Solan's Patriotism

Sir:

The Algerian war has brought out some of the least attractive free world characters: General Salan and Colonel Gardes, Colonel Leroy, Pierre Lagaillarde, and dozens of others. If I had the choice, I would rather be at the mercy of Nikita Khrushchev than that of Colonel Gardes or Pierre Lagaillarde. There must be many others who think the same way.

WILLIAM WALLACE LIGGETT Berkeley, Calif.

Sir:

The choice in Algeria is not between democracy and fascism, but rather between Western civilization and Communism. As in the case of the Spanish Civil War, the American press has been unable to realize this fact.

It is unfortunate that General de Gaulle, who would not yield to Naziism in World War II, has chosen to compromise with the Algerian Communist rebels. He has thus placed himself in the same class with Petain and the Vichy defeatists.

JAMES R. THOMPSON Princeton University Princeton, NJ.

Sir:

Salan is not a terrorist any more than Caroline Kennedy is. He is a man who believes with his soul that Algeria is a part of France. He knows that De Gaulle has be trayed his trust, and he is now against De Gaulle's idea of giving away this oil-rich area. Salan is an honorable, conscientious leader of men, and he has a cause based on justice and the dignity of man. Is this a terrorist?

As a member of an American group that has been sponsoring the S.A.O. and Salan, I too am not allowed to enter France while De Gaulle is in power, and I am an American citizen and a reserve officer in the Corps of Engineers.

LIEUT. COLONEL R. J. MANFRINI San Luis Obispo, Calif.

Sir:

It seems strange and slightly ridiculous that you should express special discomfort for the Congo's savagery in the same issue in which you have a certain "French Flower" asking whether it is Christian to torture one's enemies, and concluding that it is. I cannot muster any greater horror for the African style of madness than for that of Western culture. Plastic bombs seem to be better mutilators than do knives.

ROBERT C. BUCKLE Ithaca, N.Y.

Big John

Sir:

In your cover story on the new Speaker of the House of Representatives you state that I regard Mr. McCormack as "a hack politician."

I have never referred to Mr. McCormack as "a hack politician" and I have never considered him such. He has had a long and distinguished career in politics, and is recognized by all who know him as a highly skilled and accomplished legislator. Indeed, his unopposed election to the Speakership is testimony to the regard in which the House membership holds his abilities.

In the contest for Majority Floor Leader, I supported and worked for Dick Bolling, but a majority favored Carl Albert. When Mr. Bolling withdrew from the race and the new leadership was chosen, I immediately offered my full support as a "leadership man," which I have always been. On only one major legislative question--Federal Aid to Education--have Mr. McCormack and I taken opposite views in public and this was an honest difference of position.

FRANK THOMPSON JR. House of Representatives Washington

Sir:

Speaker McCormack sounds like a typical, mindless, party-hack Democrat with blind loyalty to party machinery, just like Harry Truman. It is fascinating to contemplate, isn't it, how different our situation might be if Truman's haberdashery shop in Kansas City hadn't folded, and if the Massachusetts legislature had been more prompt in passing the law requiring two years of high school for those admitted to the bar.

FRANK VANCE Bartlesville, Okla.

Sir:

Big John. He is, indeed, a big, big man. Such delights to the heart as this man possesses, loyalty, trust, gratitude, friendship, must be earned.

JOSEPH J. BURNS Haddonfield, NJ.

Sir:

You say there have been 45 Speakers of the House, including McCormack.

The World Almanac lists only 43 names, not including McCormack.

Who is missing, and is this the man who was in office for only one day?

DAVID L. HELLER JR. Summit, N.J.

> The Almanac does not count Speaker Theodore M. Pomeroy, who served for one day -- May 3, 1869. His predecessor, Schuyler Colfax, resigned the Speakership that day in order to take the oath of office as Grant's Vice President. The House needed a Speaker for the final day of that lame-duck session and elected Pomeroy.--ED.

The Food Is Swell

Sir:

The "Cosmos Commotion" [Jan. 19] is a good statement except for reference to the food served at the club--which is altogether unfair and uncalled for.

I have been a member of the Cosmos Club for 43 years and have always considered the fare there the best buy in Washington for the price.

ROYAL S. KELLOGG Palmetto, Fla.

Sir:

It seems unbelievable that such astute and high-placed gentlemen as Galbraith, Kennedy, Lodge and Catton would join a club without knowing its principles and policies.

The current flap over the sudden awakening of these men to the un-American nature of their clubs seems to smack more of the old grandstand play than of any enlightenment.

WM. W. JENNEY Long Beach, Calif.

Sir:

Every private club in the U.S. has the right to accept or reject an applicant for membership. No membership committee needs to explain or apologize for its decisions.

Any man with a modicum of decency and dignity would not care to be taken into a club where he was not wanted. The reason why he was unacceptable is entirely beside the point. This is still, to a diminishing degree, a free country where one can choose one's friends and associates. Let us keep it that way as long as we can.

PAUL A. H. DE MACARTE Tolland, Conn.

Beware Feb. 3

Sir:

I think you will find that India is not the only place concerned with the coming conjunction of the planets [Jan. 19]. Everyone interested in the science of astrology knows the power behind this configuration.

It is true that there has been similar planetary action before all major wars, but it can also mean the start of a new age--an explosion of ideas as well as upheavals caused by man or nature. At any rate, it should prove internally significant to every human being alive.

We would all do well to pray.

IDELL TARLOW Hollywood

Sir:

Your Religion editor writes, "Just outside New Delhi, in low bamboo enclosures paved with dried cow dung, 400 Hindu pundits and priests have gathered." Dried cow dung-- indeed. A thin solution of cow dung and water is patted on the ground to produce a hard greyish surface which is then artistically decorated with various colored pigments. The result is a sweet-smelling, smooth layer that holds up under normal traffic for many days. Since the worshipers remove their sandals, the floor of the enclosure is far cleaner than the floor of the average department store one hour after opening.

TROY ORGAN Athens, Ohio

Ambassadors Abroad

Sir:

I read with particular interest the article about our new ambassadors [Jan. 12]. Ed Reischauer was a contemporary of mine at Oberlin. His older brother Bob was a classmate and close friend of mine. It was tragic and ironic that Bob was killed by a Japanese bomb dropped on a Shanghai hotel in 1937, since Bob grew up in Japan.

Louis S. PEIRCE Cleveland

> It was a Chinese bomb that killed Robert Reischauer. He was on a study tour of China, leading a group of students, when war with Japan broke out. While he was registering at the Cathay Hotel in Shanghai, a Chinese aerial bomb aimed at Japanese warships in the river landed outside the hotel.--ED.

Doolie Days

Sir:

Re "Better Days for Doolies" [Jan. 19]: the situation demands scrutinization. Is it possible that the better days exemplify a loss of sight of objectives?

The foremost objective of a service academy is to produce fighting leaders of fighting men. While agreeing that well-educated officers are indeed necessary, it is nonetheless expedient to have officers who are able to endure punishment, who can think quickly and efficiently and make correct decisions under any circumstances.

A recent example of the easy way producing the wrong answer is in Francis Powers' illustration of patriotic behavior with his Russian captors, a point of shame with most Americans. A man does not learn how to behave under fire without practice.

WALTER J. BREEDE III Midshipman U.S. Naval Academy Annapolis

Sir:

Yes, I guess it is about time for the Air Force plebes to fall out. I never really felt that sort of thing would last too long there.

The Air Force cadets I have met have all seemed to be too engrossed with the "far, far above that of West Point and Annapolis" spiel to remember one fact--performance comes first, then the aloofness. In the face of mounting world tension one fact will again be borne out; it is guts not psychology that make men.

JOHN E. PARKER Cadet U.S. Military Academy West Point, N.Y.

Frankie in the Shower

Sir:

Since Mr. Sinatra's neighbors [Jan. 19] can hear him when he spits, they must also be able to hear him sing in his shower. For that privilege, I would gladly put up with helicopters taking off at all hours of the night.

(MRS.) HILARY H. BROWN Montgomery

Take a Deep Breath

Sir:

In the Jan. 19 issue, the Press section, you printed the name of a New Zealand village called: Taumatawhakatangihangakoauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhen uakitanatahu. Could you please tell us where the accent goes?

OTILIJA UZGIRIS

JEAN BORCHARDT University of Illinois Champaign, Ill.

> The Maoris are most careful to give every vowel and each syllable full and equal value, with a touch of Boston broadness. In the word under discussion, one takes a deep breath and says "tau" (as in cow), "martar," and then goes on from there, ending up with "tarhoo." For non-Maoris, the English translation is easier: "Hill Where the Great Husband of Heaven, Tane, Caused Plaintive Music from His Flute to Ascend to His Beloved."--ED.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.