Evening star., 1948-03-22

to In God we trust to be inscribed on such
coins as shall admit OF such motto"
But President Theodore Roosevelt, taking ad-
vantage Of the omission Of q definite provision
for the continuance Of 1t In the Revised Stat
utes adopted by the Act Of June 20, 1874, de-
cided to eliminate the motto. At his request,
Augustus St. Gaudens omitted I'm God we
trust" from his designs for the new gold coins
Of 1907.
MY own feeling in the matter" Mr.. Roose-
velt wrote, "is due to my very nrm conviction
that to put such . motto on coins, or to use
1t in any kindred manner, not only does no
good, but does positive harm, and Is in effect
irreverence, which comes dangerously close to
sacrilege. A beautiful and solemn sentence
such as the one in question should be treated
and uttered only with that fine reverence
which necessarily implies q certain exaltation
Of spirit. Any use which tends to cheaper it,
and above all, any use which tends to secure
its being treated In . spirit Of levity. is from
every standpoint profoundly to be regretted -
I'm all my life have never heard any
human being speak reverently Of this motto on
the coins = = but have literally hundreds Of
times heard 1t used as an occasion Of and
incitement to, the sneering ridicule which it is
above all things undesirable that 20 beautiful
and exalted q phrase should excite. For ex-
ample, throughout the long contest on
the free coinage question, the existence Of
this motto on the coins was q constant source
Of jest and ridicule; and this was unavoidable.
Everyone must remember the innumerable
cartoons and articles based on phrases like, In
God We Trust for the Eight Cents In God
We Trust for Short Weight In God We Trust
for the Thirty-seven Cents We Do Not Pay
and 50 forth and 80 forth"
Protests Against Kooseveits Attitude.
But the people did not agree with the Presi-
dent. Soon . storm Of criticism developed. Mr..
Roosevelt was called IAN intidel" Conventions
Of Presbyterians In Cincinnati and Episco-
palians in New York passed resolutions Of
complaint. The President tried to stem the
tide by declaring: IF Congress alters the law
and directs me to replace on the coins the
sentence In question, the direction will be Inn
mediately put into effect; but I very earnestly
trust that the religious sentiment Of the coun-
try, the spirit of reverence in the country, will
prevent any such action being taken"
Mr.. Roosevelts position, it seems, was all the
more resented because he dared to defend 1t.
The House Committee on Coinage, Weights
and Measures reported: THE appearance Of
the new coins brought forth from all parts Of
the country so many requests from individual
citizens, associations, religious, secular and
patriotic organizations, and such comment
from the press, rs to create . pronounced and
vigorous demand for the restoration Of the
motto" On February 49, 1908, Representative
william Brown Mckinley Of Illinois introduced
. resolution intended to carry this sentiment
into law. The resultant Act was passed on May
1s, 1908. It provides that I'm God we trust"
4
and silver coins Of said denominations as here
tofore"
The motto was used In the Lincoln penny
design of 1909 which still Is current. 1t ap-
peared on the dime in 1915 and on the Jener-
so,, ,,ick>J hy Are Dns<' dAcix{nY, in 1o3a