Raymond A. Orr of Westport, Conn. On December 22 in his letter to the New York Times Orr wrote:

"Re:  `The Disciples of Hatred, in Their Own Words and Images' by Brent Staples about an exhibit of lynchings:

 "According to the Tuskegee Institute records, from 1882 to 1968, 4,743 people were lynched in the United States.  Of those 1,297 were white.

"Lynching is more than about black hatred.  The values that allow a community to lunch are the same values that allow a nation to torture.