Closed Democratic Shop
SIR:
RE TIME'S FEB. 25 "UNION SHOP BY U.S. ORDER?" STORY: ASK MESSRS. COLE, HORVITZ AND OSBORNE [OF TRUMAN'S SPECIALLY CREATED EMERGENCY BOARD] IF THEY ARE READY TO AGREE UNANIMOUSLY THAT l) CONGRESS APPROVES OF THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY; 2) AT LEAST 2O MILLION PEOPLE ARE COVERED BY THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY; 3) DEMOCRATS ARE RIGHT IN AGREEING THAT REPUBLICAN CITIZENS WHO ENJOY SOCIAL WELFARE BENEFITS GAINED BY THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY ARE FREE RIDERS, ARE UNJUSTLY ENRICHED; THEREFORE, ALL REPUBLICANS SHOULD BE REQUIRED TO JOIN THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY 60 DAYS AFTER BIRTH AND SHOULD HAVE THEIR PARTY DUES CHECKED OFF AT THE PAY WINDOW. HONESTLY, YOU DAMNED YANKEES ARE GOING TO RUIN THIS COUNTRY IF YOU DON'T QUIT VOTING DEMOCRATIC.
WINSTON BROOKE
ANNISTON, ALA.
Democracy in Southwood
Sir:
I was sick with shame when I read "Democracy in Southwood" [TIME, Feb. 25]. In voting to bar Would-Be Householder Sing Sheng and his family from this community, Southwood citizens have disgraced and insulted America and all it stands for.
. . . Wherever Sing Sheng is now, I hope he reads this letter, and can eventually bring himself to accept its assurance that not all of us are like these so-called Americans whose chatter about property values and non-Caucasians fails to conceal their underlying prejudices . . .
VIOLET T. COTTRELL
Westerly, R.I.
Sir:
. . . The residents of Southwood are, in my opinion, dirty, contemptible [deleted]. They make me so damned mad I can hardly type this . . .
WILLIAM A. COLBERT
Sergeant, U.S.A.F.
Falmouth, Mass.
Sir:
Reading the story left a bitter taste in my mouth. Just who the hell do the American people think they are? The excuses they manage to think up to keep the so-called foreigners from living in the same block with them are pretty weak in this day and age . . .
All over the world men, real men, are fighting together and giving their lives together in order that free people may continue to live in freedom. But to many Americans freedom means keeping "those foreigners" out of our neighborhood . . .
JOHN KENNETH HYATT JR.
Midshipman, U.S.N.
Annapolis, Md.
The Orthographies of Dr. Dolittle
Sir:
After having spent the first 20 years of my life saying, "Two oo's please," it is especially enjoyable now to point out to you that there is just one "o" in the Doctor Dolittle stories which you say, in the Feb. 18 issue, Sir Stafford Cripps is currently rereading.
BETTY DOOLITTLE PECKHAM
State College, Pa.
P: To John Dolittle, M.D., of Puddle-by-on-the-Marsh, scientist, explorer, friend of children, animals and Sir Stafford Cripps, TIME'S regrets.--ED.
Royal Occasions
Sir:
Your Feb. 18 story on the late King George was not only knowledgeable, but it was warm and human, as was he. Seldom have I read any editorial comment which so clarifies the integrity of spirit that is such a necessary and integral part of living . . .
(MRS.) DOROTHY WAYMAN
Grosse Pointe, Mich.
Sir:
I think I speak for thousands of my fellow Canadians when I tell you that your account of the death of King George VI and the ascendancy of Princess Elizabeth was one of the finest and most sympathetic pieces of reporting that I have ever read.
The research was excellent; the writing was the same, and our hats are off to whoever put it together in such fine fashion . . .
Many people here, including myself, plan to put a copy in our family archives.
H. J. MERILEES
West Vancouver, B.C.
Sir:
I must be one of many thousands in these Islands who were deeply moved by the manner in which you carried the sad news of the King's death . . . One section of your article said: "In London's High Court, when the news came, King's Counselor Harold Shepherd had just finished cross-examining a defendant . . ." The title is that of King's Counsel--now, of course, Queen's Counsel . . . Incidentally, the incident that you referred to was a trial of a murder case, and because of its nature . . . the judge adjourned it for ten minutes only. Every other court ... in London adjourned until the next day . . .
GODFREY RUSSELL VICK, K.T.Q.C.
London, England
Sir:
In your old, early days, you at least played devil's advocate to republicanism; now you are the canonizer of monarchy. Not that we on this side of the border do not appreciate your tribute to our late King and your admiration of our monarchical institution. But it is, to us, a droll confirmation of Shaw's statement that America would sue for inclusion in the British Empire . . .
THOMAS ALLEN
Peterborough, Ont., Canada
Rabbit's Bad Habits
Sir:
I note in the Feb. 18 issue the use of rabbits to test the smoking qualities of cigarettes, and never have I finished an article with such a feeling of revulsion and disgust. Men who would torture animals (under any pretext) are a filthy scum and a disgrace to the human race; and I have never read a more vile form of torture than that developed to prove the relative merits of rival brands of tobacco . . . If you, or any group, plan to come down on these stinkers like a ton of brick, and need funds, you can put me down for $25 . . .
EDWIN S. WALKER
Los Angeles
Sir:
We can commend the alertness and integrity of the Federal Trade Commission in clamping down on the erroneous advertising of the tobacco industry. One wonders at the needless cruelty to living creatures involved in the tests described. If living tissue must be tortured in an attempt to support the false claims of the cigarette manufacturers, I suggest that we use the nicotine hucksters themselves. Let's drip smoky water in their eyes; trim their eyelids; cut holes in their windpipes!
REV. ROY I. BOHANAN
Huntington Street Baptist Church
New London, Conn.
Correction
Sir:
I read your excellent Feb. 18 dissertation on the Olympic military pentathlon competition. However, you mention that Major George B. Moore, who placed second in the 1948 Olympic military pentathlon, was killed in Korea.
I have just talked with Lieut. Colonel (formerly Major) Moore, who . . . assures me that he spent the better part of the day checking with the Casualty Branch, Department of the Army, in order to determine how, when and where he had been killed. He was relieved to learn that the Casualty Branch considers him to be quite alive . . .
TREVOR W. SWETT JR.
1st Lieutenant, U.S.A.
Fort Myer, Arlington, Va.
P: Thanks to Reader Swett; to Lieut. Colonel Moore, apologies and congratulations.--ED.
Aloha
SIR:
CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR EXCELLENT HAWAIIAN PICTURES AND ARTICLES IN THE FEB. 18 ISSUE.
BOB BUTTERFIELD
HANA, MAUI, T.H.
Sir:
I was almost overwhelmed with nostalgia when I read your article on Hawaii. I was stationed at Tripler General Hospital in 1948-49, and I have never found a more perfeet place in the world. The climate is superb and the people are wonderful, intelligent and free of prejudice . . .
I urge every mainlander who has ever been there to write to his Senator and urge statehood and full rights for these Americans . . .
FRANCIS D. GOODMAN
Lawrence, Kans.
Sir:
I'll concede that Hawaii is a physically beautiful land. But the people are as two-faced as a gambler's quarter. They kiss the feet of the American tourist, scrounge for the Yankee dollar, and beg for statehood . . . The U.S. soldier, sailor or marine based here is treated with contempt ranging from scorn to open hostility. The native police trump up exaggerated charges against servicemen on liberty in Honolulu. The local "poolhallers" are adept in "rolling" any guy unlucky enough to be caught alone late at night there . . .
Any Senator who fights statehood for Hawaii tooth & nail gets plenty of votes from servicemen based here, I guarantee.
(CPL.) HARRY W. LYONS, U.S.M.C.
c/o Fleet P.O.
San Francisco
Eyes, But They See Not
Sir:
The "blindness" which British diplomats surfer, according to your excellent [Feb. 11] coverage of Anthony Eden, is a hereditary complaint handed down by Horatio Nelson, who failed to see a signal through placing his telescope to his blind eye.*
Plenty of signals are fluttering in the trade winds that blow gustily around the world today, and I think that it is because of necessity that diplomatic eyes go frequently "on the blink."
LAWRENCE PHILLIPS
Hove, Sussex, England
White Housing Problem
Sir:
. . . Part of your Feb. 18 article on the renovation of the White House [may give] the public the impression that our firm was responsible for the delay in the . . . reconstruction . . . Our firm has been in existence almost 70 years . . . We have erected some of the largest buildings in the country, and have rarely ever fallen behind on our progress schedule. The Pentagon was one example. This building cost in excess of $70 million and we erected [it] in 13 1/2 months . . .
[You say] that the completion date on the White House had been set for March 1951. At no time . . . was there any time set up for the completion prior to Dec. 15, 1951. During the course of construction . . . the architect [made] numerous changes and additions, all of which . . . delayed the building. It became apparent that these delays, for which we are in no way responsible, would [delay completion until] the early part of May 1952.
The President called a conference and explained how anxious he was to have the building completed by April 1. We have doubled our forces and worked overtime at our own expense, in an effort to realize this date ... It has cost our firm a small fortune for the privilege of doing this work . . .
JOHN MCSHAIN
President
John McShain, Inc.
Philadelphia
* Under heavy fire during the naval Battle of Copenhagen (1801), Nelson's commander in chief hoisted the signal to stop the fight. Nelson did not obey. Clapping his telescope to his blind eye, he said: "I have a right to be blind sometimes. I really do not see the signal." Nelson's tactic won the battle.
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