Whoa!

Sir: The emblem suggested by Bernard Frank for Henry Wallace [TIME, Jan. 19] seems to be a natural, inasmuch as HAW in a farmer's language means a left turn. . . . CARROLL D. COFFIELD Cleveland, Ohio

Hollywood Rx

Sir:

Re "Show Business" [TIME, Jan. 19]: The Boy with the Green Hair was only temporarily postponed . . . and the film starts production Feb. 9. . . It is my belief that the so-called atmosphere of fear exists only in the minds of those who wish us to believe there is an atmosphere of fear. I am convinced that progressive picturemakers, such as Darryl Zanuck and Samuel Goldwyn, will continue to [combine] what they believe to be good picturemaking with courage and a point of view. . . . Here at RKO we are continuing to plan pictures that we hope will be good films and still have something to say. It is my belief there is nothing wrong with the picture business that good pictures won't cure. DORE SCHARY Hollywood, Calif.

Snapshot

Sir:

I MUST PROTEST YOUR ARTICLE ABOUT ME [TIME, JAN. 26]. YOU QUOTE ME AS SEVERELY CRITICIZING RADIO REPORTING AS SUPERFICIAL AND RADIO REPORTERS AS UNTHOROUGH. . . . OUT OF A TWO-HOUR CONVERSATION WITH YOUR REPORTER IN WHICH I TRIED TO GIVE AN HONEST ESTIMATE OF WHAT IS FINE AND WHAT IS BAD ABOUT RADIO JOURNALISM, YOU HAVE CHOSEN TO PRINT FOUR SENTENCES. THESE . . . HAVE RATHER CRUELLY MISREPRESENTED MY VIEWS AND HAVE DONE INJURY TO MY POSITION VIS-A-VIS MY PROFESSION AND MY COLLEAGUES IN RADIO FOR MOST OF WHOM I FEEL THE GREATEST RESPECT. ERIC SEVAREID Washington, B.C.

P:TIME regrets that its snapshot of Newscaster Sevareid caught him in an expression that failed to do justice to his fine features. -- ED.

H.C.L. in Minutes

Sir:

The comparative table showing what the Soviet and U.S. worker must give in working time in order to obtain the same quantities of food and other items [TIME, Dec. 29] was most interesting. Is it possible, to publish a similar comparison between the British and U.S. worker? ALEX I. G. FARQUHARSON Glasgow, Scotland

P:A British Board of Trade economist figured out a table for British workers:

G.B. U.S. U.S.S.R (Minutes) Wheat bread, Ib. 5 7 1/2 70 Veal, Ib. 37 1/2 34 1/2 315 Butter, lb. 30 48 1/2 642 Beer (1 pt. Ib. draught mild) 22 1/2 6 1/4 171 Cotton dress 450 142 1,911 Woolen suit (man's) 2,700 1,684 34,815

The economist added: "The only item missing is rye bread; I am afraid we have to make do mainly with the National Loaf. We see very little veal nowadays, so my figure is in fact based on the cost of home-produced first quality beef." -- ED.

Time for a Revision

Sir:

And indeed there will be time . . . Time for you and time for me, And time yet for a hundred indecisions, And for a hundred visions and revisions, Before the taking of the toast and tea.

TIME'S People editor has, I trust, time for one revision. He has generously allotted time-conscious Poet T. S. Eliot an extra decade to overtake Rivals Khayyam, Browning and Gibran in the race for the favor of Smith girls [TIME, Jan. 12].

TIM HORAN New York City

P:Yes, the timeless fact is that Poet Eliot is 59; he was born in St. Louis Sept. 26, 1888. -- ED.

Screen Censors

Sir:

The letter of Spyros P. Skouras, president, 20th Century-Fox Film Corp., is most amazing [TIME, Jan. 19]. He has seen fit to publish the fact that his company will meet with self-appointed censors who, without any vestige of constitutional authority, shall determine what you and I shall view on the screen.

Just as this man has surrendered his prerogative to determine the contents of his products on a so-called moral basis he, and his counterparts in other companies, have surrendered the right to determine the contents of their products on a political basis to nine Congressmen sitting on the House Committee for Un-American Activities.

Do the studios that knuckle under to the slightest pressure from any of many varied religious, political, business, or other groups, thus selling freedom of expression down the river, deserve the patronage and support of the, as yet, free people of the United States? STANLEY ERLE BROWN Berkeley, Calif.

Decent Burial (Cont'd)

Sir:

Anent your story, Decent Burial [TIME, Jan. 12], those genuinely concerned over the rackets which flourish upon the dead will be interested in the following:

My father was. . . 78 when he died. He passed away at about midnight. . . . Three hours later. . . he was taken directly to the crematory. . .

A few days later his own most intimate friends were invited for services at our home. An urn containing his ashes stood upon the mantel, partly concealed by flowers. A string quartette played softly in another room--not by hymns but music which he himself had loved. A clergyman performed his offices in the briefest, simplest manner. Two of my father's most intimate friends spoke their own intimate words. The "funeral" was over. We passed tea and cakes. . . . Net cost -- everything: $90. . . . Pagan? Who says so? HENRY E. BREDEMEIER Kenmore, N.Y.

Sir:

The "undertaker's" advertisement portraying the "beautiful body" of a nude girl is carnal and shameless. It is manifestly repugnant to the general public and offensive to the funeral service industry. . . . J. WILFRED CORR Executive Secretary California Funeral Directors Association Pasadena, Calif.

Sir:

. . . Facts are facts -- we cannot deny that. But the fact that there is one rotten apple in the barrel should not be sufficient cause to condemn all. W. M. KRIEGER Managing Director National Selected Morticians Chicago, Ill.

Sir:

I am "fed up" with your articles on "undertakers," publish are ones that show a coldhearted, profiteering side of their business.

I am the wife of a mortician. If you could see, for even a week, the intense strain they are under and the comfort they give in their work, you'd refrain from your blasts. How many other men work day and night, seven days a week, going out in all kinds of weather, to ease the despair and pain of the bereaved ? Any financial benefits would never recompense for the inconvenience, hard work, loss of family life, etc., these men incur. . . . A doctor, dentist, or any other professional man may refuse to go when called but the "undertaker" never takes that privilege. . . .

In any profession, you will find those people in it for purely selfish motives. All the morticians I know are very sincere, too conscientious, and are giving the best part of their lives to making death a little less the grim, horrible thing that it is. NANCY ALEXANDER Lenoir, N.C.

Sir:

... In a recent survey made by the National Funeral Directors Association, out of 86,369 adult funerals the median price was from $250 to $299, and purchases over $700, were only 2% of the total. . . Of all these services, 78.6% were under $399.00. . . .Every funeral director will agree that our main problem is not trying to sell $2,500 services (if there is such a thing) but rather to convince grief-stricken families to buy within their means and not allow sorrow or sentiment to influence them in a choice they may later regret. . . .

The focal point of any funeral service is the body of the deceased and has been for centuries, but it is in no way intended to de-emphasize eternal life inherited by the spirit. . . . My personal experience in deaths of my own family has been such that I would rather remember them in a restful, composed position than in the final struggles for life. . . DELWIN W. HURD Minot, N. Dak.

Sir:

. . . Last year I attended my first funeral, and I was dumfounded at the pagan ritual it turned out to be.

The deceased, an aunt of my husband's, was "laid away" in the satin-lined bronze casket she had requested before her death. At burial, this was enclosed in a steel, water proof vault. As soon as possible after the funeral, an elaborate marble slab was erected over the grave. The difference between the cost of that funeral and the minimum it could have cost would have seen one of my children through four years of college. . . .

I was amazed at the constant peering into the casket by those present and the conversation concerning the deceased as though she herself were lying in the casket and not her mortal remains. One niece kept a 48-hour vigil beside the body while it lay at the funeral home awaiting burial because she "didn't want Auntie to be left alone" Photographs were made of the body in the casket and distributed among the relatives several weeks later.

I do not think the trouble lies so much with undertakers as with people themselves. I think those who attended the funeral I have mentioned would have been disappointed at anything less elaborate. . . . (NAME WITHHELD) San Antonio, Tex.

Sir:

Recently I heard a young doctor say: "I cannot understand how the American people can pour millions of dollars a year into funeral wreaths, and yet hesitate at giving a fraction of that amount for cancer research." Your article on funeral extravagances spurs me to pass along a relevant suggestion.

Instead of deluging the bereaved family with flowers, why not channel some of the sympathy into benefits for the living -- i.e., send a contribution to a philanthropic, educational or medical research organization? The recipient would then inform the bereaved family that such a contribution had been made in memory of, etc. This is an especially effective means of expression when request has been made to "Please omit flowers.". . . FRANCES S. PRUYN New York City

Airframe Confusion

Sir:

There seems to be a mistake in TIME, Jan. 19. Airframe weight is given as 27.8 million pounds in 1946 while the chart shows only about one-tenth of this. . . WILDER D. FOSTER Verona, Pa.

Sir:

Embarrassed artist or wandering decimal point? DONALD L. PYKE Lafayette, Ind.

P:Neither -- just a befuddled researcher. The chart showed the monthly production rate; the text gave the year-end total. -- ED.

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