Letters, Sep. 20, 1971

(2 of 3)

Sir: I wonder if the New Economic Policy was drafted on the drawing boards of Detroit. There are plenty of bugs in the economy besides the four-wheeled ones from Germany. I doubt that the 90-day warranty period is long enough to get the sedan of state out of the proving grounds.

KIRK V. DAHL Minneapolis

Sir: Nixon's new program, if backed by every American, should bring prosperity again and a great sense of security and hope for our country.

There should be no more indecision as to whom to vote for in 1972.

JEAN BELLON San Diego

Sir: Now that both Democrats and Republicans have proved that Keynesianism is a failure, it's time to try laissez-faire capitalism. Find out what capitalism is; then you won't permit this endless teetering on the brink of disaster.

(MRS.) GAYLE B. POMRANING San Diego

In Defense of Dreiser

Sir: Your comments about Robert Penn Warren's book in tribute to Theodore Dreiser [Aug. 30] are too fatheaded not to be rejected. Dreiser is not forgotten. He is read by many people in many parts of the world, and for good reason: he wrote earnestly and without cleverness about the loneliness and failure of people who might be said to be ordinary, except for Dreiser's noticing of them.

The writing of Theodore Dreiser, who tends to take forever to tell his story and to get his effects, is necessary to read only if a reader starts to read it and refuses not to go on to the last word. It can happen, even today, even in America. And if it happens, it is because of the vitality of the writing. Durability follows vitality. When you dismiss Dreiser and belittle Warren, you are being laughable but not funny, which TIME has always tried to be for some preposterous reason Dreiser and Warren are writers. Your employees are not writers, they are jobholders. The difference is fundamental.

WILLIAM SAROYAN F resno, Calif.

Sir: Dreiser and his effect on and position in the history of American literature are hardly unnoticed. To the contrary, scholars, writers, students and friends of Dreiser from Russia, Sweden, Japan, Canada and the U.S. gathered in August at Indiana State University to celebrate the centennial of his birth.

The young people of today are reviving interest in his works. Despite Miss Duffy's review in TIME, this great pioneer in literature will have his "place in the sun." TEDI DREISER LANGDON Atlanta

> Mrs. Langdon is a grandniece of Dreiser.

The Basic Values

Sir: The treatment of Galley [Aug. 30] seems to be an advertisement for killing Vietnamese citizens. This man has been convicted of the murder of at least 22 Vietnamese civilians, and yet he lives in a private apartment with rent, food and utilities paid for while his girl friend cooks dinner! Poor people who have done nothing illegal all their lives live worse than that, and what of the people in jails who were convicted of lesser crimes?

If this is American justice, it's about time we stopped worrying so much about our pocketbooks and started worrying about the basic moral values.

BARBARA WEILER Silver Spring, Md.

Neither Dreams nor Cherries

Sir: I am scared stiff to hear that the youngsters are going to vote in the U.S. next time [Aug. 23]. What the hell do these kids know about life?