Letters, Jan. 2, 1939

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Man of the Year

Sirs:

WE ANTICIPATE WITH DREAD FOR ITS EFFECTS THE POSSIBLE SELECTION OF ADOLF HITLER AS TIME'S MAN OF THE YEAR. THE MAJORITY OF LETTERS NOMINATING HIM HAVE BEEN WHOLLY CONDEMNATORY. IF HIS PICTURE APPEARS ON YOUR COVER ONLY AS TIME'S MAN OF THE YEAR THE CONTROLLED PRESS OF FASCIST COUNTRIES AND THE UNINFORMED OF ALL NATIONS WILL HAIL THE SELECTION AS AN AWARD OF MERIT. WE ASK THAT YOU CONFIRM THE TRUST OF THE PEOPLE OF THE WORLD'S GREATEST DEMOCRACY BY REFRAINING FROM CONVEYING THIS TITLE AS AN HONOR UPON A MAN WHO HAS DOMINATED THIS YEAR'S HEADLINES WITH HIS CRIMES AGAINST CIVILIZATION.

DR. BRUNO FRANK, MELVYN DOUGLAS, HARLAN THOMPSON, FRANK TUTTLE, GROUCHO MARX, DONALD OGDEN STEWART, GALE SONDERGAARD, BORIS MORROS.

Hollywood, Calif.

Sirs:

If a low fellow burned one church or synagogue he'd likely be called a punk, among other things. Why should the burning of many such places make him be considered for the Man of the Year? If a punk, through brute force, made an old Jew scrub a street, he'd be called anything but Man of the Year, eh? Would he be any different because he'd done so to many a Jew? . . .

W. M. CHASE

Nashville, Tenn.

Sirs:

Your magizine is always printing letters condeming His Excelency Herr Hitler. I don't do much writing, but I could not help voicing my disagrement. I give great Hitler credit for doing what the Kaisar did not complete. Hitler has made himself the king of Europe by proving to the world that France and England are cowards. . . .

Another thing, why should the people of this country worry what goes on in Germany? It's none of there business. Herr Hitler does not tell us what we should do to the prisoners, so why should we tell him what to do to the Jews? . . .

Instead of condeming Hitler let us praise his efforts toward reconstructing Germany.

A READER Rockford, Ill.

>The telegram and letters above were received too late for inclusion in TIME'S Dec. 26 issue. For TIME'S answer, see TIME'S cover, TIME'S story, p. 11.—ED.

Potential Solution

Sirs:

I am hoping that the following potential solution to the Jewish Territorial problem will be aired through your columns. . . .

Has Lower California ever been considered ?

This area is about the size of Michigan, has a comfortable climate, yet has a population of less than 100,000. It is generally considered an arid country, yet our own government reports at least 5,000,000 acres of excellent farming land, with more available after suitable irrigation. There is excellent commercial fishing and some mining there also.

Since the U. S. is bound to figure financially in any Jewish territorial solution anyway, and since Mexico owes us a mounting debt for recent land confiscations, and since a good portion of Lower California is already owned by U. S. citizens (and therefore presumably confiscatable), therefore Mexico's debt might be applied against the purchase price of this territory which we could then present to the Jewish people.

A. HERB San Francisco, Calif.

Sorry, Girls

Sirs: