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Most of the people of this hemisphere have lost their fear of us and would really like, I believe, to follow our lead—if we would assume the lead. The other night here in Bogotá we saw the newsreels of the Squalus rescue. The audience was simply overcome with admiration . . . and clapped and stamped as the survivors were helped aboard the Falcon. Finally the man in back of me, a Colombian, poked me violently in the back and said fiercely: "There, you ugly German [anybody with blond hair in Bogotá is a German], that's what we of the Americas can do."
JOSEPH H. SPEAR The Anglo American School Bogotá, Colombia
Wisest Utterance
Sirs:
In TIME, July 3, you quote Biologist Edwin G. Conklin:
"The present world crisis is not due to bad heredity, nor to inexorable nature, nor to the Devil, but to bad education in cultivating habits of fear, intolerance and hate of alien individuals and races, of foreign religions, nations and ideologies. . . ."
This is in my opinion the wisest utterance on this subject which has ever been made. Although little realized, it is literally true. . . .
JEROME SCHEUER
Brookline, Mass.
Sirs:
I quote from your article on Professor Conklin: "On the radio he listens to practically nothing except Comedian Eddie Cantor."
Is this natural selection or a sad mutation?
WESLEY C. CARRIGER Thermal, Calif.
53 or 103
Sirs:
"A little worn at the edges," eh? It may interest TIME to know that in spite of supercilious critics there are thousands of music lovers and many big-league critics who rate Martinelli as the greatest of all tenors [TIME, July 3]. Caruso was never the "undisputed" supreme among the "chandelier-jigglers" either. Caruso's voice, though thrilling, certainly, was something like a trip hammer, and eventually busted his neck.
We will continue to enjoy Martinelli's golden flow of voice, whether he be 53 or 103.
JOHN W. CARSON
Fort Smith, Ark.
Monday Holidays
Sirs:
In re the suggestion for Monday holidays (signed Geare, TIME, June 26), why not ask the National Safety Congress to estimate the number of increased accidental fatalities due to the long weekends?
Or could we hope that greater familiarity with long weekends might get us over this habit of rushing into accidents every time we have extra leisure on our hands?
G. O. BENSON
Niagara Falls, N. Y.
More Game Fish
Sirs:
Martin R. Miller's letter (TIME, July 10) concerning the technique of trapping banana fish, reminds me of the fun I used to have as a child, going out with my Uncle Josh to catch whifflepoofs. This, too, requires a great deal of piscatory skill. . . .