Polish Strikers

To the Editors:

Marxists have preached and "prayed" for more than a hundred years that the collapse of capitalist countries in general, and the near capitalist U.S. in particular, would come about by a revolt of the "exploited" working class. Now look at Poland [Sept. 1]. Whose workers in what type of country are revolting?

Bart Kosko Los Angeles

Isn't it amazing that the butts of all those stupid Polish jokes could make the whole world hold its breath? Some would have said that the Poles possessed suicidal courage and had no hope of succeeding. But they have succeeded by proving to men and women everywhere that no force on earth or in hell can take away a man's will.

Mary Gallagher Reimold Greenville, Pa.

Prolonged wage and price controls do not work, even in a socialist-controlled economy. If the relief valve on the pressure cooker is jammed shut by government policy, without regard for economic reality, any fleeting benefits are bought at the price of an eventual explosion.

M. Robert Paglee Moorestown, N.J.

Editor, Edit Thyself

According to the article "The Decline of Editing" [Sept. 1], "The fight against the misuse of 'hopefully' (for 'I hope') is just about lost." In your review of the Peking opera [Aug. 25], the wife of Mao Tse-tung, Jiang Qing, is mentioned in this way: "Thankfully, Jiang herself has now fallen out of favor." Does this mean that Jiang is thankful that she fell out of favor, or does it mean that the fight against the misuse of "thankfully" is just about lost?

Edwin Newman New York City

Putting aside my desire to mumble something about the pot calling the ketle black--TIME having scrambled more syntax than Professor Backwards--I appreciate the cry for better editing of books.

But I protest the gratuitous poke at Betty Prashker of Doubleday, an editor of taste, skill and compassion. Editors, the best editors, do more than undangle participles and unsplit infinitives.

Prashker is there when I need her, not there when I don't. She perceives the indescribable pain of researching and writing books, and, in my case, has been of immeasurable help in producing two Bestsellers. I need her and love her.

Thomas Thompson Los Angeles

A fine could be instituted for using faulty grammar and orthography. A law could be written along the lines of pornography legislation. Corrupting people's ability to communicate certainly is at least as harmful as corrupting their morals.

K. Eckhard Kuhn-Osius New York City

Naturally I have no way of telling who comprised the "sampling of writers, editors and agents" that decided that my novel Sophie's Choice "needed more editing." But I do know that in the hands of Robert Loomis, my editor at Random House, the book received the most intelligent and capable scrutiny possible, and I would not want to change a word of it.

William Styron Vineyard Haven, Mass.

Faith May Be a Remedy

Your article "Suicide Belt" [Sept. 1] reveals several theories for climbing adolescent suicide rates in affluent suburbs; yet not once is there an implication that a faith in God, together with the familial closeness such a faith can generate, may be a remedy for this senseless waste.

Richard C. Ingraham Bemus Point, N. Y.

Who the Delegates Were

With regard to Hugh Sidey's comments [Sept. 1], the Democratic Convention had a disproportionate percentage of delegates with government jobs because it was truly representative. Private industry is only now opening up decent jobs for women, blacks and other minorities.

Patricia O'Brien Royal Oak, Mich

What proportion of Republican Convention delegates do not have to work for a living at all? I would love to see a comparison of the two parties as to the proportion of each delegate's income on which he or she pays income tax.

Norma J. Hart New York City

Should Church Be a Circus?

It really is pathetic when organized religion turns the worship service into a circus and pastors into clowns [Sept. 1]. As for the congregations that tolerate, encourage and finance this ministry, maybe Barnum was right--there is a sucker born every minute.

Eleanor Gerloff Woodstock, Ill.

Thank you for the article "Becoming Fools for Christ." It affirms my belief that you do not have to be long-faced and sad to be a Christian. It also supports my belief that all ministers need a sense of humor. I am happy to be a clown for the sake of winning others to Christ, who became a "fool" for us.

(The Rev.) John Eliason Burlington, N.C.

Savings, Not Investments

In your article on U.S. Savings Bonds [Aug. 25] you state that in 1979 only $144 million in these bonds were sold and in 1945 only $303 million were sold. We are sorry if there was a misunderstanding about the information we provided you, but the correct figures are $6.9 billion sold in 1979 and $12.9 billion in 1945.

The article also claims that U.S. Savings Bonds were previously advertised as "good investments." For many years Treasury-authorized advertising has in fact consciously refrained from calling them investments and, instead, has urged people to save through these bonds. They are, and always have been, U.S. Savings Bonds, not U.S. Investment Bonds.

Jesse Adams, Deputy National Director U.S. Savings Bonds Division Department of the Treasury Washington, D.C.

Nongreedy Capitalist

Because I've been at my job as venture banker with John Muir & Co. only a month, I was surprised to find myself already called a "greedy capitalist" in your Letters column [Sept. 1]. I know that many people have good reason to equate "greedy" with "capitalist," but I'm going to do my best to create a "me-and-you nongreedy cooperative capitalism."

Oh, by the way, both TIME and the letter writer repeated the '70s media fiction that I coined the phrase "Don't trust anyone over 30." Not so. The fact is that Jack Weinberg first said it in 1964 on the Sproul Hall steps at Berkeley during the Free Speech Movement. I was there. I feel embarrassed 16 years later receiving credit for something I didn't say.

Jerry Rubin New York City

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