The Men Who

Sir:

Your Aug. 6 article, "Childe Harold's Pilgrimage," sounds as if it had been written by Styles Bridges and approved by William Jenner and Joseph McCarthy. TIME, it seems, would rather have a candidate already selected before the convention, thereby ignoring the vast selection of numerous other hopefuls who in my opinion would be at least 10% stronger politically than the present Vice President. If not Chris Herter, why not Governor Craig of Indiana?

LAWRENCE FEINSTEIN

Newton Centre, Mass.

Sir:

Mr. Stassen may not hope to really achieve much except give Mr. Nixon a few uneasy moments and perhaps the Republican Party a bit of trouble. Everybody knows that Stassen is interested only in one man in the universe and that fellow is Harold Stassen himself. No doubt he had his eye on the very job that Nixon landed in 1952.

FRANCES TAYLOR

Lincoln, Neb.

Sir:

Could it be that Richard M. Nixon is just too whole-souled, forthright and outspoken a Republican to suit all these internationalists, whether Republican, Democratic or Communist? In all the furor whipped up by the egregious Stassen, I have heard nothing worse charged against him.

LAMBERT FAIRCHILD

New York City

Sir:

Why two full columns in your Aug. 6 issue of blather about Dems and Catholics and the prospects of combination of them to "help muffle the issue"? The issue in 1952 was Korea and the Dems' sad handling of that situation. If "softness toward Communism" can be construed to mean softheadedness toward Korea, your speculation on the chances of a Roman Catholic Veep helping the Dems win in '56 could be justified only if Father Rigney were a candidate. With Red Chinese ranging in Burma, hardy Tibetans battling Mao's tanks with muskets, and a powder-keg "peace" in Korea, I doubt if even a Catholic nudist with the stature of Diana Dors or the popularity of Elvis Presley could do much effective "muffling."

LEONARD STEWART

Houston

Let Reader Stewart keep his credits straight. The "speculation on the chances of a Roman Catholic Veep," reported by TIME, is the work of Democratic politicos.--ED.

Sir:

Your article was enlightening, but regardless of statistics, polls and all the rest, the fact remains that to elect a Roman Catholic President of the United States would be the same as placing the Government under foreign controls.

STEWART SCHWARTZ

University City, Mo.

All Yare

Sir:

In regard to your July 30 People item on "yare-proportioned" Miss Universe: Which of the three meanings of this archaic word are you using? 1) ready; 2) eager, active; 3) easily worked, manageable?

GRACE R. PREMO

Santa Monica, Calif.

P: Let Reader Premo make her own choice.--ED.

Fool's Mate at Suez?

Sir:

In view of the action taken by Nasser, which seems almost inevitable in retrospect, you really put your foot in your mouth with the July 30 article in which you heap praise on Mr. Dulles' action in matters of the Aswan Dam. The "instinctive Tightness" of Mr. Dulles' decisive gambit put the U.S. and its allies in a checkmate in the Near East, and the consequences are not far from a decisive disaster indeed.

HEINZ WERNER PUPPE

Los Angeles

Sir:

International law or comity, or what have you, Nasser has made fools of the U.S., Britain, France and the West. U.S. Middle East policy is moribund, delinquent, and outdated.

J. ASHTON GREENE

New Orleans

Sir:

Mr. Dulles has at last taken the wind from the sail of Mr. Nasser of Egypt. I hope he will do the same for Tito and Nehru.

W. P. WILKENS

Dravosburg, Pa.

Sir:

Bravo, Foster Dulles--grand master in political chess. This time you came from behind to show this pocket-size Hitler, called Nasser, that he is only a bungler and not a gambler. Now he sits there, where he started to be a nuisance of the world.

MARCUS D. BILDER

Rio de Janeiro

Death of a Liner

Sir:

Your very thorough Aug. 6 coverage of the sinking of the Andrea Doria brings together many fractional accounts from the newspapers. However, it seems to me that TIME Artist R. M. Chapin Jr. needs a little more nautical training, for in the chart he shows the starboard gash but puts it on the port side of the vessel.

CROOM BEATTY III

Birmingham, Ala.

P: Artist Chapin, no landlubber, undertook a sectional view (to show compartmentation), intended that readers would look through to gash on the far (starboard) side. Not all did.--ED.

The Puzzling Pandit

Sir:

After reading your July 30 cover story on Mr. Nehru, no one can remain unconvinced that, despite wishful belief to the contrary, he is the man to strengthen Communism in India and in some of the other Far Eastern countries--either wittingly or unwittingly. By his sheepish policy towards Russia and China, he has become Communism's No. 1 propagandist.

J. HUSSEIN

Mombasa, Kenya

Sir:

Your cover story was a well-presented semi-biography of a present-day frustrated yet determined Asian. Nehru is characteristic of the insatiable yet unrealizable urge among contemporary Asian leaders to belittle and denounce everything Western in a vain endeavor to exert their new freedom and prove their capabilities.

ALEXANDRA KENNEDY

Philadelphia

Sir:

TIME's yapping, griping, sniping, one-sided feud with Jawaharlal Nehru surely must set some kind of spite record.

SCOFIELD ISAACS

New York City

Sir:

Your characterization of Prime Minister Nehru of India is hewing close to facts. With certain clarifications of his own point of view added, he might be the first one to congratulate you for showing up his good as well as bad points. He is that kind of man.

J. R. BUCHWALD

Minneapolis

See Naples & Burn

Sir:

It is hot in Naples. But the temperature rose even higher when your July 30 issue hit the NATO Southern Europe newsstands here. I am more than angry, I am appalled! We in NATO at Naples feel that we have played and are playing a part in this achievement; service here may be pleasant, although it is far from the paradise you picture it in "Join the Navy & See Naples."

(S/SGT.) JAMES E. JARVIS, U.S.A.F.

% Postmaster

New York City

Sir:

I have just returned from 18 months duty overseas, and Naples is not the only place in Europe where service people "take in each other's washing." Your report enlightens the public on a small part of the biggest hoax ever played on the American taxpayer.

LEONARD I. WERFEL

Newark, N.J.

Sir:

It was with considerable shock I read "Join the Navy & See Naples." It is at best a malicious and distorted representation of the situation.

J. P. AYMOND

Commander, U.S. Navy

Naples, Italy

Sir:

The article elaborating the Navy's wanton and insane waste in Naples should provide them with another abbreviation: GOAT--Grafting Off American Taxpayers.

J. T. CRAYCROFT

Dallas

How It All Began

Sir:

In your July 16 review of The King and I, you say it is the fourth version of "the dependable plot" that began in 1944 with Margaret Landon's best-selling novel, Anna and the King of Siam. It is in fact the fifth version. Has everyone forgotten that Anna Leonowens was a real person, and that it all began in 1870 with the publication of her book, The English Governess at the Siamese Court? Miss Landon's book was a paraphrase and modernization of this Victorian treasure. Mrs. Leonowens not only taught the heir apparent English, but a sense of justice, so that it was in his reign that slavery in Siam was abolished.

ROSALIND CONSTABLE

New York City

P: For the real Anna, see cut.--ED.

The Trial of the Corps

Sir:

After reading your accounts of the trial of Sergeant McKeon, tears came to my eyes for the USMC and how absolutely vital it is that they continue to endow grown-up goons with the power of life or death. Let's not get carried away with ourselves--the issue is fundamental: discipline without brutality.

W. W. WALKEFIELD

Minot, N. Dak.

Sir:

You said, "In a larger sense, it was the trial of the Marine Corps and the training methods by which it has turned generations of soft, shambling boys into hard, disciplined fighting men." If a judgment is to be made of the U.S. Marines in the name of justice, please let us not make it on the basis of a tragic incident; let the Corps and the training be judged by their conduct at Iwo, Okinawa, and more recently in Korea. God bless the Marines and their hellish training.

(SGT.) LEO ALVARES

USMC (Ret.)

Hackensack, N.J.

Sir:

I say, along with almost every marine I know: continue the practice--and don't force upon our Corps any significant change in the training of our boots. If you do, the price you'll pay will be a nation measurably weaker.

S. W. BARTLETT

Lieutenant, U.S.M.C.R.

San Francisco

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