Catalogue Mania

To the Editors:

Your issue on catalogues [Nov. 8] arrived in the mail along with four catalogues, an average day's count for our household. In three months we've received 145 catalogues. We have read them and have ordered from them. The best for service and refunds is L.L. Bean and Talbots.

Jean S. Ware Greensboro, N.C.

Receiving catalogues is a blessing for someone like me who doesn't get out. The United Parcel man is often the only person I see during the day. Whenever he comes, it's like Christmas, even though I've ordered only a small item.

Nina Pietsch Encinitas, Calif.

Although the yuletide season has become distressingly more materialistic each year, holiday shopping still offers a sense of community spirit and a setting for acts of kindness and brotherhood. It is sad that the latest trend is to hole up in your castle and indulge your Christmas needs in a mail-order catalogue.

Gregory Galligan New York City

You went gaga over catalogues but forgot to tell readers how easily mail-order houses can cheat customers. When the stationery embosser doesn't emboss or the magnifying glasses don't magnify, the consumer can face a five-month fight for a refund and still get stuck with the cost of mailing the item back.

Marie Shear New York City

In the world of $25,000 crocodile briefcases and $2 million wooden roller coasters, your readers might wonder if mail-order shopping has become the province of the oil sheiks and America's wealthiest. In fact most upper-and middle-class citizens still buy their products from catalogues like Spiegel's big book and our many specialty catalogues, and will continue to do so long after the roller coaster has crumbled to dust.

Henry A. Johnson, President and Chief Executive Officer Spiegel, Inc. Oak Brook, III.

You stated that in 1872 Aaron Montgomery Ward of Chicago produced the nation's first catalogue. In 1845 Tiffany, then named Tiffany, Young & Ellis, published its first "Catalogue of Useful and Fancy Articles."

Anthony De Witt Ostrom, President Tiffany & Co. New York City

Nuclear Morality

It is gratifying to read that the U.S. Roman Catholic bishops have taken a stand on nuclear armaments [Nov. 8]. But why is nuclear weaponry immoral while conventional arms pass the morality test? They both kill.

(The Rev.) Irwin Gooen Oneonta, N. Y.

Roman Catholic bishops do not have the right to judge my Christianity. That is up to God. As a commander and a Christian, I may have to issue orders that take the lives of noncombatants in a country that is attacking America. This is one of the horrors and realities of war. The alternative would be loss of our freedoms and submission to a totalitarian state.

Doyle E. Larson Major General, U.S.A.F. San Antonio

Prolonged efforts for disarmament during the period between the World Wars (1920-38) included proposals to scrap ships, outlaw war and ban "offensive" weapons. None of this averted World War II. Many students of history have concluded that the efforts were misdirected because armaments are a symptom of the disease of war rather than the cause. Our bishops might do well to pay more attention to the reasons for war, such as poverty, overpopulation, political oppression, greed and man's inhumanity to man.

Wesley J. Curtis Springfield, Mo.

The church has a right to be involved in disarmament because the nuclear-weapons issue is a moral question that must be faced. Who should be interested in such questions if not the clergy?

Wendell Sherk St. Louis

Chinese Relations

A recent tour of China and Taiwan has convinced me that the people of Taiwan are near to achieving a flourishing life with only minor interference from the government. It is therefore disturbing to read your chilling article on China [Nov. 1]. Peking cannot possibly feel threatened by the U.S. sale of defensive weapons to Taiwan. The unification between the two sides across the Taiwan Strait will happen naturally and inevitably, and only when the people in China have also achieved a prosperous life.

James C. Wang, Ph.D. Lexington, Mass.

Reversed Decision

Earlier this year, TIME carried an article on Consumer Reports magazine [Feb. 1] that described a libel case brought by the Bose Corp. over an article criticizing the Bose 901 speaker. In reporting on the opinion in favor of the Bose Corp., TIME said, "The verdict... casts doubt on the magazine's credibility." A U.S. court of appeals has now overturned that decision in a unanimous opinion. We have always been proud of Consumer Reports' reputation for objectivity. More important, the ruling is a reaffirmation of the public's right to know and the media's right to engage fairly in critical and investigative journalism.

David C. Berliner, Assistant Director Consumers Union Mount Vernon, N. Y.

Slinging Slang

Your Essay on slang [Nov. 8] missed a term in current use: "pig out." I recently saw a student eating only a Popsicle for lunch. When I remarked about her light meal, she replied, "Don't worry. I pig out at home."

James A. Parfet Mechanicsburg, Pa.

The definition of a "two-bagger" is not quite accurate. A "brown-bagger" is a girl who needs one bag to cover her ugliness; a two-bagger requires a bag for her and one for you, in case hers falls off.

Bruce A. Hop Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Junk Art

For centuries it has been the purpose of art to make order out of chaos. In the 20th century, perhaps in rebellion against too much order, many artists seek to make chaos out of order. Julian Schnabel [Nov. 1] is a rarity among artists. He makes chaos out of chaos. Like that other 20th century phenomenon, the trash compactor, Schnabel can turn 25 Ibs. of garbage into 25 Ibs. of garbage. He lacks, however, the redeeming feature of the compactor: it reduces the mass of trash.

Debora Meltz Newton, N.J.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so viewer discretion is required.