Letters, Sep. 19, 1955

A Case of Black & White

Sir:

In your Aug. 29 “South Africa’s Tragedy in Colors,” the callous and inclement attitude with regard to the sifting of human beings exhibited in the investigator’s statement—”We may make a few mistakes and classify a few real Coloreds as natives, but that’s a risk we must take if we are to sort out these people” —reminds me forcibly of another “sorting out to take place, which though not characterized by callousness will be nonetheless inexorable. It is the Last Judgment portrayed in Matthew 25: 31-46 as the separation of the sheep from the goats. No capriciousness will govern that apartheid …

Would it not be ironic if these so-called Christians who determine men’s destinies by the color of their skin or the kinkiness of their hair should in the end be found themselves to be goats in sheep’s clothing ?

ROBERT H. EMERY Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Sir:

How is it possibly possible that the world will let the South African Nationalist government behave the way it does? They seem to ask for a repeat of the happenings in other colonies and ex-colonies like Israel and Morocco. What is the good of a United Nations if these things are allowed to happen? .

(MRS.) J. J. HACKSHAW

Auckland, N.Z.

Sir:

Our support of the government of South Africa must be withdrawn immediately I ask you how free people the world over can stand by while such treatment is given to fellow beings . . .

B. WHITTLE Gary, Ind.

Sir:

Is there a fate wretched enough to which the Strydom Gang and its monstrous Population Registration could be consigned?

ALLAN CLARKE Honolulu

Sir:

Surely the whites of South Africa knew what they wanted and what they were going to get when they voted for “Adolf” Strydom Now they have him … The boys in the Kremlin must be licking their chops over conditions there . . .

S. KLEIN Los Angeles

Party Men

Sir:

I read with great interest the wise comments of those sages of the Democratic Party —Truman, Butler & Kroll—assembled at French Lick, Ind. [Sept. 5]. They are so right; the present Administration is sadly out of step. The Republicans have brought on a depression (with employment at an alltime high and unemployment at a new low) and have no regard for human needs—they have permitted prices to increase 0.3% while merely increasing take-home pay by a lousy $3.84 per week .. . They are demagogues that misrepresent by reporting what takes place at foreign conferences instead of allowing the American public to wait ten years to learn that they were sold down the river. The Republican Party lacks color, so seldom do you hear of one of its stalwarts . . . fleeing the States like Bill O’Dwyer or going to jail like Mayor Curley. What have they ever contributed to compare with good old Mayor Hague, Ed Crump, Tom Pendergast, el al., or good staunch Democrats like Harold Ickes, Henry Wallace, Alger Hiss, Lamar Caudle ? . . . Even the President’s son is a reactionary—he foolishly got rank in the Army by going to West Point and being a Second Looy …

W. C. McNERNEY

Lemay, Mo.

East Side, West Side

Sir:

As mayor, and in behalf of the citizens of New York City, I wish to register my exception to the statement printed in the Aug 22 issue of TIME, that “New York is still far behind many other cities in its municipal services . . . with filthy potholed streets and clumsy police.” Today we have the largest police force in our city history, and a report issued by Police Commissioner Francis W. H. Adams just prior to his resignation showed a drop of 13% in major crimes during the past six months, which is evidence of the ability and service of our police . . .

I agree that an apathetic citizenry contributed to littered streets, but a current and continuing campaign of public education and strict enforcement of municipal ordinances have paid off with a great improvement and a most cooperative public. In trying to keep our city clean, we have more than doubled the number of curb miles of streets swept mechanically at least three times per week . . . Refuse collections cover 51% of the city’s entire area daily, and the remaining areas have collections three times a week, a peak of service which is unparalleled in any city in our nation … It might also interest you to know that a recent survey by scientists shows that the air in New York City is adjudged the second cleanest of the cities of our nation . . . ROBERT F. WAGNER Mayor New York City

Tale of a Tiger (Cont’d.)

Sir:

After reading your Aug. 22 article, “New Kind of Tiger,” my conviction is strengthened that the “new tiger” De Sapio is the same old tiger, a little more refined; Harriman is in bad company … I have just returned from a visit with high officials in six Western European countries. President Eisenhower’s popularity as a world leader is unmatched by any other man. His continuation as President and world leader is a must.

(THE REV.) HARRY B. PARROTT

Garfield Trinity Baptist Church Cleveland

Sir:

A terrific article on Tammany Hall and its history . . .

NITIN SHANKAR

Berlin

The New Code

Sir:

Re the new “Soldier’s Code” [TIME, Aug. 29]: It’s all very well for a bunch of archaic stuffed shirts, some from a Government-sponsored trade school (West Point), to say what captured fighting men should do; they are too old ever to be faced with the problem … I flew 49 missions during World War II and was often briefed on P.W. status under the old (Geneva) rules … To expect draftees to submit to the new code is to raise a new crop of “conchies.” To expect men to resist the combination of physical and mental torture known to be practiced by the Chinese Reds without the aid of extensive training on the same level as the inquisitors is like picking a man off the street and putting him in the ring with Marciano, then punishing him for losing the fight . . .

GEORGE L. LIDDLE Sioux City, Iowa

Sir:

The Code is inhuman . . . We must admire the complete objectivity of our generals, who are, incidentally, relatively secure from torture because of their international fraternization system. General Dean is a very rare exception, but he came back alive.

DONALD J. MELVIN State College, Pa.

Sir:

In an effort to lay the blame for what our P.W.S did in Korea … the Advisory Committee seems to have come to the conclusion that the cause was a lack of education in the fundamentals of American democracy. Is this argument valid? These men were asked to fight for an America which had allowed a Communistic Russia to overrun Poland, Czechoslovakia, etc., while talking loudly, but acting ineffectively. They were asked to fight for their country which had allowed aircraft to be fired upon and even shot down, while the U.S. did nothing more than wave a useless piece of paper demanding retribution. Is this a lack of education in the concept of American democracy or something more serious? . . . Can we in good faith with our fighting men subscribe to a code as strict as this Soldier’s Code when we have read about a man of God—a man whose very strength and being rested with God—who broke and signed a confession under Communistic torture? Cardinal Mindszenty’s faith could not sustain him in his hours of torture. Why should we expect our men to be able to do better?

As an ex-P.W. (Stalas Luft, June ’44—April ’45), I would like to suggest a more realistic code to be followed by P.W.s i) Give to all men (primarily officers) who have knowledge of war plans a suicide pill to be taken when such individuals deem it necessary. 2) Allow all P.W.s the privilege of talking as they see fit, writing as many confessions as the enemy wishes. 3) Allow the P.W. to do anything the enemy requires except take action which is in any way harmful to fellow prisoners. Any P.W. found guilty of this crime to be punished to the maximum of the law. HENRY F. GARLINGTON Savannah, Ga.

Frankie Boy

Sir:

Your vivid Aug. 29 story on my favorite American, Frank Sinatra, was as colorful and exciting as the man himself . . .

TRUDIE MORRIS

London

Sir:

… A pretty picture, indeed, of a nasty little boy and later of a bigoted show-off of a man . . .

CARRIE KRIEGER Hollywood, Calif.

Sir:

If Frank Sinatra walked into your office and punched I TIME Hollywood Correspondent] Ezra Goodman right in the middle of his fat face, I can’t say I’d blame him . . . NELLO PACETTI Kenosha, Wis.

Sir:

Quite a maudlin piece on Sinatra—written as though a teenager, about to swoon, were writing her thesis on mush! . . .

REX O. WHITNEY New York City

Sir:

On seeing the Aug. 29 cover, I was greeted by the magnificently skinny visage of Frankie boy, and I flipped . . . Thanks . . .

Jo LEE

Yonkers, N.Y.

Sir:

… I could hardly wait until I could tear up that cover . . .

ANNE Y. Ross Las Vegas, Nev.

Sir:

. . . Well, aren’t you going to tell us about that brassiere? Did Sinatra sign it, or didn’t he?

K. ADAMS Chicago

¶The evidence has been destroyed in the wash.—ED.

Security

Sir:

The flimsy pretexts for firing federal employees under the present U.S. “security” program, as outlined in TIME, Aug. 29, gave me the blue shudders. TIME is to be commended for exampling the insipid character of the loyalty interviews, and the Fund for the Republic merits congratulations for unearthing the brutal nature of the dismissals . . .

A. KLEIN Mount Vernon, N.Y.

Sir:

A fundamental consideration when evaluating the present security program: employment by the Government is a privilege and not a right. The well-being of 165 million Americans must be considered basic. When the loyalty of a Government employee is questionable in the least degree, sufficient ids for immediate dismissal exist.

CHARLES D. HARRIS

Lieutenant, U.S.A.F. Houston

Sir:

Re your solution: Give all the power to one bureaucrat! Let him hire and fire at his pleasure and save governmental dignity ! The board is at least democratic. Why not advise alcoholics to switch to dope?

EDMOND L. VOLPE

New York City

The British Press (Contd.)

Sir:

Your Aug. 22 article on the British press and its abysmal depths moves me to congratulate you. How right you are Recently the Daily Express. . . made much of your articles reference to its clever editing and enterprise. Genially patting itself on the back as it is wont to do, it stuck in its thumb and pulled out a plum and said what a good boy am I.

P. A. SCOTT Southsea, England¶Next to a headline on the Oued Zem massacre (WHOLE FAMILIES ARE KNIFED) the Daily Express excerpted 60 words from TIME’S 1,100-word story for an arm-wrenching Page One pat.—ED.

The Heretic (Contd.)

Sir:

Following your story on Pastor Crist there is a letter in your Aug. 29 issue by the Rev Grover Bell, who, along with others, challenges the right of any Protestant to judge another based on the right of Protes tants to interpret Scripture as one pleases it is true that most Protestants believe in liberty in interpretation of Scripture However, many of us doubt that the right of interpretation of Scripture includes the right to deny . . . basic doctrines such as the deity of Christ . . . While a man has the right to deny any part of the Bible, I question his right to call himself a Christian minister while doing so.

THE REV. HOWARD LEHN Otis Orchards Community Church Otis Orchards, Wash.

Sir:

Pastor Crist is to be respected for holding firm to his personal convictions, else would we be instrumental in restoring our church to the totalitarianism of Rome On the other hand, we cannot permit the personal convictions of our pastors to be aired from the dedicated Lutheran pulpit, lest we bring down on ourselves the confusion of Canterbury.

WILLIAM F. PAULSEN Brooklyn, N.Y.

The Humble Clam

Sir:

The sermon administered to my American Shrimp Girl and to me by Oneil J. Richard in his letter to TIME [Aug. 15] has made me contrite as a prawn, shaky as a jellyfish and humble as’a clam. I hereby renounce girls, shrimp, eels, oysters, crabs, periwinkles and all pleasurable subjects for the artist’s brush both of land and sea—all of which Mr. Hogarth and I loved so well.

PHILIP EVERGOOD

Southbury, Conn.

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