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>Sportswoman Sears, 81, hiked from Providence to her home in Boston five times in the 20s and 30s. Her record: 9 hrs. 55 min. in 1926.—ED.
Sir: Switzerland has no Marine Corps, but every Swiss soldier has to prove his physical fitness before his promotion to second lieutenant in a 65- to 70-mile hike up and down hill, carrying 35 pounds.
ROBERT U. VON ARX Chicago
Bobby in Court
Sir: I was plaintiff's counsel and argued for him in the Georgia County Unit case heard in the Supreme Court on Jan. 17. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy did not read a prepared brief when he appeared before the court in the case, as stated in your issue of Jan. 25. The Government's brief had been filed with the court in advance, as customary. The Attorney General delivered an oral argument without any notes, and responded to questions from the court.
MORRIS B. ABRAM New York City
Defense of the Academies
Sir: A few hours prior to reading your Feb. 8 article concerning David Boroff's blast at service academy education, I attended a luncheon for U.S. Naval Academy classmates in the Washington area, my last such reunion before leaving for naval-attache duty in Moscow. I came away from this luncheon very much impressed with what my classmates had accomplished and become since graduation. Almost without exception, we have done postgraduate work in subjects ranging from naval ordinance to international relations, and we occupy positions of responsibility both ashore and afloat. Judging from this sampling of men subjected to an education "so full of 'narcissistic preening' that it may be too unreal for the real world," I would venture to say that were the products of our civilian educational institutions as aware of the political, economic and sociological realities of today's world, we might not have to keep leaving our families to put out fires all over the globe.
SUMNER SHAPIRO
Lieutenant Commander, U.S.N. Kensington, Md.
Sir: As arrant knaves, my fellows and I grovel between earth and heaven in search of le juste éguilibre. The late William Faulkner told me last year that to learn about people and life and oneself, one must not close himself in a tower of pure concepts, but must walk in the marketplace among the realities of existence. A noble goal, and a difficult one, necessitating much preparation. West Point has prepared me, as could no other institution, to walk in that marketplace with dignity and courage and honesty and pride, with compassion and with humility.
CADET JOSEPH C. ZENGERLE III U.S. Military Academy West Point, N.Y.
"Rather Boring"
Sir: As students of Clemson College, we would like to commend TIME Magazine on its handling of the integration story about Mr. Harvey Gantt [Feb. 8].
However, it was not the presence of "150 law enforcement officers in the area," nor was it President Edwards' plea to the students to avoid "Ole Miss hooliganism" that brought about peaceful integration in South Carolina's first integrated public school.