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It is at least puzzling to read your story on Henderson's speech to the war workers— TIME, Aug. 31. While you indicate correctly his stating that: "1942 farm incomes will top those of 1939 by nearly 75%. Wage earners will get 70% more than in 1939," you conveniently (?) forgot to include that he also indicated industry's profits as being upped nearly 400%. I looked throughout the issue for that item, but couldn't find it. Wasn't that considered newsworthy enough for inclusion? . . .
S. E. T. LUND
University of Tennessee
Knoxville
> In reporting Henderson's speech someone else "conveniently (?) forgot." He said: "Corporate profits before taxes this year will be nearly four times what they were in 1939." Any statement of corporate-income increases before taxes is not merely misleading, but plainly untrue. Actual profits after taxes of 200 leading corporations in the first half of this year were more than 30% below a year ago, about the same as in 1939.—ED.
Gremlins & Kin
Sirs:
Referring to your article on "Gremlins" [TIME, Sept. 14], credit for the discovery of the European gremlin should, I believe, go to an unknown weather forecaster at Le Bourget Airport, Paris. I knew the pilot concerned. (He has since been killed.)
During the winter of 1922, that gentleman (whose weather reports, given in a mixture of bad English and rapid French, had to be heard to be believed; he had already sprung some astonishing surprises on us in the way of forecasts, one of the best of which was an announcement that we might expect the weather to be "squoggy"), was asked by a worried pilot, en route to England, for the weather conditions in the English Channel. He announced solemnly "Gremlins sur la Manche," and left it at that. Further efforts by the pilot to get an explanation were met by a stony silence.
Shortly after, the radio broke down, indicating that the gremlins had already begun work. . . .
Incidentally, your article fails to mention that well-known cousin to the gremlin, the "Hopschneider," who lives on the ski trails in Switzerland and Canada, and emerges suddenly from behind trees in order to cross the skis of runners as they go by. As you dig yourself out and disentangle your limbs, their squeaky laughter can be heard echoing through the pines. . . .
———*
British Air Commission
New York City
Sirs:
Delighted to read of the "gremlins" in this week's issue. They must be distant cousins of the "saskwatchs" who come up from the Penticton beam every night and ride along over the Cascade mountain range on our Trip 4. They jump off over Cranbrook and do an instrument letdown into the Kootenay valley to visit friends there, returning several hours later on Trip 1.
They generally ride on top of the pilot's compartment, belly down, head into the wind with their little fingers spread out over the windshield so that they won't be blown off. Of course, as we are operating a transport line, they behave themselves and don't pull any of the funny stuff their European cousins use to annoy pilots.