Evening star., 1949-09-30
Letters to The Star
Believes Too Many Ex-Officers
Slow Up Veterans Administration Work

Believes Too Many Ex-Officers
Slow Up Veterans Administration Work
To the Editor Of the Star:
May I add my criticism to that of many
others regarding the manner in which busi-
ness is conducted in the Veterans Admin
istratlon?
attend summer school in another CITY,
During the past four years the Washington
regional ofilce Of the VA has only once been
able to transfer my records to the city in
which the university attended is located in
less than six weeks
Last year it was January / before re-
ceived my subsistence for summer term
ending the second week in August. 1t is now
September 26 and I have not yet received
subsistence for a school term which ended
August IL.
am afraid. too many ex-ofhcers in the
Armed Forces were given jobs in the Veter-
ans Administration. My experience in the
Navy was that most officers depended on
enlisted personnel to get all the work done.
Perhaps they have not been able to readjust
to q situation in which they must do the
work themselves.
Repeats Complaints Against Attitude
OF Franco Spain Toward Nom Catholics.
To the Editor Of the Star:
AS much as Senator Taft may be admired
for his fearlessness, I am not quite so sure
that agree with the Senator's desire to
have new ties with Spain to boost defense
against Reds" I'll grant that it is perfectly
logical to have another partner in the North
Atlantic defenses against any eventuality,
but not until Spain does right t-about-face
on some other vital questions
Secretary of State Acheson's decision not
to resume diplomatic relations with Spain
is a type of inaction which I applaud
heartily.
Spain of and on during the course of
many decades has been liberal in her treat
ment Of minority faiths. But since this land
and her rulers were forced by her majority
religious counselors to deprive her citizens
Of certain fundamental rights in the exer-
else Of civil and religious privileges, Frances
victory has been in fact victory Of Vatican
City state diplomacy
Minorities in Spain are subservient; in
the exercise Of their dissident religious faiths
they have had to 60 underground They
baptize their faithful In remote mountain
streams, with lookouts on guard to warn
Of approaching gendarmes. Protestant Bibles
may not be sold in bookstores. Young peo-
pie cannot have meetings of their own in
the faith they profess. Ministers may not
COnQuCt pubic meetings OF eVaHSellSClC Ell
forts to secure adherents to any faith, other
than the Roman Catholic religion. In this
case civil government is run by the church.
Plainly, there is union of church and
state of such a strict nature in Spain that
there hardly is any other country in the
world noted for its comparable lack of
liberality toward its minority citizens. If
Protestant wants to be married in Spain.
he faces almost unsurmountable difficulties,
because the Catholic Church regulates the
rite. If person has the misfortune Of dying
a Protestant in Spain, he cannot be buried
with rites Of his faith in the regular ceme-
teries under church supervision. His friends
have to resort to a bootleg funeral service
in the dead Of night.
Now Spain is capitalizing on the new fears
in the Western World over the knowledge
that Russia has the atomic bomb. But since
the political angle does not interest this
correspondent, rather what Spain's attitude
will be toward respecting the rights and
privileges of her minorities, I register this
strong protest against our Government fall
ing into this clever maneuver on the part
Of Spain to bargain away the souls Of men
for a few isotropes Of uranium.
CHARLES ALLEN RENTFRO.