The daily morning journal and courier., 1907-11-15
GIN COD WE TRUST :,

It is not strange that more or less excitement should have been provoked by the act of President Roosevelt in directing the hints of the country to leave off the face of coins to be here- after made the words: Tn God We Trust !" It may be questioned whether in event of the government issuing coins for the first time it would ever be suggested that such a reverent phrase be used. We are reasonably safe in assuming that it was originally suggested by the spirit of the times So by the same rule to-day the spirit of the time would be content probably with coins promising on their face full value in exchange.
 President Roosevelt's reasons for suspending the phrase from the face of coins to be hereafter made are im- pressive. He says My own feeling in the matter is due ts my firm eonvic- ton that to put such motto on coins or to use It in any kindred manner, not only does nc. good but does positive harm, and is in effect irreverence, which comes dangerously close to sac- rilege. A beautiful and solemn sentence such as the one in question should be treated and uttered only with that fine reverence which necessarily implies a certain exaltation of spirtt. Any use which tends to cheapen it, and above all any use which tends to secure it's being treated In a spirit of levity, is from every standpoint profoundly to be regretted It Is motto which it is indeed well to have inscribed on our great national monuments, in our tenn ples of justice, in our legislative halls and in buildings such as those at West Point and Annapolis--in short, wher- ever it will tend to arouse and inspire lofty emotion in those who look thereon. But it seems to me eminently unwise to cheapen it by use on coins just as it would be to cheapen it by use on postage stamps or in advertise ments."
 No fault can be found with the rev. erence of President Roosevelt's views though one will be little surprised that with all the many things he has to think of he should have thought of this enough to warrant an order which he might have known would have pro- voked bitter comment, The first in- stallment of it came Wednesday when the Episcopal clergymen of the New York diocese voted by large ma jority to petition the President to con- tinue the use of the motto. It will be surprising if other like gatherings do not take advantage of the opportunity to record their objections to the change, not that they have thought very much about it but because the mere act of the change carries to their mind lowering of the Christian character of the country. It is very doubtful if the men who are now pe- titioning the President to renew the old custom ever thought much about its significance. They have taken it all for granted. Nor is there any substan- tial reason to believe that the few who have in jocular mood rung the changes on the motto when the coin in hand has disappointed their pur- chasing instinct did so from any feel ing of intended irreverence. If we were to remove from the immediate ken of men things of sacred interest because they at times yield to the fun making purpose within them there would be reserved for exclusively vis- tied places many of the most stirring phrases in literature.
 From rational point of view it makes very little practical diff SsEsaes whether the coins of the coun-