Height

* I read your article (Aug. 19) regarding the dialogue between Gov. Pete Wilson and Bob Mulholland, state Democratic Party political director. I have no intention of bringing up politics. I want to comment on Mulholland’s remarks at his press conference. When talking about Gov. Wilson, he said, “No, he’s too short. I am too tall for him. It was a sign of a little man to personally attack me.”

As founder of the Little People of America Inc. and the Billy Barty Foundation, serving 1.5 million people of short stature, I say that the intelligence or the class of a person is not described by his or her physical size, as insinuated in his comment.

I bring to your attention that John Steinmetz, a Jewish-German immigrant and leading scientist of the Edison Co., was reported to be only 4 feet, 7 inches. Would you believe that Attila the Hun was a dwarf? More up to date, Paul Miller, former president of my foundation, is a graduate of Harvard Law School and is currently serving on President Bill Clinton’s transition team. Paul is 4 feet, 4 inches. My son-in-law, David Neilson, is a business graduate from Cal State Northridge, has a master’s in taxation from USC, and recently passed his CPA test on the first try. David is 3 feet, 11 inches.

The Billy Barty Foundation gives over $30,000 a year in scholarships to Little People. Their average GPA is A-, their average height is 4 feet, 2 inches.

I hope I have informed you that height is not a problem, only the space between our ears.

BILLY BARTY

Burbank