Letters: Sep. 19, 1969

(2 of 3)

Sir: It is reassuring to know there are still men with a clear understanding of our problems and wisdom to press for sensible solutions. I agree that today's youth movement is more filled with hate than idealism. Amid the shouts and tumult, they are begging for guidance, for a firm hand. Their fathers had failed them. University administrators and officials who yield to their unreasonable demands are also failing them. To these "revolutionaries," permissiveness and overindulgence by both parents and society is not a sign of love, but of weakness and decay.

MICHAEL KECSKES

Daly City, Calif.

Eye of the Needle

Sir: I think TIME missed the point [Sept. 5] as did a small but vocal group of San Franciscans. The area of the site of the Transamerica building has been zoned for high-rise commercial development. Two such developments are already within the Portsmouth Corridor area, and because of the rising cost of land in the downtown financial district, others will follow. San Francisco can only grow in one direction, up. The question then is not whether, but what?

Transamerica might be accused of favoring a pedestrian viewpoint, for it is the man on the street who is most affected by the urban environment. We're betting that this man would rather have greater setback of buildings allowing more light and air to the street, would appreciate a public sculpture garden to retreat from sidewalk traffic, and might enjoy a terrace-level restaurant where he can look out at an historic area of the city.

JOHN H. CHASE

Vice President

Transamerica Corp.

San Francisco

Sir: How can the mayor of beautiful San Francisco say that an ugly mass of glass and cement would be "a very welcome addition to the city's skyline."

His idea of beauty must be a car factory in the middle of an unspoiled forest.

ROSEMARY HUGO

Irwin, Pa.

Sir: I noted with complete revulsion Transamerica Corp.'s proposed addition to the San Francisco skyline. While "different" and "interesting," the building itself must be considered an architectural disaster in spite of itself. Its impact on the total environment in which it finds itself would be great, to say the least, but in a negative way.

I cannot help wondering about the sense of values that Mayor Joseph Alioto, the San Francisco Chronicle and others hold for themselves and for the wonderful city that is San Francisco.

JAMES B. PETTIT JR.

Editor, AS

Baltimore

Flight Cancelled

Sir: We would like to call your attention to an error in fact in your very fine article [Aug. 29] on new directions in the insurance industry.

In describing the aggressive diversification program of INA Corp., the general business corporation formed by the Insurance Co. of North America, you mention that INA acquired World Airways, the supplemental airline. It is true that INA did announce negotiations with World Airways for this purpose on Oct. 9, 1968, but on Jan. 31, 1969, INA and World made a joint announcement that the negotiations had been terminated.

JOHN T. GURASH

President INA Corporation

Philadelphia

Building Blocks