Litter war needs government help

To the editor:

I'm not going to get on a soapbox, but even before this controversy hit the paper, I began to pick up litter on the street where I live. I would encourage others to do the same thing. When we were in Europe, we were impressed with the cleanliness. We were told that there was a very stiff fine for littering, and we would see individuals picking up litter.

It wasn't until I spoke to my cousin in Italy that I learned that there are governmental institutions in place to clean up the streets and highways. There also are fines there for littering. But at least the government does something about it.

We have been hearing about how terrible Americans are because they litter. I would imagine that people litter everywhere in the world, but America does not have a governmental program to take care of it.

DOLLY DAMBACH, Jackson