Change Comes Hard

Sir: Some of the best news coming from the U.S. is of the dignified battle being fought by the Rev. Martin Luther King and his flock in Montgomery, Ala. Congratulations! How one must admire the dignity of our colored fellow citizens. How that dignity contrasts with the attitude of the rabble-rousing race haters. The Rev. Mr. King and his people know they are on the winning side, on the side of the future. The others show all the nervousness and pettiness of people who know they are fighting a losing battle. (THE RT. REV.) LEO A. RUDLOFF, O.S.B. Abbot Dormition Abbey Jerusalem

Sir: Believe it or not, the South is a part of the U.S., and is entitled to majority rule. If the majority of the people of a state want segregated schools, they should have them. The minority have the right to demand equal facilities, and a state which fails to provide them should be penalized. But to integrate the schools against the will of the vast majority is a crime against democracy. Such action will only harm the public schools of the South. TERRELL W. ECKER Laredo, Texas

Sir: Florida's Governor Collins says: "Negroes must contribute by changes in their own attitudes." Are the whites in Montgomery, Ala. contributing to their change of attitudes by bombing the Mt. Olive Baptist Church? ALBERT E. HUTCHINS Bradford, Pa.

Road Runners of '57

Sir: Congratulations to Cartoonist Osborn [Jan. 28] for his jab at the atrociously crass '57 cars--following fast on the clashed colors of '56. Ugh! MARCIA MASCIA Port Chester, N.Y.

Sir: Robert Osborn is so right. Would suggest that the Detroit planners make a survey on what the American people desire in the way of a design instead of trying to outdo each other in seeing who can put the most of what on which and where. MRS. R. B. FROCK Pasadena, Calif.

Sir: Mr. Osborn is a damned good cartoonist, but it is obvious that the people like such cars. Were the general taste somewhat more refined, Detroit would soon have to change. Why do Americans like such hideous cars? ANATOL SPIRO Copenhagen

Sir: The '57 models remind me of the fierce, beady-eyed road runner, an unpleasant bird of the desert that never flies but runs along the ground, then pauses with its tail in the air while it takes a greedy look for its prey. SELENA MCKINLEY Los Angeles

P: For a custom-built road runner, see cut.--ED.

Arabian Knight

Sir: Thank you for your thoughtprovoking, ah-inspiring, bully article on the sex life of King Saud. I vote him the man of any year! LORETTA MAY Concord, N.H.

Sir: What this country needs is a good 5-c- burnoose and two Sauds in every pot. Do you think a band of small businessmen, clad in their native costume (i.e., working clothes), could hit Generous John Foster for a small loan? If Saud can put his hand out, how about the plight of the small businessman? What with new taxes on trucks, new taxes on having over four employees, old taxes on telephones, travel, entertainment--just plain taxes ad nauseam. LOUISE BUCK ROBSHAM West Yarmouth, Mass.

Sir: Your Jan. 28 article goes into great detail about the personal expenditures of the royal family and some of the skeletons that are in its closet. This treatment of the situation, which is as difficult for Americans to understand as our mores are for the Saudi Arab, is immature. There is no doubt that Americans are irritated by some Saudi laws, but it should be remembered that the Saudis might also be irritated by some American customs. It is, after all, their country. JOHN BOLES Assistant Professor Loyola University of Los Angeles Los Angeles

Sir: TIME deserves unstinted praise for its accurate and informative article on H.M. King Saud and the situation in Saudi Arabia. Seldom before have all the facets of such an intricate situation been so well presented to the American people. JAMES R. VON REINHOLD-JAMESSON Assistant Professor University of Arizona Tuscon, Ariz.

Sir: New York City's Mayor Wagner did wrong when he refused to recognize the King of a foreign power. His act is consistent with those of small and nearsighted politicians who allow themselves to be duped by their minority advisers. At a time when our Government is straining to find a solution to Middle East problems, he committed a faux pas which will be taken as an indication of a nation divided on foreign policy. I think President Eisenhower's decision to meet King Saud shows Mayor Wagner and all Americans what true statesmanship entails. LOUIS FAKHOURY Pasadena, Calif.

Sir: TIME should be commended for its story on King Saud, especially when it is about a man who doesn't allow your excellent magazine in his country--or has the ban been lifted? (S SGT.) LEONARD L. ALEXANDER U.S.A.F. Germany

P: No.--Ed.

On & Off the Track

Sir: Your Jan. 28 issue ably presents the case for the American railroads. The story's generous description of the coming events that will restore prestige to this noble industry should impress the doubting Thomases who have too quickly shunned the rails. Thank you for recognizing that there is no longer a place in our ranks for complacent mossbacks. R. B. LEWIS Chicago

Sir: TIME is to be congratulated on the very excellent article; however, the statement is made that "electronic brains made by International Business Machines will sort, classify, route and guide all freight cars from an inclined switching hump to their proper tracks automatically." This is not correct, as all the equipment installed at the Conway Yard, which controls freight cars in this automatic manner, was developed and manufactured by the Union Switch & Signal Division of Westinghouse Air Brake Co. A. M. WIGGINS Vice President and General Manager Union Switch & Signal Division Swissvale, Pa.

Sir: The railroads' sorry plight comes largely from their own ham-handed public policies, the insulting behavior of their tip-hunting waiters, the overbearing conduct of conductors, their poorly cooked, generally high-priced meals, their grimy coaches, dismal and dirty stations, slow schedules. MILES HAMMOND Williston, Fla.

A Left to the Typewriter

Sir: Your Jan. 28 piece on my appearance on the Ralph Edwards' show was most friendly to me, and I am appreciative. But your reporter, or the man who interpreted my appearance, was both unkind and inaccurate. I knew every man who stepped on the stage, and I was genuinely glad to see him. Sure Ralph got some unexpected answers to some of his questions. But I thought 'that was what made This Is Your Life a great show. JACK DEMPSEY Hollywood

What's In a Name?

Sir: In your Jan. 28 issue, I read of the alarming plight of the not-so-great state of North Dakota and the possibility of a new name for it. I proffer as a solution: a merger of North and South Dakota, neither of which is overly productive, thereby leaving a vacancy in our Union to be filled by the productive, ever-growing territory of Alaska. JOHN J. JAVORONOK Gladwyne, Pa.

Sir: When this state was formed 93 years ago there was a fight over the name. Many people now believe that West Virginia is merely western Virginia. Numerous residents of the state, in giving their addresses on out-of-state hotel registers, write "West (by God) Virginia." While Kanawha, Westsylvania, Augusta and others have been discussed in the legislative halls, the name which has won the widest favor is "Acadia," and means "a happy, prosperous land." The state would thus be the first in the alphabetical list of states and entitled to nominate Presidents ahead of Alabama. As it is, West Virginia makes the 17th seconding speech, at 3:30 the next morning. MONROE WORTHINGTON Editor Fayette Tribune Oak Hill, West Va.

Room in the House

Sir: May I say that I, too, like W. R. Wilson [Jan. 21], feel that the U.S. places itself in a very unfavorable light by welcoming these thousands of Hungarians while thousands of Negroes who are native-born Americans live behind a veritable Iron Curtain. F. R. WILSON Pittsburgh

Sir: Anent the crocodile tears of Mr. Wilson of Los Angeles: there are no Jim Crow tanks here guarding against the Negroes' escape to Los Angeles. KARL RAMSEY Memphis

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