"Happy Childhood"

Sirs:

TIME, Sept. 10, Miscellany, p. 26--subhead "Happy Childhood'' refers to Mary Belle Spencer Jr. as my "half-naked 14-year-old daughter holding a trophy won in a bathing beauty contest."

I wish to assure the readers of TIME of my children's modesty and ask you to vindicate them by publishing their photograph as proof. . . .

MARY BELLE SPENCER Chicago, Ill.

TIME gladly prints the photograph of Victoria, 12, and Mary Belle Spencer Jr., 14, unrepressed daughters of the crusading Chicago attorney who had Sally Rand arrested for indecent exposure. According to their mother, Daughters Victoria and Mary Belle have never been to school, yet know everything. Once they threw their Christmas tree out the window.--ED.

Slur? Ad? Humor?

Sirs:

The enclosed item appeared in the Boston Herald. Is it a slur, an ad or humor?

BORIS G. ALEXANDER Cambridge. Mass.

TIME accepts as first-rate humor, not without advertising value, the Boston Herald's jibe by able Cartoonist Francis Wellington Dahl. Taking as his text the recent advertisement for TIME Inc.'s new fortnightly, LETTERS, "a publication . . . written by its readers," Cartoonist Dahl shows an earnest little man writing copy, drawing illustrations, setting type, tending press, delivering LETTERS to a house (presumably his own), finally receiving a notice: "Dear Sir--Your subscription has expired--Please send two dollars." But Cartoonist Dahl erred. The yearly subscription for LETTERS, beginning with the Oct. 1 issue, is only 50-c-.--ED.

Imitative Advts.

Sirs:

This twice-cover-to-cover TIME-addict sees a possible grave danger in the growing tendency of TIME advertisers to imitate editorial content so cleverly that one must look twice to determine what is news and what is advertising.

First danger, of course, is that news, mistaken for advertising, may be ignored. Second danger is that advertising, mistaken for news, might be overlooked. . . .

One wonders what TIME is coming to, when the Sept. 3 issue includes Zenith's news column about its Mussolini-filtering radio, the Parker House clever news column under "Hotels." Milshire Gin's news column advertising their advertising, and the Heinz TIMEstyle two-column ad. . . .

JESSE GOROV Chicago, Ill.

Sirs:

TIME's drolly flabbergasting captions, oddly arranged sentences, strange, trenchant, startling and vivid epithets--these by association (rather than per se) are endearing to its readers. . . . Such vigorous goings-on, however, premise an affectionate give-&-take which no advertiser even begins to rate.

Consequently when certain advertisers presume to ape, the effect is horrid. Horrid too is the arch way the same gentry bedeck their dry bosoms with TIME's own art-jewelry ("jam-packed," "fortnight ago," etc.) Ugh! It is really too too much. Readers are smitten with nausea, coma; worse, they develop sales-resistance.

CHAS. H. WALKER Willits, Calif.

Sirs:

I would advise you so to arrange your advertisers' type, copy and layout as not to confuse your readers with your valuable news. On my way from New York I became thoroughly disgusted getting tangled in Milshire Dry Gin, Parker House and other ads while I was in a news-seeking mood. In fact I became so enraged that I pitched the copy out the window. Luckily it was at a train stop--for I had left my ticket in it. . . .

H. T. LITTLE Pittsburgh, Pa.

Sirs:

At last some advertisements we can read and enjoy. Every week I used to watch for the Des Moines Register & Tribune ad because it was entertaining, and it didn't insult my intelligence. This issue [Sept. 3] I was delighted to find no less than four advertisements in crisp TIME style. If a few more advertisers would follow suit, I'd be a real cover-to-cover reader, instead of skipping the advertisements which are so often blatant or, what's worse, just plain dull.

R. M. HARPER Louisville, Ky.

Six months ago TIME asked its readers if they were unable to distinguish at a glance TIMEstyle advertisements from editorial text (TIME, March 12). Few readers registered confusion, and the trend of replies indicated that the advertisements were popular. Has reader sentiment changed? Do Readers Gorov, Walker and Little now represent the majority?--ED.

New Word

Sirs:

. . . You may be interested to know you have increased my vocabulary by the word moppet, for I had to look it up, and now that I know I can use it.

I am grateful for the publicity (TIME, Sept. 10) and thank you for all the time and trouble you put into it. . . .

NURA New York City

Sirs:

Many thanks for kudos given my baby sister "Nura" [TIME, Sept. 10]. However, your explanation as to the "Buttermilk Tree" is incorrect.

To the usual childish queries anent the subject our dear mother assured us babies were found "under the Buttermilk Tree which grew on a wishing ring."

. . . "Nura" has two older sisters, myself and Mary Blake Woodson, fictionist and long a member of the editorial staff of the Kansas City Star. . . .

CONSTANCE D. WOODSON Kansas City, Mo.

Truscon Transaction

Sirs:

The footnote at the bottom of p. 43, Sept. 10 issue of TIME, requires correction. This footnote reads as follows:

"Truscon's President Julius Kahn and his directors were severely criticized last year when the listing of additional Truscon stock on the New York Stock Exchange revealed a new wrinkle in corporate financing. Pressed for funds to meet a bank loan, the company sold 65,000 shares of stock it did not own, partly in the open market, partly by option. The stock was borrowed from President Kahn and other big shareholders. After the stock was sold, the company issued new stock to Mr. Kahn & friends. What Truscon did, in effect, was to sell short, but instead of buying back the stock as every other market operator must eventually do, it merely printed new certificates."

. . . The stock transactions referred to involve nothing whatever improper as might be inferred from the quoted statement. Briefly, at a time last year when banking facilities were disturbed quite generally . . . a private purchaser, in no way associated with this Company, its officers or directors, presented a proposition for immediate action for the purchase of a certain number of common shares of this Company with option on a number of further shares. . . . The Company, having authorized but not qualified shares available to meet these propositions, accepted the offer of certain of its large stock-holders to loan it the required number of shares, which were to be returned within eleven months from loan without any charge whatever. Under the agreements with the purchaser, 65,000 shares were sold and delivered to him, the payments being made cash on delivery and every dollar of proceeds going directly to the Company. . . . It was open to the Company to repay by purchase of stock on the market or out of its authorized and unissued stock. Upon proper consideration, the directors made the decision to return from authorized and unissued stock and that was done, after proper registration of the issue for such purpose with the Federal Securities Commission, and its proper approval by the New York Stock Exchange. . . .

JULIUS KAHN President Truscon Steel Co. Youngstown, Ohio

General's Friend

Sirs:

It may seem ungracious of me to cavil at your interesting notes on the election of General Evangeline Booth [TIME, Sept. 10], for I know full well that TIME has a warm corner in its editorial heart for The Salvation Army. But for the sake of the record let me point out that, far from being "the implacable foe of General No. 3, Edward John Higgins," Evangeline Booth has shown by her actions of the last five years that General Higgins has no more sincere friend and loyal supporter than the General-elect.

The canard that "a mysterious letter by which her Founder-Father willed her his throne" was to be presented by Miss Booth at the High Council is, of course, ridiculous. William Booth exercised his legal right and named his son Bramwell Booth to succeed him. Having done that he had no further power of controlling the succession. William Booth died in 1912, the only General of The Salvation Army who had the power of nominating his successor. Evangeline Booth was duly elected General by the legally constituted body deriving its authority from the Act passed in the British Parliament in 1930. . . .

W. L. DEVOTO Literary Secretary The Salvation Army New York City

Appreciation

Sirs:

You will be interested to know that through the agency of TIME the Federal Office of Education has been able to extend its service to a large number of persons recently. Mention of our new leaflet, The Cost of Going to College [TIME, Aug. 20], brought a host of requests from TIME readers, Insurance company officials, newspaper editors, educators, lawyers and persons in many walks of life asked for copies. To TIME our appreciation and also, I am sure, the appreciation of TIME readers who received copies of The Cost of Going to College.

WILLIAM D. BOUTWELL Editor-in-Chief Office of Education Department of the Interior Washington, D. C.

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