‘Victory for Property Rights’

After reading Justice Lynn D. Compton’s article “Restoring Rights to Property Owners” (Editorial Pages, July 7), I feel it necessary to repeat the last paragraph of his article. “Once the government achieves the power to deprive citizens of their right to private property, both real and personal, by regulation of its use or by confiscatory taxation, other rights that might survive would be of little value.”

The question arises which is the greatest, most important right--human rights or property rights? One doesn’t have to look far for a perfect example to answer the question. Almost immediately after communism became the philosophy that governed the Soviet Union, the first right to disappear was property rights, followed very closely by the loss of all human rights, freedom of speech, religion, press, etc.

N.G. NYERGES

Santa Monica