PAC Power

To the Editors:

It is difficult to believe that politicians who take money from the political action committees [Oct. 25] do not sell their votes. A law should forbid a Congressman or Senator from voting on a bill after receiving more than $100 from anyone who would benefit from his vote.

Pauls s Joseph North Hollywood, Calif.

Your article on PACs reinforced my long-held conviction that any branch of government can be bought.

Herman P. West Whitsett, N.C.

The public interest seems to have been gobbled up by government of the PACs, by the PACs, and for the PACs.

John O. Hayward Lexington, Mass.

I must object to your implication that campaign contributions influenced my voting record on the Clean Air Act. Contributors to my 1980 campaign for the U.S. Senate had no idea what my committee assignments would be. My eventual appointment to the Environment and Public Works Committee, where I have become closely involved with revising the Clean Air Act, was unknown to me until January of 1981. I and many of my colleagues established our positions on issues before entering public office. We receive support from those who work to elect like-minded people to Congress. That is what representation is all about.

Steve Symms U.S. Senator, Idaho Washington, D.C.

Your cover story on the financing of federal elections calls attention to an issue that Congress must address, especially when we see extravagant expenditures by candidates and committees. I have introduced a bill providing for public matching funds in general elections for U.S. Senators. The plan is based on small contributions from a broad spectrum of individual contributors. It also places a limit on the amount of money candidates who opt for public financing can spend.

Alan J. Dixon U.S. Senator, Illinois Washington, D.C.

You give more attention to business PACS than to labor PACs. In our research, James Kau and I have found that labor PACS are more successful in influencing voting. For example, in examining ten key congressional votes in 1980, we found that union PACs affected voting significantly in six cases, business in only three. Business obviously is not as skilled as the unions in using its contributions.

Paul H. Rubin, Professor of Economics Baruch College New York City

TIME erred in its implication that Lockheed's political action committee supported five Senators because of their interest in the C-5 program. Three of the five Senators opposed Lockheed's position on the C5. As a matter of policy, Lockheed's PAC does not concern itself with single issues. Each of the five Senators shown on your chart is an advocate of a sound national defense. It is this record that has earned them the support of Lockheed employees.

H. David Crowther, Chairman Lockheed Political Action Committee Burbank, Calif.

Outlawing Solidarity

I was dismayed at your pessimism over the future of Solidarity [Oct. 25]. Although the Polish parliament has officially destroyed the independent trade union, the Polish people have undergone too much anguish in their tragic past to abandon their cries for freedom. Even if General Wojciech Jaruzelski has been successful in banning Solidarity, the dream of independence will reshape itself and continue.

Alexander J. Opalinski Toronto

Solidarity is a state of mind, and no one can crush that feeling. The Polish people may suffer repression, but no one can diminish their desire for freedom.

Scott Billetz Cleveland

The Polish government outlaws Solidarity. Our country responds by suspending most-favored-nation status for Polish exports of manufactured goods to this country. This move, which is supposed to support Polish workers, punishes them.

D. Kent Lloyd Gladstone, Ore.

No wonder General Jaruzelski is such an efficient and experienced oppressor of his own people. He is a recipient of the Order of Lenin, bestowed upon him by the Soviet Union for his service during the 1968 invasion of Czechoslovakia.

Barbara C. Schenkel Melbourne, Australia

Hunter's Stew

Re your story "To Kill or Not to Kill" [Oct. 25], there is no one more concerned about the existence of wildlife than the American hunter. Yet he is continually under fire as a destroyer of animals. There are programs for wildlife protection that are supported mainly by funding from licenses, stamps and taxes paid by the hunter for the privilege of hunting. Today's problem with wildlife is not the hunter but the diminishing wilderness.

Michael L. Knueven Sunman, Ind.

The question to kill or not to kill is seldom a matter of how much hunting can be permitted without threatening the well-being of a species. Wildlife biologists can accurately predict the effect of a hunting season on a wildlife population. Regulated sport hunting has never threatened any wildlife species in this country. The rising game-animal population in the face of increased hunting attests to this. It is another question whether it is right to hunt a docile animal like the moose. That decision is a matter of personal ethics best left to the individual.

Chris Wille, Editor

Audubon Action

New York City

Those of us who have wandered through moose country do not consider these animals "as ferocious as a mouse" or dimwitted. Ranked second only to the grizzly bear as the most dangerous animal to run into in the back country, moose are not to be played with. The moose's power makes it a serious contender for king of the forest.

John Bruington Lingle, Wyo.

Policeman's Pay

In your article on the salaries paid to L.A. officials [Oct. 25], you note that the chief of police in Los Angeles makes $98,908 a year, compared with $83,884 in Chicago and $72,000 in New York.

In today's economy, $98,908 is not a princely sum for supervising more than 6,000 police officers. New York and Chicago are clever to get away with paying their chief cops so little.

John D. Conley San Juan Capistrano, Calif.

Young Ron

If President Reagan's son Ron wants to get through his four-week layoff on his own [Oct. 25], he should do it without receiving unemployment compensation, provided by taxpayers. It is not better than taking money from Dad.

Cynthia Lee Burt Durham, N.C.

With our high unemployment, we can hardly afford a Secret Service escort for the President's son when he collects his unemployment check.

Mary Lou Cummings Troy, N. Y.

Computer Gymnastics

Your article on cracking a code [Oct. 25] omits the important fact that there is more to the trapdoor knapsack public-key cryptosystem than the single-iteration version that Israel's Adi Shamir broke. At least two or three iterations are needed to produce a margin of safety. Consequently, the single-iteration trapdoor knapsack should not be relied on. Instead, the full system should be used. I have offered a $1,000 reward to the first person to break the full trapdoor knapsack system.

Ralph C. Merkle Sunnyvale, Calif.

Jock's Paradise

Swim-bike-run triathlons [Oct. 25] are fine for those who live where the water is tepid. In Minnesota the lakes are cold enough to make long-distance swimming foolhardy. Besides, propelling a canoe is more rewarding physically and spiritually than making like a fish. Those who doubt that should try a canoe-bike-run triathlon like the 528-mile, four-day Minnesota Border-to-Border.

Jerry Kassanchuk Golden Valley, Minn.

The Ironman Triathlon sounds like the jock's version of anorexia nervosa, the same self-destructive, obsessive disease.

S. Derrickson Moore Portland, Ore.

Sweet Lucrezia

In your reflections on the Tylenol poisonings [Oct. 18], you have wrongly illustrated your Essay with a picture of Lucrezia Borgia as a harbinger of death. Lucrezia conspired to eliminate no one. Her scoundrel brother Cesare did, undoubtedly with the approval of their father Pope Alexander VI. While the Borgia men are notorious, Lucrezia was a tragic, manipulated figure, the proverbial pawn in the ruthless politics of the amoral men who were her nearest relatives.

Ingrid Rossmann Professor of Women's History Macomb Community College Warren, Mich

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