Letters, Jul. 19, 1954

(2 of 3)

Three amiable young sea otters are up there in the Aleutians doing nothing but lolling around the kelp on their backs and combing the remains of sea urchins from their drooping whiskers. How do we reward these splendid creatures for their exemplary behavior ? Drag them to a zoo in Washington, D.C., install them in a bath to be gaped at by the boiled eyes of bored bureaucrats. I give them three weeks in that setup.

L. J. FETHERS

New York City

Hortense, Aggie and Peter did not make it; they died a fortnight after their arrival at the zoo.—ED.

"We in Gettysburg"

Sir:

The citizens of our town are pleased with the excellent color presentation of the Paul Philippoteaux painting of the Battle of Gettysburg that TIME, July 5, published. We are proud of our heritage. It ... was given to us by the brave soldiers of both armies who fought here in 1863 . . .

W. G. WEAVER

Burgess

Borough of Gettysburg, Pa.

The Lutheran Family

Sir:

It was a great disappointment to me that the Lutheran Church, no less, endorses birth control publicly [TiME, June 28] ... Where does man get the idea that he must answer to God for bringing a being into the world, ignoring the fact that without God's giving the life it would not exist . . .

HENRY W. HOPING

Albuquerque

Sir: Now that half a million Lutherans have formally approved of birth control, which they presumably were practicing before the vote anyway, how long will it be before a resolution follows ruling out society's need of marriage in similar phrases—i.e., marriage is an added blessing, not a penalty to be imposed upon the pleasures of sexual relationship . . .

RUTH MCCOLLUM Ocala, Fla.

The Oppenheimer Case (Contd.)

Sir:

... I have long been an admirer of Dr. Oppenheimer and have been very distressed by the decision of the security board. Without your full coverage of the case I would never have learned of the basis for that decision. I must thank you for restoring my faith in the security system of the U.S. The need for such a coverage . . . cannot be overemphasized in these days when all the blacks and whites are grey.

CHARLES P. WERNER Philadelphia

Sir:

You are, unfortunately, completely correct in what you say about the ''widely distorted picture" of the Oppenheimer case resulting from undue secrecy by the AEC security board [TIME, June 28]. The picture which the British press gave was very definitely distorted, and no significant correction of that distortion has followed publication of the full transcript of the evidence . . .

WILLIAM E. DICK

Editor Discovery

London

Addendum

Sir: . . . With respect to your June 28 report on "Miss Germany" being elected "Miss Europe": any magazine which reports a 38-22-38— item without accompanying photographic evidence cannot be said to have adequately served its readers . . . Please rectify this serious deficiency . . . and rush a full-length picture of Miss Christel Schaak.