"Phooey!"

Sirs:

All this blah-blah about those nine WAC officers (TIME, Sept 11). Phooey!

We got a gal in the WAVEs, Lieut. Commander Tova Louisiana Petersen Wiley. She is in Washington running the whole show by herself. And she's better-looking than all those WACs put together. Why don't you give the WAVEs (and the public) a break and run her picture? We got her out of a big department store here in San Francisco, and she sure runs our outfit like a pants factory. [WAVE YEOMAN'S NAME WITHHELD] San Francisco

Boost

Sirs:

After our years of effort at morale building to boost production in our plants, TIME [Sept. 11] tops them all with its story on the Grumman Co. and the planes it builds. I'm sure that all of the 22,000 people in our organization have read this story, and that their pride in their organization has been given a real boost. Each one will work just a little harder to see that the Navy continues to get the planes they need--when they need them.

Please accept the thanks of all of us.

L. R. GRUMMAN President

Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corp. Bethpage, L.I.

Furlough News

Sirs :

From Mayor Earl Riley, of Portland, Ore., we recently received the following communication: "This office has been advised by the Ninth Service Command that your son ... is expected home on furlough sometime this month. If at any time during his leave I can be of help to him or to you in making his visit pleasant, please let me know."

Is the Army notifying the mayors of the U.S. of the return of soldiers from combat areas? Why not write the parents direct? We have no interest in building up a political organization. . . . Having two sons, one in France now, and one just returned, it seems best not to sign this.

[NAME WITHHELD] Portland, Ore.

P: When he reaches the U.S., the homing serviceman is given a card. If he chooses to fill it out, it is sent to his home-town newspapers and public officials as an announcement of his return. In no case is anyone supposed to be notified while the returning soldier is on his way to the U.S.--ED.

What to Do with Japan Sirs:

. . . Lest we have to fight two or three wars with Japan, why not take a leaf out of Cato's book and finish the job up now? We cannot sack Japan, destroy it, plow it up and sow its site with salt as the Romans did--so effectively that now after 2,000 years our boys fought over the site of ancient Carthage without knowing it had ever been there. But there is one thing we can do. We can take away from the Japanese every mechanical device of which they are possessed. . . .

Left to their rice paddies, their silkworms, and the abounding waters of their sacred islands, we can feel some confidence that they will not trouble us again, at least for another hundred years. . . .

E. WALLACE CHADWICK Chester, Pa.

Minor Leaguer?

Sirs: We whose men are winning this war in the Pacific want none of your suggestion that Eisenhower might be a candidate for supreme command in the Pacific (TIME, Sept. 11). He may be all right for the sand-lot teams in Europe, now that the Russians have taken on and defeated the best of the German Army, but his record shows beyond question that he can't qualify for the big league in the Pacific. . . .

IVEAGH GARRIGUS

Reno, Nev.

P:That so?--ED.

Singing Tom?

Sirs:

After reading about Governor Jimmie Davis of Louisiana riding into office on the wave of his hillbilly songs, it occurred to me that Governor Dewey might well use the same tactics. We all know that he has a well-trained baritone voice, but few have heard it. Not that his speeches aren't good. They are over the heads of the average American voter. . . . The great American public does not want thought-provoking logic. It wants entertainment. . . .

So, I suggest that Governor Dewey open a meeting with God Bless America, resounding in true Tibbett style. Then he could follow with a few trenchant remarks. Next, Shortenin' Bread. After ten minutes more of speaking in his resonant voice, he could end with Home on the Range, our President's favorite. A three-ring circus? I wager he would have them standing in the aisles. . . .

LYDIA L. BREUNIG

Indianapolis

Lend-lease Cigarets

Sirs:

There is a rumor snowballing up on this coast that the reason the market has been exhausted of popular-brand cigarets is because they are being shipped to civilian populaces of European countries. Is it true?

DIANA DUNNING

Culver City, Calif.

P: Who threw that snowball? In the last twelve months Lend-Lease exported six million pounds of cigarets. Typical prewar-year (1934) exports: eight million pounds. Prime reason for the home shortage: increased smoking by both U.S. servicemen and civilians.--ED.

"No Harm in Sleeping"

Sirs:

Your articles on bed rest (TIME, April 24; Sept. 11) will unnecessarily embarrass late or substantial sleepers like Robert Benchley, and also physicians whose patients rebel at badly needed restriction of activity. . . .

Many surgeons have been cutting out complete rest for operative and childbed patients, and the medical men may eventually catch up in learning that a few minutes' activity four or five times a day can be a great comfort--and a life saver.

No harm in sleeping, or even just lying abed, 23 hours a day!

WILLIAM DOCK, M.D. Professor of Medicine Long Island College of Medicine Brooklyn, N.Y.

United States Hotel Architect

Sirs:

In TIME (Sept. 4) you stated that the architect of the United States Hotel in Saratoga Springs was not known. You even surmised that the building had never been planned systematically.

About four years ago, the late William H. Vaughan, a well known architect of Saratoga Springs, showed me the original plans of the United States Hotel. These were drawn by the firm of Vaughan & Stevens, the Vaughan of Vaughan & Stevens being William H. Vaughan's grandfather.

JOSEPH LEBOWICH, M.D.

Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

P: His name was Frelin G. Vaughan. Of him and his gingerbread museum piece the Sandy Hill (now Ft. Edward) Times wrote: "Mr. Vaughan, one of the architects, is a Sandy Hill boy, and we feel a legitimate pride in his handiwork. Himself and partner have designed a building which must add much to their reputation, as it is a work few men are capable of accomplishing."--ED.

Help for the Dodgers

Sirs:

By way of appreciation and to show that the U.S. has not a monopoly on things wondrous to behold, I relate the following:

In Portaferry, County Down, two boys were crossing a field when a hedgehopping plane swept towards them. One of them picked up a stone, threw it at the plane and forced it to land, the net result being one smashed propeller and two frightened boys. Haled to court, they were fined $8. The R.A.F. pilot is still being chaffed about it.

Seems like some of the youngsters over here would be a great help to the Dodgers.

THOS. WATSON

Belfast, Ireland

TIME Taxed

Sirs:

With thousands & thousands of G.I.s going to Fayetteville, N.C. from Bragg every Saturday it is only natural that the neighborly and patriotic merchants await them with open arms and "solid" prices.

But why charge 1-c- sales tax when purchasing TIME? Isn't taxing a news publication contrary to some principle of the freedom of the press? Why should it cost more to buy TIME in North Carolina than it does elsewhere ?

A C J. HENRI ST. LAURENT Fort Bragg, N.C.

Voters' Reasons

Sirs:

Mr. O'Malley is voting for Dewey because he thinks it is time we had an admiral for President [TIME, Sept. 18]. Well, his reason is not as absurd as some of the others I have heard. For example:

A Polish fellow worker: "I am voting for Dewey because Roosevelt did not stop Stalin at the Polish border during the westward advance of the Reds."

My next-door neighbor: "If Dewey is elected, I can get $75 for my upper flat."

The colored laundress: "Roosevelt is too friendly with the Pope."

BEN TURICK

Detroit

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