Mail for Medina
Sir:
The report of the picket lines outside the Manhattan federal courthouse, and the cascade of telegrams and letters poured in on Judge Medina by Communist sympathizers [TIME, Sept. 5] might well make thoughtful Americans wonder if it is later than they think . . .
MRS. ELDEN W. SCANLAND Wichita Falls, Tex.
Sir:
... I should like to pass on to TIME readers a suggestion made recently by a letter writer to a Boston newspaper.
To counteract all this Communist-inspired abuse, all loyal Americans should pause for a few moments during the rush of their daily activities and send Judge Medina at least a postcard stating that they appreciate the difficulty and importance of his task . . .
STANISLAW R. J. SUCHECKI Dorchester, Mass.
Boyle and Lincoln
Sir:
Mayhap TIME . . . will quiz Bill Boyle, newly elected national chairman of the Party of the People, as to chapter & verse whence came his asserted quotation from Lincoln: "I will go along with a man as. long as he is going in my direction" [TIME, Sept. 5].
My reading of Lincoln's reply to Douglas, at Peoria on Oct. 16, 1854, reveals that the truth-loving, morality-conscious Great Emancipator expressed a materially different sentiment: "Stand with anybody that stands right. Stand with him while he is right and part with him when he goes wrong." Again Honest Abe said on May 19, 1856: "But we must not promise what we ought not, lest we be called on to perform what we cannot . . ."
MARION A. KNIGHT
Dallas, Tex.
P: Democratic headquarters says it is still trying to find the source of Chairman Boyle's quotation.--ED.
Good Enough for Grandpa?
Sir:
Regarding your Sept. 5 article, "Social Security; Nothing's Too Good for Grandpa":
One of the main Communist platforms is to make the cost of running our government top-heavy. One of these methods is by costly welfare programs . . .
JACK ABLER Clatskanie, Ore.
Sir:
"Nothing's Too Good for Grandpa" . . . highlights again the significance of Jose Ortega y Gasset's verdict that the world "is suffering from a 'vertical invasion' of the masses; it has been taken over by the commonplace mind" [TIME, Jan. 17].
This, in my opinion, is one of the most devastating understatements ever made . . .
MAURY M. TRAVIS Denver, Colo.
Sir:
Your report on the enthusiastic use of free medical and dental care, free hospitalization, medicines, glasses and artificial limbs for the aged in the state of Washington is the best possible argument against nationalized medicine . . .
LILLIE BEGOLKA Normal, 111.
Sir:
Regarding California's old-age pensions, the frosting on the cake is a lot thicker than your article tells. Some time ago I listened to a county welfare official explain that the $3,500 in real property and the $1,500 in other assets over & above the car, furniture, jewelry, etc. refer to assessed value and are not even remotely connected with market value. I believe there are some counties in California where market values are as much as ten times the assessed values . . .
HARRY L. APPLETON Paso Robles, Calif.
I am a voter, taxpayer and lifelong resident of Washington state. I voted for assistance to the aged and blind people in this state. I did not do so "with something of the attitude of a nightclub sot," as you say. I am not a recipient of old-age assistance. You are a damn liar.
L. V. Ross
Tacoma, Wash.
P: Reader Ross either needs new reading glasses or has an itchy typewriter. What TIME said was: "The average citizen in California, Oregon and Washington voted for pensions with something of the attitude of a nightclub sot listening to Mother Machree--it was hard to be critical because the words were so sad."--ED.
Non-Folding Experiment 9
Sir:
Thanks for your Sept. 5 report of the Macon News experiment [in headlineless, departmentalized news coverage]. During years of unfolding, refolding, reunfolding and rerefolding papers, I have yearned for such a one. The b.eef reported, "You have to read this paper to find out what's in it," was delightful. I do that with TIME and, really, I don't mind.
JOHN K. H ANN AY Seattle, Wash.
Birds at Bat
Sir:
I'll admit that I'm an avid Cardinal fan and that Stan Musial is my favorite player, but even if all that weren't true, I'd still think Ernest Hamlin Baker's Sept. 5 cover one of the cutest and cleverest I have ever seen.
EVELYN B. THOMAS Poplar Bluff, Mo.
Sir:
As I look out over the baseball field (over the catcher's head), right field is to my right. So, it seems to me, Stan Musial squares off on the right side of the plate, not the left as you say.
CHARLES N. PRESNAIL Mansfield, Ohio
P: Reader Presnail's point is one that has long stumped the experts. Many of them contend that the whole field should be called from the catcher's point of view. Just as many more insist that the batter's stance is an exception and can be rightly viewed only from the pitcher's box.--ED.
Sir:
. . . Although he perhaps is not as fleet-footed as Musial on a straightaway course, the old veteran Enos Slaughter, the captain of the team, surely is still the outstanding baserunner of the 1949 Cardinals . . . Stan The Man makes & breaks the fate and fortunes of the Cardinals, but for fleetness on foot where it pays off in the pennant race--that is, around the bases--give me Enos ("Country") Slaughter . .
KARL H. STRAUS New Rochelle, N.Y.
P: The Cardinals, including Manager Eddie Dyer, would rather have Musial; others might outrun him on a straightaway but not around the bases. Slaughter has slowed down this year.--ED.
Coffin Tacks
Sir:
YOUR INTERESTING ARTICLE ABOUT PUBLISHER GORDON GRAY [TIME, SEPT. 12] CONTAINS AN ERROR WHICH I REGRET. WHEN THE TWIN CITY SENTINEL CALLED CIGARETTES "COFFIN TACKS," I OBJECTED TO WHAT SEEMED TO ME TO BE A POOR CHOICE OF A HEADLINE, BUT AT NO TIME DID I SUGGEST THAT THE MANAGING EDITOR BE FIRED.
JAMES A. GRAY Winston-Salem, N. C.
P: Publisher Gray's Uncle James should know; TIME'S correspondent apparently was misinformed.--ED.
Soap Addicts
Sir:
Mona Kent has no reason to be ashamed [TIME, Sept. 12] of the "stuff" she turns out for radio listeners. After all, it's a living. It is rather those, like myself, who adjust their day's schedule in order not to miss the next episode of these dreary, sordid narratives who should feel ashamed. I wonder if all of us addicts should not consult a psychiatrist.
ROBERT SEESE Detroit, Mich.
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