Is Hall too biased as columnist?

Personally, I feel that a journalist should be without bias, partiality or prejudice, except whenever he or she is opinionating in an editorial capacity.

Wiley A. Hall, an Evening Sun columnist, does not, by any means, adhere to this paradigm.

And his constant, biased opinions seldom -- if ever -- parallel the mainstream thinking or are of an objective nature.

The most perfect example of this is Mr. Hall's May 3 column, "McLean case is chance to practice compassion."

Mr. Hall informs us of Baltimore City Comptroller Jacqueline F. McLean's emotional condition, her publicized suicide attempts and her alleged criminal activity, while in a position of public trust, have negatively affected her relatives and supporters.

Mr. Hall then attempts to rationalize the alleged crimes committed by Mrs. McLean by stating that she did what she is accused of having done because of an economic recession, which placed the comptroller in a position of personal financial difficulties.

When her alleged wrongdoings were uncovered, she became deeply depressed and suicidal.

Now that her emotional condition has deteriorated, we should be merciful and compassionate and forgive Mrs. McLean, lest her emotional condition deteriorate even further.

And we should also be all-forgiving since the comptroller's family, friends and supporters are "suffering."

Shakespeare penned the lines, "The quality of mercy is not strained, it droppeth as the rain from heaven upon the place beneath. . ."

Another hand -- anonymous to me -- wrote, "If you can't do the time, don't do the crime."

Mr. Hall should realize that compassion is a double-sided sword.

He asks us to be compassionate toward Mrs. McLean, but he championed the cause of Rodney King in the latter's vindictive law suit against the Los Angeles Police Department.

Compassion is a subjective emotion -- but it has no race, color or creed.

Louis P. Boeri

Baltimore

Too many fish

Determining school class size is like assessing beauty; it's in the eye of the beholder.

To those who, in a figurative sense, stand outside the fishbowl, class size is not one of the major factors in educational success.

However, to the inhabitants of the fishbowl, either the fish need to be moved to a larger tank, or some of the fish need to be placed in another school.

McNair Taylor

Baltimore

Church and state

Shannon Avery, co-chairman of the Baltimore Justice Campaign, was quoted as saying the following in a May 10 Evening Sun article about the defeat of the city domestic partnership bill: "It is disappointing when decisions are made at City Hall based on the religious beliefs of a few, because this was the kind of bill that solves real problems for real families and hurts absolutely no one."

Ms. Avery couldn't have said it better. There was no reason to oppose this bill other than the fact that it ran contrary to the religious sensibilities of some people.

City Council members who voted against the bill chose to ignore the clear mandate of our country's Constitution, which says church and state must be separate.

Our founding fathers knew what they were doing. Religious men themselves, they cherished religious freedom and had the wisdom to know that such freedom cannot exist if laws are based on the beliefs of a few.

If alive today, they would have been appalled to see the Baltimore City Council -- which supported the domestic partnership bill when it was first introduced -- bow to pressure from church groups that opposed it solely on religious grounds.

Our founders would have been particularly disappointed in council members Melvin Stukes and Sheila Dixon, who actually sponsored the bill and then voted against it. So are we.

Ronald Hube

Fred Elburn

Baltimore

Federal holidays

On May 12, you published a letter from Dennis Pederson voicing disapproval of federal workers being given a holiday in honor of former President Richard M. Nixon.

Mr. Pederson grumbled that he was "not alone in feeling that government employees get too many days off in the first place," and that he was sure that "the average government worker spent the day enjoying himself."

I am a federal employee. The number of federal holidays annually is modest, and most of these days off are also granted to employees in state government, banks, schools and employees in the private sector.

During a "normal" winter, the federal government rarely shuts down; most of the time, employees are offered the option of using their vacation days (so-called "liberal leave policy") if they need to stay home with elderly relatives or children whose activities have been canceled by inclement weather.

What is wrong with federal employees spending holidays enjoying themselves with friends and family? Because of our commitment to public service, we are cognizant of why we are given each of these holidays and are encouraged by our agencies to attend ceremonies commemorating Memorial Day, Martin Luther King Day, Veterans' Day and other holidays -- on our own time.

It is unfortunate that Mr. Pederson used President Clinton's decision to honor former President Nixon as a thinly-veiled excuse to engage in fed-bashing.

Linda Spar

Columbia

Safe Singapore

It is inappropriate for President Clinton to denounce the Singapore government for caning Michael Fay, and it is ridiculous that the United States wants to punish Singapore through the international trade community.

Caning is certainly cruel and unusual from our American perspective, but the violence would shock few Americans who live among the unchecked crime of the United States.

I traveled to Singapore last July. Upon arriving by plane at 11 p.m., I walked to the information counter to inquire about getting downtown to the train station.

I asked about getting a cab, but the clerk suggested I would save a good deal of money if I first took a local bus downtown and then walked or caught a cab to the station.

Naturally I was concerned about the safety of this plan as it would be midnight by the time the bus arrived downtown. I asked the clerk if it would be safe.

Puzzled by the question, she said yes. I thought a moment and asked again. She smiled, and again said yes.

Being on a tight budget, I took the bus and the trip was easy. Could an American guide recommend the same to a foreign tourist in an American city?

Singapore is taking the steps it thinks necessary to make the city a place where people can feel safe and businesses can thrive.

The United States should do the same rather than create a crisis over a vandal's battered bottom.

James Fisher

Towson

Kudos to Bentley

I know The Baltimore Sun has always been anti-gun, but you have topped it all with your cartoons and derogatory remarks in your paper against Rep. Helen Bentley. It was in very bad taste.

We need more people in office like Representative Bentley, who stand up for our rights and listen to the people and vote the way the people ask, either for or against the issues the American people want, and ignore their own private feelings.

After all, the people place our elected officials in office. They are there to do what the American people want, not ignore letters and phone calls and do as they please.

Representative Bentley was brave enough to stand up for the people, as she represented the majority of the letters and phone calls made to her on the gun issue, knowing it could have an adverse effect on her in publicity like that in The Baltimore Sun.

Thank you for your brave stand, Representative Bentley and the others who voted as the American people asked in phone calls and letters on the gun issue.

(Barbara and Duane Aldrich Sr.

Baltimore