To the Editor:

If not every week, then every other week or so, there appears in this newspaper, a "P.R." letter or notice from the Committee to Save St. Paul's, reporting on the swelling numbers of citizens who are in favor of the essentially public use of the St. Paul's schoolhouse. The Committee has advised us that our increase in real estate taxes would probably be no more than $100.00 per average house, per year.

If one were new to the community, one might conclude that the majority of citizens agreed with or believed the Committee.

Those of us who have lived in the Village for a year or two or more, recall the only survey of the community on this issue, taken a few years ago and sponsored by the property owners associations. As I recall, 35% of the survey respondents favored a commercial solution (e.g., assisted living or condominiums) with little or no costs to the taxpayers. 25% of the survey respondents favored demolition and non-commercial restoration of the area. A combined total of 60%.

These happen to be the facts.

So, dear Committee, please don't continue to feed us the big lie; white is not black, and saying so, no matter how often, does not make it so.

Vincent J. Maroney