'In God We Trust' showed U.S. as God-fearing nation

'In God We Trust' showed U.S. as God-fearing nation
EDITOR
Perhaps we should take & quot;In God We Trust & quot; off of our currency.
In 1861, the Secretary of the Treasury, Salmon P. Chase received a letter from Rev. M. R. Watkinson in which he stated "One fact touching our currency has hitherto been seriously overlooked. I mean the recognition of the Almighty God in some form on our coins.
"You are probably a Christian. What if our Republic were not shattered beyond reconstruction? Would not the antiquaries of succeeding centuries rightly reason from our past that we were a heathen nation? & quot;
Mr. Chase then wrote a letter to James Pollock, director of the Mint at Philadelphia. In it he said, "Dear Sir: No nation can be strong except in the strength of God, or safe except in His defense. The trust of our people in God should be declared on our national coins."
Congress passed the Act of April 22, 1864; hence "In God We Trust" first appeared on the two-cent coin and later on all coinage.
The same reasoning that Rev. Watkinson then used should perhaps be used today. Keeping in mind the current moral condition of our country, from our willingness to accept the actions of the last United States president on down to a regular juvenile delinquent, the preponderance of pornography, abortion, drug abuse, divorce, adultery, etc.
& quot;Would not the antiquaries of succeeding centuries rightly reason from our past that we were not a heathen nation? & quot; We have turned our backs on God's absolutes, yet we have & quot;In God We Trust & quot; on all of our currency.
Perhaps & quot;In God We Trust & quot; should be removed from our currency.
JOHN E. LARSON
Salem
7th Ward Coalition came up with playground idea
EDITOR:
I'm writing in regards to a letter in the June 30 Vindicator. The writer thanked Mayor McKelvey for the new playground Field. I agree with her that Mayor Mc Kelvey listened to the people of the 7th Ward by opposing the building of a plaza at the Ipes Field site. However, the vision of having a playground at Ipes Field originated with the citizens of the 7th Ward Coalition, especially Marty Novotny and supporters.
JANICE ROVNAK
Youngstown
Vindicator should leave Rep. Traficant alone
EDITOR:
I say leave Jim Traficant alone. He was robbed at his trial.
You are supposed to be tried by a jury of your peers. There was nobody there from his district.
Where was the proof of his accepting bribes? Because others said he did it?
Come on now. They would say that just to get lighter sentences themselves. The government has been going after Traficant for a long time because he tells it the way it is. He doesn't back down from anything.
What about the people that he has helped in his district? I know of a couple of them, and I know there were a lot more.
Let's face it. He defended himself and won, so he couldn't win again. It would really look bad for our government.
Come on now.He isn't as bad as they want everyone to believe. Find something or someone else to bother for a while.
VIRGINIA BLISS
Youngstown