Dear Editor
DEAR EDITOR LESSON LEARNED John Unterecker's "Fiction in Paperbacks" (NL, May 6) contains a misstatement of fact. John Laskell, "hero" of Lionel Trilling's novel The Middle of the Journey, had...
...If one theme can be said to predominate, it is that of choice and commitment...
...If Mr...
...Unterecker, I hope he will accept this call to accuracy in the same spirit that I accepted his numerous pleas for correctness and precision...
...John Laskell, "hero" of Lionel Trilling's novel The Middle of the Journey, had never been a Communist party member, though strongly attached to what he thought were its aims and principles...
...Rothschild reportedly told the pauper that he might have a point...
...His suggestions remind me of the story about the pauper who tried to convince Rothschild of the wisdom of sharing the wealth...
...2. Those unions should fight inflation "by enforcing price reductions as result of the increased productivity of their own industries...
...Finally, some of us old-timers were crusaders: We lost our jobs, went to prison and even saw The New Leader welcomes comment and criticism on any of its features, but letters should not exceed 300 words...
...To some, this distinction may seem minor, but in the novel Laskell's failure to actually join the party is of crucial significance...
...For the most part they are concerned about their day-to-day interests: their jobs, their families, the next payment on the house...
...What is needed, I think, is a little patience...
...The book is a brilliant portrait of a psychological triangle, involving Laskell, his fellow-traveling friends Arthur and Nancy Crooms—whose illusionary faith he had once shared—and Clifford Maxim, an ex-Communist whose newly embraced vision dates back several thousand years...
...And that is precisely the point...
...Real-world trade unions—not Mr...
...Raymond S. Hack LABOR In answer to Oscar Schnabel's "Labor and Inflation" (NL, May 6), I should like to point out that labor's rank and file are not students of political economy or social idealists...
...Nat Goldfincer...
...Similarly, he might point his sights at labor leaders like Dave Beck and James Hoffa...
...Both the ritualistic liberal and the ex-Communist turned religious convert have passed the point where choice and commitment are overly relevant...
...For these and many other reasons, the label "ex-Communist," within the meaning of the novel, is not only erroneous but clearly misleading...
...Schnabel will persuade the price-leading dominant corporations to reduce their prices, I don't think there will be any difficulty in finding someone to persuade unions to "enforce" those price reductions...
...Furthermore, in the real-world American economy most prices of key manufactured products are administered by the dominant price-leading firms...
...Laskell is psychologically unable to align himself with either of the two faiths depicted...
...we learned in the school of hard knocks, and today we are still learning things about monopoly and inflation that Marx neglected to explain...
...Schnabel's lecture to organized labor is directed to the wrong side...
...Oscar Schnabel's abstract profundity in his "Labor and Inflation," it seems to me, boils down to the following propositions: 1. Pace-setting unions in big industries should call a halt to wage increases for their members...
...he, Rothschild, would try to convince the paupers that they should share their wealth if the paupers would persuade Rothschild's friends and associates to do the same...
...But Laskell cannot settle into such « comfortable niche...
...Detroit John Panzneh The writer of the above letter has been active in the organized labor movement for over half a century.—Ed...
...Hyattsville, Md...
...Of course, there are union leaders and a minority of the active members whose interests go further afield and they have supported such things as price controls, the formation of cooperatives, etc...
...some of our fellow workers murdered...
...Those of us who have lived through the struggle have become more practical...
...Victor and Walter Reuther are doing a good job, and if they are pushed too hard somebody might try to assassinate them again...
...he possesses neither the dedication nor the will nor the conviction with which the others are so abundantly endowed...
...Schnabel proposes, is beyond my comprehension...
...Schnabel's dream variety—bargain with companies on wages, hours and working conditions, not on the firms' price structure...
...Chestertown, Md...
...How unions can enforce price reductions, as Mr...
...I think Mr...
...Schnabel might use his energies to better advantage by addressing those who are still unorganized, the people who refuse to help...
...As a former student of Mr...
Vol. 40 • May 1957 • No. 20
