Letters, Sep. 22, 1980

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Your article "Suicide Belt" [Sept. 1] reveals several theories for climbing adolescent suicide rates in affluent suburbs; yet not once is there an implication that a faith in God, together with the familial closeness such a faith can generate, may be a remedy for this senseless waste.

Richard C. Ingraham Bemus Point, N. Y.

Who the Delegates Were

With regard to Hugh Sidey's comments [Sept. 1], the Democratic Convention had a disproportionate percentage of delegates with government jobs because it was truly representative. Private industry is only now opening up decent jobs for women, blacks and other minorities.

Patricia O'Brien Royal Oak, Mich

What proportion of Republican Convention delegates do not have to work for a living at all? I would love to see a comparison of the two parties as to the proportion of each delegate's income on which he or she pays income tax.

Norma J. Hart New York City

Should Church Be a Circus?

It really is pathetic when organized religion turns the worship service into a circus and pastors into clowns [Sept. 1]. As for the congregations that tolerate, encourage and finance this ministry, maybe Barnum was right—there is a sucker born every minute.

Eleanor Gerloff Woodstock, Ill.

Thank you for the article "Becoming Fools for Christ." It affirms my belief that you do not have to be long-faced and sad to be a Christian. It also supports my belief that all ministers need a sense of humor. I am happy to be a clown for the sake of winning others to Christ, who became a "fool" for us.

(The Rev.) John Eliason Burlington, N.C.

Savings, Not Investments

In your article on U.S. Savings Bonds [Aug. 25] you state that in 1979 only $144 million in these bonds were sold and in 1945 only $303 million were sold. We are sorry if there was a misunderstanding about the information we provided you, but the correct figures are $6.9 billion sold in 1979 and $12.9 billion in 1945.

The article also claims that U.S. Savings Bonds were previously advertised as "good investments." For many years Treasury-authorized advertising has in fact consciously refrained from calling them investments and, instead, has urged people to save through these bonds. They are, and always have been, U.S. Savings Bonds, not U.S. Investment Bonds.

Jesse Adams, Deputy National Director U.S. Savings Bonds Division Department of the Treasury Washington, D.C.

Nongreedy Capitalist

Because I've been at my job as venture banker with John Muir & Co. only a month, I was surprised to find myself already called a "greedy capitalist" in your Letters column [Sept. 1]. I know that many people have good reason to equate "greedy" with "capitalist," but I'm going to do my best to create a "me-and-you nongreedy cooperative capitalism."

Oh, by the way, both TIME and the letter writer repeated the '70s media fiction that I coined the phrase "Don't trust anyone over 30." Not so. The fact is that Jack Weinberg first said it in 1964 on the Sproul Hall steps at Berkeley during the Free Speech Movement. I was there. I feel embarrassed 16 years later receiving credit for something I didn't say.

Jerry Rubin New York City