Man of the Year

Sir:

An excellent story on the future prospects of Vice President Nixon. Is it possible at last for the country to have a man as young as he for its Chief Executive (though not at the expense of Mr. Eisenhower)? He is certainly an energetic go-getter. The country needs such men in times as these, when the day of the armchair executive has taken a place beside the man in the flying machine in sorties around the world. I would nominate Mr. Nixon for Man of the Year. A/3c R. LEAVELL, U.S.A.F. Evreux, France

Sir:

May I propose Sherman Adams? His reputation is neither tarnished nor varnished ; his abilities are able and stable. CAROL P. DEWEY Paris

My nomination goes to Inland Steel Chairman Clarence Randall for his concise diagnosis of the the part played in the sabotage of the free enterprise system by too many modern businessmen [Oct. 10]. The ruthless, forthright, anything-for-a-fast-buck, the public-be-damned brand of capitalism of the "good old days" has been replaced by the pious, hypocritical, anything-for-a-fast-subsidy, competition-be-damned brand popular today. A little less preaching about the advantages of competition and a little more competition would be the salvation of the free-enterprise system. GEORGE ANEIRO San Anselmo, Calif

Native Sons Sir: ant be the New York myth be exploded before Mr. De Sapio hoodwinks Mr. Harriman and the Democratic party? It ought to be obvious that the American people dont cotton to New Yorkers. In the past 50 years the political stage has been strewn with the corpses of unsuccessful candidates for the presidency from that great state. In that period five men who once sat where Harriman now sits sought to move on to the White House. Only one, F.D.R., succeeded.

RUSSELL C. STROUP Washington, B.C.

P:Since the turn of the century, T.R. as well as F.D.R. made the move from Albany to Washington. Those who tried and failed: Charles E. Hughes, Al Smith and Thomas E. Dewey.--ED.

Approval

Sir:

I note with considerable surprise, though not necessarily with disapproval, that you use the word "voluptuous" to describe a 15-year-old girl [Oct. 17], even though she is the former Princess Virginia Ira Furstenberg and now a bride of Prince Alfonso Hohenlohe-Langenburg. What's your excuse?

J. E. SCHMIDT Charlestown, Ind.

P:I For TIME'S excuse, see above.--ED.

Prudence & the Pontiff

Sir:

Anent the Oct. 17 story of the Pope's plea for "greater and greater speed to the glory of God": while the U.S. is being constantly cautioned to drive more slowly, the "infallible" Pontiff travels at almost one mile per minute, and urges others to race "with courtesy and prudence" at a super rate to church or hospital. Would a suggestion to start a few minutes earlier for a destination be considered "bigotry"?

CATHLEEN O'CONNER

Pentwater, Mich.

Prefab School

Sir:

Your Sept. 26 story on the prefabricated Indiana school is misleading, although I am sure not intentionally so. The cost per classroom means nothing unless it is made clear just what the cost includes. For example, if a twelve classroom building were constructed for $180,000 and contained, in addition to the classrooms, a boiler room, the corridor and necessary toilet rooms, the cost per classroom would be shown as $15,000 per room. If the building just described included a gymnasium, locker rooms, cafeteria, library and administration suite, in addition to the twelve classrooms, raising the total cost to $360,000, the cost would be reported as $30,000 per classroom unit ... I can't help wondering also where your "average" $37,000 classroom cost was derived from.

E. W. DYKES Canton, Ohio

P: TIME'S estimate of average classroom cost, including average facilities, was based on figures supplied by the National Education Association.--ED.

Terrible Tempers

Sir:

When you referred to "terrible tempered Governor Lee" in TIME, Oct. 17, you probably did not intend the term as a compliment. It is about time that the rest of us, who still have confidence in the Constitution, display some "terrible temper" in opposing confiscatory taxation, one-world government and slavery to Washington bureaucracy.

GEORGE J. HESS Bunker Hill, Ill.

Sir:

I know very little about the politics and general nature of Governor J. Bracken Lee of Utah, but I am sure that if a national referendum concerning his expressed sentiments about the dissolution or abolition of the U.N. were held, an overwhelming majority of Americans would support them. For another thing, I am positive an equally great percentage would favor ordering the U.S. Government to stop squandering and donating billions of dollars to foreign countries.

JULES M. LIEBERTHAL The Bronx, N.Y.

Pride & Pleasure

Sir:

It has come to my attention that TIME [July 18] erroneously reported the facts and circumstances surrounding the acquisition of President Eisenhower's Geneva residence, the Creux de Genthod, which caused considerable embarrassment to Mr. Andre Firmenich, the generous donor. As a close friend and business associate, I was present during these early discussions, and Mr. Firmenich took great pride and pleasure in offering his chateau to our President, without charge, for the duration of his stay at the Geneva Conference.

CHARLES C. BRYAN President

Firmenich Incorporated New York City

P:TIME'S apologies to Donor Firmenich. The statement that the President's Genevavilla was rented was based on erroneous wire service dispatches.--ED.

Ham & Roses

Sir:

Enjoyed the Oct. 17 article on Ed Sullivan. Everyone, including Ed himself, wonders what it is that he's got; I can sum it up in one word--sincerity. It's something that is about as rare as a rose in December these days.

RUTH SEMMION

Los Angeles

Sir:

Ed Sullivan may have "it," but my friends at our Sunday night parties say, "turn that guy off."

R. B. WHITE

Brooklyn

Sir:

You state, in effect, that the networks, with a surplus of eager sponsors to accommodate, are selling horsemeat to the public in the guise of steak. How true. Most of the material that nowadays insults the intelligence and is billed as topflight entertainment is a combination of ham and sow's ear, with neither guise, nor, worse, apology. The blame for this does not belong to the consuming public, whose sense of taste and discernment, once fairly encouraging, has been hammered into near oblivion by several years of Gleasons, Godfreys and giveaways. It belongs to the producer networks, who, like their counterparts in Hollywood, have ignored the obligation incumbent on them to raise the level of human knowledge. Abandoning a marvelous opportunity, they engage in pointless competition, with prestige as their only visible goal.

JOHN H. TRATTNER Virginia Beach, Va.

Household Gods

Sir:

It is indeed a pathetic situation when a TV set's proximity to the dining area is the big selling point of a house; how the visiting Russian housing administrators must have laughed at the spectacle of American parents hurrying to satisfy the slightest whims of their "progressive children" [Oct. 17]. "Howdy Doody" is no substitute for a harmonious family whose members enjoy food and congenial conversation equally well.

MRS. JOHN CHIARIELLO Elba, N.Y.

Depends on the Liver

Sir:

As an American who has long studied the lethargic, degenerative aspects of European living, I was immeasurably bored by "tripper" Ann Miller's trite comment concerning the Utopian holiday of the Europeans as opposed to the mad American way of life [Oct. 3]. Obviously, the ulcerous worker of the U.S. has to keep up the furious and exhaustive pace to produce the money which permits the lazy Latin and feeble French to vegetate on their numb posteriors. And if the typical American has his ulcer, the typical European most assuredly has his perforated liver.

WILMON B. MENARD Brazzaville, French Equatorial Africa

The Cost of Power

Sir:

Your Oct. 17 coverage of the John Day debates was well done and was a fine piece of writing. I am afraid, however, that your abbreviated description of the John Day bill may have left an incorrect impression on the minds of most readers. Financing the project would not be limited to three private companies. Nonfederal interests may apply to the Federal Power Commission for permission to participate. As a matter of fact, the Washington State Power Commission and several municipal agencies in Oregon have indicated interest in the proposal.

SAM COON

Second District of Oregon House of Representatives Washington, D.C.

Paris All the Way

Sir:

With respect to Painter Calcagno's remarks [Oct. 17] concerning the death of Paris as a painter's city: I think perhaps a young artist might confuse gallery-saturated Paris' failure to get excited vapors over his work with the arthritis of art he speaks of . . . But if he is looking for a rich and rewarding atmosphere in which to work and grow, it is still worth the boat trip. I wouldn't

be at all surprised to see Calcagno, long

-before the expiration of his hundred years' deadline, back among us poor deluded "expatriates" for a fresh shot of inspiration.

JOE DOWNING

Paris

Church Credit (Contd.)

Sir:

Some of your Oct. 10 letters to the editor dealt with modern-designed churches and their architects, who had been "snubbed" because their names had been left out of your original Sept. 19 spread. Here at Riverside Tabernacle in Flint, Mich., we feel doubly snubbed because you failed to photograph the most beautiful new church in the country [see cut] and, at the same time, to mention that it was designed on the drawing board by our pastor, the Reverend M.A. Jollay. Not only did he do the actual work--all without a formal degree in architecture--but he received lavish praise from the contractors who built this beautiful $250,000 structure. In addition, he directed a campaign that saw the entire amount raised through the sale of bonds which made it unnecessary for us to visit any bank vice presidents to raise the money. Almost all of the bonds have already been redeemed --all within a short span of less than three years.

VIRGIL A. SELLERS

Flint, Mich.

Race & the Law

Sir:

I was very much interested in your Sept. 19 article on Thurgood Marshall, and was equally interested to read the rather predictable letters [Oct. 17 et seq.,] in rebuttal. I recently had the opportunity to hear Marshall when he spoke before the Virginia Convention of the N.A.A.C.P. here. I am not a member of the N.A.A.C.P., nor do I agree with many of their methods. I am a Southerner by heritage, by upbringing and by choice. I was, therefore, somewhat surprised to find myself in agreement with Thurgood Marshall. He pointed out that the Supreme Court has determined that segregation in schools must end, and if we choose to "defy" the Supreme Court, we are challenging its right to determine the laws of the nation, and consequently challenging the Constitution itself. If we in the South try to defy the Supreme Court, or to circumvent it, we will be started on a course to challenge the entire authority of the U.S. This is a ridiculous course; following it once led us to secession and defeat; surely we should have learned from that lesson. It would be more sensible to accept the Court's ruling, and accept it with the good grace that will cost us nothing. It will prevent the unhappiness and discord which now seems inevitable.

ARCHER ELLIS HANSEN

Charlottesville, Va.

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