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Sir: You quote Barry Goldwater as saying that regular church attendance is not necessary [Aug. 28]. Yet he disagrees with the Suprerne Court's decision on prayers in public schools. This is the advocate of individual as opposed to governmental action?
LINDEN M. MALKI Highland, Calif.
Sir: As for Goldwater's religion, I feel that the Jewish people made a good trade. We lost Barry Goldwater, but we gained Elizabeth Taylor.
LARRY GARDEN Brooklyn
Sir: Please refer Mr. and Mrs. Barry Goldwater to the Episcopal Book of Common Prayer. Properly instructed, thevvowed to "worship God every Sunday in His Church." And, from what I read in the press, Lady Bird, Lynda Bird and Luci Baines might also take note of the same instruction.
W. BENNETT PHILLEY Skokie, Ill.
Barry's Boys
Sir: I may be only a delinquent kid who is not worth a darn, but I wish to enter a protest anyway against G.O.P. National Chairman Dean Burch's thoughtless slander against us kids [Aug. 28]. It seems a great shame that all kids are berated for the misdeeds of a few.
CHRISTI RAY Los Gatos, Calif.
Sir: If the Republican Party cannot have faith in "kids," where are the young Republicans coming from? And since when did the problem of delinquency become either a Republican or Democratic problem? It is a problem of the home.
JUANITA P. GANTZER Warrenville, Ill.
Lady Bird Watchers
Sir: For the likes of me, to whom Jackie Kennedy worship is just one more instance of mass subliminal brainwashing, your Aug. 28th cover story on the down-to-earth charms of Lady Bird Johnson was like a freshening wind through Texas loblolly pine. I can think of no happier new casts for the much-abused American-woman image here and abroad than the zest, common sense and candor of this new First Lady.
(MRS.) CATHLEEN BURNS ELMER Boston
Sir: Oh, if only I could be a "flawless mediocrity" like Lady Bird! To make all the money she's made, to look the way she does at 51, to do the kind of job she's doing, to be so adored by her husband and family—that would be enough.
JUNE B. VENDEL Minneapolis
Sir: Your customary cleverness, truthfulness, yet suave inoffensiveness were certainly qualities not evident in your article concerning Lady Bird Johnson. The subtle but savage criticism (especially the criticism of her physical appearance) was totally lacking in good judgment and respect. Although I greatly prefer the Kennedy style to the Johnson style, one must admit that, in her own way, Lady Bird has done a rather remarkable job.
JANE HADLEY Kansas City, Mo.
Sir: Get your scalpel out for Mrs. Goldwater next time.
JULIA WHITE Saginaw, Mich.
Sir: I did not know Bird until she was an upperclassman at the University of Texas. But she is one of the very, very few people I know who has never said an unkind, "catty" remark about anyone. She has no claws. She is a wonderful person, a constant friend, a most considerate and generous casual friend to many. Your article about her offended me deeply, as I am sure it will many of her friends when they read it.
(MRS.) JANET WOFFORD INGRAM Gilmer, Texas