowa's Shrine (TIME, Sept. 18) is in his spare time my father, Louis P. Lochner, head of the Associated Press office in Berlin, 1939 Pulitzer Prize winner. . . .
ROBERT H. LOCHNER University of Chicago Chicago, III.
> Let Reader Lochner look again. Behind able Correspondent Lochner stands a German soldier--ED.
Beak-Nose, Gimlet-Eye
Sirs: TIME prides itself in its modern style and yet reverts to an ancient custom in describing individuals by giving facial or bodily characteristics. This, presumably, is to give readers a mental picture of the person. . . . Perhaps many readers would also be interested in TIME'S staff of news gatherers and others including yourself. . . . Why not describe the editor, associate editor, etc., as beak-nosed so-and-so, or gimlet-eyed or shapely, bewhiskered, or opinionated, poker-playing Mr. So-and-so. I think it would be very enlightening to all of us if this were made a permanent feature of your staff list. . .
H. N. BERGEP Santa Barbara, Calif.
>When TIME'S editors make news. TIME will describe them.--Tall, balding, beetle-browed ED.
Peace Mongers
Sirs:
After printing the faces of the war mongers for the past year on your cover will you please let us see the faces of some of our men in public life who do not have murder in their hearts, namely, Borah, Vandenberg, Nye and Hiram Johnson, or is TIME also interested in war profiteering?
MRS. S. R. DOLEN Detroit, Mich. >See cover.--ED.
Exotropic Kennedy
Sirs:
Before the bold Irish mug of the Ambassador to Great Britain appears again on TIME'S cover [Sept. 18] or before he runs for President, I hope Kathleen or her handsome mother can do something about those hornrimmed glasses he affects. Some Kennedys think themselves wise as owls. Joe must want to look like one.
RICHARD P. KENNEDY Edwardsville, III. >Ambassador Kennedy's glasses are no affectation (see below).--ED.
Sirs:
. . . You say of Ambassador Kennedy that he has "one sharp eye on the market and one fond eye on his children." He is peculiarly fitted to perform such a feat, as his picture on the cover shows that he is exotropic, i. e., when he looks straight ahead with either eye the other turns out. . . . Maybe this is why he is doing such a good job of observing what is happening on all sides.
ROBERT J. PEARCE, Opt. D. Greensboro, N. C.
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