President's China trip was crucial first step in journey to freedom

"A journey of a thousand miles starts with the first step." The president's visit to China was the first step in a long journey that I hope will bring personal freedoms to the Chinese people. The television broadcasts of President Clinton in China brought unexpected bonuses that may be beneficial.

The typical American expects a quick fix for any problem. To expect a culture so different from ours to make a complete turn immediately would be the height of arrogance. Only by dialogue can we attempt to change conditions in China. That first step has been taken.

Stanley Oring

Pikesville

Conflicting values make St. Joseph, GBMC bad pair

In his Opinion Commentary article ("Making the Case for St. Joseph Medical Center," June 26) Carmen F. Deyesu fails to explain one crucial contradiction. He states: "Nonetheless, [St. Joseph] does not expect its business partners to act as Catholic hospitals or to follow Catholic directives."

If that is true, why is it necessary that "abortions and fertility services would have been transferred to a new and separate corporation on GBMC's campus with no link to St. Joseph"?

The clear explanation for this is that the rest of Greater Baltimore Medical Center would be "linked" to St. Joseph and would thus be under the same restrictions that force the removal of abortions and fertility services. It expects its business partners to follow Catholic directives.

Mr. Deyesu makes a strong case for the values of Catholic medicine. Nobody denies the outstanding services that Catholic hospitals have rendered to our society, and especially to the poor.

Neither is it possible to deny basic conflict of values between the Roman Catholic Church and most Protestant denominations as well as much of the rest of the society. This includes end-of-life decisions, the role of women and reproductive decisions, including birth control, voluntary sterilization and abortion.

GBMC, which is the successor to the hospital for the Women of Maryland and the Presbyterian Ear, Eye and Throat Charity Hospital, was founded on principles that stand directly in conflict with directives that govern St. Joseph. To suggest that the two can be combined without compromising values important to one or the other is to misunderstand the importance of those values and how deeply they are held.

Charles P. Forbes

Baltimore

The writer is stated clerk of the Presbytery of Baltimore.

Regret over spill at Amoco and gratitude for response

A mechanical problem at the Amoco station at Loch Raven Boulevard and Taylor Avenue caused gasoline spill that affected the community ("Amoco might be penalized for leak," June 26).

We greatly regret any inconvenience or other difficulties this incident may have caused the community. We are thankful no one was injured and environmental impact was minimal.

Most of the gasoline was quickly recovered from an area immediately surrounding the underground storage tank. We are aggressively working to remediate the area at and around the station, and we will continue until all state and federal standards have been set.

It is Amoco's policy to take every precaution to avoid accidental product releases. Unfortunately, unexpected circumstances do sometimes occur, and when they do, we appreciate the quick response and professionalism of local public safety personnel.

We are making every effort to return our station and the community back to normal. We appreciate the patience, understanding and support of all involved.

Charles S. Woodbeck

Towson

The writer is mid-Atlantic region vice president of Amoco Petroleum Products.

Protect the piping plover from growth on Assateague

Defying the Endangered Species Act, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is pursuing an "emergency" beach nourishment project on Assateague Island National Seashore north of the state park beginning Wednesday.

The fact that scores of piping plovers, a threatened species, may be nesting there will not stop bulldozers from working 24 hours a day to create a 10-foot berm for development. Some of the mainland development is on food-prone land only two to four feet in elevation, a foolish location on which to build.

Last year, more than 60 pairs of piping plovers successfully fledged their chicks on the relatively flat north end of Assateague. Signs were posted closing the area to public access. The area will again be closed this year until approximately Sept. 1, when the piping plovers are expected to leave.

U.S. Senators Paul S. Sarbanes and Barbara A. Mikulski should be asked to intervene in an effort to protect the piping plover.

Illa J. Fehrer

Snow Hill

The writer is chairman of the Worcester Environmental Trust.

Citizens need to find out who backed line-item veto

The U.S. Supreme Court has finally told Congress that it cannot delegate its constitutional responsibilities to the president.

Now it is time for The Sun to tell its readers and local citizens how each of the Maryland members of Congress voted on the line-item veto. The citizens need to know before the next election who voted to violate the U.S. Constitution.

James M. Holway

Ellicott City

Wetland would be fitting World War II memorial

Thank you for Stephen E. Ambrose's moving tribute to the men and women of World War II ("A generation that preserved liberty," July 3).

Some, Mr. Ambrose said, had fathers who went to France with Gen. John J. Pershing. My father went to France and was gassed. Three of his four sons served in World War II, and one of them was killed in France. I went to college, bought a home under the GI Bill and was called back to service in the Korean conflict.

A World War II memorial on the national Mall would be a nice way to recognize our generation of Americans, but not with the huge, overwhelming memorial originally planned for the Rainbow Pool site. If our generation's greatest gift was hope, the monument should reflect that.

Perhaps the answer is to name a small, enclosed valley near wetlands or a small bay or haven for World War II veterans. A landscape architect could do that on the Mall, and we would be spared another stone, steel and concrete memorial.

Tom Gill

North Beach

Longstreet deserves place among Civil War's heroes

I was thrilled to read of the unveiling of a statue to honor the great Confederate general, James Longstreet ("Longstreet at last is cast as a hero," June 26).

This topic is close to my heart. While working on a U.S. history term paper, I studied the actions Gen. Robert E. Lee and General Longstreet took on the third day of Gettysburg to compare their strategies and to determine how they affected the outcome of the battle and the war.

Longstreet was a spectacularly able and efficient commander who executed Lee's orders with precision and deadly effectiveness. However, Lee often relied on the ingenuity of his subordinate commanders and thus, problems arose with misinterpretations of tactics.

Gen. George Pickett's charge, however, was not one of these occasions. Lee Longstreet stayed with Longstreet and discussed the battle through the morning.

Longstreet's hesitation to carry out the assault was not because of blatant insubordination, but because he recognized that a frontal assault against a well-fortified position in the age of the musket was folly, no matter when initiated. His troops slaughtered Gen. Ambrose Burnside's forces at Fredericksburg under reverse circumstances.

Jason Radowsky

Baltimore

The writer is entering his senior year at the Park School.

Pub Date: 7/12/98