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Sir / Watergate is serious. But not half as serious as the current "trial by newspapers and media." Let the court decide who is guilty if anyone is.
MARY K. KERICH
Wilton, Conn.
Sir / The events of the past year have given Americans a vivid example of how vital a free press is to a free society. One cannot exist without the other. The only source of information the people have, other than "official" Government information, is the news media. The press is the only check the people have on the actions of those who represent them in Government.
STEPHEN T. FROST
Minneapolis
Sir / The Democrats, by making such an issue over Watergate, have placed themselves in the embarrassing position of having to nominate "Caesar's wife" as their next presidential candidate.
(MRS.) CAMILLE BARTON
Valdosta, Ga.
Kleindienst Denial
Sir / In your May 14 story [on Watergate] you stated: "Angered, Hoover telephoned Kleindienst and threatened to reveal these embarrassing taps."
Without qualification of any kind, I categorically state that no such telephone conversation took place between me and Mr. Hoover. I further categorically state that I have no personal knowledge about such taps.
RICHARD G. KLEINDIENST
The Attorney General Washington, D.C.
¶TIME stands by its story.
The Right Idea
Sir / When I read your article, "The Third Age" [May 7], I wanted to hop on the next plane for France and join the sports club of retired persons at Grenoble.
Why do we in the U.S. build so many housing complexes where we herd the old together? Since they live in a world of diminishing contemporaries, they naturally tend to think old, and to resign themselves to a life of passivity without a struggle. We are making old age the final segregation.
I think the Grenoble Office of Aged Persons has the right idea. I should know, for I am myself a senior citizen and work as a VISTA volunteer among the elderly in two large segregated housing complexes in this city.
ERNESTINE F. ALLRED
Roanoke, Va.
Heading for a Convulsion
Sir / We want to thank you for using the excellent selection from our book The Energy Crisis as a prelude to your article [May 7]. We must regretfully conclude that the nation is headed for an energy-caused convulsion of our physical life-support system. Once this happens, the institutions that guarantee economic and social freedom will surely vanish in the turmoil.
One aspect of the energy crisis that gets more than its fair share of optimism is the rate at which power systems can be phased in. The phase-in times of geothermal power, the breeder reactor, solar power, etc., are longer than most energy observers think.
LAWRENCE ROCKS RICHARD P. RUNYON
Greenvale, N.Y.
Sir / Another alternative solution to the impending gasoline shortage is statutory lowering of freeway speed limits. I would prefer a few more driving hours to missing a trip this summer because I cannot purchase sufficient gasoline.
MARC STUART KLEIN
Los Angeles