Another Skirmish in War on Poverty

As the author of the play, “Lyndon,” which Jack Klugman originated and Laurence Luckinbill has played so brilliantly on television and the stage, I was deeply moved by Joanne Harrison’s affectionate look at L.B.J.’s Neighborhood Youth Corps and the purpose it gave to her life.

The Vietnam War did him in, but Lyndon Johnson meant it when he said, “I wanted to be the President who educated young children, who helped to feed the hungry, who helped the poor to find their own way and who protected the right of every citizen to vote in every election.”

He meant it and he did it. Today’s politicians tend to give lip service to this sort of thing while making certain that such programs are destroyed.

One further thought: Lyndon Johnson also said, “We cannot control crime without controlling the random and wanton distribution of guns.”

Try telling them that in Washington today.

JAMES PRIDEAUX

Los Angeles