LETTERS

ST. GEORGE AND HIS CRUSADES

"George Soros would be surprised at the level of support for his philanthropy. Every cause needs a moneyman; he's the one!" RICK BROWNE Ashland, Ore.

Thanks for introducing me to the persona of financier and philanthropist George Soros [BUSINESS, Sept. 1]. How refreshing it is to read of someone of his stature who is truly committed to learning from argument and open debate and who is willing to use his power to apply new insights to some of life's more perplexing problems. JACK E. RUBEY Norcross, Ga.

In July I had the opportunity to teach creative writing to a group of East European students at Pennsylvania's West Chester University. Their eight-week stay was funded by Soros, whom I'd never heard of. We ought to clone him. Imagine, a business tycoon who spends a third of his day "thinking... about... where the world is going"! This is behavior we normally attribute to poets and philosophers, people we pretend to take seriously but prefer to confine to the ivory towers of a university, where their radical social ideas will pose no threat to our selfish individualism. JENNIFER FISHER BRYANT Glenmoore, Pa.

Soros' perspective from high atop Cash Mountain affords him a spectacular view for his societal vision. The irony is that the capitalist society that enabled him to accumulate such a disproportionate share of this planet's wealth is the root of the problem. If Soros wishes to identify the difficulties facing humanity, perhaps he ought to look in a mirror. PAUL AZZARIO Southampton, Bermuda

I've often daydreamed about what I would do if I had millions of dollars, and oddly enough, my fantasy comes close to George Soros' reality. I'm as selfish as the next person, but after mentally spending 4 million or 5 million dollars on yachts and jewels, my imagination lags. So my dreams would then focus on all the good I would do. I say, "Good on you, George." I don't have to agree with every project of yours to congratulate you on returning, in some measure, what you have taken from society. SHERRI L. DILLON Raleigh, N.C.

As an immigrant, like Soros, I understand his reaction to the government's reduction of programs aiding legal immigrants. People from abroad are the pride and strength of this great country. God bless Soros! We are all immigrants. JOAQUIM G.M. FERRO Hudson, Mass.

I hope that Soros' largesse will shame some of our homegrown billionaires into opening their own overstuffed pockets and giving something back to the country that has given them so much! DIANE F. SMITH Denver

Soros is naive to think that decriminalizing drug use would be a step in the right direction. Yes, we should try to reduce the harm done by over-punitive policies toward ordinary drug users, who are victims not criminals. But we need to avoid making dangerous and addictive drugs more easily available, especially to our youth. This requires careful modification of policy, different for each drug, not sweeping legalization. AVRAM GOLDSTEIN Stanford, Calif.

Your report may have told us more about America than about Soros the man. For decades now, other luminaries have been ignored, even ridiculed, for noting the corrosive effects of America's disastrous war on drugs--the waste of our resources on "crimes" that are merely consensual pleasures, the costly incarceration of millions of harmless Americans, the corruption of police departments by asset-forfeiture programs. If only we would remember that in America money talks and if only we would listen to a person with a pile of it, we might save trillions of dollars and avoid much agony. Now we know how to create change: get a renegade billionaire to back your cause! DAN FURST Honolulu

Without people like Soros to fund a return to sanity, our bigoted and draconian drug laws will continue to result in the unchallenged persecution of millions of peaceful Americans. CLARK BATTLE Secane, Pa.

POLICEMEN BEHAVING BADLY

Your article on police brutality [NATION, Sept. 1] failed to mention one crucial, complicating fact of police work: the character of criminals. Because law-enforcement officers routinely deal with people who are brutal and do not respond to sweet persuasion, the police must use force. Sadly, the only logic many criminals understand is the big stick. Thus to handcuff the police is to liberate the thug. Of course, there is no excuse for the extreme brutalization of a Haitian immigrant at Brooklyn's 70th Precinct, but a citizen like me has far more chance of being viciously attacked by a hoodlum than by a rogue cop. I would rather take the risk and let the police make tough decisions. I trust the cops more than the crooks. JOHN B. CARPENTER Vernon Hills, Ill.

If what retired police chief Joseph McNamara says is true, then I'm more frightened than sick. McNamara stated, "The message of politicians to police that they are soldiers in a war may be driving these angry and violent expressions of contempt. It is common in war to dehumanize the enemy. And all wars produce atrocities." If that's what police officers think, it's no wonder that some are seduced by the power a police badge can bring. Officers who adhere to that sort of philosophy end up creating wars of their own where there were none before. I have enormous respect for police officers, but an example should be made of those who harbor racist sentiments. Let them fight the war from the cold comfort of a jail cell. LARA PRYCE New York City

If cops think they are in a war, as McNamara said, perhaps they should adopt some of the military's doctrine. Even occupying armies must know the difference between friends and enemies. Cops who view communities in which they serve as "the bush" and its residents as the enemy are not likely to gather intelligence and arrest the most serious criminals. Minorities in inner cities have a serious stake in eradicating drugs and guns. However, they will not support police operations if they feel that most cops are not serious professionals but hostile, narrow-minded thrill seekers. JOSEPH BALANCIER JR. Marina, Calif.

LAND-MINE CRUSADE

Thanks for the story about President Clinton's announcement that the U.S. will join talks on a worldwide ban of land mines [WORLD, Sept. 1]. Land mines are adversely affecting the work of such international-aid agencies as Church World Service, CARE, American Friends Service Committee and others. Land mines have made it difficult to resettle refugees, to operate agricultural and animal-husbandry programs and to provide emergency relief in many areas of the world. Aid workers, as well as students and tourists, have been injured or killed, and equipment has been destroyed. The U.N. has estimated that a land mine, which costs as little as $3 to purchase, can cost as much as $1,200 to locate and clear. Land mines must be banned, and international resources must be made available for their removal. WILLIAM WILDEY, Regional Director Northern New England Church World Service Ludlow, Mass.

We agree there is an urgent need to clear land mines. In fact, the Clinton Administration has led the world's humanitarian demining initiative and has provided training and assistance to 14 countries to help develop indigenous, self-sustaining humanitarian demining programs. U.S. government agencies have spent more than $137 million for training, operations, logistical support and in-kind contributions. The Department of Defense plays a large part in the training component of this effort. We have deployed explosive-ordnance-disposal personnel and engineers to Bosnia and 11 countries in Africa, Latin America and Indochina. H. ALLEN HOLMES, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low-Intensity Conflict Washington

As the survivor of a land-mine incident in Goma, Zaire, in October 1995, I believe it's time that President Clinton listen to the voice of Americans regarding the use of mines. Mines are not weapons of defense, as some military types would have us believe, but weapons of genocide and terrorism. It is time that the U.S stop manufacturing, distributing and using these diabolical weapons that kill women, children and other nonaggressive people worldwide. Perhaps those who continue to support the deployment of these weapons would feel different if they had experienced what I did when a land mine blasted off both my legs and half my face, nearly killing me. We must stop the use of mines before it is too late. MARIANNE HOLTZ Boise, Idaho

UGANDA COMES OF AGE

Thank you for the positive piece about Uganda and its President, Yoweri Museveni [WORLD, Sept. 1]. Who says nothing good can come out of Africa? At least, all African leaders are not crooks, thieves, criminals, looters of their countries' treasuries and incompetent and ignorant dictators. Africans can be proud of leaders like Museveni. But alas, Africa is still in bondage. An era of peace and prosperity will emerge only when African leaders realize that salvation for their countries lies in the hands of Africans, not Europeans and Americans. African leaders should fashion a political system of government that is most practicable for Africa alone. Such a system does not need to pass a political litmus test by the Western powers. NATHANIEL I. NDIOKWERE Butte, Mont.

Michael Southwick, former U.S. Ambassador to Uganda, is representative of Westerners who blindly believe that a Western form of democracy is the only form for every society. But in Africa, as in many other societies, tradition and culture cannot be separated and replaced with foreign ways of life. Wealth transcends culture, and economic freedom is part of building that wealth. The world must encourage mutual trading relationships so that both Africans and their partners outside Africa can benefit. YUNUS BADAT Cleveland, Ohio

I concur with Museveni's statement, "Unless you say all the societies in the whole world are uniform, then you cannot say their political management must be uniform." First, feed the hungry, shelter the homeless and heal the sick. Then give them political liberties. It may be repulsive to Western civil libertarians, but as Museveni says, Africa is not the West. Fundamental rights can be given attention only when the socioeconomic and cultural diversity of a state has reached the right equilibrium. KIPKORIR KIRUI Dallas

You ignored the rampant corruption and nepotism in Uganda. Something is wrong there. With per-capita income at $240, how can Museveni afford to fight other people's wars? HENRY ISIKO Lake Providence, La.

STRIKE WINNERS AND LOSERS

I don't believe the majority of Americans think the UPS strike settlement is a victory for the American worker and a defeat for corporate greed [BUSINESS, Sept. 1]. As a small-business owner, I can assure you the winner is not the American worker. The stockholders of UPS will make sure that the company's return on investment is not hurt and will do so by raising prices and reducing costs. The losers will be all of us, since we will pay more for the freight on practically everything we buy. The losers are also those UPS workers who will be laid off at some point. The winners are other shipping companies that will get business from firms like mine (I will no longer give UPS all my business), senior UPS employees--and Teamsters Union president Ron Carey. JEFF SMITH Beaumont, Texas

The focus by the Teamsters Union on part-timers as an issue of UPS labor practices has the unfortunate side effect of casting a negative light on part-time work in general. Clearly, using part-time employees as a strategy to avoid paying benefits is questionable and should be addressed at the negotiating table. But part-time work can benefit both employers and employees. One of the biggest trends in employment has been part-time professional work, especially for women. They are quietly getting the work done while at the same time feeling good about their families. For them, part-time employment offers a unique package of family values, feminism and fat paychecks all wrapped up in one gloriously shorter workweek. NANCY CHAMBERS AND CINDY TOLLIVER Cliffside Park, N.J.

You suggested that the voiding of Carey's election as Teamsters president is bad news for him [NOTEBOOK, Sept. 1]. But what about the taxpayers who shelled out $22 million to "monitor" that union election--at a cost of about $100 for each vote cast? That is outrageous! If another union election is held, it should be paid for by the Teamsters, not the Federal Government. S. HARDING LINDHULT Hatboro, Pa.

JELLY BEANS OF HOPE

In his description of artist Tyree Guyton's Heidelberg Project in Detroit [AMERICAN SCENE, Aug. 25], Ron Stodghill II noted that Heidelberg Street is festooned in polka dots. Stodghill said that neighbors weren't thrilled by other aspects of the project, including the thousands of old shoes displayed in the area. But support from neighborhood residents, local businesses and government groups far surpasses any dissatisfaction. The Heidelberg Project provides a stimulating, relatively safe stretch in Detroit's inner city where residents and visitors can play, create, learn, sit and think. Many of the artworks, constructed by Guyton with the help of children and adults, are collective responses to important current or historical events. While it is true that the polka-dot logo recalls jelly beans, it is also a symbol of the Heidelberg Project's fundamental goal: to generate a healthy, heterogeneous community in Detroit. JENENNE WHITFIELD, Executive Director Heidelberg Project Detroit

I had an opportunity this summer to visit the Heidelberg Project and found myself standing in the middle of the street in awe of the beauty before me. The thousands of used shoes (soles) represent all the lost souls in Purgatory hoping for mankind's prayers to help them ascend to heaven. Guyton's polka-dot theme is seen everywhere, sending the message "I don't care what race you are, if you are black or white or even polka dot, God's love sees no colors." JUDITH ZABAWSKI Sterling Heights, Mich.

NOT-SO-RARE STAMPS

What you forgot to mention in your item on the special-interest, or collector, stamps being sold by the International Collectors Society [NOTEBOOK, Aug. 25] is that these issues, although legal, are often vastly misrepresented. Stamps like the ones you showed of the White House cat Socks are sometimes advertised as being rare or a great opportunity for investment. They are neither. They are printed in tiny countries at the request of the I.C.S., and only enough are used in the country of origin to qualify them as "genuine postally used." The block of nine Socks stamps, which sells for $12.95, costs a small fraction of a dollar to print. SHERWOOD J. SYVERSON, President Lakes Stamp Club Lakewood, Wash.

MOUSEKETEERS COMPLAIN

As a cast member of the original Mouseketeers of Mickey Mouse Club TV fame, I take exception to your lumping together all the recent lawsuits against Disney and referring to us Mouseketeers as "turning nasty" [PEOPLE, Sept. 1]. It is truly unfortunate that former Mouseketeer Billie Jean Matay (or Billie Jean Beanblossom, as her fans and I knew her) was a victim of robbery in a Disneyland parking lot. This horrible incident was never taken lightly, and although the case was dismissed, I don't believe the judge had to resist the temptation "to call the case Goofy." Only time will tell how worthy is the suit by former Mouseketeers for royalties they believe are owed them for the TV show. Don't paint a frivolous picture before the facts and outcome are revealed. MARY ESPINOSA Long Beach, Calif.

Your spurious remark that former Mouseketeers are "turning nasty" verges on the tabloidesque and, by inference, taints 37 former child stars. For more than 42 years, the Mouseketeers were not involved in any incidents of substance abuse or bouts with the law, while the palpable problems of other child actors are well known. The union that represents us Mouseketeers, the Screen Actors Guild, is pursuing a claim against the studio on our behalf. Finally, thanks for superimposing Billie Jean Matay's photo over my face. I have assiduously avoided appearances in the tabloids for all these years. LONNIE BURR (MOUSEKETEER LONNIE) Valley Village, Calif.

MIR CREATURES ON EARTH

Garry Trudeau intended to be humorous in his satiric look at the home life of Russian cosmonaut Vasily Tsibliyev and his wife [ESSAY, Sept. 1], but succeeded only in painting a very negative image of Tsibliyev as a bumbler. How easy it is for Trudeau to take the difficulties of the Mir space station and place them squarely on the shoulders of one person. Putting a space station thousands of miles above the earth is a great scientific achievement. Just because Tsibliyev is a Russian, he is ridiculed. Don't forget that Mir is the only manned space station to remain in orbit for 11 years. PAREEN SHAH Sterling Heights, Mich.