Ambition in Illinois

Sir: Chuck Percy's critics in Illinois [Sept. 18] accuse him of being too farsighted, with both eyes fixed on the White House; they say his vision of the Illinois gubernatorial seat is blurred. It seems clear to me that one good "term" deserves another. I'd be only too happy to give Chuck Percy to the nation after four (or perhaps eight) productive years as Governor of Illinois.

JANICE LADD

Elmhurst, Ill.

Sir: To many people in Illinois, Percy has become the leader of the "undecideds." He has neither supported nor abandoned Goldwaterism. He won the Illinois primary because he would not support Goldwater; yet when traditional Republicans were in need of a leader to defeat Goldwater prior to San Francisco, Chuck Percy wrote his own epitaph. Had Percy stood up and been counted, he would have lived long after his forthcoming November defeat.

MELVIN C. RICHARDS JR.

Riverside, Ill.

Sir: Your story on our Chuck Percy was excellent. To me, it really doesn't matter whether Senator Goldwater wins or loses in November, or whether Chuck supports him or not. I am confident Percy will win in November regardless of his feelings for Barry. I have a feeling I will be voting for him again in 1968, but for a different job.

GERALD J. MARCHESE

Elmhurst, Ill.

Sir: A rap on the masthead to you for editorializing the arrogant, unctuous Charles Percy into the virtuous hopeful of Republican politics. Knowledgeable Illinois voters have long noted Opportunist Percy's aggressive ambitions to be exceeded only by his unlimited ability to accommodate. Down with the "gentlemanly C"; for a man of proven principle and probity, I subscribe to Oxford Scholar Otto Kerner.

(MRS.) FRANCES M. BORST

Homewood, Ill.

Sir: That was a -- of an interesting story about that wonderful -.-.-., Charles Percy. I'm so glad that one politician doesn't swear, but I'll be if I think that he would appeal to people like me.

THOMAS ROSE

Durham, N.C.

Sir: I was present at a Bell & Howell foremen's meeting in the late 1950s at which Chuck Percy spelled out employee racial integration in vigorous terms (and over a few dead bodies). My family and I benefited substantially from the comprehensive employee medical coverage that this Christian Scientist fostered. His success in meeting low-cost foreign competition with quality amateur movie equipment--while paying factory help scale or better--was a milestone in U.S. business. His performance prior to and during this year's convention may well have seemed vacillating, but he has to win the Illinois governorship against big odds. His crushing of the West Side bloc took guts and know-how in very tough company.

This is an honest, knowledgeable guy. I don't think he's St. George, since I know firsthand he's a human being with some human weaknesses. But his political success in 1964 is needed urgently by Illinois, the party and the nation.

WHIT HILLYER Evanston, Ill.

Campaign Issues

Sir: I cannot agree with you that this campaign "may shape up not so much as a collision between sharply conflicting philosophies as between sharply conflicting personalities" [Sept. 11]. The personalities are conflicting, true. But never in all the campaigns I have witnessed, since my first vote for Teddy Roosevelt in 1904, have I seen such totally contrasting political philosophies as in this one. One is a retrogressive, 19th century philosophy of radical reaction, the other an enlightened, 20th century philosophy of progress, realism, and concern for human welfare. With such a choice before the electorate, I do not believe personalities will have much influence in the decision.

PERCY R. DAVIS

Fallbrook, Calif.

Sir: When our nation is afflicted with the most morally decadent Administration in its history, the weakest foreign policy, and the most socialistic measures at home, TIME makes an issue about missing issues. Ha!

PHILIP C. GEHLHAR

El Segundo, Calif.

Lovable Accuracy

Sir: Please do not apply "cropper" when a poll was "proper" [Sept. 18]. After all, Opinion Research of California predicted my election, and I love that kind of accuracy.

PIERRE SALINGER U.S. Senator

Los Angeles

The Supreme Court

Sir: The court has done nothing to "promulgate degeneracy" or otherwise undermine civil morality [Sept. 11]. The decisions simply allow Americans the privilege of a difference in moral outlook. The phrase "under God" does not stand for religious-moral absolutism.

ALAN W. RICKHEIT

Worcester, Mass.

Sir: I am stunned--not by the decision of our Supreme Court but by the criticism by highly respected clergymen. If the clergymen are so critical of the modern words used in Tropic of Cancer, then let them be courageous enough to explain some of the words in the Old Testament. Like millions of Americans, I have full faith in the Supreme Court of the U.S.

JIT SINGH

Stockton, Calif.

Sir: The clergymen are right. So many good, honest, God-directed causes have been wrecked by that tribunal in recent years that there remains only one answer: a series of amendments to the Constitution that will stop this court from pampering known criminals and Communists, contributing to the moral decline of the West, and exposing us all to the wrath of God.

ROBERT W. COOPER

Leacock, Pa.

Sir: The Dirksen rider [Sept. 18] is a more arrogant attack on the right of the court to interpret the Constitution than Roosevelt's court-packing plan. It defies the separation of powers. It does not attempt to steal a few thousand votes but to dilute millions of votes forever.

SHERMAN S. HOLLANDER

Cleveland

Reuther's Settlement

Sir: An increasing number of low-and medium-income families (who could never hope to retire so lavishly) are going to have second thoughts about buying a new car in which they contribute handsomely to auto workers' benefits [Sept. 18]. Such fantastic demands were not made on the auto manufacturers; they were aimed squarely at the car-buying public, and may well be the needle to prick the economic balloon L.B.J. is flying.

F. W. ANDERSON

Seattle

Sir: If I buy a car this year, it will be a Chrysler product. At least I will know that part of the profit made by the company will go to the man who earns and deserves it: the American worker.

EDMOND H. P. FILLIETTE

Thornwood, N.Y.

Soul of Tokyo

Sir: Having been born in Japan and raised in America, I have never thought much about returning to Japan. But your colorful article about my native country [Sept. 11] convinced me that I should.

CHRIS K. FUJIMOTO

Oakland, Calif.

Sir: As a gaijin living in Tokyo for the past two years, I think your article and photos catch the sound and the fury of the world's largest city. But for all its ugliness in the day, the hankagai, such as the Ginza and Shinjuku, have a unique neon glitter and bustle at night that make Tokyo as beautiful and as exciting as any place in the world.

JAMES R. MALIAN Tokyo

Sir: The first day my Scotch wife and I were in Tokyo, we queued up for a taxi during a rainstorm. When one finally did arrive, instead of the first Japanese in line stepping into the cab, everyone turned to us, stranger-guests, and insisted that we take the cab! During the middle of my assignment in Japan, I received a directive: "Please do not accept any more speaking invitations or factory-tour invitations; we are very much concerned about your health." This was the first time in 35 working years that any employer had ever told me to slow down because I was killing myself!

HAROLD NISSLEY

Cleveland Heights, Ohio

Sir: The charm, intelligence and serenity of Tokyo's people, their constant efforts to please visitors, and their appreciation of beautiful things are the real Tokyo. I saw those "orange-helmeted" streetworkers, after finishing their hard tasks, standing in front of store windows, enchanted by the beauty of a pearl, a piece of sculpture or a painting. I have seen the capitals of many a country on several continents--Tokyo alone has a soul in its cement body.

ALICE A. LEEDS, M.D.

Bethesda, Md.

Becoming Leavetaking

Sir: In the review of C. V. Wedgwood's A Coffin for King Charles [Sept. 4], you imply that Shakespeare's line, "Nothing in his life became him like the leaving it," is said about Duncan. The reference is rather to the traitorous Thane of Cawdor, whose title Macbeth inherited, setting him off on his bloody path to the crown.

JOSEPH WILEY Chicago

Bauer's Ballplayers

Sir: I don't know one damn thing about baseball, but your write-up on Manager Bauer of the Baltimore Orioles [Sept. 11] is a classic.

A. N. BAKER Georgetown

British Guiana

Sir: You implied that the Yankees were responsible for discovering Babe Ruth. As a child record-book memorizer, I feel compelled to remind you that the Boston Red Sox purchased Ruth from the Baltimore club of the International League after the 1917 season. The Yankees purchased Ruth from the Red Sox in 1920 for the then fantastic price of $125,000.

RONALD L. FUTTERMAN

Chicago

Sir: As a boy in my home town of Quincy, Ill., my friends and I used to duck by the gatekeepers at Q Stadium just for a chance to see Hank Bauer play. He always played like he was in a World Series even though the poor last-place Quincy Gems were usually losing by about 10 runs.

JAMES L. BAILING

Glen Ellyn, Ill.

Sir: We longtime admirers of Hank Bauer were surprised to note that your artist, Boris Chaliapin, used a somewhat out-of-date glove in his illustration. The three-finger style glove was last used about 1959, when it gave way to what was popularly called "the six-finger" glove. Oddly enough, our Hank Bauer model of the 1950s was a three-finger glove.

RALPH L. HORTON

Rawlings Sporting Goods Co.

St. Louis

> Artist Chaliapin, a logical man, noted that the bird has only four claws (one thumblike) and outfitted him accordingly (see cut).--ED.

A Scientist for Liberal Arts

Sir: Your article on the late Robert E. Wilson [Sept. 11] was a perceptive, just accounting of a distinguished career. However, Dr. Wilson would have noted one omission: his devotion to the College of Wooster (Ohio), where he took his undergraduate work, and which he served enthusiastically as chairman of its board of trustees. We at M.I.T. who were proud of his staunch support of this institution, admired his devotion to Wooster and his belief in the importance of the small liberal arts college.

J. R. KILLIAN JR.

Chairman of the Corporation Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Cambridge, Mass.

Love & Wonder

Sir: Whether or not it is protocol for a producer to write kind words to a reviewer, I find it impossible not to comment on what you had to say about Rhino! What most producers look for in a review is a critic's discovery of the one element that serves as the producer's raison d'etre. You discovered it and commented. I refer to the line, "The animals themselves are examined with wonder and with love."

IVAN TORS

M-G-M Studios

Culver City, Calif.

Send a Male!

Sir: I think your readers might be interested to know that your story about me [Sept. 18] was researched by a woman. The next time you want to inquire into my sexuality, please send a male reporter. Ho-hum, your "Housewife in Houriland" must stop now, take off her transparent gown and diamonds, and get back to those dirty caviar dishes! Love and kisses.

CARROLL BAKER

Hollywood

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