March On

Sir: Martin Luther King was murdered because he was our uncomfortable conscience. I am filled with shame and loathing for my race. My heart grieves for his family and friends who must abruptly substitute memories for his warm reality. My mind cries out to know how I, one single me, insulated in my white suburb, can redress the ancient wrongs.

JOYCE K. LAIRD

Lafayette, Calif.

Sir: His great, huge face is set forever in our memories; be it that his vision of brotherhood sets in our hearts.

JOHN BARRY

Los Angeles

Sir: Why must we always kill our prophets before we will listen to them?

JAMES THOMPSON

Pastor

West Branch Friends Church

West Branch, Iowa

Sir: When statesmen look to give aid to the uncivilized and underdeveloped countries of the world, please let ours be first on their list.

DOROTHY S. SAUNDERS

Cherry Hill, N.J.

Sir: As Whitney Young said, Dr. King "had more faith in America's goodness than America has in herself."

WILLIAM R. CATTON JR.

Seattle

Sir: Whites feel not only horror, but shame at the tragic death of Dr. Martin Luther King. But there is a group that should feel infinitely more shame, and it is that minority (and thank God it is a minority) of black militants and their followers who have been rioting, or advocating such, in the wake of Dr. King's death. Who do they think they are fooling? In their hearts, Dr. King died a long time ago. They had abandoned him; they had not really cared, obviously, whether he lived or died; he was a thorn in their side. Their actions are not only making sure that Dr. King died in vain, they are going to make sure that his whole life was in vain.

JOHN WINCHESTER DANA

Hamden, Conn.

Sir: To those who would use recent disorders as an excuse to be "disillusioned with the civil rights cause," I suggest taking a lesson from the monumental patience of Negro Americans in the face of a series of murders and violence whose beginnings predate last summer's disturbances by 100 years, and have culminated in this almost insupportable loss. But enough. We can bear no more.

DELORIS E. GASKINS

Philadelphia

Sir: President Johnson last month told 200 Southern Baptist leaders, "There is no Southern or Northern problem, only an American problem, when it comes to the rights of citizens. The only lasting solution won't cost a cent--but it will be the hardest to achieve." He then said this would require a change in men's hearts--in the way they see and treat their neighbors. No other white leader's remarks and few colored spokesmen have isolated and described so well the deep and festering wound responsible for the outbreaks--namely, the long-ingrained conviction and the sustained conduct in and by millions of whites that the Negro is an inferior person. The glib, commonplace expression "free, white and twenty-one" epitomizes this ghastly and disastrous view. The noise and smoke in urban areas are but echoes of battles lost in homes, schools and churches where moment by moment the American character is forged. It should be obvious that, in country or city, the Negro throughout this nation will continue to fight desperately for the honest answer to his plight--for equality status. Why? Simply because being an American has come to signify to him what it does for the rest of us--the dignity of the individual. It is those who would deprive him of this heritage who are totally irresponsible and utterly unAmerican.

DOUGLAS P. ADAMS

Professor

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Cambridge

Sir: The stark tragedy was best brought out by Thomas Jefferson's statement that the tree of liberty must often be watered by the blood of tyrants and patriots. Let us hope that this latest moisture was well absorbed in this arid spring.

WALTER PLYWASKI

Boulder, Colo.

Sir: The land of the free and the home of the brave--and probably the only civilized nation on earth where a winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, holding no political office, can be assassinated while serving on his mission.

H. A. EPPERSON

Phoenix, Ariz.

Sir: How do you explain "nigger" to the tearful face of a six-year-old? That the zoo is for whites only? How do you enlist a soldier to lay down his life for freedom--of which he knows not? How do you tell a young mother to teach her young that tear gas, dogs and fiery crosses should instill a zest for self-dignity? How do you tell the world that a great man, a black man, has been shot by a white man for wanting to be a free man?

(MRS.) DEBORAH PREBLE

Pasadena, Calif.

Christianity in the Midst of Change

Sir: As a Christian trying to be committed to the institution and to life itself at the same time, I rejoice in your article "On Being a Contemporary Christian" [April 12]. Why is it that so many so-called secular powers can express so beautifully truths that the church so often deadens or categorizes into meaninglessness? To me it shows both the sad fact that the church often fails to see how big God is and the joyous truth that God really does work in all people.

PHYLLIS MCINTIRE

Deaconess Interne

Mount Calvary Lutheran Church

Janesville, Wis.

Sir: As a contemporary Christian, and as a priest, I totally acknowledge "a Christianity in the midst of change, confusion and disarray." But I'm also convinced totally that right now and always it is quite possible to be a lively, dynamic and vigorous contemporary Christian--which is another way of saying, a genuine man for all seasons.

(THE REV.) JOE O'BELL

Assistant Pastor

St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church

Holly Springs, Miss.

Sir: May I humbly suggest to all who ponder the relevancy of the church in a modern setting that we stop talking so much, be quiet and think and pray. Sometimes, it seems to me, our theologians and intellectuals confound the very ideas they wish to propound by indulging in so much pompous, convoluted verbosity. The rest of us--the prosaic mass--have traditionally looked to our founding fathers and religious leaders to help us articulate that which we so inadequately proclaim. I, for one, am not confused by God, or the church, or my place in a secular world. I am confused and profoundly disappointed in the lack of faith displayed by our leaders.

BETTY E. JOHNSON

Bloomingdale, Ga.

Sir: Let Christians learn first to love their neighbors as their cars, homes, minks and vacations, and perhaps then we will have a reason to go to church on Sunday.

EMILIO A. CUBEIRO, '70

Fordham University

New York City

Sir: The Essay comes at a time in history that needs more than ever the articulation of just what it means to be a Christian, 1968. That Christ's law was one of love and not legality is made so evident in the Essay that it must take on a new meaning to all Christians. You have presented a picture of Jesus Christ that removes the image of him as a proverbial prophet of a meaningless message and shows him to be the great man of love--a love that extends out not for simply the people of his day but an atemporal, everlasting love. The ultimate success of the Essay lies in the hearts of all men.

BILL COEN

Brighton, Mass.

The Leave-taking

Sir: President Johnson deserves lasting praise for his courageous decision to withdraw from the race [April 5]. Let his action serve as a final and sobering answer to those Americans who questioned his personal integrity. And to those who seek his office, may they be prompted to ask themselves: "Would I, given the same circumstances, have handled the present spate of world problems any differently?"

W. H. MUSKENS

Rabaul, Papua & New Guinea

Sir: Like many others, I was shocked and moved by President Johnson's decision. Never before, as far as I know, has a President of the U.S. had to exercise his duties and prerogatives under such difficult circumstances. He fought America's and the free world's battle, inside and outside the U.S., with wisdom, courage and dignity. The great tragedy of the free world of our era is that those who should lave supported him, and through him America and the free world, betrayed him, the free world and themselves. They did the job of their own enemies.

EMIL NEUMAN

Jerusalem

Sir: Nothing in his political life became him like the leaving of it.

VIRGINIA MORRISON

Austin, Texas

Those Who Stood

Sir: Let no one interpret the lifted siege of Khe Sanh [April 12] as a reciprocal act by the North Vietnamese for the decreased bombing of the North. The siege was lifted because 6,000 outnumbered Marines, who were never doubtful of the outcome of the impending attack, made a stand. They fought, slept and died in the muddy trenches they called home, while Americans sitting before their color television sets called Khe Sanh a mistake.

(PFC) STEVE HARHAJ

A.P.O., Seattle

Old American Custom

Sir: In your article on Newark, you state that after the riot last July, "New Jersey Commissioner of Community Affairs Paul Ylvisaker began encouraging black militants to mobilize a legal challenge against the school" [March 29]. The statement is incorrect. My own role was simply to encourage direct talks between government officials and citizens of the Newark community. It's an old American tradition, and when tried, it seems to work.

PAUL N. YLVISAKER

Commissioner

New Jersey Department of Community Affairs

Trenton, N.J.

Ice Out

Sir: The story of dramatic changes in Czechoslovakia [April 5] is fascinating. The ice of 20 years of totalitarian dictatorship has started to melt. It's remarkable that a nation that was betrayed by the West is able to accomplish the liberalization, with re-establishment of some of the basic freedoms, without outside help or interference. The question arises: Is it worth it or justified to fight Communism with precious American blood in the jungles of Southeast Asia when the same system seems gradually disintegrating from the inside in Central Europe?

JOSEPH UTRATA, M.D.

Chillicothe, Ohio

Sir: A year ago, it required the diligence of a scholar or the enthusiasm of a displaced patriot to inform oneself on current events in Central and Eastern Europe. It is good to see that the Iron Curtain is now rusting on both sides.

NANCY ARNOLD

Palo Alto, Calif.

Catch Up, Don't Put Down

Sir: I take exception to your statement that American "muscle" cars are hard to drive [April 5]. These sporty cars are a step forward in Detroit thinking. Not only do their race-bred brakes, suspension and steering make them easier and more fun to drive, but these are by far the safest of all American cars. Europe has been successful in leading with similar cars for years; now that America has finally caught on, don't put 'em down!

BILL ROBERTS

Redwood Falls, Minn.

Proof of the Pumpkin?

Sir: One of your readers who boasts being above the 90th percentile in education and intelligence, says: "I still believe the Bible when it states that Jesus walked upon the water and Jonah was swallowed by a great fish. No one has yet come up with any evidence to the contrary [April 5]." There is not a shred of evidence that the cow did not jump over the moon, or that Cinderella's coach was not turned into a pumpkin at midnight.

VERNON R. GUTMAN

Saratoga, Calif.

Sweet Prince

Sir: I read "Three to Get Ready" [April 12] with great fascination and interest, and I think you did an excellent job of reporting. However, being a "tough, laconic demon," when I read the last paragraph of the article, I felt like changing my quoted statement to "anything including murder." Having been in my present position for six years and having been directly in charge of and responsible for the production of over 150 pictures, I would think that in my particular case it is not too early for me to be established as either "a prince or a pretender."

RICHARD D. ZANUCK

Executive Vice President, Production

20th Century-Fox Film Corporation

Beverly Hills, Calif.

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