Contract for Green Line Cars

There must be something rotten in Denmark, or perhaps Los Angeles! The Los Angeles Transportation Commission voted to accept the Japanese-owned company, Sumitomo Corp. of America, to build driverless trains for the Los Angeles Green Line (Metro, Dec. 19).

The American company’s proposal advocated by the professional staff was refused. The American company would subcontract out 66% to American contractors, the Japanese, 22%.

With a devastating unemployment problem in California and a huge trade deficit with Japan, it is staggering that this commission could be so ruthless as to spend taxpayers’ money to further increase Japan’s prosperity and impoverish our own.

Surely there must be some legal avenue to stop this madness and to replace this commission with people who care for our country. I urge all readers to write to all public officials, both state and federal, opposing this preposterous decision. We want the peace dividend from the reduction of military spending to help the United States, not Japan.

CARL B. ZIESMER, West Covina