To the editor:
The Journal-World, profile on one city commission candidate caused me to question how we became involved with urban sprawl.
I got the impression that the candidate thought our inability to walk around the corner to the grocery store was due to urban sprawl. This caused me to look back at our mistakes of the past and see who made them.
Herbert Hoover started the wheels rolling when he ran for president in 1928. His campaign slogan was "A chicken in every pot and a car in every garage." The Detroit-Houston coalition kept the wheels rolling so today we have three cars in every garage. This coalition together with the multinational corporations, have destroyed small towns by promoting urban sprawl.
The big three automakers realized that spreading people throughout the countryside would create a need for more wheels. The wheel was perhaps the greatest invention of mankind; however, the second greatest was the brake. Now it's time for us to apply the brake. General Motors has clearly demonstrated how arrogance of power can drive us down the wrong road.
The first thing we can do is recognize who created this problem, then spend our money accordingly. This might be a step toward a solution.
Lester C. Marsh,
Lawrence
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