Black history museum would enhance Baltimore

I want to add my voice to the growing list of Marylanders who are thrilled that our state and city are going forward with plans to open another cornerstone museum of local and American history, the proposed Maryland African-American history museum. To be located on "museum row" at Pratt and President streets -- perhaps adjacent to a revitalized City Life Museums complex -- this museum would help anchor a heritage district that could better acquaint us with our divergent but intertwined American histories.

African-American history has long been among the most neglected aspects of our story, even though it is inextricably bound with the story of America and the United States. Baltimore should take a leading role in correcting this, in part because this city and its people have long played a leading role in African-American history.

Frederick Douglass, America's foremost abolitionist and 19th Century civil rights leader was born a slave on the Eastern Shore and later brought to Baltimore. Later he escaped to the north, where his writing and oratory reminded white Americans of the evils of slavery and challenged them to oppose it.

Marylander Harriet Tubman led hundreds of slaves out of bondage on an "Underground Railroad" system that passed through Baltimore and Maryland. After escaping slavery herself, she returned south and risked recapture no less than 19 times to lead others to freedom.

Thurgood Marshall owed much of the temperament that enabled him to become America's foremost 20th Century legal champion of civil rights to his upbringing in the long-standing black middle-class that flourished in multi-ethnic Baltimore.

Before the Civil War, Baltimore had the largest free black population of any United States city. Despite the hardships and stigma of the surrounding slave system, black artisans, professionals, shopkeepers, skilled and other industrial laborers, and a strong leadership class were an important part of the burgeoning commercial and industrial center that Baltimore became in the 19th Century.

After the Civil War, though dispirited by the displacement of highly skilled black shipbuilding artisans in Baltimore's waterfront commercial district (Fells Point was a major shipbuilding center and port, and drew waves of European immigrants whose race often gave them employment priority), African-American businessman, ship caulker, labor leader, and publisher Isaac Myers led a group of black businessmen and shipbuilding tradesmen in purchasing the Chesapeake Marine Railway and Drydock Company.

For years it was one of Fells Point's largest, most competitive shipyards, enabling Myers to pay off the mortgage in three years and employ several hundred skilled and semi-skilled shipbuilding tradesmen. The Living Classrooms Foundation is planning a museum and drydock at this site, "The Frederick Douglass/Isaac Myers Park and Marine Railway," that will feature a replica of Baltimore's turn-of-the-century commercial waterfront.

Long the City Life Museum's headquarters building, the Peale Museum building's own history exemplifies our multi-faceted history. It was the first American structure built specifically to be a museum.

Later it served as Baltimore's City Hall, then as Baltimore's first public school for African-Americans. More recently, it anchored for several years the City Life Museums complex, and, until its closing in 1997, housed the permanent rowhouse exhibit that detailed 200 years of building and life in Baltimore's signature residential neighborhoods.

Baltimore's status as a key crossroads of American and Maryland history cries out for a full panoply of history museums that people from near and far can visit to enjoy and learn from our story. This would help us to better appreciate what it has meant to be a Baltimorean, and what we want it to mean in the future.

M. Mark Hunsberger, Baltimore

Review was wrong on facts

I'm writing to respond to Joan Mellen's March 14 review of my book, "False Witness: The Real Story of Jim Garrison's Investigation and Oliver Stone's Film JFK." I'd like to address some of the review's misrepresentations.

Most of my sources are not "unidentified," as Ms. Mellen claimed; my book contains 42 pages of notes identifying them. They are not "primarily" Clay Shaw's attorneys; indeed, they include six key individuals from Jim Garrison's own camp. As for my alleged overuse of the word "fraud," in discussing Garrison, it's impossible to use the word too often.

Ms. Mellen's cites Dean Andrews' statements, but Mr. Andrews repeatedly admitted he invented the "Clay Bertrand" story. FBI Agent Regis Kennedy was not "looking for Clay Bertrand" before Dean Andrews invented that story. The Department of Justice's statement about "Bertrand" was a mistake, and it publicly retracted the statement.

A string of witnesses (including three police officers) refuted the Shaw "alias," including three police officers; it was so incredible the judge said in open court that he didn't believe it.

I located a previously unknown Garrison investigator whose information and notes challenge the testimony of the witnesses from Louisiana that Ms. Mellen cites.

Garrison did find support on both sides of the civil rights struggle. But I did not say, nor do I believe those witnesses were trying "to frame Clay Shaw."

I did not "admit" Clay Shaw "lied" about his contacts with the CIA. Shaw denied working for that agency, and that's what I reported. (According to a 1967 internal CIA document, the CIA "never remunerated" Shaw.) As for the CIA project QK/ENCHANT, at this point what it was is unknown and that's what my book says.

I do not believe, nor did I say, that film director Oliver Stone was "no better than 'a believer in Hitler.' Mr. Stone defended Leni Ms. Riefenstahl, and I reported it. The quote used in the review refers to Riefenstahl. Mr. Stone said it, not me; the review makes it appear otherwise.

For the sake of fairness, perhaps The Sun intends to invite me to review Ms. Mellen's forthcoming biography of Jim Garrison.

Patricia Lambert, Woodland, Calif.

Charles Village confronts CVS on 25th Street

In Jamie Stiehm's April 13 article, "Drug chain unmoved by protest," I was quoted criticizing CVS' decision to demolish buildings on 25th Street against the wishes of the Charles Village community. I wish to point out that I was speaking for the Committee for Responsible Development on 25th Street, which has been negotiating directly with CVS to reach a compromise.

CVS asked us to back up our claim that our alternative design was cost-effective, but did not wait for our figures before announcing its decision. Retaining the 25th Street facades is, in fact, financially workable, but we feel that profit-minded CVS stands to gain (or lose) even more from the way it handles community concerns. Apparently the retail giant does not yet appreciate this point.

Charles Village is not alone in its attempt to stop a major drug corporation from destroying the architectural integrity of a neighborhood. This is a nationwide problem, the subject of a study by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

In a recent meeting, CVS representatives assured the trust it would reevaluate its criteria for locating in historic districts. We had hoped that CVS actually meant it.

Douglas M. Armstrong, Baltimore

The writer is chairman of the Committee for Responsible Development on 25th Street.

Concealed weapons: protection or threat?

Your editorial ("Concealed guns, hidden trouble," April 12) lambasting the concealed carrying of handguns flies against the facts.

If you had read Prof. Lott's book, instead of merely paying it lip service, you would have found considerable evidence that concealed carry laws do reduce crime.

Professor Lott surveyed all 3,500 counties in the United States. He found that, without exception, violent crime rates went down just after concealed carry laws were adopted. The drop was greater in urban settings than in rural areas.

At the same time the rate of property crimes -- burglary, car theft, shoplifting -- rose. Apparently, once citizens were allowed to carry concealed guns, criminals feared potentially armed citizens and resorted to crimes against property instead of citizens.

I question the relevance of the large number of licensed gunholders you cited in Texas who were convicted of crimes. They were "licensed gun holders," not people carrying concealed firearms with a state permit.

You might look instead at Florida, which has issued more than 400,000 carry permits and revoked fewer than 40 of them. Virginia, too, has revoked only a handful of carry permits.

If 31 states allow carry permits and another 12 allow more restrictive permits, doesn't that figure alone tell you something? Citizens legally carrying handguns cuts violent crime. It's that simple.

Sanford Abrams, Baltimore

The writer is vice president of Maryland Licensed Firearms Dealers Association Inc.

Victims of asbestos deserve more help

In his April 4 column, "Lip service to business, but not enough state Aid," Barry Rascovar criticized Gov. Parris Glendening for supporting an attempt to remove caps from damage awards to asbestos victims.

Lifting that cap would have helped correct injustices heaped upon asbestos victims and their families. These resulted from members of the business community intentionally exposing not only their workers, but also schoolchildren, church-goers and the general public to asbestos.

The medical chief of the Johns-Manville Corp., the leading manufacturer of asbestos, reported to its board of directors in the 1930s that asbestos was causing lung disease and cancer in workers and their families. The company's leaders entered into a conspiracy to withhold that information from their workers, the general public, and their insurers, while lobbying at the federal and state levels for legislation that required the use of asbestos products in ships, public buildings, schools, and churches for thirty years thereafter.

At present, Johns-Manville is paying asbestos victims $5,000 per case. After subtracting one-third for legal fees, the victims and their families receive about $3,300. This pittance is decreed by the federal courts.

The unethical and immoral treatment of the hundreds of thousands of Americans and their families who are or were victims of asbestos-related diseases and premature deaths is a stain on the moral fabric of our society.

Joseph P. Kendall, Freeland

County must preserve its houses, heritage

Baltimore County has done a wonderful job of rejuvenating itself and becoming a modern, first-class county. Unfortunately, in the process far too many old architectural gems have been bulldozed in the name of of progress, far too many neighborhoods and areas have seen priceless architectural edifices destroyed.

Such wasteful destruction of old and irreplaceable buildings must be stopped. Every community and citizen's group should speak out when historical buildings are threatened, as should engineers, entrepreneurs and public officials. In the interest of future generations, we must better preserve our great old houses and buildings. They are our link to the past -- to our history and our roots. And without a sense of the past, we cannot have a conception of the future.

We do need a modern and efficient county, but the county also needs a rapport with the past.

John A. Micklos, Baltimore

The writer is a former member of the Baltimore County Planing Board.

Flag amendment ban wouldn't stop speech

The Sun's editorial ("Burning issue," April 10) opposing the proposed constituional amendment to prohibit desecration of the flag overlooked a few facts.

Forty-nine state legislatures have voted in support of such an amendment. Evidently they do not believe that guaranteeing respect for our national symbol impinges on political speech.

In 1995, the amendment passed in the U.S. House of Representative but fell short by three votes in the Senate. In 1997, the House passed it again, by a vote of 310-114. So apparently most of our national representatives don't regard banning flag burning as infringing on free speech either.

This proposed constitutional amendment would not restrict cit- izens' right to express their views verbally on any subject.

Bill Arwady, Towson

In praise of a fine teacher

I appreciated The Sun's excellent obituary (April 13) for a wonderful teacher and human being, Robert E. Romoser.

No one who had the benefit of even one semester in his classroom will ever forget his skill in teaching, his ever-present wit and his engaging personality.

In my day, he was just a little older than his students (who fondly referred to him as "Bobby," out of his earshot), but we nevertheless held him in high regard as a man and a teacher.

Thanks to The Sun and Jacques Kelly for re-kindling these memories.

Franklin W. Littleton, Baltimore

A new era for nuclear power

The new era that is dawning for nuclear energy experience belies the doom-and-gloom conjecture presented in your April 4 article, "Nuclear power use on the decline."

In fact, utilities are extending the operating periods of their nuclear power plants. Baltimore Gas and Electric is leading the way with its application to renew the operating license of the Calvert Cliffs plant.

The competitive electricity market provides huge incentives to renew operating licenses. It is eight times more economical to relicense nuclear power plants for another 20 years than to build combined cycle gas plants.

In recent years, nearly three-quarters of U.S. nuclear units have produced electricity for less than two cents per kilowatt-hour. This is cost competitive electricity, and evidence that the people who think deregulation is bad for the industry may not have understood the lessons of Economics 101.

When you consider that nuclear energy is our nation's largest emission-free source of electricity, and that there are real costs associated with increasingly stringent clean-air policies, it appears that the economic and social value of nuclear energy relative to other electricity sources is rising every day.

Joe F. Colvin, Washington

The writer is president and chief executive officer of the Nuclear Energy Institute.

Summer beach traffic will be a mess, again...

We are on the cusp of yet another beach season and, for at least the tenth year in row, nothing has been done about the transportation system to the beaches.

Transportation officials from both Maryland and Delaware should be forced to drive a small car from U.S. 50 to Delaware Highway 1 as the rear vehicle in a pack twice each Friday afternoon until they understand the need to improve the traffic flow.

The problem isn't entirely Maryland's fault. It seems that Maryland's Eastern Shore farmers are more resigned to having the beach crowd travel their sacred soil than are southern Delaware farmers, who appear to be primarily responsible for pressuring Delaware political and transportation officials into doing nothing about the Highway 404 corridor or building the promised interstate from Annapolis to Dover.

Maryland Route 404 from U.S. 50 to Denton is probably the most dangerous highway in Maryland on Friday and Sunday afternoons in the summer.

This two-lane road is the only way to get to the Delaware beaches and by far the shortest route to Ocean City. The huge packs of cars that clog this stretch of road travel at the speed of the slowest vehicle.

Passing is a fool's errand, but the speed jockeys, slowed to 40 or 45-mph, won't accept this. As their blood pressure rises, they jump out to pass in increasingly dangerous situations -- forcing others to take dramatic evasive action to avoid the threat of head-on collisions.

It appears that Maryland officials are planning to expand Highway 404, buying the right-of-way and setting the utility lines back on the road's north side.

However, nothing else has been done, and nothing else will be done, they say, until Delaware decides to do something. There is little reason, they reason, to make Route 404 a four-lane, divided highway as far as Delaware, only to trigger a five or 10 mile backup when the traffic hits the state line.

Delaware's part of an expanded Route 404 would run from the Mason-Dixon Line through Bridgeville and Georgetown to Lewes and Highway 1.

Much of the population east of Georgetown -- beach-oriented or appreciative of the economic engine the beaches are in the summer -- doubtless favors such an expansion. But the farmers who live west of Georgetown do not see it this way at all. For them, the beach traffic is just an aggravation.

One solution for the Sussex County, Del. farmers is simple: cut them out. Improvements to Highway 404 could skip an interchange at U.S. 13 north or south of Bridgeville so that neither that village nor Seaford and Laurel's businessmen would be bothered by the beach traffic. This also would give the Ocean City-bound travelers the option of staying on U.S. 50 south through Easton or going east as far as U.S. 113 at Georgetown and then turning south. Or staying on a four-laned 404 to Lewes and then going south on Route One.

The psychological challenge, long identified by Delaware law-enforcement, is that, having turned off U.S. 50, you can smell the water, but are still an hour away from the beach. Thus, while a four-lane highway 404 might only speed the trip by five to 10 minutes, the fact that you would be traveling at the speed limit would make all the difference in the world.

Delaware has nearly solved the north-south beach weekend problem by building a toll road from Wilmington to Dover Air Force Base, which continues as a four-lane Highway to Ocean City.

There is nothing like that in the works to serve the Washington and Baltimore beach-goers. Why?

Reid K. Beveridge, Broadkill Beach, Del.

Pub Date: 4/17/99