THE TRUTH ABOUT WHITEWATER

"The Clintons have taken indiscreet actions in the past, but the issue is how they are performing their duties as First Family." JOHN S. GRIFFIN Indianapolis, Indiana

JAMES STEWART'S BOOK BLOOD SPORT should be required reading for every U.S. citizen of voting age [Book Excerpt, March 18]. It reveals an extremely disturbing pattern of deceit, dishonesty and use of power for personal gain by the Clintons. The moral decadence in America has spread as high as the White House. RICHARD R. KURTZ Angier, North Carolina Via E-mail

AMERICANS ARE BORED WITH WHITEwater and appalled at the amount of money being spent for a political investigation that has gone on too long and proved no wrongdoing. What a waste of space for you to publish the book excerpt. CHARLENE E. BOSTROM Bethel, Vermont Via E-mail

STEWART'S PORTRAIT OF THE CLINTONS' involvement in Whitewater is deeply disturbing. These are intelligent, highly educated people, so they cannot claim ignorance as a defense for violating acceptable standards of ethical behavior during Bill Clinton's tenure as Governor of Arkansas. Yet the incestuous business-political relationships of Hillary Clinton and a total indifference to the logical consequences of such actions by Governor Clinton imply either ignorance or an arrogant contempt for ethical conduct. These are not admirable people, and no amount of spin can change that. The question of character and integrity will loom as large as that of political ideology in the presidential election. KEN FAUST Birmingham, Alabama

WHAT A MOUNTAIN HAS BEEN MADE OUT of this molehill. Whitewater was not a nefarious criminal conspiracy. The book excerpt does not offer any new insights into the Clintons' character that aren't obvious from their years in public service. Bill Clinton is not particularly motivated to make money. That is no surprise, given his choice to serve as a low-paid Governor instead of cashing in on his Yale law degree at a big-money law firm. And Hillary Clinton is stubborn and tends to hold on to causes, both winning and losing ones, long after others have given up on them. This trait can be seen in her crusade on behalf of America's children as well as in her tenacity in the health-care debate. CATHY BOGGS Santa Barbara, California Via E-mail

STEWART'S BOOK TELLS NOT ONLY OF A bad investment but also of greed, growing elitism and viciousness on the part of Hillary Clinton, and total ineptitude, inattention and lack of personal responsibility on the part of Bill Clinton. RICHARD ENGEBRETSEN JR. Barnegat, New Jersey

I AM SICK OF READING ABOUT WHITEWAter. Every report I've seen, including this story, says nothing illegal was done. This is just a Republican witch-hunt. Enough! PAT MARSHALL Berwyn, Illinois

STEWART'S METICULOUS RESEARCH IS overwhelming, incontrovertible and utterly damning. President and Mrs. Clinton, far from being innocent bystanders during the decade of greed, were active and willing participants. CLIFTON WELLMAN Seabury, New York

THERE IS NO QUESTION THAT THE CLINtons have taken indiscreet actions in the past, but the issue is how they are performing as First Family. On that score, they deserve good marks. Do you believe people can change for the better and that that is the virtue of redemption? My prediction is that the negative attitude of the media will backfire on Election Day. JOHN S. GRIFFIN Indianapolis, Indiana

I WAS THRILLED TO READ THAT STEWART thinks (mistakenly) that Senator Lauch Faircloth is no longer from North Carolina but has relocated to South Carolina. Now if we could just export Jesse Helms, preferably to another universe. ELAINE R. PISCHKE Raleigh, North Carolina

EXAGGERATING AN ORTHODOX RIFT

ALTHOUGH WE RESPECT THE FREEDOM OF the press, we feel sorrow and indignation over your item "My Patriarch Can Beat Your Patriarch" [Notebook, March 18]. The headline and general tone have the effect of reducing the two Orthodox Christian leaders, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and Patriarch Alexi of Russia, to opponents in a boxing or wrestling match. You also trivialize the issue concerning the church in Estonia [which Patriarch Bartholomew has decreed is autonomous rather than under the authority of the Russian church] and greatly exaggerate interfamily differences between the two Patriarchs. Your item promotes neither the truth nor the journalistic profession. ARCHBISHOP IAKOVOS Greek Orthodox Church in the Americas New York City

CREATIONISM VS. EVOLUTION

CONGRATULATIONS FOR "DUMPING ON Darwin" [Science, March 18]. You did an excellent job of reporting on the alarming activities of Christian Fundamentalist groups and their concerted efforts to undermine scientific education. Creationists would have us believe the "theory" of evolution is questionable. In fact, evolution is as incontrovertible as the orbiting of the earth around the sun. A vast majority of educated people agree that evolution and heliocentrism are correct, although both contradict a literal interpretation of the Old Testament. Will the creationists' next target be astronomy? The attempt to force Fundamentalism on the American people can only undermine the scientific literacy of the nation. DAVID BAUM Cambridge, Massachusetts Via E-mail

THOUGH NEARLY HALF OF AMERICANS reject Darwin's theory, your report demeans us ignorant folk who seem to confuse science and religion. To your writer, "creation science" is a contradiction in terms. Yet the Institute for Creation Research in California, which is mentioned in your story, has eight full-time Ph.D.s researching and publishing on the subject of creation. These are bona fide scientists who hold degrees from top universities. Their work is not "speculation"; their interpretation of the fossil record is not "bogus"; and their conclusions are scientific, not seemingly scientific. The theory of evolution is unprovable and absurd. Intelligent design demands an Intelligent Designer. PETER CARDILLO Cohasset, Minnesota Via E-mail

ISRAEL'S TERRIBLE CHOICES the israelis ought to know by now that matching terror with terror, although it may work in the short term, will only lead to more terror in the long term [World, March 18]. In an era of peace, one would hope the display of hatred is curtailed by those who have kept their head. Israel has to figure out this one on its own, since it is not getting good advice from its friends who live in free and democratic societies. MAGDY EL-HAWARY Gloucester, Canada

THE FACT THAT YOUNG PALESTINIANS ARE attaching explosives to their body and blowing themselves up without much thought tells us that such violent acts won't be easy to stop. President Clinton can send the Israelis all the sophisticated explosive-detection devices he wants and pressure Yasser Arafat for being too soft, but so long as Palestinian youngsters are not helped to achieve a better future, it will be too easy for Hamas to offer them promises of Eden in exchange for the misery many of them are now experiencing. What the peace process needs is for the Palestinians to realize that there is a better future, that their kids can go to school and play, that they can live a normal life. Then it would be difficult for Hamas to recruit youngsters for their campaign of terror. JOSE A. MARTINEZ Hull, Canada

ARAFAT CAN'T CONTROL THE RADICAL Palestinians any more than Yitzhak Rabin could control radical Israelis. But who would have thought the peace process would grind to a halt not because of the animosity between Israelis and Palestinians, but because neither side can decide who will represent it? JONATHAN MARTENS Winnipeg, Canada Via E-mail

WE ALL WISH FOR PEACE IN THE MIDDLE East and want these atrocities to end, but we have now seen that the negotiation process under way is not the correct road. Prime Minister Shimon Peres should take a step back and reassess the goals of this so-called peace process. Peres has a duty to serve and protect the citizens of Israel. SUZANNAH BAUM Montreal, Canada

TERRORISTS ARE NOTHING BUT KILLERS. They murder by blowing apart innocent children or unaware pedestrians waiting to cross the street; in their zealotry they even kill their own people. But the cowardly practitioners of terrorism are unable to harm ideas, goals or the main essence of a whole nation. These recent acts won't end the will to achieve peace in the Middle East. MICHEL ANDERMANN Mexico City

PEACE BY DEFINITION MUST INCLUDE personal security for Jews and Arabs. Even your own correspondents must be leery of driving too close to a bus. How must a Jerusalemite feel when he takes the No. 18 to work? Or what about a parent whose teenager just wants to go to the mall? If Arafat wants to be master of his own domain, let him live up to the agreements he signed. DAVID SOSNOVITCH Beersheba, Israel

SPERM ON THE ENDANGERED LIST?

A DECLINE IN HUMAN SPERM COUNTS IS not necessarily "bad news for the human race" [Health, March 18]. If it leads to a gradual reduction in the size of the human population, it will be good news for the planet and an ecosystem damaged by overpopulation. And it will be a good development for us humans, since we are part of the ecosystem. What is bad news is the possibility that chemicals are responsible for the sperm decrease. If that is true, then what else are they doing to us and the environment? TREVOR HANCOCK Kleinburg, Canada

EXPOSURE TO PESTICIDES MAY POSE A health risk and reduce sperm count. Nowhere are the genetic consequences of such exposure more readily seen than in the post-Vietnam War era and, more recently, in the progeny of Gulf War veterans. Only the naive may find comfort in thoughts of a golden future; the decline of man has already begun. PETER HARDING Nullamanna, Australia

DIVORCE ROYAL-STYLE

DON'T PUT 100% OF THE BLAME FOR THE royal split on Prince Charles [World, March 11]. He was dealing with a woman who exhibited such extremes of emotional abuse as throwing herself down the stairs in an attempt to prevent Charles from going hunting. This behavior is symptomatic of a person who, apart from being emotionally unstable, is unreasonably demanding of her spouse. Imagine if Charles had thrown himself down the stairs in an attempt to stop Diana from going to her gym. What sexist double standards we live by! CHRIS DWYER Bondi, Australia

YOU'VE SHOWN THAT DIANA IS A COMPASsionate and sensitive woman. Every detail of her life has been publicly exposed by the media and, worst of all, by people who should have been loyal to her. Why can't the press forget about the therapy, the clothes and the health clubs? Women the world over need to see how Diana can emerge from her suffering whole and caring about others. GLORIA VALDES Santiago

TAIWAN UNDER THE GUN

WE TAIWANESE HAVE WORKED FOR FOUR decades toward the goal of a free, democratic and independent Taiwan [World, March 25] and have just made a remarkable transition to an open and democratic society. We are ready to join the world community, but we hear no words of welcome. Why not? China is threatening that if Taiwan tries to declare independence, it will launch an attack and invade our island. We Taiwanese never gave any "pledge" to unify. China has two choices: to continue the hostilities or to come to an accommodation with Taiwan and strive for peaceful coexistence. We hope it will choose the latter. The international community can help bring this about by abandoning any reticence toward Taiwan and accepting it as a free, democratic and independent nation and by making it clear to China that if it wants international respect, it must respect the rights of other nations. Taiwan has transformed itself into a unique and worthy nation. This new Taiwan wants liberty and recognition. MEI-CHIN CHEN, Editor Taiwan Communique Chevy Chase, Maryland

BIDDING FAREWELL TO GEORGE

I WILL MISS COMEDIAN GEORGE BURNS for many reasons: the great wit, the perfect comic timing, the dreadful songs and the shuffling soft shoe [Appreciation, March 18]. Mostly, however, I will miss him because he made me feel young. As long as George was around, I somehow felt like a six-year-old kid sitting in front of the radio watching my family fall down laughing at Burns and Allen's routines. Now, suddenly, liver spots are popping out all over, crow's-feet are marching across my face, and my best friend is Metamucil. Oh, George! PATTI LAUNDERS Nipomo, California

NOT FROM OLD MACDONALD'S FARM

EVER SINCE I BECAME A VEGETARIAN 18 years ago, people have asked me why I quit eating meat. When I begin to explain and talk about livestock factories, where animals are mass-produced like the pigs in your story [Business, March 18], I'm almost invariably told, "Please don't say any more. I'd rather not know." Wake up, America! The hamburgers and hot dogs on your dinner plate didn't come from Old MacDonald's farm. We take our children to see movies like Babe and Gordy, and we close our eyes to the horrors of the huge livestock factories. Through our food choices, we all have the power to make a significant impact on our health, our environment and world hunger. If we would rather not know where our meat comes from, then maybe we would also rather not eat it. MARIE MCCURRY Atlanta

I FEEL NO GUILT ABOUT EATING MEAT OR wearing leather, but I was upset and saddened by your story about pigs that spend their entire life in a box, denied even minimal experience of the world that the rest of us enjoy. These are sentient creatures that are highly intelligent, and it seems needlessly cruel to raise them this way. JOSEPH R. BRUMAN Sherman Oaks, California Via E-mail