Letters: Ghandi's Watch Pocket

Gandhi's Watch Pocket

Sirs:

Subscriber Smith & Reader Jones would like to have TIME'S explanation for the following ambiguous statement which appeared in TIME, Oct. 5:

"Abruptly St. Gandhi jerked out his dollar watch, announced that it was 7 p.m.—time to pray."

From where was the dollar watch jerked?

GEORGE N. JONES

State College of Washington Pullman, Wash.

The Gandhi watch is jerked from a fold of the Mahatma's first shawl (the one next his skin) to which he secures his large ("dollar") watch by a large ("baby's") safety pin. In England St. Gandhi wears a second and often a third shawl. The three cover him tentwise when he sits crosslegged, showing only his big toes, small hands and birdlike poll topped with stiff black & white hairs clipped to a length of ⅜-in.—ED.

Pumper's Fly-Pelts

Sirs:

Following the 47th, 48th and 49th annual meeting of The Guild of Former Pipe Organ Pumpers in New York City last May, a Mr. Bill Furth of your magazine wrote a lengthy article on the organization (TIME, May 25), and the meeting was broadcast in TIME'S March of Events Weekly Program. As a result of this activity on your part something like 50 new members have joined and received their degrees of Fellow Pumper. Included in this number was Lunsford P. Yundell, president of the Mohawk Mining Co., who pumped a pipe organ in Danville, Ky. As a reward for his services he received 10¢ a Sunday. This fee was augmented when the secretary of the church paid him 1c for every 100 fly pelts he turned in after each service. Not only has Mr. Yundell been made the Guild's Official Fly-Swatter, but he has been congratulated on breaking into the "Y" sector of the roster, previously occupied only by Fielding H. Yost of Ann Arbor, Mich.

However, that's not the point. Since the TIME article and the broadcast our Clasped Hands Memorial Board has found it extremely difficult to cooperate with our Engineering Staff in a Decrease-In-Membership Drive inaugurated in June. This drive is aimed to discourage applications from new members and to encourage a reduction in the number of old members. It is only in this way that the Guild will be able to maintain its deficits.

I would, therefore, appreciate your refraining from any similar activities in the future, activities that have worked a very great hardship on those who are exerting every effort to keep the situation in hand. Only with this co-operation from you will we be able to make our present stock of letterheads and certificates last until the rush of business you have created passes over.

CHET SHAFER Grand Diapason

The Guild of Former Pipe Organ Pumpers New York City

Promises

Sirs:

What TIME has gained in painful accuracy it has lost in memory.

On two distinct occasions TIME had definitely promised future information, which as yet has not appeared. One, the fate of a liquor store selling openly on a downtown thoroughfare of New York City; the other, the vicissitudes that had attended the winner of the first prize of last year's English sweepstakes. Let TIME brush up on these breaches of promises and bring to light other forgotten instances.

HY SEIGEL Los Angeles, Calif.