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S. G. WILLIAMSON JR. Providence
Sir: As a Negro Episcopalian, I am glad that the Lovett situation in Atlanta (about which I had some prior knowledge) has been brought to the attention of the nation. It is high time the hierarchy, which governs our respective dioceses, gets off the fence once and for all!
Perhaps the Bishop of Atlanta should remember the words of Our Lord—"Inasmuch as ye have done it to these the least of my brethren, ye have done it to me."
BERTHA L. HOXTER Philadelphia
A Word for the Average
Sir: New York City Superintendent Calvin Gross [Nov. 15] appears to be a laser beam cutting into the Stygian morass called American education. If this is really true, I may be coaxed into returning to the classroom firing line as a teacher.
SEYMOUR S. ROVNER Tarzana, Calif.
Sir: I have often thought that the "average" student in the New York City public school system was the neglected student.
After reading your article on education, I feel even more positive that the attention is focused completely on the "bright" student, the "dull" student, and the student who is a problem because of discipline.
I thank God I was able to transfer my average son from a public high school to a fine private school in New York City. The encouragement and attention given there has made him anxious and able to attend a fine college.
MARY McHuon New York City
Sir: Do our educators want the end product of their effort to be a scholar or a person? Let the powers that run our schools ponder the following:
A group of vocational teachers undertook a survey to determine why employees were discharged. The teachers contacted several thousand companies, and they expected a long list of reasons. They were amazed to learn that more than two-thirds of the persons losing their jobs had been fired for ONE reason: they couldn't get along with people.
IRVING PERLIN Human Relations Counsel New York City
Persecuted Donkeys
Sir: When I read the story of Pele, the "criminal" donkey [Nov. 15], I was reminded of a similar story of a persecuted donkey by the German author Christolph Martin Wieland. In Geschichte der Abderiten, he intended to point out absurdities of small-town government and life. A Grecian dentist named Struthion and a donkey driver nearly came to blows over whether or not Struthion might stand in the shadow of his rented donkey since he had not rented the shadow as well. Struthion felt that the donkey came with the shadow.
The two took their quarrel to the city-state of Abdera, which soon divided itself on the question until civil war seemed imminent. The problem was solved when the people set upon what they considered to be the real troublemaker—the donkey—and consequently tore him into a thousand pieces.
Who would have thought such an exaggerated story would have a real-life parallel?
CECILIE SMITH Morgantown, W. Va.
Hands Across the Sea
Sir: This is in reference to your article [Nov. 8] on the restoration of a severed human hand by Red Chinese surgeons in Shanghai.
The early Shanghai group was headed by Professor P. C. Tung, Chief of Surgery of Shanghai Medical College. He was trained in St. Louis by the great master Dr. James Barrett Brown.