To the editor:

Living again in Lawrence since leaving in 1944, I am very pleased to find the City Commission voting against the Goliath of Wal-Mart.

Wal-Mart has earned the reputation of being a very evil corporation and simply needs to stop growing. And, in general, Lawrence and every other city in our country must look at the evils of growth. Like sin, the wages of growth is death.

Every organic thing has a birth, growth and death. This is true of earthworms, trees, human beings and cities. I saw the downside of growth in living for 20 years in Springfield, Mo., where every city and county entity puts the emphasis on unending growth. As a result, that area’s population is well over 500,000 and the beautiful Ozarks countryside and farmlands are being replaced by residential subdivisions, commercial shopping centers and industrial parks.

The eventually unsolvable problem of solid waste disposal is ruining the once pristine cleanliness of streams, rivers and lakes. Let’s not let this lethal process continue to impact Lawrence and Kansas and (indeed) our entire country.

Lawrence population is at 100,000 and growing; America at 300 million and growing; the globe at seven billion and growing.

Dr. A. I. Decker,

Lawrence