University of Virginia Library

Letters To The Editor

Gardner, Wenzl Called Immature

Mr. Kleindienst's speech on
December 11 clearly demonstrated
two things: Mr. Kleindienst's patience
and understanding and the
immaturity and rudeness of Thurm
Wenzl and Tom Gardner.

I write to offer a few thoughts
on Mr. Kleindienst's speech and Mr.
Giltinan's article in Monday's Cavalier
Daily. Mr. Kleindienst's speech
was exactly what Mr. Giltinan
labelled it: a whitewashing. Hopefully,
all the liberals and radicals in
the audience realized that fact. The
conservatives and reactionaries,
needless to say, did not; and there
lies our central problem: educating
them. But the question we must
then ask is whether the tactics
employed the other night served
that purpose? Or on the other
hand, did they merely serve to
further cloud and polarize attitudes
toward the central issues (those
being the government's use of
violence) by allowing the conservatives
to ignore these issues in the
heat of anger over the yelling and
screaming going on before and
during the speech? I submit that
the answer to the first question
must be an unqualified "no" while
to the second an unqualified "yes."
The glaring weaknesses and absurdities
in the speech could have been,
and in fact were, brought out in the
post-speech session. I do not argue
that this is sufficient - but it at
least has the chance of being more
productive than the methods employed.
I myself have often wondered
whether the massive "reeducation"
of the conservative and
reactionary elements even fails
within the realm of vague possibilities.
But if this be the case, then
how much more ineffective are the
tactics of screaming and yelling.
They serve, as I have said, only to
cloud the issues and further close
peoples' minds. And the clouding of
issues is one thing that the left does
not need.

Last night the University was
given a good demonstration of
effete, impudent, snobs in action.
The hecklers at Mr. Kleindienst's
speech possessed least of all the
gentlemanly behavior which this
academic community, at least the
Law School, is accustomed to
expect of its members, Personally I
am angry, and ashamed.

I would like to comment on the
problems in Suffolk and Nansemond
County today. Rawles Jones
stated in The Cavalier Daily (Dec.
9) that Tom Gardner distorted the
facts concerning the situation there;
however, I regret that Jones has
distorted the facts.

Firstly, Ob issued an ultimatum
in mid-September requiring the
striking workers to return to work.
Naturally, it was not heeded, and
strike-breakers were hired to fill the
vacancies. On December 6, having
been practically broken, the
workers sent essentially a letter of
plea to the hospital's administrative
board requesting that their jobs be
returned. Presently, the hospital has
two alternatives: to fire the strikebreakers
and rehire the strikers, or
to retain the strikebreakers and also
rehire the strikers. Ob pushing
Suffolk's luck, refuses to do either
since the former would be disloyal
to the replacements, and the latter
would increase its budget.

I have sympathy for the hospital
because it is evident that the sick
must be cared for, but the majority
of my sympathy lies with the
strikers.

After the recent riots in Suffolk,
the whites promenaded on Main St.
displaying signs requesting the
black people to sit down and talk -
to restore peace. Violence was the
key. The people were enormously
interested, respect bloomed, and
fear clutched their weak hearts.
However, things eventually cooled
off, and Suffolk regained its lack of
sympathy for the strikers' cause.
There are the people of whom I
bitch; here lies the cause of
frustrations. It's quite disenchanting
to realize that people are
punished for trying to live a decent
life - for trying to exist. Where
hides those who preach brotherhood?

Secondly, Gardner's statement
that a person "owns a town" is
erroneous only in the respect that
instead of one person dictating over
Suffolk, the predominantly white
well-to-do dice. I also assert that
the Suffolkian attitudes are endemic
of any other one-horse town in
dear o Dixie.

Thirdly, I acknowledge that Mr.
Gardner may have exaggerated
somewhat in stating that the
Suffolk school system is "almost
totally segregated." Yet, Rawles
hallucinates in believing that it is
"totally integrated." The desegregation
of Nansemond County is
pathetic. Kennedy High is 100 per
cent black, and the few white
teachers there, who are supposedly
orientating the black students to
the white face, are only making
student attitudes worse. Forest
Glen and John Yeates, of whom we
dare not boast, are predominantly
white; however, no one speaks of
these problems or attempts to
alleviate them.

The same dilemma exists on the
college level also. When UVA rode
to Richmond to confer with Governor
Godwin concerning the present
paradox of the Virginia educational
system, qualitative education before
integration was the name of
the game. Now that HEW has
rapped, the Governor passes the
buck to Governor-elect Holton.
Gentlemen, the true name of the
game is Virginny ain't gonna do a
thing 'til Moses comes to the
rescue.

It is obvious that some of the
"impudent snobs" whom vice president
Agnew recently referred
are not marching in the streets.
Some are writing radical columns
for campus newspapers.

Reference is made to the
December 4th issue of The Cavalier
Daily and a column entitled "Birdsong's
Hospital" authored by Tom
Gardner.

I am quite willing to accept
errors of judgement by any columnist
but the numerous errors of fact
contained in Mr. Gardner's
attempted vilification of William
Birdsong must be refuted. I am
unconcerned that Mr. Gardner
would turn over the University to
the students and Nansemond
County to the blacks. But I am
concerned that a fine gentlemen's
character should be treated with
such callousness by a person who
has no regard for facts and who
chooses to use absolute untruths to
make a case against Mr. Birdsong,
Louise Ob Memorial Hospital and
the combined community of Suffolk-Nansemond.

It is stated in the column that
Nansemond County is over 80%
black. The true figures are 63%
non-white in Nansemond County
and 37% non-white for the City of
Suffolk. Mr. Gardner was obviously
trying to picture the community as
predominantly black white being
"ruled" by a handful of whites.

Mr. Gardner alleges that Suffolk's
high schools are "almost
totally segregated." Quite the reverse
is true. Suffolk's only high
school is completely integrated.
Only one section of the 8th grade
and one section of the 9th grade
still housed in Booker T. Washington
school are segregated and this
only because space is not available
at Suffolk High School.

It is stated that the hospital
administration has "played on the
racial tensions in the importation of
white scabs and the police harassment
of the predominantly black
strikers." The facts are as follows:
The striking workers were offered a
$0.15 per hour wage increase (after
an earlier 15@ per hour increase
prior to their walkout) and requested
to return to their jobs by
September 3. It was made absolutely
clear that the hospital would
not recognize a union but would
hear any grievance from any employee
at any time, it was also
made clear to the workers that
should they choose not to return to
work, their jobs would be filled by
others. Some returned to work. At
present there are less than 50 of the
original 82 who do not have
employment. After the return-to-work
deadline, ads were run in
several area newspapers soliciting
applications for work. No persons
(scabs) were imported. It is true
some whites were hired in jobs
formerly held by Negroes. But the
last count of hirings showed only
one more white than Negro had
been hired. As I understand Fair
Employment Practices legislation
this is the way it should be done.

As for the police harassment
charge, it hardly deserves any
thinking person's comment. Aren't
we all too familiar with this old
saw? Suffice to say that it did not
happen.

The very vilest charge of all was
contained near the end of Mr.
Gardner's column: "For Mr. Birdsong
and the other proprietors of
Ob Hospital who make their
profit from the sickness of others,
racism is the most profitable
sickness of all"' The facts are:
Louise Ob Memorial Hospital is a
non-profit hospital bequeathed by
Amedeo Ob, founder of Planters
Peanuts. Mr. Ob arrived in this
country almost penniless; at least
less affluent than any person now
living in Suffolk-Nansemond. In his
later years he established a trust
fund to build and maintain the
hospital to give adequate medical
treatment to the people of this
area. William Birdsong has never
been paid a cent for his services as a
member of the Board of Trustees.
Nor has any other board member.
Not a penny of profit has ever been
received by any member.

It should be pointed out that
Ob has been a pioneer in the
South in the matter of race
relations. There has never been a
"white" or "colored" sign in this
institution since its opening in
1952. The first surgery performed
in the hospital was done by a Negro
dentist. Negro doctors and dentists
have since its opening been full fledged
staff members enjoying all
the rights and privileges as their
white colleagues.

The Birdsong family have been
generous benefactors to Suffolk
and this area. Our Birdsong Recreation
Center is a model facility,
particularly for the youth of this
community. It was donated by this
family as were several parcels of
land needed to construct facilities
such as an armory and an industrial
plant. More than one institution of
higher learning, including the University,
have received substantial
gifts. The peanut interests that bear
the Birdsong name earmark a
certain portion of their profits each
year to the Birdsong trust fund for
philanthropic and charitable work
to a degree that is unique in
modern times. In addition, there
are countless other financial needs
that have been provided in secrecy
by this family. I am confident there
are others of which I am unaware.

Mr. Gardner may not want to
take my word for the unimpeachable
character and integrity of
William Birdsong. I invite him to
come to Suffolk and ask any
number of citizens, black or white,
about Mr. Birdsong's standing in
the community.