Mondale on Top

To the Editors:

Walter Mondale [NATION, June 18] is probably a nice guy, but he seems to represent only those who want handouts from the Government or protection from competition in the marketplace.

Carl E. Hutter

Forest Park, III.

So Fritz Milquetoast thinks he has it sewed up, does he? If he is the Democratic presidential nominee in November, I will be obliged to vote for Reagan. I am sure I will not be alone in my crossover.

Guerry S. Teeple

Washington, D.C.

I would vote for Mondale for President only if Hart was on the ticket for Vice President and being groomed for 1988/1992 or if there was a woman or a black V.P. candidate. I am tired of old men. The Democrats are running against an aged celluloid cowboy. Why not give him a ride for the money?

Maurie McClees

Brown Del Mar, Calif.

Now that Reagan has been dubbed the Teflon President, Mondale should have a title too. How about the Mirror Candidate? When he looks in the mirror, there is the image of Jimmy Carter.

Carl R. Prahl

Luquillo, P.R.

Your graph vividly shows that 55% of the people prefer someone other than Mondale. The question for San Francisco delegates: Who has the best hope of beating Ronald Reagan? This is a country run by Nielsen ratings. Only Hart has the smile to compete with Reagan's on the evening news.

Marie Morgan

Vancouver, Wash.

In "Looking Out for No. 2," politicians seem to emphasize that "gender, geography and politics" are the key factors in the selection. Does anyone ever give serious thought to the possibility that the Vice President is only "a heartbeat away" from becoming President?

William J. Pelham

Hampton, Va.

The Sikh Dilemma

When the Sikhs started their agitation, it was mainly political, with no religious overtones. Sant Bhindranwale provoked no violence [WORLD, June 18]. Indira Gandhi and the Hindu majority in India are to blame for the slaughter that the army committed in the Golden Temple. Sikhs worldwide have never been more united. Even "moderate" Sikhs now demand a separate state, because they know they cannot get justice from the Hindu majority.

Bhupinder S. Datta

Pittsburgh

The murder of the Sikhs is yet another tragic example of bloodshed motivated by religious "fervor." Terms like Sikh, Hindu, Jew, Christian and Muslim ring hollow when they are used to sanctify acts of violence. The greatest evil lies not in what religion does to men but in what men do in the name of religion.

Scott F. Sadoff

Baltimore

Your article on the attack at the Golden Temple painted a gruesome picture of the plight of Sikhs and other minorities in India. With its poverty-stricken masses, India will disintegrate within the next ten to 15 years. There is no central figure after Indira Gandhi to keep that country together. The uprising of the Sikhs is just the beginning of the end of "united" India.

Omar U. Zaman

Atlanta

Wild Wind

I was once a witness to what you label a "rogue wind" in your article about the sinking of the Marques [NATION, June 18]. I was standing a watch belowdecks during a relatively calm stretch of weather after we had been forced to put to sea because of an approaching hurricane. Suddenly the ship, the U.S.S. Catskill, a converted cruiser, heeled over noticeably to starboard, as if pushed by a giant hand. Everything not tied down crashed against the starboard bulkhead. The phenomenon was not repeated, and we suffered no casualties or damages. If the ship had been under full sail, nothing could have kept it from turning turtle.

Charles E. Dow

Collinsville, III.

Refugee Refuge

Your article on the plight of Guatemalan citizens living in Mexico [WORLD, June 18] presents statements based on semitruths. The Guatemalan government has designed a program to bring back from Mexico Guatemalans who freely and voluntarily wish to be resettled. One of the first steps was the inauguration of the village of Chacas near the Mexican border. Guatemala has been conducting negotiations on this issue of relocation with Mexico since November of 1983. In April the Mexican government unilaterally decided to resettle the refugees in northern Campeche. The Guatemalan government publicly protested to the Mexicans after the El Chupadero incident and denied any Guatemalan army involvement. It requested protection for the refugees from guerrilla-sponsored violence, since the host country has a moral responsibility to protect their lives and cater to their wellbeing.

Federico Fahsen

Ambassador of Guatemala

Washington, D.C.

Guide to Nowhere

The article "How Does This #%0@! Thing Work?" [ECONOMY & BUSINESS, June 18] is long overdue. I have watched the quality of instruction books deteriorate for years. The root cause is that manufacturers are cheap. The almost universal flaw in how-to guides is a poor index. When our range top turned into a fireworks display, I checked the mail-order catalogue to see what it would cost to replace the unit. There was nothing in the catalogue index under "cookstoves" or "stoves, cook." In earlier years, catalogues had every conceivable synonymous entry.

Don Worsham

Smithfield, Texas

I own a 1923 Packard and its manual. Under the heading "General Operations," it says, "How to start the car: 1) Take a position behind steering wheel. If all writers of manuals began with the basics, on the premise that the user knows nothing about the item purchased, anybody could operate any machine.

Jerry Pollard

Northbrook, III.

Barefoot Budd

Hooray for the young barefoot runner from South Africa, Zola Budd [SPORT, June 18]! She epitomizes the modern athlete who must deal with political strife and product endorsements and still concentrate on performance. She is handling her trials bravely and has risen above her peers with well-deserved recognition.

Nina Chien

New York City

Budd's qualification for the Olympics shows that the political hurdles are surmountable. It proves that some day the Games can be free of politics and be held for competition's own sake.

Scott Sallstrom

Fort Sill, Okla.

Dickensian Tale

Why do you condemn Olin King for using a plastic rod at his boys' school [NATION, June 11]? When properly used, the pipe has the power to deliver a child's soul from hell (Proverbs 23:13,14). Let us condemn the mothers and fathers in this modern American society who show that they hate their children by withholding discipline from them (Proverbs 13: 24) and treat their offspring like bastards (Hebrews 12:7, 8).

Gary N. Harrison

Statesboro, Ga.

School Superintendent King justified the severe beating of the youngsters, ages five to 17, by quoting Scripture, Proverbs 22:15: "Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child, but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him." I would answer him: "The devil quotes Scripture to suit his purpose."

Ned Gross

Sarasota, Fla.

Call It the Blues

Does Psychologist Lesley Hazleton [BEHAVIOR, June 18] actually send bills to those depressed patients of hers after she smugly tells them, "Suffering once accepted loses its edge"? I am quite sure that human beings were not put on this earth to suffer the painful and paralyzing effects of depression.

Virginia Westmoreland

St. Louis

Psychologist Hazleton's protracted "dolor" may have qualified her as an expert on the blues, but about depression she does not know beans. Being bruised by the blues may give one insight into the human condition, but being crushed by depression definitely does not.

Jennifer Hamilton Calvert

Oak Ridge, Tenn.

Remembering Another War

I was too young to fight on Dday; yet I fought in another war some 20 years later, half a globe away from Normandy [WORLD, June 18]. We had no Dday, but we had Tet. I have told my daughter I have no desire to return to Viet Nam. I wonder if history and world leaders will award us similar accolades on our 40th?

Larry Lanier

New Canaan, Conn.