Chuck Jones letters to his daughter, Linda – 14

By Linda Jones

May 15, 2009

# 14 Post:

Wed. Oct 8, 1952

Dear Linda;

Four weeks from yesterday until elections. I wish it were over now. The period between the national conventions and Election Day is far, far too long—five months. This probably made reasonable sense in the days of more primitive communication, when candidates could only reach the voters by going to them or by the written word, which took a long time to reach outlying districts. Perhaps they needed the time then, perhaps…but today!

With radio, television, with high speed railroads and airlines probing every corner of the country it is supposed to be a dangerous and tiring thing to try to hold the interest of the people for that long a time on terms of simple logic—you might lose (horrors). What usually happens, what I’m afraid is going to happen again this time, is that the contest turns dirty, unable to maintain the high level of interest supposedly necessary to victory. The two teams start gouging and biting, clawing and cursing. Truth is avoided or deliberately hurried. The scum of the party is dredged to the surface as the most skillful purveyors of filth and allowed to run rampant. The McCarthys and McCarrans are given free rein and full sway. It is a sick and a sad thing, with two really fine men, Eisenhower and Stevenson, both clean, able and courageous, it seems terrible that this campaign must resolve itself into slinging of offal and vicious casting aspersions.

We finally caught up with “High Noon” last night. A magnificent, truly magnificent film. I thought the direction, music and mood was the best I have ever seen in a picture of this kind. Better, even, than “The Gun-Fighter” and I can tell you right now that our vote for the Academy Award next spring for photography will certainly be “High Noon.” Dottie sat through it completely enthralled, just as if she’d never seen it before. I wonder if she thought it would end differently.

How did the bareback test work out, or have you already told us in one of our overlapping letters?

Treg Brown just tripped in, looking his usual haggard self. He seems to get thinner every day. He still has that volcanic energy and drive, however, so I guess he’s not too unhealthy.

The next three nights are square dance nights, thank God. We have only danced once in the last seven nights. We’re getting very stale. Tonight we’re going to Arcadia and dance with Ed Gilmore, tomorrow Arnie [Kronenberger] and Rinkydinks, Friday, Wayne Warga at Buckaroo town hall. All excellent dances.