Letters, Jul. 5, 1954

Rocking the Solar Boat

Sir:

Re the Egyptian archaeological discoveries [TIME, June 7, 14]: I [must]correct a wrong impression . . . concerning an alleged "feud" among the archaeologists here [over] the recent discovery of the funerary solar boats south of the great pyramid. This [find] must be followed by further excavation and archaeological investigation which could only be, planned and carried out by a team. For this reason I issued a ministerial order nominating a committee including some of our leading archaeologists. The responsibility is too great to be left in the hands of one individual, and it is unfortunate that the young engineer, Kamil el Mallakh, should consider it his right to be left in complete charge . . . I assure you that nothing could be further from the truth than the assumption that there has been an attempt to belittle El Mallakh's work ... He has been made a member of the committee . . .

MOHAMED AWAD Minister of Education Cairo

Casualty Risk

Sir:

After reading your May 31 article on Texas insurance companies, I find it impossible to subscribe to such a renegade magazine . . .

CARL C. WALTERS International Fidelity Insurance Co. Dallas

With the collapse of San Antonio's General American Casualty Co. (TIME, June 28), Texas suffered its eleventh insurance casualty in 16 months.—ED.

Character & Fate (Contd.)

Sir:

Thanks especially for your June 14 issue on Dr. Oppenheimer. It's the finest delineation of our American policies, foreign and domestic, that we've had in a long, long time, and it should be required reading for everyone.

FANNY MCDOUGALL

Tucson, Ariz.

Sir:

Concerning your inhuman equation of Senator McCarthy and J. Robert Oppenheimer: I must say that ... I have never read such a sickening . .. and unfeeling . . . piece ... I certainly agree with your opinions on McCarthy, but when you say that Oppenheimer puts his judgment above the law and "he has a basic disrespect for security regulations," it seems to me that you are not only playing partisan Republican politics, but you are submitting yourselves to the . . . greatest degree of misunderstanding . . .

R. M. I. BELINSKI Meadville, Pa.

Sir: . . . The McCarthy comparison seemed not only deplorable, it was shallow ... A democracy is supposed to have room for citizens "arrogant" as hell, not overly circumspect about dinner companions, not averse to playing hide-and-seek with policemen. The military in a democracy does not, of course, put up with such peccadillos in its officers ... To which club do the scientists belong? There's the rub. If our brightest minds now are all "in the Army"—without benefit of uniforms—the police state already has conquered us.

PAUL KIEPE Riggins, Idaho

Sir:

I read with admiration your "Two Above the Law." Such a clear exposition of issues should also permeate our colleges. Some professors regard investigations as facetious, assert that cases similar to that of Oppenheimer are threats to academic freedom and are a manifestation of anti-intellectualism. At the same time these pseudo-intellectuals fail to recognize the concept of national security or minimize its meaning . . .

SHANT MARKARIAN Providence

Sir: