LETTERS: BIG PROBLEMS IN D.C.

To the editor:

The capital of any nation ought to be the showpiece of the country. When tourists and visiting dignitaries travel to Washington, D.C., they want to see the monuments, museums, halls of government, the White House and even the world-famous cherry blossoms. As they make their way about our beautiful capital, they will soon find a side of Washington that many a tour guide would just as soon they did not see or hear about. Not far from all of the polished marble there is a decaying, struggling city in search of its own soul.

Washington is in trouble today in more ways than you can imagine. Part of it is financial, as a 1995 Financial Worth magazine survey on the management of our nations' cities rated the district last, with $3 billion in long-term debt. Since 1970, one-fourth of its residents have fled the city for the nearby suburbs of Virginia and Maryland. You can only tolerate rampant crimes, failing schools, crumbling infrastructure and taxes that are 40 percent higher than the national average for so long.

Jack Kemp, Bob Dole's choice as a running mate, one remarked while serving as secretary of housing and urban development, "There aren't enough school books for school children, and there isn't enough gasoline for police cars -- the whole city is imploding."

The financial crunch is so acute that 1,500 traffic lights were turned off because the city could not pay its electric bill. Many schools and fire stations have closed. It is reported that one out of every nine residents in Washington works for the city government (for a total of 40,000). That ought to warm the heart of any liberal.

Many congressmen agonize over the large sums of money being thrown at Washington to keep it propped up. On congressman moaned, "The money that has been put into this city is just being hemorrhaged away, and nobody knows where it's going."

Currently the Washington school district spends nearly $7,400 per student, one of the largest ratios in the nation.

The mayor of this municipal fiasco is Marion Barry, whose previous term ended in disgrace when he was convicted of cocaine possession after he was captured on videotape dealing drugs in his girlfriend's apartment with undercover FBI agents.

But not to worry. Once released from prison he was promptly returned to the mayor's office by the voters of Washington, where he is presiding over the looting of taxpayers' money.

GERALD W. BEAM

Dexter