Letters: Apr. 19, 1968

March On

Sir: Martin Luther King was murdered because he was our uncomfortable conscience. I am filled with shame and loathing for my race. My heart grieves for his family and friends who must abruptly substitute memories for his warm reality. My mind cries out to know how I, one single me, insulated in my white suburb, can redress the ancient wrongs.

JOYCE K. LAIRD

Lafayette, Calif.

Sir: His great, huge face is set forever in our memories; be it that his vision of brotherhood sets in our hearts.

JOHN BARRY

Los Angeles

Sir: Why must we always kill our prophets before we will listen to them?

JAMES THOMPSON

Pastor

West Branch Friends Church

West Branch, Iowa

Sir: When statesmen look to give aid to the uncivilized and underdeveloped countries of the world, please let ours be first on their list.

DOROTHY S. SAUNDERS

Cherry Hill, N.J.

Sir: As Whitney Young said, Dr. King "had more faith in America's goodness than America has in herself."

WILLIAM R. CATTON JR.

Seattle

Sir: Whites feel not only horror, but shame at the tragic death of Dr. Martin Luther King. But there is a group that should feel infinitely more shame, and it is that minority (and thank God it is a minority) of black militants and their followers who have been rioting, or advocating such, in the wake of Dr. King's death. Who do they think they are fooling? In their hearts, Dr. King died a long time ago. They had abandoned him; they had not really cared, obviously, whether he lived or died; he was a thorn in their side. Their actions are not only making sure that Dr. King died in vain, they are going to make sure that his whole life was in vain.

JOHN WINCHESTER DANA

Hamden, Conn.

Sir: To those who would use recent disorders as an excuse to be "disillusioned with the civil rights cause," I suggest taking a lesson from the monumental patience of Negro Americans in the face of a series of murders and violence whose beginnings predate last summer's disturbances by 100 years, and have culminated in this almost insupportable loss. But enough. We can bear no more.

DELORIS E. GASKINS

Philadelphia