CHICAGO—I was nothing less than shocked to read the newspaper account of how a crowd in Birmingham, Ala., attacked a white man after he had been sitting beside a Negro couple in a railroad station waiting room.

When he left the station the attackers followed him, beating and threatening him. And after escaping in his car in a shower of stones, the court fined him for reckless driving!

I wonder if people who take part in this kind of thing realize that such news is flashed around the world and they have made enemies for their country in the whole of Asia and Africa. No diplomatic representation or expressions of goodwill can wipe out the effects of one story of this kind.

Fluoridation of a city's water supply seems to be a question which engenders much heat, wherever it is brought up.

Seven hundred persons went to New York's City Hall to debate the question of whether or not that city's water should be fluoridated. And like so many other questions, there are two distinct points of view.

One faction feels that this is the only way to save the children's teeth. The other feels that forcing the use of water treated with fluorides will destroy our American way of life.

I think an endless discussion on this subject is possible, because like so many other things, nobody is quite sure whether fluoridation is entirely good or entirely bad.

Only time will really prove what is best, but I am always for trying new things.

I had the pleasure last week of seeing the Broadway play, "Uncle Willie," starring Menasha Skulnik. He is a very fine actor and particularly good in this comedy. His expressions, his little by-play here and there are irresistibly funny, and I recommend this play for anyone who wants relaxation and entertainment.

I was sent a book which Judson T. Landis and Mary G. Landis wrote for teen-agers called "Building Your Life." It is particularly aimed at youngsters going into high school and is, I think, a helpful presentation of some of the problems inevitably faced by youngsters of this age.