Communism & Chaos
Sirs:
Former Ambassador Joseph P. Kennedy's suggestion [TIME, March 24] that we permit Communism to spread throughout Europe is ridiculous. . . .
Communism is more than an economic theory to be tried and found wanting. It is an insidious and contagious disease of the mind as well, and fattens on chaos and internal disorder.
One does not permit a brush fire to destroy a forest if a little digging will correct its spread.
Communism can and must be halted by offering to the oppressed masses of Europe and elsewhere ... a positive program of economic and social assistance. Obviously Kennedy and his type still do not realize that what transpires in the shadow of the Pyramids is of vital importance in every Main Street in the U.S.A. Two World Wars have not penetrated the Iron Curtain of complacency surrounding these men. . . .
PATRICK J. O'LEARY
New Haven, Conn.
Misconception
Sirs:
The attempt to drag in poor old James Monroe as a co-sponsor of aid to Greece [TIME, March 24] was a rather remarkable feat. I looked up what the Monroe Doctrine says with regard to Europe, and this is it: "Our policy in regard to Europe, which was adopted at an early stage of the wars which have so long agitated that quarter of the globe, nevertheless remains the same, which is, not to interfere in the internal concerns of any of its powers. . . ."
The curious fact is that this very language was provoked by a strong movement in this country to aid the establishment of a democratic government in Greece, which was then under the rule of an "imperialistic" power named Turkey. Monroe wanted to offer some definite aid to the Greek rebels of 1823--but John Quincy Adams (the General Marshall of that day) persuaded him not to. ...
Under the circumstances, TIME'S use of James Monroe to back up the "Truman Doctrine" is pretty misleading and irrelevant. There may be lots of history on Truman's side, but the Monroe Doctrine is not part of it.
ROGER BUTTERFIELD
New York City
P: There is indeed a lot of history on President Truman's side, and much of it began with James Monroe. Non-interference in the internal concerns of Europe was the only practical U.S. policy in 1823. But at the same time that he made this pronouncement, Monroe served notice that the U.S. had become a power with which European nations would have to reckon, and extended U.S. interest over the whole of the Western Hemisphere. One of the modern misconceptions of history is that the Monroe Doctrine was isolationist. The Monroe Doctrine was the first big step in an expanding foreign policy, which continued to expand under succeeding Presidents and Secretaries of State.--ED.
Twins
Sirs:
It has come to our attention that in the March 31 issue of your magazine, the painting called "The Dark Hour," by Kingman, has in it a noticeable inaccuracy . . . those two left hands.
JOHN F. FALVEY
E. JOHN BALDWIN
MICHAEL J. BRIGANTE
A. CHRISTIAN WINKELHOFF
New York, N.Y.
P: The painting symbolizes "the fall of humanity caused by the leftward trend"; the two left hands indicate humanity's trend to the left. "I almost always paint two left hands on my figures," says Artist Kingman.--ED.
Muzzled
Sirs:
In your Manners & Morals [TIME, March 24], you quote Mr. Lawrence Frank . . . as saying: "Pups, like babies, are helpless, demanding, and brainless, should be muzzled and fed frequently." Mr. Frank said nuzzled!
ETHEL HENIN BOWERS
Springfield, Mass.
P: TIME'S muzzled Philadelphia printer has been in the doghouse ever since. --ED.
Hearsay Denied
Sirs:
RE TIME'S MARCH 3 STORY ON CHINA . . . NANKING EMBASSY AUTHORITIES WISH TO DENY YOUR WASHINGTON HEARSAY. THERE WAS ABSOLUTELY NO BUMBLE OR ERROR BY ANY NANKING EMBASSY CLERK IN TRANSMISSION OF UNRRA DEPUTY DIRECTOR JACKSON'S CABLE ON CHINESE GOVERNMENT'S PLEA FOR MORE COTTON AND CEREALS. IF WASHINGTON HEARD THE CONTRARY, WASHINGTON DIDN'T HEAR RIGHT.
FREDERICK GRUIN
Nanking
Pilot Plant
Sirs:
Many thanks for your excellent description in the March 24 issue of Thomas E. Dewey as "purring along like a pilot plant."
My engineer husband informs me that the pilot plant is where the mistakes, mishaps, inefficiency, wastage, spoilage and confusion occur in the testing of a new process.
ELINOR JACOBS
New Haven, Conn.
The Greeks Had a Word
Sirs:
In Religion [TIME, March 17], your writer discusses the new book by the Very Rev. Martin Cyril D'Arcy, S.J., The Mind and Heart of Love. He refers to "agape (the selfless Christian love for one's neighbor, which Paul called 'charity' . . .)." Of course, St. Paul didn't call it "charity" at all; he spoke Greek and called it "agape."
Of course your writer may agree with the conservative British churchman who is reputed to have said: "If the King James version was good enough for St. Paul, it's good enough for me."
(REV.) JOHN P. CUYLER
New Milford, Conn.
P: Or, as TIME'S trusting Religion Editor felt, "if it's good enough for Father D'Arcy, it's good enough for me." Wrote Father D'Arcy: "Agape ... is nearly equivalent to St. Paul's 'charity.' "--ED.
Indirect Quotes
Sirs:
... In the March 10 number of TIME, in the article on the recent contribution by Dr. Wirtschafter and Dr. Widmann to the treatment of disease of peripheral blood vessels [in this case, an ex-marine with a gangrenous right foot], you quoted me as stating: "This is one of the two most exciting moments of my life." This statement, which your Los Angeles correspondent acknowledges that I did not make to him, creates the impression of uncritical enthusiasm about a form of treatment which is in the earliest stage of its trial. . . .
It is my opinion that it would have been better for you to report exactly what I said to TIME'S representative, instead of quoting a statement obtained from another source. . . .
HARRY GOLDBLATT, M.D.
Los Angeles
P: TIME regrets that the statement in question gave a wrong impression, hopes that its story did not similarly err on the side of overenthusiasm.--ED.
For the Record
Sirs:
Re your March 24 Miscellany column: Your "For the Record" makes the sailor [who demanded certified copies of his bad conduct discharge] appear ridiculous. . . . For your information, this sailor and all others like him . . . are entitled to all the benefits of the G.I. bill of rights. . . .
I'm an ex-sailor with a bad conduct discharge, and I am taking a four-year college course under the G.I. bill (which required a certified copy of my b.c. discharge). I drew unemployment insurance for four months (which required a certified copy). I applied for and am receiving a disability pension (which required a certified copy), and after completing my Pharmacy course I intend applying for a G.I. loan (which will also require a certified copy).
If any of you TIME people had served five years with the Navy and had any guts at all to stand up against commissioned snobbishness, I'm here to say more than one of you would have had such a discharge. . . .
IVAN FREELY
Rowlesburg, W.Va.
King's Regulations
Sirs:
... It is no crime for an officer of the Royal Navy to dine with enlisted men in any ratings' mess [TIME, March 27]. In fact, it is quite often the practice for an officer to share the Christmas festivities with his men. Royal Naval law is governed by King's Regulations and Admiralty Instructions, which does not list such a practice as a crime.
RUSSEL R. TAYLOR
Lieutenant, R.C.N.V.R. (Ret'd)
New York City
Sirs:
Your report ... is grossly misleading. You state that a lieutenant was dismissed from his command for joining his crew of five men for Christmas dinner, but you fail to add that after the meal one of the men was seen in an intoxicated state and disappeared from the ship, presumably by falling overboard.
In the interests of truth and fair comment, the information should have been given in full.
M. TRAVIS
Southport, Lanes, England
P: The Royal Court Martial charged Lieut. Wardle with two acts to the prejudice of good order and naval discipline: 1) taking lunch and intoxicating liquor with five ratings in a ratings' mess of his ship; 2) giving beer and spirits to these ratings. In the original charge no mention was made of the fact that a rating had been lost; that was brought out by Civil Lord of the Admiralty Walter Edwards when he was questioned by Members of Parliament about the sentence.
When Edwards was asked if the judgment would have been the same if it had been a teetotal lunch, he replied: "Under King's Regulations as they exist at the present moment, it is not permissible for an officer to lunch or to drink with ratings on the fore mess deck."--ED.
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