Evening star., 1947-03-28
Letters to The Star

Deplored." What a splendid article
this is.
Many parents of children in the D. c.
schools are concerned over the stuff that
Is being taught our children.
wonder how many parents realize
|, that history-that is American history
is not being taught in the elementary
schools of the District. 1t has been re-
placed by something called Social
Studies. which appears to be Socialist
propaganda, taught, or. rather forced
upon our teachers to be taught, by some
few educators who obviously acquired
such knowledge in six-week summer
school. The educators claim they must
build character in our children and pre-
live in.
Parents Responsibility.
Many parents still feel that they have
responsibility to their children and
even the stupidist parent knows that
character is built in the home, not the
schools. (.
Nineteen million dollars (Which is the
school budget, believe) seems lot of
money to put out for what we are get
ting. The children are not taught
grammar, not taught to write, not
taught the multiplication tables. No
three RS.
Personally, I send my child to school
to learn to read, write and to acquire
some simple knowledge of arithmetic.
He is definitely not learning these
things.
Then, too, there is the question of the
textbooks. Parents do not see the text
books as they are locked up in the
school room. 1t seems to be military
secret what these text books are.
Isn't it to be deplored that in the
City of Washington American history
is not stressed? Where else could the
educators teach history from more
unbiased viewpoint?
Criticizes PTA.
AS pointed out in this article, the
PTA is in the clutches Cat least in
my SCHOOL,, of a small minority group
who think all this sociaiization is Won
derful. Many parents are just like me,
they refuse to go to PTA. One meeting
some one. spent the whole evening
explaining what the PTA member got
for the cents a year they contributed
to the International PTA. For my 2
cents it wasn't worth it. These minority
groups have joined this control because
many parents don't pay any attention
to what is going on.
The trouble with the D. c. schools IS
not lack of funds, or well-qualified
teachers, or any thing but the D. C..
parents who are sitting by complaining
about things. The schools are like the
weather, every one complains about
them, but no one does anything about
them.
Let's get all the parents together and
insist that our children be taught the
three Rs as that should be the func-
ton of the school.
ETHEL CARPENTER DAY.
Little Man Tax Relief
To the Editor of The Star:
"Leveling of incomes destroys initia-
tive" is an oft-quoted assumption which
sounds logical, but is it? The dollar is
certainly more active today than ever
before-surely no greater amount of in-s
vestment capital has ever been avail
able. Eagerness to plunge into the vari-
Gus markets is difficult to explain in
view of inf1ationary prices, labor
troubles and high taxes In the final
analysis, does it matter whether indus
try acquires its capital from one man
or from hundred men? 1t is interest
ing to note the birth of forty new mill
lionaires in this era Of "exorbitant" in
come levles. Despite all of this, Mr..
David Lawrence March 2N has dug up
this old scapegoat, apparently in sup
port of the 20 per cent "across-the-
board" tax proposal.
This taX-slicing measure Cor its
slightly modified variation) is not only
untimely but is deceptively worded
scheme that is devoid of reason. At a
time when the interest on the national
debt approaches five billions, talk of tax
cuts does not sound rational, nor does
a reduction plan which would grant
but go per cent of the relief to 96 per
cent of the people. The fighting has
ceased, true enough-but in financial
sense the war has scarcely begun. Now
that the time has come to foot the bill,
the mention of patriotism and tax re-
duction in the same breath would seem
to at least border upon mild form Of
hypocrisy.
The general reluctance of our great
free press to translate Copper cent
across -the-board" into dollar and
cents tabulation for the benefit of the
man on the street is either an inten-
tional evasion or an objectionable over
sight. Such a report would have buried
the Knutson and similar proposals in
their infancy. Twenty per cent can be
two cents or two million dollars but j. @.
Public can recognize dime as being
ten cents, no more, no less. Give it to
him straight in language that he un-
derstands-or do you dare?
JOSEPH T. REYNOLDS.
Wants Labor Costs Reduced
To the Editor of The Star:
MuCu 1ldo pcoA Soiu dooot elio sup
posed duty of some one, somewhere to
supply plenty of houses for people to
live in and the current high costs of
building them.
However. little If anything. has been
said about reducing that part of the
costs that goes for labor which, it is
reported, amounts to from 70qo to
$50 of the whole.
1t would appear that If the entire
difference between the labor cost and