Rose-a-velt

Sirs:

Why do radio announcers, delegates, newspapermen and close friends of Franklin D. Roosevelt, the latter who should know better, mispronounce his name Rose-a-velt when it is distinctly Roosevelt?

I know you will tell me about the rule for proper names but the late great T. R. insisted on accenting the double O.

Spare the radio audience from this annoyance.

REGINALD S. ROUSSEL

Long Beach, Calif.

One of the Governor's first actions as Democratic nominee was to let it be known to all the world that, whatever Theodore Roosevelt (his fifth cousin ) may have called it, he calls it "Rose-a-velt.''-ED.

Undesignated Thomas

Sirs:

I have been a fairly constant reader of TIME for the past three years. During that time the one fault I 'have found with your otherwise excellent publication is a tendency to be politically biased in the narrating of news.

The most recent and striking instance of this is found under the heading of "Kudos," issue of June 27, wherein of all the people named as being honored, Norman Thomas, alone, goes undesignated except by name.

Can TIME, by any chance, be fearful of the effect on its readers of the knowledge that the Socialist presidential nominee is well thought of by at least his Alma Mater?

HAROLD DAVIS

Rapid City, S. D.

On the contrary, TIME considers Socialist Thomas sufficiently distinguished to need no designation. Also undesignated in "Kudos." for the same reason, were: Newton Diehl Baker, Mrs. Herbert Hoover, Samuel Seabury. Owen D. Young.--ED.

Midwest, Not Rabble

Sirs:

In your account of the Democratic convention you characterized the balcony spectators as "the rabble in the galleries." I take it that you used the term in a derogatory sense, meaning "the lowest class of people: the mob." If so, I deny the accuracy of the description. The crowd in the two balconies was composed mainly of visitors from States other than Illinois. There were some 300 of us from Michigan. Chicagoans packed the balconies for only one session, being admitted on passes stamped with Mayor Cermak's signature. Legitimate convention guests complained so effectively that the doorkeepers were changed. These guests were people of influence and property in their various communities-- friends of delegates, of State chairmen and national committee men and women. They knew what was transpiring in the hotel rooms between sessions. In that notorious night session they knew that the grandstand play of McAdoo was an unnecessary slap at Al Smith, as permitted by the Roosevelt managers. During the day Illinois and Indiana had also united in the intention to switch to the governor. So the Mid-West, not Chicago, booed the Californian. The booing was done melodiously, in good taste, with the familiar razzberries of the rabble unheard.

JAMES STEVENS

Detroit, Mich.

Condensed Flow

Sirs:

You have performed a distinguished service in your unequalled reporting of the recent Democratic National Convention (TIME, July 11). The delicate touches, wherein, without too great offending, you caricature the grotesque hyperbole of the keynote and nominating speeches, compensate for the suffering endured. Some day, perhaps, through the leadership of TIME, the high command of both parties will awake to the public's opinion of such exaggeration as was spread over six days and nights at the Chicago Stadium and will order a greatly condensed flow of partially sane oratory from nominators and seconders to the relief of listeners absent and present.

C. E. GULLETT

Lincoln, Ill.

Cornell's Van Rensselaer

Sirs:

I have noticed no mention in TIME of the death on May 26 of Martha Van Rensselaer. founder of the College of Home Economics at Cornell University, and State leader of the New York Home Demonstration work. Miss Van Rensselaer was the recipient of many honors, both at home and abroad, for distinguished service, among them the Chevalier Order of the Crown conferred by the King of Belgium. In 1923 she was elected by the League of Women Voters as one of America's 12 greatest women.

No doubt I overlooked your notice of Miss Van Rensselaer's death, as the close of so outstanding a career could scarcely have escaped the attention of a magazine like TIME.

CAROLINE B. KING

The, Country Gentleman Philadelphia, Pa.

"If News Is Scarce. . . ."

Sirs:

"Actor Robeson admitted he hoped to marry an English society woman, denied it was Negrophile Nancy Cunard." (TIME, July 4.)

If news is scarce I suggest:

"Al Smith denies he will join Protestant Church."

"Mrs. Hoover denies getting drunk with Girl Scouts."

"Bishop Manning denies ambition to be American Pope."

I deny this is particularly good journalism.

Louis WEITZENKORN

Hollywood, Calif.

Reader Weitzenkorn, onetime editor of Bernarr Macfadden's late pornoGraphic, is sophisticated. In TIME'S judgment, not everyone is aware of what he implies : that Singer Robeson, self-respecting, would never dream of having to do with blatant Negrophile Cunard. Fact remains, Singer Robeson did make the denial as reported. --En.

Crisis

Sirs:

Published in Harlem, N. Y. is the latest imitation of the TIME idea.

The Crisis magazine, edited primarily for the colored races, has established a department called ''Along the Color Line," which is so faithful a copy, both in style and makeup, of the curtness, clearness, conciseness which is the essence of TIME, that one wonders whether or no it (The Crisis) is another publication which TIME has taken under its wing.

Have you seen it?

GORDAN KAYE

New York

No connection whatever with TIME has the 15-c- monthly Crisis, "A record of the Darker Races," published in Manhattan by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, edited by William Edward Burghardt Du Bois. In organization, format, style and objective attitude its "Along the Color Line" news department is the ablest imitation of TIME that TIME has seen. Specimen news items in the July issue:

P: The nomination of James Thomas ("Tom-Tom") Heflin, onetime U. S. Senator "bombastically against the Negro," for justice of the peace in Chilton County, Ala.

P: President Hoover's avoidance of being photographed with the Fisk Jubilee Singers.

P: Senator Copeland's resolution to pension Matt Henson, the Negro who accompanied Admiral Peary to the North Pole.

P: The purchase by the Sultan of Zanzibar of a grey & blue Humber Pullman limousine, with royal arms emblazoned. --ED.

Preposterous Problem

Sirs:

In TIME (Education, p. 22, July 4) is an interesting discussion of College Board Examinations, together with some specimen questions from the recent examinations. One of the mathematics questions quoted by TIME deserves some comment, which I wish to add here not as a teacher of mathematics but as a teacher of English and Latin. The question follows:

A school spends $200 in preparing for an outdoor pageant. In case of rain, the $200 will all be lost: but, if the weather is fair, the pageant will give a profit of $400. To protect itself against loss, the school takes out insurance against rain. The insurance policy is for a definite sum paid for by the school at a definite percentage of the amount of the policy. After paying the cost of the insurance. it is calculated that in case of rain the school will clear 3/10 of the amount for which it is insured, and that in case of fair weather the school will clear 1/2 of the amount for which it is insured. What is the amount of the insurance carried and at what rate? This is indeed a fine specimen! It is 137 words long by actual count, involved and obscure. In respect to length, prolixity and verbosity it is on a par with the Republican Prohibition Plank. Think of submitting a problem of this type to the average intelligence of the average high school graduate! Really preposterous! How many presidents of our colleges and universities, how many presidents of insurance companies, on salaries of $50,000 to $75,000 a year, could do this problem? (Just now

I hear a modest voice reply, "But perhaps their secretaries could do it.") And then we ask prep school boys and girls to do it with ease and facility! . . .

GEORGE W. LYON

Pittsburgh, Pa.

Freeburg's Propeller

Sirs:

I refer to the story about Pilot Freeburg in the Aeronautical section of TIME, May 9. Can you tell me why it was not possible to shut off the motor carrying the broken propeller?

D. M. AMES

Madras, India

Presumably Pilot Freeburg did cut his motor. But the unbalanced propeller would continue to spin in the airstream, as would a windmill, with sufficient force to tear the engine from its mountings.-- ED.

Olympians

Sirs:

Being a constant reader of TIME and a sport fan I read with interest the article in the last issue concerning sport events and the coming Olympic Games. It seems to me though that in not mentioning George Saling, captain of the University of Iowa's track team, you have left out one of the most outstanding men. Saling is the last of a trio of great hurdlers to be developed at Iowa by George Bresnahan and in many respects his record is better than those of Brookins and Cuhel, both of whom competed in the Olympics. . . .

QUENTIN 0. NALTE

Hampton, Iowa

Sirs:

I have looked in vain in the last two issues of TIME for some mention of the Olympic Decathlon tryouts which were held at Evanston two weeks ago. Isn't it worthy of note that the three successful contestants in the tryouts were trained by the same coach, attended school in the same small town, two in the same institution, and that the first place winner broke the existing Olympic Decathlon record? It seems to me that Coach Brutus Hamilton of the University of Kansas has established a remarkable coaching record in training James Bausch, former University of Kansas athlete now running under the colors of the Kansas City Athletic Club, Wilson Charles, former Haskell Institute athlete, and Clyde Coffman, co-captain of the University of Kansas track team, the three representatives of the U. S. in the Decathlon. . . .

LELAND J. BARROWS

Lawrence, Kan.

Sirs:

Tiresome indeed to a midwesterner is TIME'S placid assumption of July 11 that the Pacific coast and East will furnish the majority of the nation's track stars in the coming Olympic games.

Granted to TIME of that date: the implication that the coast is superior; the East, excellent in track material. Not granted: the implication by omission that the Midwest is lacking in such talent (notwithstanding that tiny blurb about the fast-fading Eddie Tolan of Michigan).

Prognosticate: that when all of the returns are in at Palo Alto on July 16 the Midwest will predominate. . . .

J. VAN NICE

Chicago, Ill.

Let Prognosticator Van Nice see p. 19 for July 16 returns at Palo Alto.--ED.

Eastman's Sneakers

Sirs:

It seems to have become a custom in correcting; the frequent errors occurring in your newsmagazine to begin with:

TIME, always accurate, for once has erred.

I bow to precedent although it breaks my heart to break TIME'S perfect record. In the issue of July 11, p. 20, under "Sports" appears the following sentence referring to Benjamin Bangs Eastman: ''He ran in sneakers." On the cover is a dramatic picture of that event showing the latter racing in spiked track shoes.

Let us henceforth have a closer co-operation 'twixt TIME'S Sport and Art Departments.

PETE VIERECK

Literary Editor Public Eye

New York City

Let the Public Eye look again. TIME said: "He looked even less like [a champion] the day he won the quarter-mile in a class track meet when he was a Stanford freshman. He ran in sneakers."--ED.

Nurmi's Heart

Sirs:

I wish to inform you of an error which occurred in your most reliable magazine. In TIME of Nov. 16 your People column stated that Paavo Nurmi's heart was three times normal size.

I am enclosing a clipping, first of a series of twelve appearing in the Evening Bulletin written by Paavo Nurmi himself. He states: "The sensational news about my heart having been enlarged three times its normal size is pure bosh." I am enclosing the clipping. . . .

HERBERT W. HOLROVD JR.

Philadelphia. Pa.

Excerpt from Nurmi's article:

"My heart has stood the most severe strains in a wonderful manner. I beg Einstein's pardon, that I compare my heart with the shaft of a perpetual motion contrivance, which does not exist, of course.

"That shaft has been overburdened often and heavily, but not even once have the bearings run warm too much nor the metal shown any signs of breakage, or--to explain my simile--my heart has not become enlarged nor are there any signs of trouble in the valves.

"Twice a year I have its Roentgen-picture taken, to avoid surprises. The last time such a picture was taken was on Dec. 3 last. The picture reveals that my heart is 10 mm. longer in one direction and 10 mm. narrower in the other than the hearts of fully normal people of my age, but otherwise it does not show anything out of the common or wonderful."

Last week Paavo Nurmi arrived in the U. S., hoping to compete for Finland in the Olympic Games. The Finnish team was threatening to "bolt" the games if an official ruling, declaring Nurmi ineligible because of professionalism, were not rescinded.--ED.

Non-Flagwaving Macon

Sirs:

Usually accurate, well-informed, TIME erred July 11, p. 28, under the heading Aeronautics. Says TIME: ''No one last week could read the Los Angeles' future. . . . Her crew will doubtless be assigned to the U. S. S. Alacon, the metal framework of which was completed last week in the Goodyear-Zeppelin dock in Akron, Ohio, while a delegation from Macon, Ga., waved flags. . . ." As a member of the Macon delegation in Akron on this occasion, I can say without reservation that no flags were waved. Only a ribbon inscribed, modestly enough, "MACON. In The Heart Of Georgia" graced the left lapel of the coat of each Maconian--for identification purposes. . . . Proud of the distinction of having the world's largest dirigible named for their home city, yes, but no flag wavers are Maconians.

JOHN L. MORRIS

Manager. Chamber of Commerce

Macon, Ga.

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