THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, September 29, 1996 TAG: 9609270012
SECTION: COMMENTARY PAGE: J4 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: 21 lines
Recently President Clinton, by presidential proclamation, took 1.8 million acres of land in Utah and set it aside as a national monument. Much of this land was privately owned.
Amendment 5 to the Constitution states, ``Nor shall private property be taken for public use without just compensation.'' Has this amendment been razed from our Constitution? If not, where is the just compensation?
Even more deplorable is that profit from the coal reserves under this land were earmarked for public school improvements. Not only were the citizens not compensated for their land, the public school system has lost billions.
President Clinton claims to be for the betterment of our school systems, but his actions once again belie his words.
THOMAS B. KAAT
Chesapeake, Sept. 20, 1996 by CNB