Palomar's Eye
Sir:
YOUR COVER STORY [TIME, FEB. 9] ON EDWIN HUBBLE AND THE PALOMAR TELESCOPE IS SUPERB. IT GIVES AN EXCELLENT INTERPRETATION OF THE MAIN LINE OF THOUGHT OF PRESENT COSMOLOGY AND ITS OUTLOOK FOR THE FUTURE. CONGRATULATIONS ON A FINE PIECE OF SCIENCE WRITING.
IRA M. FREEMAN Associate Professor of Physics Rutgers University New Brunswick, N.J.
Sir:
We, whose privilege it is to carry on the research which one of the world's greatest astronomers inaugurated when he was a young University of Chicago professor, record our disappointment and surprise that George Ellery Rale's great part in originating and developing the 200-inch telescope project was not highlighted in the otherwise splendid tribute which your recent issue paid to Dr. Edwin Hubble and his associates. . . .
Hale alone among the scientists of the world had the vision and the courage to plan an instrument for scientific research which startles the imagination, and which, in the hands of Dr. Hubble, Dr. Bowen and their colleagues, is certain to bring the solution of some of the deepest mysteries of the Universe. To us the Mount Palomar Observatory always will be the Hale Observatory.
S. CHANDRASEKHAR
G. HERZBERG
W. W. MORGAN
OTTO STRUVE
Yerkes Observatory, University of Chicago Williams Bay, Wis.
Sir:
Your chart points out: "Light from earth would . . . return to earth in an estimated 300,000,000,000 light years."
This sentence indicates the "light year" to be a unit of time, whereas it is actually a unit of distance--as defined in another portion of the article.
Confusion or oversight?
ALLEN N. SALTZMAN Palm Springs, Calif.
P: Both. But the story had it right.--ED.
Swiss Make
Sir:
Your article about the reunion of ex-King Michael and Princess Anne [TIME, Feb. 2] is very touching, but let me point out that trains do not "chuff" into Davos--the line is totally electrified.
JAMES LAUGHLIN
Klosters, Switzerland
P: And so, now, is TIME, which was asleep at the switch.--ED.
Pin-Up Girl
Sir:
The resemblance between John Tenniel's famous depiction of the Duchess in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Matsys' painting [TIME, Jan. 26] ... is undeniable, but Tenniel need not have seen the Matsys painting in order to have achieved his remarkable (and delightful) Duchess, as he may possibly have had access to a crayon caricature by Leonardo da Vinci which is in the collection at Windsor Castle.
A glance at Leonardo's drawing will undoubtedly confuse the whole question of priority, originality, imitation. . . .
Whether credit is given Leonardo or Matsys, this lady's unique physiognomy is certainly deserving of at least a respectful shudder.
MARTIN S. DWORKIN New York City
P: Obviously either Matsys (1466-1530) or DaVinci (1452-1519) peeked over the other's shoulder.--ED.
Imaginative Fellows
Sir:
We have read with interest [TIME, Feb. 9] the statement of Dr. John Rock [the Roman Catholic doctor who passes out contraceptive information to non-Catholics though his own Church regards the use of contraceptives as immoral]. . . . We have often considered means of eliminating obnoxious neighbors, Sunday drivers and noisome editors.
As Roman Catholics, of course, we do not believe in putting our findings into practice, but . . . we judge that we should be free to instruct less imaginative fellows who are not so morally restricted as we. . . .
J. E. FITZPATRICK
H. E. CLEARY Hampton, Va.
Silent D.P.S
Sir:
Please let me echo your sentiments regarding Robert St. John and his book, The Silent People Speak [which reported that nearly everyone in Yugoslavia loves Tito--TIME, Jan. 12].
... I should like to take [St. John] to the Yugoslav Displaced Persons Camp near Suez in the Sinai Desert. Of course, they're all pro-Mihailovich; some of them haven't seen their families for years. . . . They live in tents. They're cared for by the former UNRRA (now IRO). They have enough to eat and are well clothed.
But tell Mr. St. John these people are unhappy. Perhaps they'll never see their real homes again. . . . These people . . . have their eyes open to ... the difference between good and bad. I wonder if their pro-Tito cousins and brothers [also] have, as Robert St. John thinks. . . .
(MRS.) ELLEN GREVE
Suez, Egypt
Storm over New Mexico
Sir:
YOUR WERNETTE-POPEJOY ARTICLE FEB. 10 ISSUE DOES SERIOUS AND WHOLLY UNMERITED DAMAGE TO UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO. . . . THE FACULTY OF THE UNIVERSITY IN RESIDENCE IS UNANIMOUS IN EXPRESSING FULL CONFIDENCE IN PRESIDENT-ELECT POPEJOY AND THE FIRM BELIEF THAT PRESENT HIGH ACADEMIC STANDARDS WILL BE MAINTAINED UNDER HIS LEADERSHIP.
S. P. NANNINGA
Dean, College of Education
M. E. FARRIS
Dean, College of Engineering
T. C. DONNELLY
Dean, College of Arts & Sciences
F. V. SCHOLES
Dean, Graduate School
A. L. GAUSEWITZ
Dean, College of Law
ROY A. BOWERS
Dean, College of Pharmacy
VERNON G. SORRELL
Dean, College of Business Administration University of New Mexico Albuquerque
Sir:
YOUR REPORTER REPRESENTED FAIRLY AND ACCURATELY CONDITIONS OUR NEW MEXICO STATE UNIVERSITY, AS UNDERSTOOD BY RESIDENTS THIS COMMUNITY. ARTICULATE MINORITY OF FACULTY RESENTS ANY ADMINISTRATOR WHOM THEY CANNOT CONTROL. . . . THIS OLD GUARD FACULTY OLIGARCHY DOMINATED UNIVERSITY BEFORE DOCTOR WERNETTE'S ARRIVAL, SO HE HAD TWO STRIKES ON HIM FROM START. THE UNANIMITY OF OPINION EXPRESSED IN DEAN'S TELEGRAM TO YOU SUGGESTS A SHOTGUN WEDDING.
R. P. WOODSON JR.
Albuquerque
Chicago Style
Sir:
In reporting the demise of Marshall Field's Chicago Sun [TIME, Feb. 9], you observed that "Colonel McCormick . . . has never let his prejudices and hobbies keep him from doing a bang-up job of covering the news."
To a great number of Chicagoans (unless they have a different interpretation of "bang-up" and "cover"), this would seem to be a )it enigmatic. The Tribune has long had a reputation for giving its own, inimitable "interpretation" of the news; for not only slantIng, but bending to the point of incongruity, everything from its Page One political news to its book and movie reviews.
The Sun, in spite of Field's reported $10,000,000, evidently couldn't see its way clear to print sufficient news to make its reading worth while. In short, between Chicago's morning papers, it ultimately became a choice of no news or slanted news. Chicagoans apparently chose the latter--in spite of that abominable rehash of 15th-Century philosophy, Little Orphan Annie.
CHARLES J. DE BRIERE Chicago, Ill.
Hypocrisy & Gall:
Sir: Your attitude toward homosexuality gives me the creeps [TIME, Feb. 16]. You have the gall to print deific approval of the Kinsey Report in that yes-dear-Reader-we-are-objective-and-up-to-date-on-science tone of voice, and yet to continue that Victorian oh-goodness-gracious-let's-hush-this-up disapproval of what, while it may or may not be unfortunate, is certainly mighty prevalent (see Prof. Kinsey) in this 20th Century. In obscuring the reality of the present, you're not only blinding yourselves from the truth, but, in your peculiar position, keeping would-be appreciative thousands from such artists as Andre Gide. . . . You have not the right! How hypocritical can you get?
L. A. S. Chicago, Ill.
P: TIME confesses to a prejudice in favor of heterosexuality, a pretty good thing for the human race.--ED.
Justifiable Reserves
Sir:
In TIME, Feb. 9, there appeared a discussion of the Procter & Gamble Co.'s earnings statement for the six-month period ended Dec. 31, 1947.
The article quoted a newspaper comment which implied that the company's earnings for this period were disproportionately increased through . . . higher prices. This is not the case. The increase in the company's net earnings . . . compared with the same period in 1946, is proportionately in line with the increase in the company's sales for the two periods.
Because the article discussed the company's policy of setting up inventory price decline reserves very briefly, we believe your readers would like to know, also, that our past experience with the rapid changes in costs of fats and oils--our principal raw materials--fully justifies these reserves as a sound, and in fact an indispensable, business practice.
For example, during the previous fiscal year, after this reserve had been built up to $29.5 million on March 31, by June 30 it had been reduced to $14 million . . . because of sharp drops in the cost of raw materials. . . .
As was pointed out by Mr. R. R. Deupree, president of our company . . . the rapid drop in the cost of raw materials [in the 1920-21 recession] in that fiscal year wiped out one-half of the company's surplus and undivided profits. . . .
The recent severe decline in prices of raw materials shows clearly the wisdom of setting up reserves to protect the company during such periods of violently fluctuating costs. If fats and oils should decline to around 10-c- a pound, as they easily could, the entire reserve would be used up.
WM. G. WERNER Manager
Division of Public Relations Procter & Gamble Co. Cincinnati, Ohio
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