Letters: Jul. 5, 1968

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Illegal possession would still occur, but availability of weapons would be so limited that to obtain a gun illegally would be a most troublesome and expensive task. The domestic quarrel born from the high pitch of passion is less likely to end in homicide when a gun is not near by. The annual 2,500 accidental deaths due to guns would be reduced to a negligible amount. Occasional governmental requests for voluntary submission of all unauthorized guns, under amnesty, would be made, as in England.

MARVIN E. WOLFGANG Chairman, Department of Sociology University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia

Defending Ma Bell

Sir: When considering the extent and desirability of the Government controls applied to A.T.&T. [June 21], let's compare changes in phone service over the last 20 years with changes in postal service. The price of a postcard has gone up 500%, the price of a first-class letter 100%. The number of mail deliveries has been decreased. Shortly after the change in rates from 5¢ to 6¢ for a first-class letter, my mailman stopped delivering the mail by foot and started driving a Jeep. We don't get the mail any sooner because of the number of starts and stops he has to make in this suburban neighborhood. Is this where the extra 1¢ went? Contrast this with the improvement in phone service over the last 20 years. Thank God that the Government does not run the phone company.

WEBB LINZMAYER Shrewsbury, N.J.

Love & the Pope

Sir: I have just finished reading the article on the latest developments in the judgments of the Roman Catholic Church on birth control [June 21]. As a young Catholic girl who looks forward to a home and family one day, I find the attitude of my church outdated, absurd and completely unacceptable. In this day and age, when the Roman Catholic Church could be a true leader of mankind rather than a follower, an aid to the spiritual problems of the world rather than a hindrance, it clings to attitudes and ideas that are centuries old. While the church teaches Christian love on one hand, it denies it on the other. No true adult Catholic can believe that Christ would condemn a man to an afterlife of suffering because he loved his wife, and chose to show it through the physical act of love. PATRICE LEONHARD Manhattan

Troubles with Toro

Sir: El Cordobés has dragged the art of bullfighting down to the lowest depths it could go. You pointed out the present sad state of taurine affairs [June 21] but in such a way that would only buttress the public's misconceptions about bullfighting. A bullfight is no more a sport than a ballet or a play, and should never be reported in the Sport section (unless the article deals exclusively with the clown El Cordobés). It was disappointing to see you deal so flippantly with the most technical, artistic and misunderstood drama in the world.

JAMES L. NAMMACK JR. President

North American Taurine Association Washington, D.C.

Sir: People who enjoy this cruel sport would probably have drooled over watching the early Christians being torn to pieces by wild animals.

(MRS.) L. TANJOY Coburg, Ont.

Art Appreciation