The Governor of Illinois
Sir:
I wish to commend the Jan. 28 article on Illinois' Governor Stevenson. I know nothing about the man but he sounds good to me . . .
STEPHEN H. PATTERSON
La Jolla, Calif.
Sir:
. . . You say that the former Mrs. Adlai Stevenson was a member of the Borden milk family. I believe that her father was John Borden, former taxi magnate and no relation to the Borden milk family . . .
ELIZABETH H. ARMSTRONG
Washington
P:Says Mrs. Stevenson's father, John Borden: "If we are related at all, it's very distant."--ED.
Sir:
Re your brief reference to Governor Adlai E. Stevenson's veto message concerning the notorious anti-cat measure [a bird lovers' bill "to prohibit cats from running at large" in Illinois]: I wish to state that The American Feline Society, Inc. played no small part in this legislative battle which could have conceivably cost the lives of 5 millions of Illinois cats . . .
ROBERT LOTHAR KENDELL
President The American Feline Society, Inc.
New York City
Sir:
My mother is an Illinois Republican who favors Governor Stevenson because he vetoed the "cat" bill. Asked if she would vote for Stevenson if he ran again, she replied, "I surely will--and what is more--the next two kittens around here are going to be named 'Addie' and 'Stevie' ". . .
DOROTHY PENNINGTON TUEL
Charleston, W. Va.
Davey on Sloan
Sir:
Please accept my congratulations for the Jan. 14 article concerning John Sloan. As one of his oldest and most intimate friends, over a period of 45 years, I well knew his work, character and qualities.
I would not have believed it possible in two columns to have so completely and sensitively told the story.
RANDALL DAVEY
Santa Fe, N. Mex.
Sic Transit & All That
Sir:
Your researchers are slightly off the beam on their Habsburgs. The Jan. 28 issue announces the death of Archduke Maximilian Eugene of Austria, referring to him as the younger brother of the Emperor Charles and son of Francis Ferdinand who was assassinated at Sarajevo. He was Charles's brother, right enough, but both were nephews of Francis Ferdinand and sons of the heir's younger brother, Otto Francis Joseph. Francis Ferdinand's marriage to Sophie Hohenberg was morganatic, and their children had no claim to the throne. Sic transit . . . but not that fast!
WALTER B. WOODWARD
Chicago
P: Reader Woodward is right as reign. A tch to the TIME researcher who misplaced a Habsburg.--ED.
Anti-Girl, Pro-Bull
Sir:
Your Jan. 28 article about the torera from Texas is a disgrace to womankind. Bullfighting for men is barbaric and horrible, but for women to invade this cruel sport is sickening . . .
MRS. L. R. FOSTER
Los Angeles
Sir:
For the torera from Texas, who quit school to assassinate an undersized bull in a Mexican bull ring, I suggest a job in an abattoir. Ole, huera!
L. M. WIEDER
Rego Park, N.Y.
Sir:
The photograph of "Pat McCormick making the kill" of a poor little scrubby calf is ludicrous and disgusting . . . A wholesome girl from one of Texas' Four-H Clubs would have been prompted to pick up the calf, place it on the spectators' side of the barrier, then give it a good feed.
COURTNEY C. BUCK
Frederick, Md.
Sir:
. . . The camera caught Miss McCormick --who appears to be a rather tall gal--in the act of ramming her snickersnee between the shoulders of an animal called (jokingly?) a bull . . . In Wyoming, such a pore little critter, although admittedly a male, wouldn't be classed as a bull but as a tail-end yearlin'. Lack of size and length of horns denote immaturity. His contours suggest he was dogied while very young. Quite possibly he was a convalescent from aftosa; certainly his home range has had a long dry spell. The carcass must have been quite inferior carne. But for Miss McCormick, it probably will serve as a steppingstone to higher things--such as a TV career and a million bucks U.S.
OWEN S. HOGE
Cheyenne, Wyo.
Thrice-Told Tale
Sir:
TIME, Jan. 28, quotes Holy Man Brahmachari on U.S. marriages: "An Indian student, visiting an American cemetery, found a young woman seated by the side of the tomb, fanning it with her hand . . . [She explained] 'My husband and I loved each other, but when he died he made me promise that I would not remarry so long as his tomb was wet. I am fanning it so that it will become dry quickly and I can marry my current sweetheart.' "
This should be certified as a strictly ancient chestnut. For comparison, see A Fickle Widow, a i sth century Chinese story by an unknown author . . .
ERICH A. ALBRECHT
Tulane University
New Orleans
Brahmachari . . . is perhaps familiar with English literature, or with someone who knows the writings of Oliver Goldsmith. The story is told in the 18th letter of Lien Chi Altangi, Goldsmith's oriental nom de plume for his series of satirical attacks on English customs, Citizen of the World.
The irony is that, in Goldsmith, the story has an oriental locale, and its point is that the English love their wives too blindly . . .
ROBERT W. DUNCAN
Amelia, Ohio
If Holy Man Brahmachari will get out from behind his beard long enough to read Charles Pettit's Elegant Infidelities of Madam Li Pet Fou (Horace Liveright; 1928), he will find the tale about fanning a deceased husband's grave told in a much more elegant fashion . . .
CARL P. MILLER
Honolulu
P: Only Brahmachari knows where he got his version of the story and, having taken a vow of silence, he isn't talking.--ED.
Something Is Sagging
Sir:
The Jan. 28 article "Bogged Down" makes my blood boil. Is that the way we maintain air bases in Europe ? Is that the way Europe treats us for trying to help her? Is that the way the Air Force expends the money of U.S. taxpayers?
I hope you hammer away at things like that until we get enough snap, pride and steel into our Government and its forces to make such conditions impossible. I'm not fond of vulgarities, but I must say it seems as if our guts are sagging.
Roi PARTRIDGE
Oakland, Calif.
Sir:
Congratulations . . . "Bogged Down" is the most truthful and down-to-earth article written about the 126th Bomb Wing and the Merignac Air Base. It has done all our hearts good . . .
(CPL.) CHARLES W. LORENZ
126th Bombardment Wing, U.S.A.F. c/o Postmaster, New York City
Free Medical Advice
null for Governor Murray [who criticized the "commercialization of the medical profession-TIME, Jan. 28]. The practice of medicine certainly seems to be on the downgrade. Today's doctors have more equipment and scientific information available than ever before. Yet too many seem to lack time, interest or perhaps knowledge to go deeper than the obvious in their diagnosis and treatment. Unless symptoms are so clear that they cannot go unrecognized, the patient is kept dangling, or is shuttled from one specialist to another. Frequently, he is pushed aside as some sort of neurotic.
The patient is the victim in this particular medical mumbo jumbo. He is sick, and he is tired because he is sick. He is running out of money, and this additional worry makes him sicker. He gets nowhere fast, and no one seems to be really trying to help him. He has been to the "best doctors in town"; where does he turn now? Why can't the really fine doctors in the profession weed out these incompetents? Or do ethics prohibit this housecleaning? . . .
(MRS.) ELIZABETH S. MULLENBACH
Sherman Oaks, Calif.
Sir:
Being a recently accepted applicant to medical school, I find the governor's speech quite provoking. How is it that men always want back the old country doctor with his kind-heartedness and generosity? Why not the oldtime groceryman with his unlimited credit--and stale crackers? . . .
I propose that we bring back the oldfashioned, kind and generous country doctor for one day here in the U.S. and let people see the result of the investment the modern doctor makes in his training,
Yours, as a poor boy for the next ten years.
RICHARD K. ARCHER
Austin, Texas
Sir:
. . . When are the doctors going to realize that the American Medical Association is their own worst enemy? Their basic policies have not changed in the last century and this is not a static world. They seem to be so smugly secure in their Chicago offices that they refuse to note that humanity is clamoring for efficient medical care . . .
As a housewife's 1$, I would suggest that the doctors, instead of putting money into the A.M.A. to resist any progressive changes, establish panel discussions in communities so that they may learn the average person's needs. Certainly some means could be established to streamline expenses by clinics and cooperation.
My father was an M.D. I would rather be loyal than critical. Right now I'm ready to get out my white diaper flag of protest and begin swinging it on a soap box any day.
(MRS.) JEAN NEWMAN Seattle
Sir:
. . . Granted, some [doctors'] fees may seem high, but there are no bargains where health is concerned . . . Movie and TV stars, professional jockeys and athletes have fabulous incomes, so let us not begrudge the income of the medical profession. Live and let live should be the maxim!
ROBERT M. ELLIOTT, D.D.S.
Wayzata, Minn.
One of Our Pumas Is Missing
Sir:
Say, did you ever find that puma [on the prowl near Shreveport, La.] ? We saw a reference to the beast in your Jan. 21 issue. The suspense is killing us.
MARGIE JAMIESON
JAN BEATTY
Appleton, Wis.
P: As far as TIME knows, the puma has failed to report its whereabouts.--ED.
This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.