(3 of 4)
Sir: At no time did I say to your reporter that "once welfare workers could not tell one Negro child from another and all kids in the neighborhood ran from house to house, a few steps ahead of the social worker, to pad the rolls." There are no facts to support this statement. The problem of unrelated children living with families in receipt of public assistance is not and has not been characteristic of Negroes. Our use of birth certificates and school records is required by federal and state policies for all families receiving aid for dependent children. It is not for the purpose of controlling the identity of Negro dependent children.
JAMES R. DUMPSON
Commissioner
Department of Welfare
New York City
> TIME inadvertently attributed that on-relief tale to Welfare Commissioner Dumpson.—ED.
Sir: As I leave for home (Kenya), I shall take with me your issues of July 17 and July 31 as a reference in answering the very many questions I will be asked about the South and Harlem. In my two years' stay in this country, I have not come across such objective reporting and thorough analysis of explosive and emotional problems.
HERBERT KANINA
Stillwater, Okla.
Gentleman's Totem
Sir: You misuse the term "aristocrat" in relation to Faulkner [July 17]. Faulkner was by birth a gentleman, but he let down the totem by appearing tieless and unshaven before his audience. There is a certain noblesse oblige that prompts a gentleman to keep up appearances, even though he may be a week's march through the jungle from the nearest outpost.
ADRIAN CONAN DOYLE*
St. Paul de Vence, France
Mischief in Malaysia
Sir: All Malaysia was shocked to read "Amok But Not Asunder" [July 31], your version of the recent disturbances in Singapore, which implied that this was a premeditated offensive action by Malays against Chinese. The truth is that the riot was caused by a mischief-maker who threw a bottle at Prophet Mohammed's birthday procession. We hope this is the last time foreign journals and newsmen run amok with untrue tales of indelible racial hatred in Singapore.
SYED ZAINAL ABIDIN
Director
Malaysia Information Services
Kuala Lumpur,Malaysia
Sir: The majority of Singapore's population are sensible, educated and reasonable. But the Malay community has for some time been agitating for better education, jobs and wages—in general, a boost in their lower-than-other-races standard of living. All that was needed was for someone to light the fuse. The racial clashes were the result of a well-planned plot of extremists bent on creating a distrustful internal atmosphere. Once racial feelings were aroused, both sides took up arms and went for each other's throats, destroying everything in their path. But, within a week, order was restored when the people realized that they had to remain united.
The existence of hateful feelings among the races would be precisely what the exponents of the "crush Malaysia" policy are hoping for.
ANIL BHATIA NATH JR.
Singapore, Malaysia
Juanita's Problems