To the Editor: Re "Amid Joblessness, the Joys of Tenure" (The Week in Review, Dec. 12): Comparing tenure with protectionism in international trade is not valid.

The political role of the army became ever greater as the 1930s progressed, and the problems posed by population expansion, protectionism in international trade and agricultural impoverishment helped to unite much of the population behind an aggressive search for territorial expansion, Asian leadership and economic autarky.