The Boss
Sir:
Jimmy Hoffa says if the labor bill passes, he will advertise the ones who voted for it. Let's hope he does. That will separate the men from the boys, the ones with guts and the ones too white-livered to face Hoffa and his racketeers. This will be good information to have next election time.
MRS. FERN JAQUAY
Hot Springs, Ark.
Sir:
If Senator John Kennedy, with all the power vested in him, cannot stop the hoodlumism in the arrogant Hoffa's Teamsters Union, then he should not even be considered for any higher office.
J. P. LORSCHEIDER Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Sir:
Thank God for Jack Kennedy, who has the intestinal fortitude to put honor and his country's good above his job. (And I am a Republican.) And thank God for Ike, who also knows the meaning of honor and who also has the courage to do what he thinks best for the country. It is paramount that the President and Congress--not labor bosses and union gangsters--run this country.
NELL E. VON DER HELLEN Eagle Pdint, Ore.
The Kangaroo Habit
Sir:
Thanks to you and CBS for presenting Captain Kangaroo [Aug. 3]. It is the only "children's" show my children will watch. The local shows for wee ones present old cartoons and adult commercials, and my children walk away. I would appreciate seeing Mr. Keeshan sans Captain costume.
MRS. THOMAS B. WILLIARD Columbus
< Sir:
I was one of the mothers who protested against the removal of this wonderful children's program. To my surprise, after looking at this show, I eventually made it a habit of sitting down with my youngster, and derived some entertainment each morning. RUTH FAIGES Newark
Sir:
So what makes you think only mothers demand Kangaroo Keeshan? I am a male adult, 32, and have been more "broken up" over this program than I was with Flash Gordon serials back in the '30s.
FRED W. MCDARRAH New York City
Anti-Zionist Rabbi
Sir:
As the wife of a rabbi, I want to congratulate you on your objective report of Rabbi Joel Teitelbaum's recent visit to Israel [Aug. 3]. You have shown fine insight into the character and beliefs of this movement.
It must be stressed that this fanatical group is not representative of authentic Judaism. To the contrary, their preachments and ways are in opposition to the basic tenets of Judaism.
MRS. BENJAMIN KREITMAN Brooklyn
Sir:
Your article on Rabbi Teitelbaum and the Hasidic community reeks of cynicism, pro-Israelism, snobbishness and disrespect. I do not necessarily agree with the rabbi or his religious beliefs, but I am glad to see someone raise his voice against the state of Israel. Before this time, anyone who criticized the state of Israel was thought to be antiSemitic. No one, obviously, can accuse Rabbi Teitelbaum of that fault.
JOHN TRYFOROS San Francisco
Sir:
On the furor over mixed swimming, Rabbi Teitelbaum may have heard the story (currently making the rounds in Jerusalem) of the Israeli sailors on shore leave in Portugal who were warmly greeted in a tavern by Portuguese seamen who remarked: "We have heard so many wonderful things about your new country, and we admire your great fight against the Arabs, but we see that you too are having trouble with the Jews!"
BERNARD SILVERSTEIN Paterson, N.J.
Nixon in Russia
Sir:
After the many pilgrimages to Moscow--we finally sent a Man--and he did a Man's job [Aug. 3]. I'm certain thinking Americans, along with Khrushchev, will not forget the real, red-blooded American.
RUSSELL J. GRUBB
Clayton, N.J.
Sir:
As long as we are going to give Mr. Khrushchev the red-carpet treatment, we might as well let him address a joint session of the House and Senate. Several million murdered Hungarians, Poles, Catholics and Jews will turn over in their graves, but I don't believe Mr. Nixon was counting on their votes anyway.
HOWARD V. LEE Hillsdale, N.J.
Sir:
Be it a vote-getting coup or not, if it is true that Nixon is responsible for laying the groundwork for the upcoming Eisenhower-Khrushchev exchange of visits, his junket must also be regarded as one of the most significant contributions to peace in a long time.
ROBERT J. BURNS Chicago
"Free Access"
Sir:
I must insist on a correction of the erroneous statements made by TIME about me in your Aug. 3 issue. For 30 years it has been my practice to answer my telephone personally. No "battle order" has ever been contemplated, much less issued. It has always been the case that any member of the entire Reynolds team has free access to the president at any time. Further, we believe that good tobacco is the only basis for good smoking and that good smoking has been man's best friend for hundreds of years. BOWMAN GRAY President
R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. Winston-Salem, N.C.
A Question of Conscience
Sir:
Bravo to Boston's Roman Catholic weekly, The Pilot, for its beautiful comeback to the questions asked by Methodist Bishop John Wesley Lord of Senator John Kennedy [Aug. 10]. It's about time that the Catholic press and laymen speak loudly in protest to these ridiculous inquisitions.
J. A. MULLE Rockford, Ill.
Sir:
One is to grant, with The Pilot, that many Protestant fears of a Roman Catholic President are "ridiculous." It is a little more difficult, however, to follow the Boston Catholic weekly in its "let's-all-have-a-good-laugh-and-forget-the-issues" approach.
The question which should be put to any potential candidate who may believe his religious position to be true for all men is: Do you give to any ethical norm such religious absoluteness that it would be impossible for you to defend the right of the individual to live in opposition to and to advocate the falsity of that ethical norm ?
Will you, Mr. Kennedy, be able to protect my right to sin?
FARLEY W. SNELL
New York City
The New Secretary
Sir:
Your Aug. 3 article on Acting Secretary of Commerce Frederick H. Mueller was a very interesting introduction. However, he did not pull out from the National Association of Manufacturers in disagreement over labor policies. He did resign from another organization [the National Association of Furniture Manufacturers] as he was not in accord with certain of its new policies.
ALBERT N. LEMAN Director of Information U.S. Department of Commerce Washington, D.C.
Up, Not Down
Sir:
Turn backward, backward, O TIME, in your Aug. 3 reporting on Phillips Petroleum Co. Their first-half per share earnings were up, not down, from $1.06 in 1958 to $1.55 for 1959.
JIM FITCHETTE Bartlesville, Okla.
Lord Jagannath
Sir:
Re your July 20 item on Lord Jagannath's annual festival in Puri: your readers might like a look at a copy of Jagannath.
Actually, the Nabakalebara Yatra (ancient ritual of changing the bodies of the god) can be performed every 20 years. But the interesting thing about it is that no one is allowed to see the sacred thing which forms the "soul," and surely anyone who touches it must die. The priest whose task it is to switch the soul from the old to the new body is chosen for his outstanding sanctity, but he never survives the ordeal. It is a fact that the Bhitarachha Mahapatra died immediately after this duty was last performed in 1950.
MARGUERITE RANDHAWA San Angelo, Texas
The Sleepy People
Sir:
After reading your fascinating Aug. 3 account of the sleepy people, we are frankly puzzled. You report concerning a 20-year-old young man who had "the not surprising habit of falling asleep in church . . ." Indeed, we are surprised. Even our babies don't fall asleep in church. They just cry.
(THE REV.) T. R. BAUDLER Secretary
Eureka Ministerial Association Eureka, S. Dak.
Sir:
Reading the article on the sleepy people, I remembered Joe, the fat boy,* in The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club by Charles Dickens. I always thought it a poor invention by the writer, but now I see that it is a classic description of narcolepsy.
ROBERT LENNEBERG, M.D. Rio de Janeiro
* Joe ("Damn that boy, he's asleep again") went on errands fast asleep, and snored as he waited at table.
This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.