Letters: Nov. 5, 1965

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War in Viet Nam

Sir: Your fine cover story on Viet Nam [Oct. 22], vividly portraying once again American competence at waging war, just as vividly brings into focus what may be the ultimate issue: Will the American people have the patience to see this conflict through to a meaningful victory? The Communists say we won't. I hope we do. World War II and Korea may not have conditioned us to think in terms of a ten-year fight, but neither have they conditioned us to expect much from the conference table.

PETER W. HUTTON

Syracuse, N.Y.

Sir: I was pleased to note your reference to the Marines' Civic Action Program in Viet Nam. You mention the donation of soap by the Sheraton and Hilton hotels. I would like to call to your attention the generous contribution of Manhattan's Soap and Detergent Association, with which I worked on this project.

CHARLES E. CHAMBERLAIN Congressman from Michigan

House of Representatives Washington, D.C.

> For a view of the SDA's contribution at work, see cut.

Sir: As a graduate student in political science, I wish I could award TIME a medal for its evaluation of the change in the course of the war. Your emphasis on the humanitarian services being performed by the U.S. Marines was like a breath of fresh air after a weekend of denunciations of American "atrocities."

CHARLES R. YOUNGBLOOD JR.

Decatur, Ga.

Sir: My heartfelt thanks for your excellent story. I have always supported our involvement in Viet Nam; I have never been able to see how anybody can do otherwise. Your report strengthened my beliefs and brought out a neglected aspect of our presence there: our people are, through instruction and encouragement, bettering that country immensely.

PAUL K. MUELLER

State College, Pa.

Dissent in the U.S.

Sir: I do not necessarily agree with the thinking of the anti-war demonstrators [Oct. 22], but I believe they have a right to express their views. Need a patriot agree with everything his government does, and is his government always right? Are all conscientious objectors, all Quakers, chicken? Why aren't dissenters free to demonstrate as long as they are peaceable and refrain from burning draft cards?

Eau Claire, Wis.

Sir: There are American university faculty members who do not condemn the actions of the U.S. in Viet Nam. There are two main arguments for the U.S. presence in Viet Nam: we are pledged to protect the people of South Viet Nam from a terrible fate, and even if we were willing to abandon them, we would be repeating the mistakes of the early 1930s, committing the folly of retreat before aggression. We admit that these claims are arguable. But we think them more likely true than false. The American position, far from being immoral, is an honorable and courageous one; it is time that more voices were raised in its defense.

JOSEPH L. HUNTER

Professor of Physics

FRANK A. GUTOWSKI, S.J.

Chairman, Department of Physics

and

85 full-time faculty members John Carroll University Cleveland