Chernenko Debut

To the Editors:

With the emergence of Konstantin Chernenko in the Kremlin [WORLD, Feb. 27], the U.S. thinks it can now deal with the "new leadership." The Soviet Union is still controlled by the same circle that has seen guiding the country all the while. Under Chernenko, the U.S.S.R. may deviate only a few degrees from its former course. Nevertheless, we must continue to urge the Soviets to steer in the right direction.

Raul G. Lacson

Chicago

As a Polish-born American, I want to add to your analysis of Chernenko. The new leader has a round face, indicating a stubbornness that is typical of a Russian peasant. In spite of this, people from this background are easier to negotiate with and to handle. They are emotional, honest and, if properly approached, rational. In contrast to Chernenko, Yuri Andropov had the profile of a Western intellectual, and this image initially misled the world. There is no mask on Chernenko.

Stanley Nawakowski

Kalamazoo, Mich.

After reading your article on Soviet youth, I was disturbed and yet hopeful. It is upsetting to see bright young people prohibited from learning about the world in which they live. But I believe that man's natural thirst for the truth ultimately prevails, and this faith gives me hope.

Rick C. Reckord III

San Francisco

Olympic Finale

Although some may resent the self-assured comments of Olympic Downhill Racer Bill Johnson [SPORT, Feb. 27], I would rather listen to Johnson's confident, funny remarks than the false humility and excuses mouthed by the other athletes. So many of the skiers on the international circuit are born with either silver spoons in their mouths or ski resorts in their backyards. Johnson had none of the advantages of his more famous and well-liked competitors. Still, he managed to fight his way to the top. He is a great American athlete.

Beth Leavenworth

Torrance, Calif.

It is refreshing to see someone like Johnson who knows his own worth and is not afraid to let everyone else know it.

Claudia Horwitz

Philadelphia

The Olympics are a meaningless competition in which the amateurs of some countries compete against the professionals of other nations.

Walt Stevens Alpine,

Texas

The U.S. should get serious about the Olympics. I suggest our income tax forms be modified to delete the presidential election campaign donation and instead provide for a contribution to an Olympic training fund.

Richard T. Gillis

Warner Robins, Ga.

You neglected to give one interesting statistic. The state of Washington produced half the American medalists: Phil Mahre, Steve Mahre, Rosalynn Sumners and Debbie Armstrong. It was also involved with a fifth, Bill Johnson, who went to skiing school in the state. Maybe Washington should have entered on its own.

Bram Wessel

Bremerton, Wash.

I have been cheering for the Mahre twins for years and know which one is which. You ran a picture of Steve when you meant to run one of Phil in the slalom race that brought him gold. The conventional wisdom for telling the twins apart is that Phil wears blue goggles (both Phil and blue have four letters) and Steve wears white goggles (both name and color have five letters). The Mahre twin in your picture is wearing white goggles; therefore, he must be Steve.

Fredda Hollander

Boston

TIME'S editors could never tell which twin had the Toni either. TIME regrets the error.

I have often traveled to the German Democratic Republic and have repeatedly been impressed by its fine athletes. In ages past, however, this area has brought forth some of the world's finest musicians, painters, writers, poets and philosophers. Since the country was divided in 1949, East Germany has not produced one outstanding novel, play or movie, nor made a contribution worthy of a gold medal in architecture, agriculture, medicine or physics. A nation's greatness is determined by more than Olympic medals.

Egbert Johannes Wiens

Niagara Falls

In your introductory story on the Olympics [SPECIAL REPORT, Jan. 30] you refer to the vermin at the new Sarajevo Holiday Inn as a tribe of rats with the instincts of Albanian terrorists. This inexcusable and inaccurate reference to Albanians demonstrates your writer's insensitivity toward a people who have no historical reputation for terrorism.

Arthur Christie

Brookline, Mass.

Leaving Lebanon

Let us not think we have wasted our efforts in Lebanon [WORLD, Feb. 27]. We tried to bring peace to that country, and many Lebanese were glad we were there. The Soviets, we should recall, were evicted from Egypt, Somalia and Grenada. They did not get all teary about "losing" in these areas. They looked for other opportunities. The U.S. should learn to do the same.

Gary Lund

Anchorage, Alaska

No amount of American aid to the Gemayel government or to any government that does not have the support of the Muslims will ever bring peace to Beirut. Religious unity is the key to political stability. The U.S. has never understood that fact.

Paolo Osmena

Stonyhurst, England

Idealist Police

Proponents of a police corps [NATION, Feb. 27] want to find young idealists, pay their way through college and then employ them as police officers. A successful law-enforcement representative has to have many qualifications. I doubt that "youthful idealism" is one of the most important. I was a Peace Corps volunteer and am a firm believer in its concept. But I do not feel the idea can be successfully transferred to police work.

Lieut. Florence A. Starzynski

Arlington County police department

Arlington, Va.

Judging the Bar

Your article "Challenging the Hired Guns" [LAW, Feb. 27] tells why lawyers are perceived by many Americans as unethical, avaricious deceivers. When Chief Justice Warren Burger refers to his colleagues as "hired guns" and "procurers" while addressing the American Bar Association, he is actually describing a very small percentage of the profession. The majority of lawyers are not as incompetent as Burger portrays them.

Richard Altman

Washington

Lawyers are no different from others. A few are dishonest and unscrupulous, but most are decent individuals trying to do well. It is disquieting to have the Chief Justice publicly berate the entire profession. One wonders how he would respond to an attorney who appeared before his court similarly misinformed.

Lisa Paschal Snyder

Baltimore

The "frivolous lawsuits" referred to by Burger are capricious only when they involve the rights of other people and not our own interests.

John L. Goodell

Jamestown, N.Y.

I agree with Burger's complaints about litigation "mania." Petty suits are being filed daily. A man sues a company for damages suffered when he could not hear traffic because he was wearing earphones. A drunk sues a bar because it should have refused to serve him. Some lawyers are accepting these cases; otherwise lawsuits could never be filed.

Norman F. Braun

Aldan, Penn.

Electronic Sound

Studio musicians should be seriously worried about the growing danger of being replaced by composer-programmed computer synthesizers [Music, Feb. 27]. Now that the function of producing music is more and more in the hands of composers and nonmusicians, a rift is forming between performers and composers. Composers can now afford to hear their work directly and economically on the synthesizers and have consequently come into direct competition with musicians, their onetime partners. One thing is dead certain: audiences will never pay to watch a computer operator walk onto a stage and press PLAY.

Clifford Metting

St. Clair Shores, Minn.

The electronic synthesizer is one of the greatest musical inventions in a long while. It should not be discredited because it produces a sound that is not directly manmade.

Jeffrey Allen Baecher

Kingfisher, Okla.

Death-Sentence Donations

The story about residents in Nevada and California donating funds to prosecute someone accused of a capital crime [NATION, Feb. 27] makes me sick. By soliciting public funds, the citizens of these states are operating under the theory of "guilty until proved innocent."

Gerald Kurth

Goodyear, Ariz.