Thanks

Sirs:

. . . There are occasions when the writers for TIME rise to truly poetical expression. I recall such writing in the past when you described the U.S.A. in springtime or autumn, and now, in your issue of Nov. 28, again you express this lofty quality in stating what, in varying degrees of clarity, was the national thought this Thanksgiving.

For the power to conceive these sentiments and . . . ability to so express them, I give thanks.

WAYNE MCLAIN San Francisco, Calif.

No Thanks

Sir:

I am appalled by the superficial character of "A Thursday in November." Can't our reasons for thanks be chosen on a higher spiritual level before being put into the form of a Litany? And why must democracy and freedom always be equated with the ends of civilization and man? This can only be so in a pagan society. For the Christian religion, upon which Western civilization is, after all, based, these concepts must forever be means and not ends.

MRS. DOWNING A. THOMAS

St. Gallen, Switzerland

P: ". . . In the time of prosperity, fill our hearts with thankfulness . . ." (Book of Common Prayer)--ED.

Outrageous, Disgusting, Newsworthy

Sir:

. . . I was outraged at seeing Gambler Frank Costello's picture on the Nov. 28 cover . . . The only place for his picture is in the police files.

STANLEY GLEN New York City

Sir:

. . . I was disgusted . . .

JACK H. MANLEY Charles Town, W.Va.

Sir:

TIME does it again. Frank Costello: not worthy--but "newsworthy."

MAUDE SINGER New Rochelle, N.Y.

Sir: . . . One look at the cover and I tore up my renewal. I consider it an insult to the many fine men & women who have appeared on your covers in the past . . .

JOHN A. LOGAN

Tucson, Ariz.

Sir:

. . . It is unbelievable that you would honor such a man with a TIME cover . . .

LYNN MARTIN Phoenix, Ariz.

P:Said TIME, April 7, 1930, commenting on readers' objections to the Al Capone cover: ". . . If it is considered an honor to be pictured on TIME'S cover, TIME is glad that is so. But in selecting national figures for its cover, TIME does not presume to be 'honoring' those figures. If they are outstanding nationally or internationally, that is . . . to their own and to society's credit . . . It is TIME'S business to report things-as-they-are . . . TIME will continue to publish whatever seems to it nationally newsworthy and significant."--ED.

Within the Fold, or Outside?

Sir:

What a comparison between Atheist William McCarthy and Bishop William Manning [TIME, Nov. 28] ! The first, a fighter against God; the second, a fighter for God. I am sure that Bishop Manning was fully aware of hypocrisy in high places and evil deeds done in religion's name. But, with a firm belief in the basic goodness of Christianity, he fought and won his battles against evil. Unfortunately, too many of us are like William McCarthy. We see the evil in the church as a sign for us to step out and ridicule it from the outside. This is the easy way. The true Christian remains within the fold and does his best to help rid his church of abuses wherever they may be found.

LLOYD G. CHATTIN New Brunswick, N.J.

Sir:

The thought comes to me that William McCarthy, self-styled atheist, is by his own claims extremely busy "giving the Lord (a mythical deity) hell" (a portion of a nonexistent place of retribution). And Don Quixote tilted at windmills . . .

JACK COLWELL

Balko, Okla.

Plump & Pretty

Sir:

After reading your article on the Parke-Bernet Galleries [TIME, Nov. 28], I am wondering what became of Sabine?

She was a lovely young thing with a charming little nose . . . She was sold at auction like a slave of Roman days, and so fascinating she was that the final bid for her possession reached the tidy sum of $245,000. Who purchased Sabine at the time, who owns her now, I am not sure--Mr. Harkness was under Sabine's spell, if I am not mistaken.

This auction took place at the Parke-Bernet Galleries when the estate of Judge Gary was dispersed in 1928 for a total of $2.3 million, "an alltime U.S. record," as you say.

BARTHELEMY G. LACHELIER Greenwich, Conn.

P:The marble bust of plump, pretty Sabine (aged two),by her father, famed French Sculptor Jean Antoine Houdon (1741-1828), was bought by Philanthropist Edward S. Harkness and is still owned by his widow.--ED.

CNAC on Course

Sir:

TIME ARTICLE NOV. 21 CONCERNING CNAC CHINA INCORRECT . . . NOT ONE AMERICAN EMPLOYED BY CNAC HAS DEFECTED TO COMMUNISTS . . .

E. O. ALLISON Hong Kong

P: TIME regrets that its story of threatened defection, as reported by the press, failed to include the subsequent decision of CNAC's American pilots not to serve the Communists.--ED.

Man of the Year?

Sir:

The Man of the Year, lest we forget: the late James Vincent Forrestal.

DEAN G. FOSTER Columbia, S.C.

Sir:

It is definitely Mr. Clement Attlee, Prime Minister of Great Britain, who paved the way for the freedom of Asian countries and thereby brought the Western and Eastern civilizations into closer association . . .

B. P. KIRTHISINGHE Macdonald College Quebec, Canada

Sir:

. . . Harold Medina has been nominated for TIME'S Man of the Year.* I definitely believe that he is the outstanding man in America today . .

CARLETON E. ADAMS Atlantic City, NJ.

Sir:

Why not General Franco, who, since 1936, has been saying . . . that Communism is the foe of Christianity and civilization? . . .

RAFAEL PEDRO DE AZQUETA Bilbao, Spain

Sir:

. . . John Hay ("Jock") Whitney, for setting up a scholarship fund for persons who lack opportunities because of racial or other reasons . . .

BENJAMIN POPE JR. Indianapolis, Ind.

Sir:

. . . Marshal Tito . . .

WHEATON WILBAR Newton Center, Mass.

Sir:

Jean-Paul Sartre, the greatest new creative power of the postwar time, not only in France, but all over the world . . .

FRANZ RICHARD BEHRENS Berlin, Germany

Sir:

The MAN of the Year could be none other than Alben W. Barkley.

W. S. GRIFFIN

Eupora, Miss.

Sir:

. . . Albert Schweitzer . . .

DR. HENRY EHLERS I Department of Philosophy University of Minnesota Duluth, Minn.

Sir:

. . . Harry S. Truman . . .

ROBERT E. DAEHN Chicago, ILL.

Sir: . . . Secretary of Defense Louis Johnson, who has done the necessary head-knocking in the National Defense establishment . . .

FRIEDRICH LACHMANN JR.

Lexington, Va.

Sir:

. . . Dr. Ralph J. Bunche . . .

DONALD C. LAIRD Dayton, Ohio

Sir:

. . . There is nothing that I can add regarding Judge Medina's demonstrated qualifications . . . His accomplishments and qualities were extraordinary long before the events of this year . . .

FREDERICK B. RENTSCHLER East Hartford, Conn.

Sir:

. . . I can see no reason why so many people nominate Judge Medina for Man of the Year. All he did was his duty: to preside impartially at a trial of men accused of conspiring to overthrow the Government.

DAVID MILLER Altadena, Calif.

&* By 150 readers.

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