Contribution
Sir:
Mr. Elliott Springs's bottom harness and bosom bolster advertising [TIME, July 26] is the most refreshing contribution to the gaiety of the nation since the advent of the Petty girl.
E. L. McCOLGIN Detroit, Mich.
Seeing Red
Sir:
CHICAGO'S OAK STREET BEACH LIFEGUARDS DO NOT WEAR SHOCKING-PINK TRUNKS [TIME, JULY 26] . . . GUARDS ARE WEARING SWIM SUITS OF GANTROM, A LUMINESCENT, HIGH VISIBILITY FABRIC THAT CAN BE SEEN FOR TWO MILES. FOR YOUR INFORMATION COLOR IS NEON
RED.
JOHN O. GANTNER JR.
San Francisco, Calif. P:Oh.--ED.
Irrelevant Doctrine
Sir:
Thank you for printing, in your admirable Religion section, the New Statesman and Nation's attack on us. It is a choice example of the odd logic of so many of the assailants of our "irrelevant" doctrine and our "decaying" church. "Why should anybody go to church," asks Editor Kingsley Martin [TIME, July 19], "and listen to the Sermon on the Mount, when they know that atom bombs are being made for use?" Why, he asks, listen to the greatest compendium of moral law ever issued, in a time of singular moral lawlessness? In other words, why should anybody be such a fool as to consult a physician in a time of epidemic ?
(REV.) EDWARD H. COOK
Grace Episcopal Church
Lawrence, Mass.
Adjectives & Industries
Sir:
In your July 19 issue . . . there is a picture of the Terrace Plaza Hotel and a brief news item . . . The first sentence states, "Dowdy, old-fashioned Cincinnati gets a new hotel this week."
I realize that TIME endeavors to write up its news items in a way that is different and to convey much meaning in a few words, all of which is desirable, particularly in this day and age when too much is said about too little. It seems to me, however, that the adjectives applied to Cincinnati have accomplished no particular good, nor are they entirely accurate ... In our efforts to attract further industries to Cincinnati ... we are pointing out the many advantages Cincinnati has to offer to new industries and new people who are about to locate here, and naturally we feel that any such statement in a magazine with the broad circulation TIME has is very apt to have a detrimental effect in this campaign . . .
WALTER C. BECKJORD
Cincinnati, Ohio
Sir:
. . . TIME, as usual, was curt, concise, and entirely too accurate.
R. A. MCEVILLEY Norwood, Ohio* Sir:
... In my book this article will go down as one of the greatest insults ever handed out to our city.
". . ,. ",. A. L. STOECKLIN
Cincinnati, Ohio
Bedipitus
Sir:
"Callipygian" is an easy, graceful word, and besides I have been to Naples--but "bedipitus" [TIME, July 26] does not appear to be in my copy of Webster's Unabridged . . . Where did you find it?
JOHN WEARE New York City
P:It was just a pick-up.--ED.
In Time of Need
Sir:
Referring to your article "North Dakota v. 75 Nuns" [TIME, July 12] ... may I thank you and congratulate you on having stated our case with truth and understanding. As one of the nuns who taught in western North Dakota during the drought years of 1936-38, I am in a position to appreciate the current pro & con comments of the press . . .
It was suggested that we apply for relief rations since we were not receiving pay. So I went to the one little village store and stood in line in the lantern-lighted back room, to state our case to the county relief agent. He, not a Catholic, though surprised was immediately interested and agreed that we were entitled to share in the ration issue. He made us a substantial allowance which was a lifesaver (though he did mark me down as drawing the allotment for myself "and family of nine !").
In the light of that dim lantern, they cut a poor figure indeed, who would now turn against the professional women who . . . kept their schools open in a time of need . . .
SR. MARGARET MARY, O.S.B.
Mt. St. Benedict Crookston, Minn.
Resistentialism Simplified
Sir:
Please tell . . . Mr. Ventre that Resistentialism is not half as complicated as he makes it [TIME, July 12]. Like my husband, he may throw up his hands at the feminine approach, but any woman will tell you that all you have to do is talk to Things.
Things are impulsive merely because they have been left more or less to their own devices. The collar button simply decides the floor looks more comfortable than the dresser, and is a little bewildered when somebody starts yelling at it. Pretty soon he gets tired of being kicked around, and creeps into the farthest corner to get out of the way.
Things are quite cooperative once you let them in on what all the fuss is about . . . which is why it is a good idea to sit down and have a long talk with the collar button the day you first get it.
You just say, "Look, when I need you I'll need you in a hurry and if you're not there it'll sure mess things up." (Appeal to its logic.) To the toast you say, "Please don't burn because you're all the bread I have and I'm hungry." (That has sort of the same effect as "You're the only man in the world for me.") To the lawn, "Drink this delicious water and get green so you'll be prettier than the others." (Things love competition.)
MARJORIE HAMMACK Hollywood, Calif.
Birds on the Beam
Sir:
I was much interested in the two maps [illustrating "Fossil Flight Plan"--TIME, July 19]. It is probable that North and South America did slide westward some time in the past, but the suggestion is usually made that the sliding came before the climate was good for birds or fishes. To my way of thinking, a much simpler solution of the migration of birds north and south can be devised than the inheritance of 60 million years.
We know the earth is a large magnet; it is also covered with definite water and air currents; it probably is also radioactive in that radio waves follow definite surface patterns. Instead of the bird inheriting a flight practice from its ancestry, it probably inherits some sort of receiver mechanism which allows it to follow directions for long distances, and over large bodies of water. As a matter of fact the waves it follows may not be radio waves at all but they may be air currents or some other form of wave. All the bird needs is a receiver mechanism akin to that owned by the bat and an inherited desire to follow the impulse rather than an inherited memory of a long-traveled path . . .
N. W. DOUGHERTY Dean of Engineering University of Tennessee Knoxville, Tenn.
Glittering Despair
Sir:
I'm wondering about your article on Carole Landis [TIME, July 19]. I find it pointed and sarcastic--yet true. Perhaps you are right in printing it, for too many people find despair, rather than happiness, in a glittering world of false comforts . . .
JOHN WILSON
Hinton, W. Va.
*Norwood is a town of 38,000 entirely surrounded by Cincinnati.
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