Evening star., 1925-07-24
W|TTNER CUT COD
AND SWEAR FROM
I OATH IN TREASURY
Special Ruling May Be Asked
to Determine Status of
! AvoWed Atheist.
"DlSRESPECT TO BIBLE"
MAY GO TO CONGRESS
Stephens Studies Bill to Bar Pay
ments to School Heads in
Evolution Fight.

Loren H. Wittner, clerk in the sup
ply division of the Treasury Depart
ment, has entered the Treasury serv
ice three times, 1t was learned TO-DAY
under oaths which were altered from
the prescribed form, which evidently
have escaped the attention of depart
ment officials up to today, and which
may require a special ruling from the
solicitor of the Treasury or the De
partment of Justice as to their
legality.
The question raised today involves
the possibility of any one holding a
Federal position without taking a pre-
scribed oath, and the meaning of the
word Cod as it is employed in the
formal oath.
Treasury Workers Oath.
The oath supposed to be taken by
any one who enters the Treasury EN-
ploy reads as follows:
Il do solemnly aswear Cor affirm
that 1 will suppoft and defend the
Constitution of the United States
against all enemies. foreign and do
mestic that | will bear true faith
and allegiance to the same; that
take this obligation freely. without
any mental reservation or purpose of
evasion. and that I will we'll and
faithfully discharge the duties of the
Office on which 1 am about to enter:
So help me Cod
On the three oaths taken by Witt
ner the word swear" and the words
so help me God" were crossed out
with a pen. He has taken the oath
on entering the service of the Veter-
ans Bureau when it was under the
Jurisdiction of the Treasury, of the
appointments Office and of the supply
department, where he now works.
Case Without Precedent.
The case apparently is without prec,
edent, Treasury officials said today
Chief Harper of the appointment di-
vision of the Treasury expressed as
constituent this morning when he
was asked to look UP Wittner's oaths
and found the words $50 help me
God" crossed out. The papers never
would have been allowed to pass
without an investigation of their le-
gslity, he said, If they had come to
the attention of himself or any other
official Of the division.
Provision Is made In the printing
of the oath itself for striking out the
word swear" for the benefit of mem
bers of religious sects, such as the
Society of Friends, whose faith for
bids them from taking an oath. No
provision is made, however, for cross
ing out $50 help me God" and the
question arises as to whether the
words would not have been placed in
parentheses and an alternative clause
offered If the trainers of the oath
had intended that any one be freed
from making promise in the name
of a Divine Being.
No Decision on Status.
Mr.. Harper today was unable to
pass on the legality of Wittner's act
or the present nature of his status
in the service. He plans to refer the
issue to the solicitor of the Treasury
who may in turn refer 1t to the De-
partment of Justice. Mr.. Harper was
unable to recall any precedents.
One case, it was stated. which may
be pertinent to- the present issue is
that of Walt Whitman, the poet, who
was ousted from the Treasury service
shortly after the Civil War on the
grounds that atheistic tendencies
were shown in Leaves of Grass u
the book upon which rests his fame
as one of Americas greatest poets.
Papers in the Whitman case were
unavailable this morning, having re-
Gently been sent to the Congressional
Library as historical exhibits.
II cannot understand how this mat
ter has escaped our attention" Mr.
Harper said. Evidently it has gone
three times through the hands of all
those who handle employment papers
without being detected. The facts are
that the oath is so much a matter of
form that any one handling such pa
perS would not be apt to read into the
body of 1t unless for some special rea
son and consequently would let il
slip by.
Purely Legal Question.
This becomes purely a legal ques
ton for a ruling by the solicitor OF
the Treasury. 1t is a question as to
whether Wittner has taken the pre-
scribed oath, whether there is a pre-
scribed oath, or whether the oath he
took constitutes any oath at all ac
oording to law
AS soon as the alleged defects IN the
Wittner papers were called to his at
tention there was a hasty conference
between Mr.. Harper, his assistant,
who actually administered the oath to
the clerk, and Elmer L. Trey, chief of
the intelligence division of the De-
partment of Internal Revenue. Witt
ner theoretically is on Ireys pay roll.
although the supply division does not
come under the Bureau of Internal
Revenue in any other respect
The question also arises, it was
brought out. as to whether an avowed
atheist, such as Wittner has publicly
declared himself, could take the pre-
scribed oath with the words $50 help
me God" without taking a false oath,
and this might involve how liberal a
personal Interpretation of the word
God" would be permissible.
William c. Deming, president of the
Civil Service Commission, this morn
ing said that he could recall no case
on record where the wording of the
oath had been questioned hitherto. A
standard oath is furnished by the
Civil Service Commission for use of
all Government departments, but each
department is free to change this as
il sees fit. The Treasury, however,
never has seen fit to make any
changes.
While Treasury officials wondered
as to his status in the service this
morning, it seemed likely that Witt
ner, although his suit for an injunc
ton against the payment of salaries
to Supt. of Schools Frank w. Ballou
and w. p. Hay, head of the biology
and chemistry departments in the
local high schools. on the grounds
that they permitted to be taught mat
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