ANTITRUST ACTION CAN 'TORTURE' LEGITIMATE BUSINESSES (int'l edition) Regarding ''What to do about Microsoft'' (Special Report, Apr. 20), ''competition'' and ''choice for consumers'' are only symptoms of economic health--they are not the cause. The root cause of economic prosperity is government protection of individual rights. Antitrust advocates use ''market failure'' as their rationalization for the slow torture of legitimate businesses. But the market's only ''failure'' is its inability to conform to their fantasy of how the world ''should be.'' Rhys Weekley Sydney First of all, Microsoft is not a monopolist. Gates & Co. are only trying to serve us with the most innovative products in the software industry and pursue a good business strategy to survive in a fiercely competitive business. Secondly, as a foreigner who has always seen the U.S. as a free-market mecca (at least, the best one available), I am disappointed at the practices of the U.S. Justice Dept. They see successful businesses as cows to milk. Regulators should realize that it is the markets, not a bunch of lawyers, that will give the best verdict about Microsoft. Mehmet Demir Frankfurt

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