Share SDI research

It is surprising that Mr. Harsch in his July 11 column, ``Two real problems,'' didn't mention what could be a perfect solution to overcoming Soviet reluctance to include the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) in the Geneva negotiations. President Reagan stated in one of the presidential campaign debates his willingness to share the technicalities of SDI with the Soviets as soon as they were perfected. But why wait while each superpower struggles alone, at astronomical cost, to find the answers?

President Reagan could appoint a certain number of his top scientists to the project and invite the Soviets to do likewise. Then let them work together to uncover the secrets of a ``star wars'' defense. Margaret M. Lauder San Luis Obispo, Calif.

In reporting that the letters column of The Times (London) is 60 to 70 years old (July 24), David Winder might know that there was published in 1976 ``The First Cuckoo,'' a book subtitled ``Letters to The Times 1900-1975.''

To cull the best of these first 75 years, the book's editor, Kenneth Gregory, read every letter published in The Times in the 20th century. His resulting epistolana embraced:

Tone deafness: ``he could not tell `Pop Goes the Queen' from `God Save the Weasel.' ''

Clout: King George V to a friend who sought his intervention: ``My dear fellow, I can't help you! You'd better write to The Times.''

The book takes its title from the intense competition every spring to be the first on the island to report to The Times on the return of the cuckoo bird. Peter Warner Phelps, Wis.

The answer to Rushworth Kidder's July 29 article ``Why conservatives should support a free marketplace of ideas'' is short. They do! The purpose of Reed Irvine's Accuracy in Academia is simply to redress the imbalance in the current campus atmosphere of prejudice: Angela Davis is welcomed but Jeane Kirkpatrick is shouted down. Students reject William F. Buckley Jr., but invite Pete Seeger. Gerald Raftery Arlington, Vt.