The War in Asia

Sir: May I congratulate you on a comprehensive, well-balanced cover story on the India-Pakistan war [Sept. 17]. India maintains that the 1947 invasion of Kashmir by tribesmen from Pakistan's northwest frontier was the initial provocation, but you correctly state that a revolt was already in progress in the disputed state Filming for the MARCH OF TIME in India then, I was told of this by the man who led the revolt, Sardar Ibrahim, Prime Minister of Free Kashmir.

PETER HOPKINSON London

Sir: I congratulate you on your Kashmir reporting. You have been bold enough to point out the real situation. India should have been pressed by the U.N. to honor her plebiscite pledge. Was Pakistan not formed of areas where Muslims were in the majority? How can India consider Kashmir an integral part of India?

ZEBUN N. ISLAM Providence

Sir: We Pakistanis supported the U.S. against Russia. We treated you as our best friend. What return did we receive? A paltry amount of aid and a knife in our back in time of need. Fine show; keep it up. But remember that our leader is Ayub Khan, a Pakistani who is not afraid of any big power. Ayub Khan Zindabad!

A. A. MIRZA Karachi, Pakistan

Sir: Sensitive Indians and Pakistanis are profoundly disturbed over this senseless war. The similarities between the countries--a mutual history, a once-common geography, and the hope of a common defense--are far greater than the differences A voluntary peace corps of Indians and Pakistanis should be formed to help the U.N. restore peace. Such a corps could help create among young people of both countries a consciousness of the desperate need to live together as friends.

K. BHASKARA RAO New York City

Struggle on the Farm

Sir: More power to the Farm Bureau's Charles Shuman [Sept. 3] and his plans to take government out of farming. If he can do it, then peace, balanced budgets, and freedom from disease and death cannot be distant.

BURTON B. JERREL Des Moines

Sir: If Mr. Shuman would stop trying to run the Government and would instead run the Farm Bureau, his members wouldn't need subsidies.

(MRS.) GERTRUDE MARTINEZ Wellington, Colo.

Sir: Your honest appraisal of the farm mess and Shuman's efforts to untangle it was a breath of fresh air. We farmers who support the Farm Bureau are tired of being blamed for perpetuating government programs we are fighting to end. RICHARD GUTHRIE Dublin, Va.

Highway Constructiveness

Sir: Your Essay, "Ode to the Road" [Sept. 10], was most refreshing. We in the traffic engineering field are plagued by the prophets who contend that despite tremendous improvement in highway design and traffic control, we are destined to prolonged congestion. These prophets conclude that a gain of 6,000,000 vehicles per year in the U.S. is too much to absorb. This is ridiculous, but it takes little to convince a disgruntled motorist that such prognostications are valid. Traffic is being handled more efficiently now than ever before, and this situation will continue to improve. Your constructive piece should alleviate many misapprehensions.

BERNARD C. HARTUNG Executive Secretary Institute of Traffic Engineers Washington, B.C.

Threatened Beauty

Sir: Thank you for the space devoted to conservation and the preservation of the natural beauty of this country [Sept. 17]. The facts you present are shocking, but it is thrilling to see them brought info sharp and sparkling focus on the pages of your challenging magazine.

PAUL W. COLBURN

Director

Tucker Bird Sanctuary Orange, Calif.

Labor & Management

Sir: To this rank-and-file union member, your Essay on union labor [Sept. 17] missed the boat. Neither militancy nor affluence is the significant feature of union labor today. It is power and solidarity on a national scale as reflected in the A.F.L.-C.I.O. leadership that counts. This power and solidarity is neither capitalistic nor capitalism. It is an effective counterbalance to the power of big business and big government. As long as it stays independent, it will serve the nation's interests.

DEMETRIUS SAKELLARIOS Grimstead, Va.

Sir: It is questionable whether persuasiveness, pressure or whatever name one gives the President's role in the steel negotiations [Sept. 10] should be referred to as "winning the biggest victory of all." Said Benjamin Franklin: "Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."

CHARLES T. RUSSELL Damascus, Pa.

Gold Supply

Sir: Congratulations on your objective coverage of the world's monetary problems [Sept. 10]. In recent years the volume of trade has outstripped the production of gold. The question arises whether there will be enough gold in the future to supply reserves for credit expansion.

DAVID STEM Fairfield, Iowa

Sir: Why worry about the outflow of gold caused by French intransigence? France owes us some $6 billion in World War I debts, some $588 million from World War II. All we have to do is default on payment in gold to France till its debts are paid.

C. T. DAVIS Pasadena, Calif.

Tears or Death

Sir: One of the most unpleasant aspects of my training as a marine was the "gas chamber," in which marines learn what to do if attacked with gas of the kind used by Colonel Utter in Viet Nam [Sept. 17]. I would sooner be gassed than lose an arm or my life. If by using tear gas we can spare lives, then I say "Congratulations, Colonel Utter."

(SGT.) RICHARD A. BARR U.S.M.C. New Rochelle, N.Y.

Church & State

Sir: You make the incredible statement [Sept. 3] that "the U.S. came to accept the right and duty of the churches to influence legislation when a moral issue was involved." Who or what bestowed this duty? The Founding Fathers? The U.S. Constitution? That Constitution is a civil document dealing with the legal, not the moral, rights and duties by which citizens shall be governed in their relationship with one another. The builder of our Grandiose Society is tearing down the constitutional separation of church and state.

FRANCES C. MCCONNELL Palo Alto, Calif.

Sir: You are to be applauded for your comment on church and state, particularly for your reference to the church's "desire to say and do something relevant about social problems of the day." The church must recognize that its programs, when large in scope and of a social nature, require Government help.

(THE REV.) DAVID A. WORKS Boston

Zambian Intentions

Sir: The Embassy of the Republic of Zambia greatly appreciates your fair presentation of Zambia's programs, aspirations and potential [Sept. 10]. You can be sure that Zambia will use her resources to the betterment of the common man in and outside Zambia.

H. J. SOKO Ambassador Embassy of Zambia Washington, D.C.

Spater & the Editor

Sir: Your discussion [Sept. 10] of George Spater's Michigan Law Review article on the law of noise was well done, giving this interesting piece of legal scholarship the exposure it merits. However, one implied criticism of Spater's motives or intellectual honesty deserves explanation. Spater was himself concerned that his connection with the airline industry be disclosed. At his suggestion, the introductory article of the issue described his position. Any blame for inadequacy of disclosure is mine.

C. DOUGLAS KRANWINKLE Articles Editor, Volume 63 Michigan Law Review Los Angeles

Hope's Angel

Sir: I offer an addendum to your story on the Amazon medical mission of the Peruvian gun boat Loreto [Sept. 17]. For more than a year Project HOPE has been cooperating in this Government program through the services of two American nurses, Barbara Schwenk and Betty Carlson. Like the Loreto, our ship is not exactly "the pride and joy of anyone's navy." The Cayetana Heridia is a 50-ft. converted boat, not handsome, but a joy to hundreds of thousands in the jungles of the Amazon in Loreto state. Miss Carlson lives aboard the craft under less than adequate conditions, works from 5 a.m. until 11 p.m. daily, and is considered "the angel of HOPE" by those she helps lift out of their appalling health conditions.

WILLIAM B. WALSH, M.D. President, Project HOPE Washington, D.C.

Modern Libraries

Sir: Your report [Sept. 3] on the problems and potentials of libraries was amazingly well timed for members of the Public Buildings and Grounds Subcommittee of the House Public Works Committee. We are about to hold hearings on proposals for a third Library of Congress building. Assembling materials on library modernization, we have found your compendium very helpful.

KENNETH J. GRAY U.S. Congressman, Illinois House of Representatives Washington, D.C.

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