"What of it?"

Sirs: TIME of Dec. 6 tells us how a certain Orthodox priest mended the leak in his church roof with so many rolls of paper & tar. But what of it? Three years ago, while we were collecting (& am still collecting for the matter of that) enough to re-roof our 12th-Century church, our roof began to leak so badly that something had to be done about it. The leads with the ages were worn paper-thin and were full of holes. I went up on the roof & covered the whole area with Devonshire clay. Nor has the roof leaked since. Cost? Nil. I washed my own pants.

J. H. HARVEY Cadeleigh Rectory North Tiverton Devon, England

Carpatho-Russian Schism

Sirs: Credit is due TIME [Dec. 6] for giving news of the Carpatho-Russian schism [Between Bishop Takach and priests who wanted him to appeal a Vatican order forbidding bishops to appoint married priests to Greek Rite posts.--ED.]. But why not keep the news clear of subjective coloring, in this case very inaccurate and misleading?

I am well acquainted with American Ruthenians (Carpatho-Russian Catholics). During three years in Rome, 1933-36, I used my opportunities to learn their history, liturgy, views; saw them in their sanctuary, on the stage, across the table; have eaten, smoked, drunk beer, talked, argued with them; studied about them in a Canon Law course. . . .

Why does TIME picture the saintly Pope Pius X as "feeling that a minority of married priests might cause envy among celibate Catholic priests?" In his apostolic letter (1907) he gives no hint of such squint-eyed feeling. No Catholic priest with good sense has given up home and family to spend the rest of his life envying married priests. . . .

Egregiously, TIME erred in making celibacy the reason for the recent revolt (cf. caption and the article, passim). Originators of this revolt had been censured not on grounds of celibacy, but for disobedience and other disciplinary infractions. Personal enmity with the bishop was at the bottom of it all. There has been a feud between the old-country dioceses of Munkacevo and Presov. The Bishop is from Munkacevo; all the revolters from Presov. The leader refused to leave his parish when transferred; another, excommunicated for heresy and agitation to revolt; a third, parish assistant, schemed with members of the parish to oust the pastor, then was successively transferred, suspended, excommunicated, all for insubordination not connected with celibacy. Yet they claim to be "martyrs of celibacy."

JAMES W. RICHARDSON

St. Mary's Seminary Perryville, Mo.

Reader Richardson is entitled to his conclusions about the friction within the Carpatho-Russian Church, of which there is plenty. Says the Catholic Encyclopedia of U. S. Ruthenian factions: "None . . . ever agree upon any one subject other than their Slavic nationality and Greek Rite."--ED.

Program Credit

Sirs: Tst, tst. Broderick Crawford's shoes in Of Mice and Men (TIME, Dec. 6) have a 4 1/2-in. buildup, not 4 in., as reported. I ought to know--I made them. In street shoes Crawford stands 6 ft. 1 1/2 in., in my shoes (Trademark "Staturaid" patent pending) he's a 6 1/2 footer. Incidentally, this was only the second theatrical order I executed and with that buildup you can't expect inconspicuousness. My regular customers, business and professional people (average sales 200 pairs a month), generally need only 1 1/2 to 2 inches, and I think you'd need a slide rule to tell it wasn't the usual shoe. From 75% to 80% of my business is done by mail; a good proportion of these deliveries go to small cities and towns, in plain addressed wrappers and general delivery. Doesn't a fellow get program credit anymore?

JOSEPH BURGER New York City

Shoe-Builder Burger received over a column program credit in the Oct. 23 issue of the New Yorker.--ED.

Thermopolis

Sirs : Like all other TIME-reading Americans, I read Dr. Thorndike's G.G. requisites (Education, Dec. 13) and applied each as well as possible, with great civic pride, to our broadminded, mineral-water drinking, democratic town of 2,200 cattle-town citizens.

We have sufficient cigar stores, everybody in town reads the Denver Post which should score us high for mediocre reading. We have never had a Who's Who candidate, but do have 2,200 "Who Cares" members. Our few Negroes are fine citizens. As for churches, we have Mormon, Episcopal, Baptist, Community, Catholic, and Church of God, but none are too well attended. Our water system is municipally owned and we pay 10-c- per kilowatt for electricity. The birth rate is too low, there being 3.1 children to a Thermopolis family. We have many professional women but none of Dr. Thorndike's suggested doctors or clergy. We have four card parlors, eight saloons, and the world's largest hot springs in addition to other cities' General Goodness.

Conclusion: Question: What in the world keeps Dr. Thorndike in New York, TIME's editors in Chicago, and Franklin D. in Washington when you can all come to Wyoming and live where men are men and smell like horses.

MAX E. MORTIMOLE Science Instructor Thermopolis City Schools Thermopolis, Wyo.

TIME's editors work in Manhattan, not Chicago. Franklin D. Roosevelt is not, however, kept in Washington. He made a two-minute platform speech at Thermopolis last summer which Thermopolites will never forget (TIME, Oct. 25). Goal of extremely civic-minded Thermopolis is to organize a foundation similar to Warm Springs.

--ED.

Stokowskis

Sirs: Who is Evangeline Brewster Johnson Stokowski [TIME, Dec. 13] ? I was under the impression that Leopold Stokowski was married to Olga Samaroff.

ROBERT L. DAVIDSON

Rochester, N. Y.

In 1911 Conductor Stokowski was married to Pianist Olga Samaroff who bore him one daughter, divorced him twelve years later. In January 1926 he was married to Evangeline Brewster Johnson, surgical manufacturer's daughter, who bore him two daughters, divorced him last month (TIME, Dec. 13).--ED.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.