Wrong Way?

Sirs:

Well, here they go again!

Now they'll be called cowards and clowns, washouts and wops, and a people who love everybody will wind up with the hate and disgust of everyone.

But before this universal razzberry is delivered, may I have my say?

An Italian will fight just as bravely and as honorably as any man who fights for justice. I know this to be true because I am of that blood. I am 22 and await eagerly my draft call to help defend America.

So, for a people who are basically warm, friendly and happy, the philosophy of coldness, hate and destruction is illogical, no matter how good the salesmen of Fascism may be.

If they quit completely in this war, I congratulate them for their intelligence.

The English are cheerful in their fight.

The French are bitter because they're unable to fight.

But those poor Italian dopes are forced to fight and to fight the wrong way.

They are fighting for Hitler and their own enslavement.

They know it, and maybe they're not running the wrong way after all.

JON CANTELLI

Norristown, Pa.

Shattered Peaces

Sirs:

In your issue of Dec. 2, you state that the town of Peaceburg, Ala., founded by Samuel T. Peace, had been purchased for use [as an] army artillery range and that "last week no one by the name of Peace was left in Peaceburg."

Samuel T. Peace, one of Jeb Stuart's cavalry men, was the oldest of six brothers in the Civil War. His next brother, A. D. Peace, was shot in the shoulder and head. His next brother, A. S. Peace, was shot through the stomach. His next brother, Ira J. Peace, was killed at Gettysburg. His next brother, George K. Peace, had his leg shot off. His next brother, J. Wesley Peace, had his little toe shot off. All in war. Do you blame the Peaces for moving out of Peaceburg when the Army moved in?

I am a nephew and the namesake of Samuel T. Peace of Peaceburg. . . .

SAMUEL T. PEACE Henderson, N. C.

Rio's Papers

Sirs:

Regarding the letter about "Rubber Rebound" in TIME, Nov. 25, the writer is highly misinformed in inferring that the Brazilian newspaper O Globo is Nazi-controlled. Of Rio's 22 newspapers, not more than three are controlled by the Germans; the rest are either neutral or pro-Ally. Herbert Moses, the highly respected president of the Brazilian Press Association, and treasurer-director of O Globo, is the son of an American mother and is a stanch friend of England and the U. S. His newspaper reflects this attitude. . . .

HART PRESTON

Rio de Janeiro

Typical American

Sirs:

In the Dec. 2 issue of TIME you have a very fine article about Jimmy Marshall of Rio, who is founder and general manager of the Lojas Americanas of Brazil. However, the picture with Mr. Marshall's name beneath it is most assuredly not a photo of Jimmy. . . . Jimmy is a typical American, quite fair and plump.

HELEN TAULBEE

Clearwater, Fla.

>TIME fumbled its pictures. The one printed with the Dec. 2 story was a photograph of Dr. Francisco Luiz da Silva Campos, Minister of Interior and Justice of Brazil. Herewith, a photograph of the real Jimmy Marshall.--ED.

Men of the Year

Sirs:

... I [nominate] Baron Mannerheim. . . . Do you remember his defense of Finland? Do you recall his inspired address at the close of hostilities? . . .

WINFIELD SCOTT

Atherton, Calif.

Sirs:

For Man of the Year, I nominate ... the Greek Evzone. . . ,

R. T. MclNTYRE

Clarksdale, Miss.

Sirs:

... I nominate General Charles de Gaulle.

ELIZABETH C. NORRIS

Hague, Va.

Sirs:

. . . Let's be honest and elect none other than A. Hitler of Germany.

JEAN BOOTH

Little Rock, Ark.

Sirs:

Man of the Year for 1940 is obvious . . . that part son of the new world, that John Bull incarnated, Winston Churchill.

ERNEST G. CRAWFORD

Maryville, Tenn.

Sirs:

I may be mobbed for making this suggestion. . . . But I still maintain that America has no better, no more intelligent friend than Charles A. Lindbergh. ... I want to nominate him as the Man of the Year. . .

JOHN J. MULLOWNEY, M.D.

Tarpon Springs, Fla.

Sirs:

... I nominate Earl Browder, who was not saying anything after the election, or should I say he wasn't in the position to. ...

STANLEY Moss Cleveland Heights, Ohio

Sirs: Napoleon, I believe, was the originator of decorations for conspicuous bravery in battle*--the medal being the most popular form of recognition. An A. E. F. General . . .

received a D. S. M. because his battalion of stevedores unloaded a cargo of hay in record time.

Now it stands to reason that some men in this world would scorn such baubles as medals for deeds heroic or otherwise, and would look for greater recognition, such as their place in history. This TIME has furnished with its Man of the Year contest each December, and the scramble for this honor is what has made the present large crop of dictators and brought the world to its present sorry plight. . .. .

I ask--does not TIME feel guilty of, indirectly, being the cause of the world's present woes? J. J. McGOEY Miami, Ariz.

>TIME does not designate the Man of the Year to do him honor. It designates him for accomplishments--whether for good or evil--that make outstanding differences in the world in which mankind lives.

Nominations for Man of the Year are hereby closed.--ED.

V. C.s

Sirs:

In your issue of Nov. 25, I noticed an inaccuracy in your usually precise magazine. You said Flight Lieut. James Brindly Nicolson was the first airman to win the V. C. in this war. Actually he is at least the fifth. . . . S. M. JOHNSON

London, Ont.

>TIME erred. Lieut. Nicolson was the first fighter pilot, but not the first airman, to get a Victoria Cross in World War II. The first four British airmen who won V. C.s were bomber crewmen: Acting Flight Lieut. Roderick A. Learoyd (attacking a special objective on the Dortmund-Ems canal in the face of heavy point-blank fire); Sergeant Thomas Gray and Flying Officer Donald Edward Garland ("most conspicuous bravery" in wrecking the Albert Canal bridge); Sergeant John Hannah (extinguishing a roaring blaze in a bomber instead of bailing out).--ED.

Hatless Sirs: TIME, Dec. 2 : "... Slump brought on primarily by feminine hatlessness." Understatement ! Rather: ''Slump brought on primarily by feminine hat designers." A woman, I, hatless, prefer not to be caught alive in many of the hats offered now.

They don't fit. They are unbecoming. They poke our escorts in the chin or eyes, depending on their, or our, height. They tilt and titter ; you have to be super to carry them off -- or be carried off. . . .

A $6,000,000 slump seems to indicate they CAN'T sell us anything!

A. B. MclNTYRE

San Francisco, Calif.

*Not true. Decorations for military prowess and valor go back to history's dawn. -- ED.

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