Dear Editor

...Dear Editor Margolis The shortage of black policemen both reflects and causes serious social problems which Richard J Margolis did not explain adequately in his three-part series on police minority hiring practices (NL August 9, September 6 September 20) Although he conceded that man\ blacks are too suspicious of policework to apply he was generally one sided about blaming the whites He should cite evidence before spreading racial stereotypes and implications?e g that the whites' main motive in setting up a civil service system and professionalizing policework was racist Aren't those steps normal7 Isn't modern policework more complicated requiring more education'' Margolis shows that the difficult tests and training block a higher percentage of (though fewer) blacks because they are less educated from the start and cannot keep pace with the training He concludes that the tests should be eliminated and the training pared to the current capabilities of black applicants But wouldn't it be just as logical to conclude that the system which screens out so many whites too is not discriminatory and that if blacks studied sufficiently they would pass...

...To be sure the man who misses that question is "antisocial," but not in the way Mr Shulman means) The truth is that neither the civil service tests nor the standard police training curricula bear much relation to what a policeman actually does When police academies for example, devote 20 hours to firearms and only four to human relations, they seem to be saying that a policeman must understand his gun more thoroughly than he must understand his public Is that sensible...

...Before advocating that tests be eliminated Margolis must prove them unnecessary and convince us that society can entrust police responsibility to ex-convicts How can he discuss tests without describing the knowledge and training a skilled policeman needs and whether such qualities can be tested...

...place the responsibility where it belongs, on police departments and their local governments But the idea of urging blacks to study harder?so that they can answer culturally biased and largely irrelevant questions—simply shifts the burden back to the victims It is something of a cop out Beyond the Freeze In identifying devaluation of the dollar as the key element in President Nixon s new economic program Andrew J Glass ("Poor Richard's Nixonomics," NL, September 6) correctly explains that the unfavorable balance of payments supplied the mam impetus for the change in policy In the long term, however, devaluation will be overshadowed by government intervention in wage and pnce setting by business and labor It is now almost universally acknowledged that the wage-pnce freeze will be followed by control designed to link wage hikes to growth of productivity, and price rises to cost increases Furthermore the Administration is no longer pretending that these measures will be temporary This reflects the realization that inflation cannot be stopped merely by shaking people out of "inflation psychology" rather, a continuous "cost-push" effect has developed within the organizational structure of the economy, and it would reappear as soon as the controls were lifted Consequently, from now on the state will have to assume an immensely extended role as arbitrator It will not be easy Linking wage increases to productivity growth sounds fine m principle but many industries—indeed most services—cannot expect great gains in productivity If, for example, barbers' wages fall too far behind those of machinists, there will be a shortage of barbers, if barbers receive the same raises as machinists, there will be a new inflationary impulse While business may find it hard ideologically to adjust to the government's new role, the practical adjustment will be harder for organized labor Unions will have to change from fighting management to pleading labor's cause before regulatory boards Humanly and politically, it will be necessary to offer the unions some compensation for restricting their bargain-ins power Tt should not consist in a limitation of profits, however, for that would take the driving force out of the economy (though a moderate excess profits tax may be tolerable) Similarly a ceiling on dividends would only compound the tendency of corporations to retain profits for reinvestment, and fixing interest rates would accomplish less than an easy-credit policy on the part of the Federal Reserve More effective remedies would be greater tax relief for the lower income brackets, a substantial public employment program, and early introduction of a guaranteed minimum income plan Berkeley Carl Landauer Professor of Economics, University of California...

...Maybe some unnamed civil service officials trickily insert urelevant questions simply to stymie blacks Is the answer to fill important jobs with uneducated untrainable, antisocial people or should applicants be screened for qualities that relate to the job...

...I agree with Mr Shulman that we should start thinking about "the knowledge and training a skilled policeman needs, and whether such qualities can be tested " That approach would The New Leader welcomes comment and criticism on any of its features, but letters should not exceed 300 words...

...can predict a man's police performance...

...New York City RICHARD H SHULMAN Richard J Margolis replies Nowhere in the series do I suggest eliminating testing pei se What we should cet rid of, without further delay, are the mindless questions now generally in use that tend to screen out black applicants without raising the level of police competence one whit Does Mr Shulman really believe that questions like what is the definition of R.S.V.P...