Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1956-01-05
To the Editor Of The stor:

6tcCcut1y bIlC GUtOu1dC EICS~
hytery,. composed Of ministers
and elders of Northern Vir-
ginia. approved by a vote of
33-2 a resolution opposing the
Gray Commission program.
Who are the two brave men
who dared to voice their
opinions In opposition to the
majority? That they are
ministers. I know. That they.
as well as their 80 colleagues,
chose their profession In an
swer to a call to devote their
lives to the service Of God, I
can assume. Who are these
brave men who have chosen
to follow the dictates Of their
consciences?
Our ministers are heard to
complain that their churches
are filed to capacity every
Sunday but that they are
puzzled and worried about the
lack of real religious fervor In
their congregations. I wonder
If the trouble does not pri-
marty stem from our minis
tiers. who more and more are
taking on the role Of sociolo-
gists and less and less that Of
Bearers of the Word" And
now, like good sociologists-
they want to do things the
easy way-they want a law.
And why? They were doing
all right. They we're making
headway--slowly. to be sure
but nevertheless, Roadway. At
the time of the Supreme
Court decision, it had been
years since a Negro had been
lynched in the South. Since
the decision there have been
murders Of both whites and
Negroes. What makes our
ministers believe that they
can legislate their people
into being good? Why do
they seek the easy way
when God has told them their
way will be hard?
We all remember the fiasco
which enSued when we passed
a law making it Illegal to take
a drink. It was necessary to
repeal that law-but quick
in order to avoid the complete
disintegration of our people.
shall vote yes to the Gray
Commission referendum, not
because hate Negroes but be-
cause ! believe that integra-
ton will surely come If 1t is
allowed to come from the
heart. There is no easy way to
Utopia. and I believe two
members Of the Potomac Pres
bytery agree with me.
Kay Fleming.
~
Most Of the leaders of the
opposition to the constitution
al convention are well-known
integrationists and supporters
of high taxes and heavy public
spending. Consequently, it is
reasonable to suspect that
their new-found concern with
the cost to the taxpayers of a
tuition-grant program is mere
political hypocrisy designed to
mislead cost-conscious segre-
gationists into voting against
holding the convention.
The voters should bear in
mind that under the Gray
Commission recommendations
no money will be spent for
tuition grants until and unless
the only other choice offered
parents Is to send their chill
dren to integrated public
schools. The amount Of the
tuition grants would equal the
amount that would be spent
on the children II they were
sent to public schools, 80 there
would be no reason for in
creased school taxes except
where the overhead and main
tenance costs of the public
schools fail to decrease in pro-
portion to the reduction in
public school enrolment. Is 1t
not ironical that the advocates
of indignation should be howl
ing about the cost Of q tuition
grant program which will
never go into effect unless they
force Indignation on the public
schools?
Harley M. Williams,
President, Virginia Citizens
Committee for Better
Schools.
4
Let E. B. Henderson be in
formed that perhaps Virginia
does not support the Constitu-
ton as 1t stands and wants to
add one more change to the
more than 40 already made.
Persons who bring UP the law
abiding idea should remember
that the law is the law of the
majority vote. This vote es-
tablished prohibition as the
law and this vote repealed 1t.
Some of the philosophers pres
emily inspired by the Gray
plan no doubt would have re-
tanned prohibition, because to