Letters: May 20, 1966

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(4 of 5)

Sir: It is true that gambling and vice are still law enforcement problems in Lake County and Gary, Ind. [April 29]. But Gary is making a greater and more sincere effort with these problems than in any prior administration. Our arrests for gambling and vice violations have tripled in the past two years. Both the mayor and the chief of police have recently appeared before the Lake County Liquor Board asking the board not to renew liquor licenses for taverns frequented by known prostitutes. This is unprecedented. Bear in mind that law enforcement authorities must work within the framework of the law. To "know" a woman is a prostitute is one thing; to be able to produce evidence of prostitution that will justify arrest and conviction is quite another.

(MAYOR) A. MARTIN KATZ

Gary, Ind.

Sir: This publicity about Gary came at a crucial time—on the eve of the primaries. As soon as copies of TIME were available at the newsstands, "the Gary outfit" bought them up in entire lots and shipments from the local retail outlets. Consequently, very few copies reached the general public—that is, the local voter.

ALFRED P. SHEPARD

Gary, Ind.

Every Gory Word

Sir: That the Indianapolis torture-murder [May 6] was described in agonizing detail, and that I, and millions of others, ate up every gory word, attests to the latent sado-masochism in all of us: everyone is a latent Mrs. Baniszewski, who can experience pleasure in giving pain, or a Sylvia Likens, who can enjoy being burned, beaten and humiliated.

JUAN R. SANCHEZ

Chicago

Sir: I hope the jury is a group of Godfearing people who will be able to overlook the commandment "Thou shalt not kill" and use, as a basis for their verdict, "An eye for an eye," and then punish these creatures accordingly. May I be forgiven for my evil thoughts of wanting a murder!

JULIA WEISS, '68

Wheaton College Norton, Mass.

A Modest Proposal

Sir: The population explosion [May 6] must give pause to any thinking man, especially one who is the father of twelve children. A possible solution: a crash program could find a simple method of changing the average height of man from 5 or 6 ft. to smaller sizes, so that the space-nutriment requirement per person could be diminished as the total population increased. What difference could there be in a 6-ft. man sitting in an electronic control room rather than a 2-ft. man, if we assume that the 2-ft. man could think just as well as the 6-ft. man?

PETER J. J.

RABBIT St. Louis

Sir: "On Trading in the Children for Color TV," or, "Now They Tell Me":

While four were In, we had these kids,

But now this trend is on the skids.

Now four are OUT, what shall we do?

Will Sarnoff take the other two?

PEGGY CLARKE SNOW

Madison, NJ.

Sir: I read with interest "The Morning-After Pill" [May 6], about the new drug ORF-3858. The similar drug diethylstilbestrol, which Yale researchers are finding equally effective, has been used by veterinarians for years to treat mismating in animals. One of the most noted side effects is the increase in libido. This sounds like the beginning of quite a vicious cycle. Anyone for tennis?