Letters

Who's Burning Books?

To THE EDITOR: Your editorial in the October issue on "Freedom to Read" struck me as the last word in a lot of nonsense on a carelessly written speech of President Eisenhower's which he happened to deliver at Dartmouth. As far as I know, no one in the U.S. lately has even suggested burning books. McCarthy justly said that it was damned foolishness for American propaganda libraries abroad to have communist literature on their shelves. But he never said that the libraries in the United States shouldn't carry any books they want to carry.

The type of reporting of Eisenhower's speech was in the same category as Eisenhower's handling of Mr. Matthews, whom he suggested firing without knowing what the hell Matthews had said.

I'm not surprised to see Professor Carr's name on the Westchester Conference as he chairmanned that masterpiece of fuzzy thinking, the report of President Truman's committee on civil liberties. But I am surprised to see the ALUMNI MAGAZINE let itself be carried away by the emotional reports of a lot of careless newspaper reporters and New Deal commentators, most of whom didn't bother to read Eisenhower's complete speech.

If Americans would get as excited about the actual issue of spies still in our government as they are about the straw man issue of McCarthy's supposed threat to our freedom, the country would be a lot better off.

Houston, Texas

Education Comes First

To THE EDITOR: Wilfred Maynard's ill-tempered letter does not, I feel sure, represent the attitude of the overwhelming proportion of Dartmouth alumni. However, it does draw attention, quite dramatically, to one of the evils of present-day football those alumni who feel that football teams are maintained primarily to feed their self-esteem. These sensitive souls, faced with jibes from the fellows at the club, begin to scream with agony if the boys aren't out there dying on the gridiron.

Mr. Maynard's reference to the mature mind raises the suspicion that his letter may actually be a satire on the typical alumni jingoist; a clever fraud intended to provoke controversy.

No one likes to lose, least of all, it may be presumed, the boys who play on the Dartmouth football team. But having had the opportunity to witness at first hand a most unsavory football scandal brought on largely by alumni pressure, I derive far more satisfaction from my conviction that Dartmouth is putting education ahead of football than I would in seeing Dartmouth teams ranked among the national football powers year after year. Mr. Maynard knows as well as' I do the price that is paid for such standings. If he is willing to see Dartmouth pay the price I fervently hope that he represents a very small minority.

I enjoy having Dartmouth win as much as anyone, but I am entirely confident that Dartmouth's name will never be dimmed by having an unsuccessful football season or a series of them, nor will the character or the education of the students suffer thereby.

I note that Dartmouth, a few weeks ago, upset a highly favored, unbeaten Yale team by a lopsided score. Doubtless Mr. Maynard has a Yale counterpart who has already written to demand that this hideous disgrace be expiated by chopping off some heads and stepping up the recruitment and subsidization of athletes.

An unmortified alumnus,

Santa Monica, Calif.

An Omission

To THE EDITOR: I wish to call your attention to an error in the November issue of the ALUMNI MAGAZINE, an error of considerable importance to local members of Phi Beta Kappa Society. The Rugg portrait (Page 25) was commissioned jointly by the Library staff and the local chap, ter of Phi Beta Kappa. Our society took a great interest in this portrait. We wished to participate in honoring a man who had been our indefatigable Secretary for 43 years.

I am sure the omission was not intentional but I do wish to set the record straight. Thank you.

Secretary-Treasurer Phi Beta Kappa

Hanover, N. H.