LETTERS
The Color of Imperialism
Sir:
China wants to sit on the Roof of the World and in the process, she has only to hurt her "friend," India. Has not Mao Tse-tung stated that the present aggression is only one of the many episodes in the long "friendship" between China and India?
India has for long remained a convenient "friend" for China to enact her episodes upon; and still, ironically enough, it is India's tragic pair, Nehru and Menon, who would readily shield China's attitude that yellow imperialism must replace white imperialism in Asia.
S. NADARAJA Pahang, Malaya
Sir:
How can an intelligent man like India's Nehru fail to realize that Gandhi's doctrine of passive resistance could work wonders against an England with a conscience and yet_ fail disastrously against a Communist China which has no conscience?
But perhaps Mr. Nehru does realize all too well. Perhaps he regards the situation as hopeless because his cherished neutrality has put him in a lonely and unenviable position.
JOY E. BRAND Austin, Texas
Sir:
I just want to remark that Nehru is either too stubborn or a fool.
J. F. FLEMMING
Curasao, N.A.
True Blue Stu
Sir:
Congratulations. Your Nov. 9 cover story on Senator Stuart Symington was the most masterful exercise in subtle poisoning since the Borgias went legit. A truly fascinating blend of lux, veritas and hogwash.
ROBERT A. KIERSTEAD Newark, N.J.
Sir:
Re your cover portrait: even if we still can't put any of our hardware on the moon, we may yet have a chance to strike a telling blow for democracy with the world's first green-haired President.
JOHN ABBOTT Hayward, Calif.
Sir:
This country thrives on slogans. If we are going to get Stuart Symington nominated and elected, we will need a series of corny slogans to attract the attention of the casual voter. Slogans such as:
"True Blue Stu
Is the man for you!"
ROBERT W. WONDREE Columbus, Ind.
Hunkering Around the World
Sir:
Hunkering as practiced by the University of Arkansas students [Nov. 9] brought memories of childhood days in Yorkshire, England, just before the turn of the century. Hunkering was the usual posture of the miners employed in a nearby colliery when, on a summer evening, they gathered in a ring to talk local politics or discuss the merits of their respective whippets.
C. FRANKLIN ROTHERA Wollaston, Mass.
Sir:
These men are laborers used by the U.S. armed forces for minor construction work in 1945 on the island of Tinian. Most of them were of Korean descent, transported to the Marianas for use in the sugar-cane fields. I admired their ability to squat all day while shaping the coral for the dwarf wall they were building. Even during their rest period they would hunker, sophisticated style.
HENRY H. ROTHMAN New York City
Sir:
TIME is quite safe in saying that "hunkerin' is not likely to be confined to Arkansas." Anyone who has ever visited a Tokyo railway station has seen hunkerers, squatting as their ancestors have done for centuries.
GEORGE W. WALSH JR. Fresh Meadows, N.Y.
Sir:
Those Arkansas Ozark daddies didn't invent hunkering. The yogi did, centuries ago. They refer to the posture as utkea sana.
MRS. TRENT SMITH Columbus, Ohio
New Mayor in Salt Lake
Sir:
You rather goofed, but the news is good news all the same. J. Bracken Lee was six times mayor of Price, Utah [pop. 6,000] and not Salt Lake City, as reported in issue of Nov. 16.
I welcome the fearless "Brack" as new mayor of Salt Lake City and know that my native city will be more lively during his regime. In fact it might not be a bad place to live again.
JAMES O. DEAN
San Francisco
P:TIME rather did goof.--ED.
The PX Affair
Sir:
I have just read your Nov. 9 article on the PX situation here in Seoul, Korea. This is an aspect of overseas operations that should be brought regularly to the attention of the American public.
The most regrettable part of this recent episode is that a strong decision taken by American authorities was reversed. Such a reversal weakens the basic position of the U.S. in its relation with this country.
The PX in Seoul still presents a problem awaiting solution.
MRS. C. E. GILLILAND JR. Seoul, Korea
Sir:
I've spent two years in the Philippines, where the black-marketing is really something. And what does the U.S. do to stop it? Nothing--it would be bad base relations.
If the taxpayers knew what is going on overseas, they'd refuse to pay taxes.
R. EASTERWOOD National City, Calif.
Governor Lawrence's Stand
Sir:
The Oct. 26 issue of TIME has been called to my attention, in which it is stated: ''The Democratic leaders of the big key states are still unimpressed, and some, notably Pennsylvania's Governor Dave Lawrence, are against the [Senator] Kennedy [presidential] candidacy."
At no time have I made such an assertion, and it is not true.
On the contrary, our feeling in Pennsylvania is that there are numerable outstanding men who will make excellent candidates for the Democratic nomination and fine Presidents. At no time, either in my thinking or in my statements, have I eliminated any of the potential Democratic nominees, and I do not do so now.
DAVID L. LAWRENCE
Governor Harrisburg, Pa.
"Substantially Unchanged"
Sir:
In your report on defense in the Nov. 9 issue, reference was made to "the phasing out of the F-105." To the best of my knowledge, this information was not exact. The 1960 fiscal budget does call for a reduction of the monthly rate, but the overall number of aircraft to be produced in present U.S.A.F. programing is, we have been told, substantially unchanged. Further, no money has been appropriated beyond fiscal 1960 for any military products. We are of the firm opinion, based on the best knowledge available, that the Air Force is programing the F-105 through fiscal year 1961 and beyond.
KEN ELLINGTON Vice President Republic Aviation Corp. Farmingdale, N.Y.
Open Door
Sir:
Re "Open Door in Psychiatry" [which told of removing locks from mental-hospital doors as an aid to restoring patients' health --Nov. 16], may I congratulate you on a fine article. As the son of Herman B. Snow, director at New York's St. Lawrence State Hospital, I am always glad to see my father recognized for the tremendous work he is doing in helping the mentally ill.
DAVID SNOW
Syracuse
Those Quiz Shows
Sir:
Let us hope that the sordid revelations of Mr. C. Van Doren [Nov. 16] will sharpen the understanding of the public to the cosmic menace of our having placed such powerful media of communication as radio and television in the hands of the hucksters.
RICHARD T. GORE Berlin-Dahlem, Germany
Sir:
How does NBC think it can right the nauseating mess by firing Charles Van Doren? It seems to me that he and all the others who succumbed to the tricky wooing of NBC and its sponsors were used as tools in the accomplishment of the latter's selfish goals. The top brass should fire themselves. Are we to believe the pap that they did not know what was going on? If they didn't, that is as bad.
MR. & MRS. EDWARD B. ROWAN JR. San Diego
Apologia
Sir:
My beloved P. T. Barnum biography, The Fabulous Showman, so diligently pursued and painstakingly written, has been slightly manhandled in your issue of Nov. 16, and I must come to its defense.
Your reviewer stated that the writing is "spotty" because I used the following two sentences: "Unashamedly, he wept. And then came the dawn." Since this was undertaken as a serious fun book, and I penned the phrase "And then came the dawn" with tongue in cheek and deliberate awareness of its longevity, I was dismayed at your reviewer's lack of respect for the venerable and the aged.
What troubles me is this: I am in the very midst of a new biography entitled The Twenty-Seventh Wife. In it, I find, I have used that honored Victorian phrase--"It would be best to draw a veil over the subject." But now, suddenly, I am uneasy. I write as I please, as do most authors of books. Yet, if this lovely cliche, like the one in Barnum, will bring the wrath of TIME down upon me--I may reconsider, and write as you please.
Advise me. Should I remove the honored Victorian phrase from the new book before publication? I would prefer your answer be multiple choice: a) Yes, yes, yes; b) No, how very clever; c) Well, perhaps we'd better kick it around; d) Let's just draw a veil over the subject.
Until I have word from you, my pen is stilled.
IRVING WALLACE
Los Angeles
P:Answer: (d).--ED.
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