Evening star., 1956-08-29

more for the old place than
he is able? Then the Negro
seeks subtenants who make a
tenement out of the acquired
property.
AS to the good doctors
reference to the aggressive
Negro who insists upon be-
coming his private patient,
this I can't understand. It is
hard to believe any would-be
patient would want a doctor
who does not want his trade.
/ suppose a doctor should
have the right to select pa
tients of his own choosing,
although I thought Hippocrates
suggested the healing of all.
E. B. Henderson.
+ 4
I read with great concern the
letter by DR.. Thomas E. Mat
tingly entitled Racial Respon-
sibility." This probably was
due to the fact that I am one
of those individuals whom he
would designate a social ag-
greSSor."
My wife and / were one of
the first colored families to
purchase a home in the COM
munity to which he refers. It
happened in this way. An ex-
ecutiye, whose Office was being
transferred to New York, Of
fered his home for sale at
what he thought was its fair
market value. Although he ad-
vertised it for approximately
four months, he received no
acceptable offers. Finally, my
wife and / offered him his ask
ing price with cash above the
first trust. After discussing our
financial, educational and cul-
tural background at length,
he told me that we were the
kind of, people he was looking
for but his religion would not
permit him to sell to a colored
family. My reply was that very
likely within less than two
years 1--WE would be living IN
that very house." Shortly
thereafter we purchased it,
and although there were legal
entanglements, we have lived
in it for about three and one
half years. We paid five hun
dred dollars less than we Of
fered him, but he received four
thousand dollars less.
The question To be decided
is whether such aggression" is
an undesirable trait in an.
American citizen. When / fin
ished elementary school in a
small Missouri community, the
members of the local school
board thought that that was
all the education a colored boy
needed. Consequently, it pro-
vided a high school education
for whites only. ] went to the
State capital and finished high
school. There was no accredited
college in the State which COL
ored might attend. 1 COM
pleted a four-year college
course at Howard University.
No colored college was offering
graduate work at that time, so
/ secured a masters degree and
one year above, at New York
University, and lived for six
years in New York City where
/ was able to secure a cultural
background befltting one whose
life's work was to be that of
teaching and leading young
people. Thereafter. became a
teacher in the District public
schools. Is 1t strange that such
a person would not accept the
suggestion that he limit his
home-purchasing to less desir-
able neighborhoods?
DR.. Mattingly deserves much
credit for his objective ap-
praisal Of the various types of
families moving into his vi
cinity; and we can appreciate
his being annoyed by the bois-
ferrous neighbors. We find,
however. that there is a very
close relationship between the
cultural level and the economic
level Of an individual. A bois-
ferrous neighbor usually will be ,
found to have rented or made
a very low down payment on
the home in which he lives.
s. A. ID.