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Salient: Victoria University Students' Paper. Vol. 25, No. 7. 1962.

Nom-De-Plumes

Nom-De-Plumes

Dear Sir,—Colonel Blimp was right! Your policy of not printing letters over nom-de-plumes is ridiculous. One does not necessarily agree with those one likes. Must one either risk one's social ease or else be silent? Must one always hesitate?—will this opinion make anyone think less of me? No sir; this is part of our freedom of speech. A man must be allowed inconsistency, occasional extreme views, violent controversy with himself under several names, without risking losing his job 20 years later.

After all, most of those controversies are over questions of fact or principle, not over personalities. A fact may be true, an argument valid, no matter who says it. Whereas if you have to sign it "Alfred Blurge" everyone will say " I know Alfred Blurge and he's a drip," and not read the thing.—Yours etc.,

J. C. Ross.