To the editor:

Chad Lawhorn’s article in Friday’s Journal-World about another Wal-Mart hearing without resident participation tells me our system of government is failing.

In a true democratic system, the common people are considered as the primary source of political power. When you see how Russia is changing to a more democratic form of government, we should make sure our country still practices the democratic system.

There was a recent article in USA Today about a family that moved from a large city in Louisiana to Ellsworth, Kan., where the population is 2,900 with one grocery store, one stoplight and no mall, no fast food and no movie theater.

This tells me we need no more Wal-Mart stores in Lawrence.

Lester C. Marsh,

Lawrence