Grains of Sand

Sir: An excellent cover story on an excellent actress--Sandy Dennis [Sept. 1]. Aside from her abundant talent, it is reassuring to know that there are those in an often maligned profession who refuse to demean either themselves or their vocations by using popular opinion as a constant beacon. Mrs. Mulligan serves as a rare illustration of the fact that those with sufficient will, intelligence, sensitivity and courage have little need to compromise themselves to succeed.

SCOTT SIMON

Chicago

Sir: Whether it be on the stage or onscreen, Sandy Dennis projects a quiet power, a profound dramatic intensity that overwhelms.

REGINA R. PATTERSON

St. Albans, N.Y.

Sir: I just stuttered and fluttered, wrinkled my chin and pushed my hair back, then, wiping the spittle from the corner of my mouth, belted out a huge belch, after which I let out a four-letter oath; I gasped and bit my lip; my tongue twitched. Then unable to contain myself any longer, I talentedly threw up!

FRANCIS SCHAEFER

Denver

Sir: Ted Sorensen's remarks, quoted in your article about another talented Nebraska performer, remind me of the Nebraskan who died after moving to California. They brought his body to Lincoln for burial and one of his old lady friends, taking a last look at him in the casket, was heard to say: "Doesn't he look just fine! It sure did him a lot of good to move to California!"

B. FRANK WATSON

Lincoln, Neb.

Sir: Bravo to Boris Chaliapin for the cover drawing! Only a master draftsman such as he could produce this delightfully pleasing and interesting work of art.

ALFRED H. KUJAWSKI

Rochester

Views of the V.C.

Sir: "The Organization Man" [Aug. 25] is an outstanding example of factual, in-depth reporting. Please accept my compliments for an objective and accurate description of that elusive enemy, the Viet Cong. The success of our military operations in Viet Nam is dependent in large measure upon the support and confidence of an informed public. Perceptive articles such as this provide a valuable service to the nation and to your reading public.

U.S.G. SHARP

Admiral, U.S.N.

Fleet P.O.

San Francisco

Sir: Your picture of the Viet Nam War is the clearest 1 have yet read. The sooner we get out of Viet Nam the better. Viet Nam is for the Vietnamese, north and south. It is not for the French, the Japanese, the Chinese or the Russians. It is certainly of no value to the U.S., 6,000 miles away. We are only tolerated there by the generals who could not stay in power without us.

GEORGE CALDWELL

Oak Ridge, Tenn.

Unfriendly Persuasion

Sir: Your POW camp training article [Sept. 1] revived memories of similar well-meaning efforts during and after the Korean War. Hardly a base, post or station was without its "torture and brainwash" school. All carried on with the best of intentions, of course. However, when all the evidence was in as to what actually went on in the POW camps of North Korea, it transpired that extremes of physical violence were the exceptions rather than the rule, occurring, it seems, to something like less than 1% of the prisoners. Mistreatment was far more apt to take psychological rather than physical forms. Our artillerymen are now (presumably) well aware of the extent to which they can be physically maltreated; are they equally aware of the far more common, insidious and infinitely more successful forms of psychological persuasion?

KEITH D. YOUNG

Major, U.S.A.F.

U.S. Air Force Academy

Colorado Springs, Colo.

Uncommon Bigot

Sir: George Lincoln Rockwell [Sept. 1] was not a common hatemonger or backwoods bigot. He was the embodiment of forensic eloquence and razor-sharp intelligence, both of which had been honed to a hair-thin cutting edge. His physical stature emitted strength as well as fear. The real tragedy of Commander Rockwell's demise is that such quality and potential leadership were befouled by a twisted alignment with a vociferous band of homicidal psychopaths and miscellaneous social rejects. It is my sincere conviction that if this man had not permitted himself to become encased in the morass that is the Nazi ideology, he would have served his nation with excellence as a U.S. Senator or perhaps a Cabinet officer. His combat record attests to this postulation.

Please comprehend that in no manner or form do I endorse the tenets of Nazism. I reject the entire Nazi philosophy. I only wish that Commander Rockwell had done the same.

DAVID

Louis Houston

Welcome to the Club

Sir: Your article on the misfortunes of Clarence Jackson [Sept. 1] brings to mind certain questions about our American judiciary system. What is wrong when an honest man like Jackson, who is trying to stand up for his rights, loses all that he has through legal processes? Yet, elsewhere, certain persons travel over the country inciting riots and committing treasonable acts, and nothing happens to them. Do we really have a democratic judiciary system or one that protects the criminal and prosecutes the innocent?

JEFF MORELOCK

Cleveland, Tenn.

Sir: Tell me has the American Bar Association yet bestirred itself to say "ho-hum" or anything?

ROBERT W.L. SMITH Ann Arbor, Mich.

Sir: Under the circumstances, we feel compelled to offer Mr. Jackson membership to the hallowed halls of Losers Incorporated. In this case, we will waive the initiation fee and annual dues.

JOHN H. KOLHOVEN

Chairman of the Board

Losers Incorporated

La Crosse, Wis.

A Huff & a Puff

Sir: Your story "Smoking & Safety" [Sept. 1] misleads in regard to Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp. On Aug. 25 we tested some filters made by the Strickman group in order to be informed of the present state of development. Such testing does not indicate, as you aver, that Brown & Williamson is now "satisfied with the Strickman device." That is a conclusion that you formed without any verification from us.

E. P. FINCH

President

Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp.

Louisville

> TIME is happy to print President Finch's rebuttal, but the conclusion was formed by Robert Strickman, and clearly attributed to him.

Sir: Regarding Physician Armstead Hudnell's suggestion to punch a small hole in the cigarette, I tried it and discovered very little trace of nicotine in the filter on the punched half. Then I punched two holes--more effective! I then punched three, four and five holes. With a pair of scissors I snipped a hole all the way around the cigarette. Would you believe, not a trace of nicotine, tar, carbon monoxide or smoke? What a Golconda for me!

CHET S. KACZKA

Phoenix, Ariz.

Sir: I wish the Cancer Society and the U.S. Health Department would go on about their business and leave us smokers alone. They must have other work to do.

FLO HUGHES

A.P.O. San Francisco

The Way It Is

Sir: From experience, education, and research, I challenge every aspect of John Holt's thinking on educational practices [Sept. 1]. Very few children have such excessive fear of teachers and schools unless they are extremely emotionally disturbed. He is judging teachers by 19th century standards. If children have some fear of being wrong, this is good. Authority figures abound in our world. Education's purpose is to prepare people to function in society as it is; not in some Utopian fairyland where there are no frustrations, or where no one is ever wrong or punished. The teacher's role is to impart the knowledge he has acquired, to guide the students' thinking, to explore, to experiment, and yes, even to test.

MARY P. AYSCUE

Staunton, Va.

Sir: I wish that all educators could share Mr. Holt's views and insights. Today's school system does more to suppress learning than to promote it. I am an honors student, but in these past twelve years I have learned neither history, science, French, nor English. Instead, I have learned how to fake an essay, how to cram, how to impress teachers, and how to comb my hair so that it will not appear to be in violation of the administration's dress code. The result is that upon leaving school one has the feeling that he never wants to "learn" another thing as long as he lives. Only through an approach such as Mr. Holt proposes will our school system achieve this ambitious, but necessary goal.

ROBERT LONDON

Los Angeles

Now for the Tar

Sir: I was happy to see that you had taken notice of the wanton slaughter of 2,000 purple martins [Sept. 1]. There was little said in any of the Missouri newspapers about the shootings other than the slightest notice of it. The Governor's name was never mentioned, and the impression was given that he was innocent as a babe of any responsibility for the act. I guess that Governor Hearnes figures if the people were stupid enough to elect him, they are stupid enough to believe that thousands of birds can be shotgunned on the mansion's lawn without his orders, or even his knowledge. I don't know how stupid a man can get, but when he can't tell a purple martin from a starling that's got to be getting close to the record.

PATRICK DERMODY

Mexico, Mo.

A Croc

Sir: Logic sometimes outruns truth. It was a plausible assumption, in your article on Rene Lacoste [Sept. 1], that the French champion gained the sobriquet, le Crocodile, because he "played so fiercely." Actually, he was called that because of his saturnine poker face, and it would appear that his more vivacious daughter has inherited something of that same crocodilian countenance, if one might judge from some of her expressions while addressing a golf ball. There was never a more machinelike player than Lacoste in his heyday. He won so consistently because his ground-strokes could not be faulted; and he was a past master of that now neglected piece of tennis finesse, the lob. His teammates, Cochet, with his half-volley, and Borotra, with his catlike ballet at the net, were the crowd-pleasers, not Lacoste, whose stroke-production always seemed to be rolling off one of those assembly lines he has since dominated in the business world.

CHARLES A. BRADY

Kenmore, N.Y.

Smoked Ham

Sir: What bitter tea it is to read that "two-way radio" [Aug. 25] has been "lifted" from its "ham" stage, .to its role as "key instrument in a mushrooming minute-man-like communications network!" TIME must know that since the 1920s the ham operator has provided emergency communications worldwide; has served in disaster areas, has often been the only link to scientific expeditions; has been active in space communications; has provided trained electronics personnel in wartime; has invested millions of dollars in communications equipment capable of operation independently of commercial power sources. Perhaps better to say that two-way radio has been lifted to the ham level of competence, dedication and service.

A.W. SMITH

Doylestown, Pa.

Giddap, Teddy!

Sir: The almost exterminated grizzly bear in the U.S. is a loner [Aug. 25] and rarely attacks humans unless startled, cornered, wounded or aggravated.

Many signs are posted in Glacier National Park warning of the presence and danger of grizzly bears. Likewise, at Yellowstone National Park the visitor is warned by innumerable signs not to feed, pet or tamper with bears (mostly black bears). However, one tourist went so far as to try to place a child, piggyback, on a black bear for photographic purposes!

GEORGE A. ERISTOFF

Circle Pines, Minn.

Just The Family

Sir: The final paragraph of your obituary on Brian Epstein [Sept. 8] gives a false impression of the relationship between the Beatles and Mr. Epstein. The group wished to attend his funeral but, at the specific request of the Epstein family, agreed not to do so. Thus the essentially quiet and private nature of the burial was preserved.

TONY BARROW

NEMS Enterprises, Ltd.

London

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