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THOM S. GEPHARDT
Anderson, Ind.
Sirs:
PLEASE ADVISE BY SLOW FREIGHT DOES HARTFORD, CONN. HAVE A BUG WORKS WHERE NUTS HAVE WRITING PRIVILEGES. IF SO, A. H. PATTERSON SHOULD HAVE HIS PENCIL TAKEN AWAY.
F. R. DOERFLER
Findlay, Ohio
Sirs:
I like A. H. Patterson's letter with his slate for the national elections, and I like your solemn publication of it without comment and I shall enjoy seeing the reaction. I don't suppose that more than one reader in five will recognize it as a hoax.
W. H. HERRINGTON
Collins Bay, Ont.
> Of 63 letters to TIME on "A Slate for Normalcy," 30 viewed Planner Patterson with alarm; 20 hoped (correctly) that he was solemnly spoofing; only 13 felt sure he was.—ED.
A Pro Speaks
Sirs:
It may be that a letter which you published recently [TIME, May 3] from John B. Woodward Jr., on duty presumably with the Army in New Guinea, has not received the attention it deserves. The soldier is thinking. . . . Servicemen believe they must have a greater part in plotting the course of world affairs than our present systems intend to afford them. They do not acknowledge equality of sacrifice between civilians and men who have died or risked death in combat. . . .
Another service impression: leaders responsible for military debacles are removed, but men in public life, notably those in federal government, who cultured the odoriferous background of this war with nearsightedness, selfishness and partisan politics, have survived and even dared to aspire to leadership in the future. Servicemen are not so tolerant ; they would advise many officials to inspect their own prewar records and start looking for new jobs—now.
I have noticed these ideas predominant among men who intend to return to civil life. The professional Navy, of which I am a member, avoids political opinions. . . .We are pleased, however, that the men with whom we serve for the duration are determined to curb those forces which require us to demonstrate our professional ability on the average of once every ten or 15 years.
RAY M. PITTS
Lieutenant Commander, U.S.N.
At sea
Jeremiah
Sirs: In thumbing through my Britannica . . .I come across the following:
"BARUCH, the name . . . of a character in the Old Testament, associated with the prophet Jeremiah, and described as his secretary and spokesman . . . the Book of Baruch . . . consists of several parts, which cohere so badly that we are obliged to assume plurality of authorship."
In our modern New Deal the prophet Jeremiah seems to prefer to be his own spokesman at the weekly press conferences. However, the lack of coherence which would lead to the assumption of plurality of authorship still befuddles the minds of men.
Where is Moses to lead us out of the wilderness—and will it take 40 years? That is equivalent to ten terms in office !
CHARLES R. SPEAKER
Washington
Graph of Government
Sirs:
In your issue of June 14, p. 22, you used a graph prepared by our agency.
The failure to accredit the source of the graph has made it possible for some of the members and supporters of this work to wonder whether we had used merely a government graph, instead of one that was prepared by our staff. . . .
JOSEPH R. MEAD
Editor