The Kennedy Case

Sir: How ironic that Senator Kennedy [Aug. 1], who speaks in favor of equality, should now be a graphic example of the advantages of the inequality in our society. Fortunately for Mr. Kennedy, the international tradition that an abundance of coinage and lineage supersedes justice under the law has not changed in spite of his rhetoric.

MRS. A. J. LOESCHMAN Houston

Sir: With bullets of prejudgment, pretrial, and preconviction over an issue that, although tragic, would have normally rated two paragraphs on page 12, Edward Kennedy, like his brothers, has been assassinated. I for one feel that one of the few hopes of the American political future has been garroted, unfairly, by the iron collar of sensationalism-at-all-costs. K. M. FOSTER San Francisco

Sir: If all the circumstances surrounding the tragic episode involving Senator Kennedy and Mary Jo Kopechne were honorable, Kennedy--or one of his friends --would have sought help immediately.

RICHARD K. BEEBE Northampton, Mass.

Sir: In Thomas Woodrow Wilson--A Psychological Study, by Sigmund Freud and William Bullitt, it is written: "When a man gives various unconvincing explanations of an act, one must suspect that the real reason for the act lies in the unconscious." Could this not also apply to Senator Kennedy's superego?

R. B. KOGER Joplin, Mo.

Sir: It appears to me that Ted Kennedy has graduated from being the youngest Senator in the nation to the oldest juvenile delinquent in the nation.

AL LOOK Grand Junction, Colo.

Sir: In my judgment, your Kennedy cover story is the best piece of objective reporting ever printed, but one facet was forgotten: Were the non-attending wives polled as to their approval of the secluded cottage and the six young ladies?

ARTHUR F. CAIN Mulberry, Fla.

Sir: Perhaps the most disturbing aspect of the Kennedy-Kopechne tragedy was the spectacle of some of the nation's in tellectual and political leaders scurrying to Hyannisport to give sympathy and counsel to Ted Kennedy. A young woman's life was carelessly lost, but apparently more important was the struggle to save a rather shaky political future.

(MRS.) REBECCA F. GAFFNEY Richardson, Texas

Sir: Are we about to perpetrate a stunning new kind of killing--that of character assassination? What about those who attempt to postulate what Mr. Kennedy might do as President, with his finger on the nuclear trigger, or faced with other momentous decisions? What rational individual can compare the victim of near-death by drowning and a cerebral concussion to a healthy Chief Executive at his desk? Surely all proponents of logic will balk at the outrage of this fallacious speculating.

(MRS.) MARIE FAJARDO RAGGHIANTI Nashville, Tenn.

Sir: If you were to believe the Boston Globe, an uncritical supporter of the Kennedy family, this girl's tragic death actually adds to Teddy's political esteem in his home state because people are now even more sympathetic toward him.

Out-of-staters must think we are a bunch of dupes to give Kennedy such an overwhelming endorsement.

CARLTON SMITH Harvard, Mass.

Sir: Assume that your friend and cousin, having had a tragic accident, comes to your door late in the evening. He is completely exhausted, in shock, and has water in his lungs and a slight concussion. Do you call a doctor? Don't be ridiculous. The proper thing is to take your friend to the nearest ferry and, when the ferry is shut down for the night, just calmly stand there and watch him swim across the channel, preferably fully clothed. Now he'll be able to recuperate all by himself in a nice comfortable motel room.

Brothers Grimm, move over. You have been topped.

ALAN A. EISENBERG Pekin, Ill

Sir: If Kennedy did what he did, and was not drunk, and was not doing something immoral, then he is much too dumb to be a Senator.

GREGORY MORTON Los Angeles

Sir: How much can one human being endure? The three previous tragedies--including his near-fatal airplane crash in 1964--are undoubtedly more than many people could gain full recovery from. They surely left a deep impression on him. Perhaps Senator Kennedy was nearer the breaking point during those "unexplained" nine hours than many people realize. That he regained his composure sufficiently to claim responsibility for his actions is certainly to his credit.

DENNIS L. VOLLMER N. Brookfield, Mass.

Sir: Would Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin or Mike Collins have left that drowned girl at the bottom of a pond and gone looking for his lawyer?

JOHN S. TOLAND Bethesda, Md.

Human Pride

Sir: It is just two minutes past touchdown on the moon's surface [July 25]. It is night in my country--and I sit alone, overwhelmed by this fantastic feat. It is great to be alive tonight. I cannot explain what I feel--a sort of pride in this human achievement.

May this descent into the Sea of Tranquillity augur well for the future of mankind in which this tremendous achievement will figure markedly.

A.SAEED Rawalpindi, Pakistan

Sir: "Dort, tic, iki, bir!" Thus, with a kind of wild excitement, went the countdown for the Apollo 11 moon landing as heard over Istanbul Radio.

Here in Turkey, as everywhere in the world, it was all of mankind counting the seconds before that first landing on a farther shore of the terrifying ocean of empty space.

What were our thoughts, American and Turkish alike? Simply, might all mankind be united at last and forever, with the prospect of a single world no more before us, but worlds without end whose peaceful conquest and whose endless beauty we might all share.

HENRY ANGELO-CASTRILLON Istanbul

Sir: I ask the people of the world to change the calendar. For man the earth era has gone. We are in the first year after Apollo 11: the space era.

SINAN RAMADANOVIC Mostar, Yugoslavia

Sir: In all previous times, history was made in wars. From now on, world leadership can result mainly from scientific and organizational capability.

Although this American success has no direct moral significance, it will be considered the result of an ideological supremacy and the breakthrough into a new civilization.

J. CAUWENBERGH Brussels

Sir: To the people who think that the moon conquest was a waste of money, I want to say that if mankind didn't have some mammoth project to direct its attention toward, civilization would decline. At present, the only other project that man has for relief of world boredom is a third major war. Which do you prefer?

TERRY GUSTOFSON Royal Leamington Spa, England

Sir: To those who doubt the wisdom of NASA's expenditure, let me point out as a minor benefit of the moon show the fact that the sign "Made in U.S.A." has a new value. I shall remember the precise and perfect performance of the incredibly intricate and sophisticated equipment next time I go shopping for machinery.

AMAURY TEMPORAL Rio de Janeiro

Sir: Hurrah America! You are and you must be a great society. I am delighted and fascinated.

B. MINC Sydney, Australia

Sir: Although newsmen used countless cliches to describe their awe of the Apollo 11 moon landing, they failed to mention that the flight set a "first" on earth when it justified the existence of a device that has been abused for over 20 years --television.

WALLY EDWARDS Rolla, Mo.

Sir: I suggest that a small piece of the moon (a few ounces) be put at the grave of President John F. Kennedy as a tribute to one of the pioneers of this incredible adventure.

SUZANNE MELENDEZ Jackson Heights, N.Y.

Sir: Our Father . . . Thy will be done on earth and moon as it is in heaven.

(THE REV.) Louis GAETE St. Joseph's Church

Anton Chico, N. Mex.

On the Record

Sir: TIME made false statements regarding the firm of Whitaker & Baxter in the cover story on Cesar Chavez [July 4].

This firm, contrary to your statement, did not "help manage Richard Nixon's unsuccessful campaign for Governor of California in 1962."

Neither did this firm, as you state, mastermind "the American Medical Association's attempt to defeat Medicare."

CLEM WHITAKER JR. President

Whitaker & Baxter San Francisco

>TIME erred. Whitaker & Baxter participated in the 1960 Nixon presidential campaign in California; the firm was retained by the A.M.A. from 1949 to 1952 to fight President Truman's proposal for a national compulsory health-insurance program.

Some Surprise

Sir: Sex education--"psychological VD?" [July 25]. Hardly. Having experienced a "S.U.R.P.R.I.S.E." (Some Urgently Requested but Preposterously Rudimentary Instruction In Sex Education) in my senior year in high school, I can only sigh that it was far too late and not enough. It did, however, provoke quiet laughter from those of us who enjoy the ironic.

BRUCE DAY Kalamazoo, Mich.

Benediction

Sir: Your articles on Ralph Nader's brilliant work and on the findings of the Federal Drug Administration [July 25] are a precious service to many of us who have not had the time or skill to get the facts at first hand. You're going stronger than ever. Blessings from the old man.

WILL AND ARIEL DURANT Los Angeles

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