Evening star., 1948-07-17
Letters to The Star
Adults the Trouble

1IttA
Adults the Trouble
To the Editor Of Tbs Star:
Re: That spanked Child" discussion:
There seems to be . misunderstanding IN
the minds Of your readers as to the meaning
Of the word discipline" It does not mean
disciplinary punishment" great many
fellows who thought they were officers and
troop leaders in World War II also failed to
differentiate between the two
The perfectly disciplined unit is one In which
there is no need for disciplinary punishment.
OF course, to achieve that you have to emulate
the circus dog trainer who stated: ITO properly
train the dog, it is essential that the trainer
know more than the dog"
The best behaved child on our block is II.
She's never been spanked and never been
scolded, simply because that has not been
necessary.
Attorney General Tom Clark says: There
are no delinquent children. just delinquent
parents" CHARLES K MARTINSEN.
Pro and Con on Segregation
To the Editor Of The Star.
The letter headed French Canadian on
| Segregation" in The Star-for July II appeals
| to me as the very best the sanest I have
| read on the subject. To quote but two sen
tences: "It is significant that the number Of
| the colored race to be seen rapidly lessons rs
one travels North. 1t is easy to understand why
| citizens of parts of the country where few COLI
| ored persons live are in no position to Judge
| about segregation"
L. c. K. advocates that the better educated
| minority amcng Negroes devote their talents
| and time to elevating their own masses, and
| I recently have seen two letters In The Star,
| evidently written by Negroes, In which the
| same advice was given. Definite segregation
| and such social work among Negroes would
| make for better understanding, more rapid
| advancement, and definitely less of this class
| bitterness
| The South always is charged with unfair
| treatment Of the Negro, and If such charges
were true, and do not admit it, then this attl-
tude on the part of the white Southerner
began after the Civil War, when Northerners
| came down with their carpetbag regime and
| tried to force Negro equality on the South.
Until that era there existed the kindest feeling
| toward the Negro on the part of the white man.
Never mentioning the slave trade Of the New
England sea captains who supplied the slave
| markets in the South, the North developed q
tender conscience after such trade was banned
and then saw the horrors of slavery. WASH
ington and Jefferson wanted to free their
slaves after the Revolution, but the New Eng
| landers, still fostering the slave trade, raised
such strenuous objections that the subject was
| dropped.
Now times have changed. Many Negroes
! are advanced in learning, science, art; but all
| their advancement was built on the white
mans setup, the white mans civilization. If
the Negro had started from scratch" his prog
ress would have been on a par with that Of
darkest Africa, from whence he came.
l.. EDRINGTON.
| To the Editor Of The Star:
| Despite an initiated anonymity, recent let
ter by l.. K. G. deserves attention. It Is an
expression of the kind of meandering mentality
upon which many Of our social problems are
depending for ultimate solution. Therefore
solution comes on weighted feet.
| l.. X. c. comments on the evident pleasure
| racial groups derive from voluntary segre-
| CATION. Probably true, but who objects to vol
| untary segregation? It is compulsory segrega-
| tion that arouses opposition. To prefer to stay
out and to be kept out represent emotional
| states Of elemental differences The attitudes
they foster are quite unlike.
l.. K. G. sagaciously suggests that Negro
| leaders teach slum dwellers to be clean and
respectable. That Is superficial to the point Of
| Stiffness Residents of Catfish Row ana Tobacco
| Road are seldom there from deliberate choice
| The reasons lie in complex factors, involving
educational and job opportunities, civic and
political status, social outlook, self esteem that
| may run back through generations. Slums
| largely will be removed by, eliminating outside
causes
In attributing increasing friction in con-
| gested areas to wartime influx Of Negroes,
| L. X. c. overlooked three things: O) That
along with Negroes came perhaps an even
larger number of Southern whites, CD that
congestion itself breeds friction, (3) that
Negroes, because of conspicuous difference in
| color and the dictates of custom, afforded an
| easy object for the irritations Of the majority
of the community.
If L. X. C. genuinely is proud Of his French
ancestors, he should read few pages OF their
| pre- Canadian history. Let him recall how the
commoners of France dared to dream through
4 the suffering centuries of equality and mans
rights.
I venture to say that l.. K. c., who wisely
realizes the value of retaining ones cultural
roots would, if the French in Canada expert
enced such restrictions and civil limitations as
the Negroes do in America, be found In the
vociferous van of those shouting: Down with
oppression!" u. w. HAYWOOD, Jr.
| "A DryoOck DulIoer NememDeTS
| To the Editor of The Star:
noticed an article in The Star Pictorial
Magazine for July IL, stating that the drydock
Dewey was constructed at Solomons Island.
This evidently is an error. The Dewey was
built in the yards of the Sparrows Point Ship
building Co., Baltimore, Md.
was employed as q riveter in this yard at
the time and drove rivets on this job. recall
| that the dock was too large to be built on the
ways and launched in the conventional man.
ner, so an excavation was made on land, q
seagate installed and when the dock was
completed the gate was opened and the
Dewey hoated out into the bay.
| T. A. PADGETT.