Letters, Nov. 7, 1955

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(3 of 4)

You state, in effect, that the networks, with a surplus of eager sponsors to accommodate, are selling horsemeat to the public in the guise of steak. How true. Most of the material that nowadays insults the intelligence and is billed as topflight entertainment is a combination of ham and sow's ear, with neither guise, nor, worse, apology. The blame for this does not belong to the consuming public, whose sense of taste and discernment, once fairly encouraging, has been hammered into near oblivion by several years of Gleasons, Godfreys and giveaways. It belongs to the producer networks, who, like their counterparts in Hollywood, have ignored the obligation incumbent on them to raise the level of human knowledge. Abandoning a marvelous opportunity, they engage in pointless competition, with prestige as their only visible goal.

JOHN H. TRATTNER Virginia Beach, Va.

Household Gods

Sir:

It is indeed a pathetic situation when a TV set's proximity to the dining area is the big selling point of a house; how the visiting Russian housing administrators must have laughed at the spectacle of American parents hurrying to satisfy the slightest whims of their "progressive children" [Oct. 17]. "Howdy Doody" is no substitute for a harmonious family whose members enjoy food and congenial conversation equally well.

MRS. JOHN CHIARIELLO Elba, N.Y.

Depends on the Liver

Sir:

As an American who has long studied the lethargic, degenerative aspects of European living, I was immeasurably bored by "tripper" Ann Miller's trite comment concerning the Utopian holiday of the Europeans as opposed to the mad American way of life [Oct. 3]. Obviously, the ulcerous worker of the U.S. has to keep up the furious and exhaustive pace to produce the money which permits the lazy Latin and feeble French to vegetate on their numb posteriors. And if the typical American has his ulcer, the typical European most assuredly has his perforated liver.

WILMON B. MENARD Brazzaville, French Equatorial Africa

The Cost of Power

Sir:

Your Oct. 17 coverage of the John Day debates was well done and was a fine piece of writing. I am afraid, however, that your abbreviated description of the John Day bill may have left an incorrect impression on the minds of most readers. Financing the project would not be limited to three private companies. Nonfederal interests may apply to the Federal Power Commission for permission to participate. As a matter of fact, the Washington State Power Commission and several municipal agencies in Oregon have indicated interest in the proposal.

SAM COON

Second District of Oregon House of Representatives Washington, D.C.

Paris All the Way

Sir:

With respect to Painter Calcagno's remarks [Oct. 17] concerning the death of Paris as a painter's city: I think perhaps a young artist might confuse gallery-saturated Paris' failure to get excited vapors over his work with the arthritis of art he speaks of . . . But if he is looking for a rich and rewarding atmosphere in which to work and grow, it is still worth the boat trip. I wouldn't

be at all surprised to see Calcagno, long