PUBLIC FORUM : INTERN IN SCANDAL WAS BETRAYED BY `FRIEND'.

Each day brings more public vilification of Bill Clinton for his treatment of a sweet young thing who is young enough to be his daughter.

Yet in all the self-righteous pulpitizing I've read regarding the ``character'' issue, I have not seen so much as a discouraging word directed toward Monica Lewinsky's ``friend,'' Linda Tripp, who couldn't run fast enough to Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr with details of Lewinsky's intimate confessions, which Tripp secretly taped.

If that were not enough, she further betrayed the young woman's trust and confidence by agreeing to be wired for sound and, still wearing the mask of friendship, approached Lewinsky to collect even more ``confidential'' dirt, while the FBI listened in.

Poor Monica Lewinsky has indeed been cruelly used and callously treated by a person she liked and admired - and maybe even by the president, too.

- Michael Mallory Glendale

Because the economy is going well, which is much more due to the actions of Congress than a president, those who support Clinton in this, his third accusation of a sexual affair, tell us to forget presidential honesty, truth and trust, so long as Bill ``gets the job done.'' Funny, those are the exact qualities on which I vote for president.

If America truly doesn't care about the moral and ethical values of a president, than that points out just how pathetic we have become as a nation. Are we not morally supposed to look up to a president, not down?

- Paul Vaughn Van Nuys

I read Jules Sandor's opinion on the Paula Jones case and his suggestion as to how to treat a president (``Action on Jones case should be delayed,'' Public Forum, Jan. 21).

Not knowing all the facts, I cannot pass a judgment as to right or wrong on this subject.

However, it appears that Sandor has come from a country similar to the one from which I came to the United States over 40 years ago, countries where we were conditioned to think of presidents, kings, etc., as people above the law.

Unlike the Old World, presidents in the United States come and go at the will of the people. Contrary to his statement that justice is being used to devaluate and dishonor the office, our system of accountability actually dignifies the office. It tells us that the persons we elected are just our civil servants, and are accountable for their actions like any other person in this country, regardless of the position they occupy.

We survived the Watergate turmoil and the resignation of one president. This country survived and survives because we have elected to be our own people and not let anybody in any position take advantage of his or her position. It is when we begin to equate the persons with the positions they occupy that this country will collapse.

- David M. Marsh Studio City

Has Starr and his band of marauders finally succeeded in bringing down the president of the United States?

This group has been feeding at the public trough for years in its quest for minutiae and now it presents the ``golden calf'' to the American people in the form of a titillating dalliance.

Question: Just what does a sexual liaison between two consenting adults have to do with the allegation of Paula Jones? Why should our so-called system of justice require such a divulsion resulting in the embarrassment and humiliation of innocent victims for fodder for the court and public?

Assuming the worst, who in their right mind would not want to protect the innocent victims who have shared our intimacies?

This cancer on the Clinton presidency and the public must stop.

- Roger Nicodemus Simi Valley

It is time to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate Starr. This manufactured news story is proof he found nothing in his Whitewater investigation.

- Martin J. Kotowski Sherman Oaks

What with all the scandals coming out of the White House, President Clinton's legacy won't have a lot to stand on.

- Alex Landi North Hills

Bill Clinton is Jean Valjean and Kenneth Starr is Inspector Javert, who has been pursuing Valjean since he won the office of the presidency. And you know the conclusion.

- Salvatore Scola Chatsworth

Teaching English

As reported in the Daily News Jan. 25 (``Zacarias outlines reforms''), Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent Ruben Zacarias stated that the district's record of taking five or more years to impart English skills is unacceptable. He called for a goal of three years, and for the hiring of more bilingual teachers.

This is not the reform it seems to be. The three years Zacarias is talking about is first through third grade, and he would accept the current practice of teaching immigrant children in those grades in their native language, while devoting a mere 90 minutes a day to an informal English period known as English as a second language. This amounts to no change at all in our failed ``bilingual'' approach. Our fourth-graders still will not be able to read and write in English. In November, teachers in the teachers' union voted down the ``English for the Children'' statewide initiative 52 percent to 48 percent. The measure would eliminate native language instruction for young children.

After the vote, United Teachers-Los Angeles President Day Higuchi called for consideration of English-first instruction. Such sentiment in Santa Barbara and Orange counties has resulted in responses from superintendents and board members. In Los Angeles Unified, we're still waiting for the response.

- Douglas Lasken Woodland Hills

Crime and prisons

In California, no matter how fast we build new prisons and add to existing ones, we never will have enough space until we change the system.

Most people bent on doing what they want to do, regardless of what various laws allow, know that their chances of being given a seriously long sentence, and having to serve the whole sentence, are extremely unlikely.

They should be impressed with the knowledge that any type of behavior that is less than their best, will automatically get their sentence extended: not only no time off for good behavior, but no TVs in their rooms.

They should know that they will be kept too busy to read, play games or anything else that might be enjoyable. They should be given work to help pay for their existence.

At first this type of treatment will require more space, but after it sinks in that this is the treatment that all prisoners will get, we will have fewer and fewer people being detained in or by our judicial system.

- William B. ``Pink'' Pinkerton Pico Rivera

Hollywood jobs

I have been a lighting technician in the film industry for seven years, and I have encountered many of the ups and downs of this industry. I find the ongoing ``In the biz'' series in Business to be very informative and horrifyingly inaccurate at the same time.

It is true that my industry has experienced a resurgence of sorts over the last few years, but the work is not readily available to all who would care to take part.

Much of the work is offered to union labor, which unfortunately, I am not a part of yet.

I am a firm believer that if you are in my business, you should be in the union. Hopefully, I will get that chance very soon.

With that said, the amount of nonunion work available is not as prevalent. Much of the nonunion work is either low in pay, or only available in San Diego or Ventura.

My concern is that these articles will give a not entirely true impression of the amount of work available, and that even more people will flood an already saturated market.

- Charlie Dalrymple North Hollywood

`Smoke police'

I would like to respond to Dave Thatcher's comments (Public Forum, Jan. 18) that I would have ``smoke police'' go into renters' apartments to ``bust'' them for smoking:

I wonder if Thatcher, a professed nonsmoker and nondrinker, would also object on grounds of his stated ``personal freedoms'' when some of the Los Angeles Police Department ``noise police'' knock on a nearby, chronically noisy neighbor's door to inform the scofflaws residing there that they must either keep their racket down or receive a citation for disturbing the peace? Yet both noise and serious-disease-causing secondhand smoke are controllable at the source of the problem.

For example, the smoker could use a smokeless ashtray, operate an air conditioner or purifier while smoking, open or close an appropriate window, or even ask the manager or landlord for assistance with structural modifications that will help vent the smoke away from other tenants' apartments.

Unfortunately, however, many smokers all too often simply won't ``voluntarily'' make any of these reasonable consideration adjustments. Hence the urgent necessity for the Legislature to require such cooperation via amendments to our landlord-tenant law and health and safety codes as soon as possible.

- Harvey Pearson Los Feliz

Speeding trucks

Richard Buice's position and letter about the risks of truck speeding (Public Forum, Jan. 23) is well-thought-out and well-taken.

The remedy for this problem is stricter enforcement by the California Highway Patrol of commercial vehicles' speed and legislation to place heavy fines against the companies operating the trucks.

One citation for speeding and the loss of the truck driver's license for a year and a $100,000 fine against the trucking company for each individual would work serious wonders for highway safety.

- Paul Cooper Chatsworth