Evening star., 1961-12-04
BY MIRIAM OTTENBERG
Star sta n Writer

star STAFF Writer
The Supreme Court today
agreed to consider the consti-
tutionaltv of the reciting of
a 22-word daily prayer in New
York public schools
A petition submitted by par
ents of nine children in four
schools in New Hyde Par';.
N. Y. contends tho Offering
of prayer in schools violates
the Constitutions princiHl" OF
separation Of church and state.
New York courts ruled the
prayer ne"Tissible rs Iona as
parents understood their chill
dren could remain silent or be
excused entirely from ths exer-
else.
Some Parents Protest
Protesting parents-includ-
ing two members Of the Jewish
faith. one member of the Uni
tartan church. one member of
the Society for Ethical Cul-
ture end one nonbeliever-
contended In their request for
Supreme Court review that the
prayer violates the First and
Fourteenth Amendments and
conflicts with prior Supreme
Court decisions.
The prayer involved is this:
Almighty God, we acknowl-
edge our dependence upon
Thee and we beg Thy bless
ings upon us. our parents, our
teachers and our country"
New York States Board of
Regents. the governing body OF
the States public school system,
had recommended to all local
school boards that the prayer
be used daily in opening exer-
cises.
I The New York Court OF Ap-
peals said the lower court ruling
fought by the parents insured
that no pupil need take part or
even be present during the
prayer so that any question of
compulsion was out of the case
/ Not only is this prayer not
a violation of the First Amend
ment," the appellate court said
but a holding that it is such
a violation would be in defiance
of all American history and
such a holding would destroy a
part of the essential foundation
Of the American governmental
structure"
The court said belief and
trust in a Supreme Being has
always been a part of the es-
sence OF American Government
and society. 1t cited the ref
erence to the Diety in the Dec
laration of independence: the
words Of the National Anthem,
TN God is our trust" the motto
on coins, the daily prayers in
Congress, the universal practice
in official oaths of calling upon
God to witness the truth. Off
cial proclamations Of Thanks
giving, the provisions for chap
lains in the armed forces.
directions by Congress for a
national day of prayer and for
the insertion Of the words "un-
der God" in the Pledge of
Allegiance to the Flag and in
Vulnerable solemn utterances by
American Presidents.
3 Decisions Cited
The parents on the one hand
and the jurists on the other
cited three major Supreme
Court decisions to support their
conflicting positions. These
were.
The Everson case, which up
held the statute authorizing
re- endorsement Of parents for
expenses Of bus transportation
to parochial as we'll as public
schools as being merely a
means of providing safe trans
portation and protecting the
general welfare. The impor-
tance of the case lay in its
emphasis that the First Amend
ment was intended to erect "a
wall Of separation between
church and State"
The McCallum case. which
invalidated a released time sys-
tenn under which pupils with
parental permission were given
periods of religious instruc-
tlons on public school premises.
The Zorach case which per-
mitted children to be released
from cchool for relioiolS in.