To the Editor:— The persistence of syphilis as a major medical problem has stimulated continued serious study of all aspects of this problem. The article by Waring and associates, inThe Journal, Dec. 13, 1958, page 2004, entitled "Biological False-Positive Results in Serologic Tests for Syphilis" does not, I feel, make a contribution to this problem because of serious defects in its planning and interpretation. The study reports that negative Treponema pallidum immobilization (TPI) test reactions were found in about 40% of 23 seroreactions referred for "diagnostic verification" on white patients. In 52 unselected Negro patients, no negative TPI reaction were found. One conclusion was that "the false-positive phenomenon is quite rare in the Negro race." No information is given in the article on the socioeconomic backgrounds of the two groups, though the boxed summary preceding the article states that the Caucasian patients "varied widely in socioeconomic background" and that