Letter from Mary Louise Collette to President Harry S. Truman with Attached Newspaper Clipping

3.R 397 State Street Albany, New York Aug. 8, 1949 Pres. Harry S. Truman The White House Washington, D. C. 107 My dear Mr. Truman: Roomined mind C It really is good news to learn that the recession, that great depression is over and that we may look forward to 1950 as a prosperous year. Hoping that every American may earn enough to live the American way. At last the right news to Russia in that so-called white paper that we will help those who fight against communism in the far east. Recently I meet a chinese lady now residing in Chicago, according to her China would never remain red. Mr. Truman the aid-to-education as now is should be defeated. Mrs. Roosevelt's comments in her newspaper column were out of order. Test-books, medical care, transportaton and hot lunches should be for all school children. If we were to follow her suggestion, of complete separation of church and state. We would have to start with her own church. My personal family bought and paid for hundreds of acres of land up in Vermont. Part of their holdings are called lease land, the town, county and state cannot collect taxes on this land. Instead each year the taxes are pa id at a certain bank in Burlington Vermont and up to a few years ago was forwarded direct to the Church of England. These past few yrs. I understand it goes to the Federa- tion of churches, but not one penny goes to the Catholic church. That I do believe is the main reason that Vermont is backward as they say. Still it is the catholic people that pay these taxes and then build and support their catholic schools. In the rural districts they now have built centralized schools and if they meet with opposition as they did in one town. The per- son a heavy taxpayers with a large part of the other taxpayers backing him at their request, was called a critic. The petition was altered by fright, many removed their names. They held meetings which they knew were not legal. They proceeded in building their school at twice what it should cost. Certain ones reaping plenty and then at the 1949 legislature they enacted a law to make their meetings legal. We don't have to go to Europe to find grafters and corruption, we have it in our own back yards.