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Sir: You describe Floyd McKissick, national director of CORE, as "winner in a covert internal coup that ousted longtime CORE Leader James Farmer" [June 10]. There was no coup, covert or overt, internal or external. There was no "ousting." My resignation was of my own volition. I made that decision in order to launch a literacy campaign under auspices of the Center for Community Action Education to supplement the fight waged by the civil rights movement, lest, when equal opportunity is won, we find that many are unable to enjoy their new freedom. At my request CORE set up a committee, on which I served, to screen candidates for the post I was relinquishing. Mr. McKissick, a longtime personal friend, was the candidate who had my support.
JAMES FARMER New York City
>TIME is happy to print Mr. Farmer's version.
Straight Razor
Sir: As his former boss and later when I made him a minority partner in my business, I am mortified that my good friend and geologist, Franc. R. Joubin, should write as he does of my career [June 10]. When Canadian Franc. Joubin was employed by me, the price of uranium had already been fixed by the U.S. at the rate of $8 or better per pound for all uranium-producing countries. Canada was not excluded. The North Span Uranium Mine was completely financed by Morgan, Stanley & Co. and the Chase Manhattan Bank to the extent of about $90 million.
The bulk of financing for the other mines came from the U.S. and Canada—not from Europe.
When Franc. Joubin was first employed by me, he could not put up $1,000 in one of my first syndicates. I loaned him the necessary $1,000. When Franc. Joubin left my employ, he had made between $2,000,-000 and $4,000,000.
Franc. R. Joubin should, and I suspect does, sing "God Bless Joe Hirshhorn" at least twice each morning as he is being shaved.
JOSEPH H. HIRSHHORN Cap d'Antibes, France
Raising the Flag
Sir: Although it flies the Italian flag, Alitalia [June 10] gets no direct subsidy from the Italian government. Yet, with the exception of 1958 when we bore the heavy expenses of inaugurating North Atlantic service, we have shown a profit every year since 1952.
JOSEPH H. LETOURNEAU Public Relations Manager Alitalia New York City
Sir: TIME refers to KLM as a heavily subsidized company. KLM has not received a single cent of subsidy since 1945. The Netherlands government owns 50.5% of the common stock; much of the balance is owned by American investors.
F. O. KlELMAN
Vice President KLM New York City
No Case Is Hopeless
Sir: TIME is to be congratulated for its interesting and authoritative article on arthritis and rheumatism [June 17].
As public attention becomes more sharply focused on health matters, particularly with Medicare going into effect, there must be greater depth of understanding of the causes of chronic disease and, disability, which will be straining medical-care facilities more and more.
Something can be done about arthritis. The major forms of it cannot be cured, but, with the knowledge we now have, more serious disability can be prevented in most cases. Moreover, with modern rehabilitative technology, severely crippled patients can be returned to meaningful activity. No case is hopeless.