The Hearst Case

Sir / In all your conjecture in the Patty Hearst case [April 29], I am surprised someone did not suggest what I think would be a logical reason for the S.L.A.'s control over her--namely, the threat of assassination of Steven Weed or members of the Hearst family.

HELEN WIGGINS

Wichita, Kans.

Sir / Patricia Hearst has not only fallen victim to a tragic kidnaping but also to a phylogenetically evolved trait that Konrad Lorenz in his book On Aggression calls "militant enthusiasm." It is a behavior pattern precipitated when young people especially are abruptly exposed to the corrupt, hypocritical aspects of society and thereupon reject all the values and social traditions of that society. They then look for a cause that represents new and higher ideals into which they can wholeheartedly throw themselves. We have all experienced this phenomenon at one time in our lives, whether we acted upon it or not.

It was mere chance that Patty was ripe for such a cause when the S.L.A. kidnaped her and thus was able to win her over to its side with fanatical rhetoric.

WILLIAM KOSNIK

Chicago

Sir / Hooray to you students of Berkeley who see fit to idolize Patricia Hearst, or "Tania," for her membership in an organization that has Black Panther Leader Huey Newton targeted for death for abandoning the use of violence as a tactic. You have really got it all together, people. Just one question, though. Is this the same Berkeley that was the seat of protests against the senseless killings of the Viet Nam War?

ERIC RIES

Greensboro, N.C.

Sir / Close Berkeley.

MRS. WALLACE M. GIDDINGS

Georgetown, Texas

The Conniver in the White House

Sir / I am heartily sick of hearing people say, "We cannot impeach President Nixon or we will destroy the presidency."

The presidency is nearly 200 years old. It has survived flood, fire and pestilence, half a dozen wars, and the loss of Presidents Lincoln, F.D.R. and our beloved John F. Kennedy while they were still in office.

So I ask, is it reasonable to assume that the presidency has all at once become so fragile that it will fall apart at the seams if that conniver in the White House is brought to justice? His impeachment is long overdue [April 22].

MILDRED PORTER

Bethel, Vt.

Sir / Please, please, no more secrets! The impeachment proceedings must be televised. I want to hear for myself, see for myself, decide for myself. I won't be satisfied with less.

MARY JOYCE ANGERO

Meridian, Miss.

Sir / It is heartwarming to see a man standing up day after day and month after month to a barrage of vilification without buckling under. Don't you think it is time to stop baiting Richard Nixon and thank your stars (and stripes too) that along with your drug freaks and streakers, your fun killers and Central Park muggers, the braves of My Lai and the Symbionese Liberation Army, the Mafia and the hippies, your society still throws up men who, in another day and age, would have been hailed as heroes?

MANOHAR MALGONKAR

Belgaum District, India

The Zebra Man Hunt

Sir / Nelson Shields was mentioned as the twelfth victim of the Zebra killings in San Francisco [April 29]. To the few who knew him, he was more than a statistic, more than a picture on a page.

I find it ironic that an individual's life can be taken away, and very few are affected; yet a number of people take a man hunt personally and call it an infringement of their rights. Something as precious as life becomes insignificant, and something as objective as a search suddenly becomes a personal issue. What has happened to the value of human life that it is worth less than an individual's convenience?

JEFFREY REED

Grinnell, Iowa

Sir / Look at it this way: Which would you rather be, stopped and searched just because you're black, or shot just because you're white?

PAUL BERGE

Racine, Wis.

Compulsory Seat-Belting

Sir / I wanted neither the long arm of the law nor Detroit to harness me into my seat belt [April 29]. But it was not easy to regain control of my car. First, I had to get rid of the offensive red light that glared "Fasten Seat Belt." I thought this would still the buzzer, but no; luckily, my adrenaline gave me the power to rip out the wiring system. I also managed to dismantle the buzzer that told me the key was in the ignition while the door was open. My wife and I still use our seat belts at all times--but without the accompanying sonet lumiere.

ALAN H. EBENSTEIN

New York City

Sir / You can lead a man to slaughter, but you can't make him think.

JIM CHARLTON

Honolulu

Sir / The most irritating aspect of compulsory seat-belting is not so much the bother of it all as the violation of basic principles of individual freedom. By "protecting" individuals from the hazards of cigarette smoking, by banning cigarette commercials on TV, by requiring that autos carry seat belts that must be fastened in order to start the car, or (heaven forbid!) fining people for not fastening belts in the privacy of their own vehicles, we violate longstanding tenets of liberty, independence and self-reliance.

ALBERT L. WEEKS

New York City

A Dangerous Prescription

Sir / I was interested to note that in two of the five case histories accompanying your cover story on alcoholism [April 22], the pattern of alcohol dependence was initiated by the advice of a physician. Such cases are not rare.

When a physician advises the use of alcohol for its tranquilizing, sedative or antidepressive action for a patient undergoing unusual emotional distress, he or she is prescribing a dangerous drug, addictive in 5% to 10% of users. None of the normal controls on the use of a dangerous drug (e.g., medical supervision, control of dosage, need for periodic review and represcription, warnings of hazards and side effects) are present. The patient does not look upon alcohol as a drug and may be unaware of increasing dependence on it.

SHEILA B. BLUME, M.D.

Unit Chief

Alcoholism Rehabilitation Unit

Central Islip State Hospital

Sayville.N.Y.

Sir / There are those of us in Alcoholics Anonymous who rejoice in our sobriety. At a recent dinner dance at a newly dedicated Al-Anon Club, a woman was heard to remark that it was not she but her husband who had been the problem drinker. She herself had never tasted alcohol in all her life. "Oh, what a shame," replied a veteran boozer sadly. "Then you'll never know how good it feels to recover."

ANTHONY MACAULEY

San Rafael, Calif.

A Biblical Mood

Sir / It amused me to see the use of a biblical quote preface the article on "Why Those Tapes Were Made" [April 22]. Since TIME is in a biblical mood, how about "Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord and TIME magazine"?

GESINA KEATING

South Holland, Ill.

Campaign Spending

Sir / Referring to your Essay of April 22, it seems to me that half the election campaign spending could be easily curtailed. Just limit electioneering to one month--Oct. 1 to 31, no earlier and no later.

ALICE L. HOOVER

Paradise, Pa.

The Transcripts Evaluated

Sir / The conversations that the President has made public leave little doubt that the "sinister force" in the White House organization is none other than the President himself. One wonders what he is still holding back. The conversations prove beyond doubt that at the very least, he is a man without ideals of the kind one might take for granted in the leader of a democracy. He is counting on a combination of public apathy and congressional spinelessness to keep him afloat.

JOHN A. REEDER

Buffalo

Sir / I am fully convinced that Nixon does not know and appreciate that which is moral. Furthermore, he has underestimated the intelligence of all Americans. The transcripts are absolutely embarrassing. Is he embarrassed?

My thanks to you for your courageous reporting.

JOYCE KUYKENDALL

New York City

Sir / The President's transcripts might not prove him criminally guilty of any crime--we'll see--but he sure falls short of the American heritage we are taught in school and a lot of us still believe in.

JOHN RAND

Auburn, Me.

Sir / As a historical document, the transcripts are shocking, and they are only White House versions.

JOAN REMINGTON

Rye.N.Y.

Sir / After the publication of the transcripts of the submitted tapes on Watergate, it is inconceivable to me that anyone is still defending Richard Nixon. Even with the obscenities deleted, the transcripts reveal a foul-mouthed schemer, the very kind of person I would believe to be repugnant to the decent, Godfearing, middle-of-the-road and somewhat-to-the-right Americans who helped to elect him.

His more egregious shortcomings need not be added.

KATHERINE JOHNSTON

Greensburg, Pa.

Sir / As I read the transcripts of the President's taped conversations I was reminded of an old Edward G. Robinson movie in which the boss sits down and discusses the options with the syndicate.

As a voting Republican for 20 years, I was a little heartened by one of the President's conversations, in which he says that some of the Republican Congressmen would be upset by Watergate since they are "moral." That little bit destroys the White House p.r. campaign, which claims "everybody does it."

LINDA HILL

Fairfax Station, Va.

Sir / The 1,300 pages of transcript in those great and lovingly displayed piles would make a stack of ordinary typing paper no more than 6 in. high! Like the rest of Nixon's defense against the many charges laid at his door, those piles of notebooks are 95% packaging and 5% content.

IAN R. MACNEIL

Charlottesville, Va.

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