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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (July 11, 1962)
J2 WEDNESDAY, JULY 11. 1962 MEDFORD MAIL TRIBUNE, MEDFORD. OREGON Extreme Interpretations of Supreme Court Prayer Ruling Rejected American life. Pfeffer empha sized that the court was "try ing to protect, not destroy, of reli- Editor'i Notes Not line it truck down racial segrega tion in public schools In 1954 has the Supreme Court caused America's tradition as much confusion as it did in I giou freedom." Its recent decision on oliicial prayers In schools. In the fol lowing dispatch, three noted constitutional lawyers reject extreme interpretations of the prayer ruling but differ about its precise meaning and scope. By LOUIS CASSELS Washingtpn -rtJPD- Much of the public outcry against the Supreme Court's June 25 prayer decision reflects mis understanding of what the court actually held, according to three noted constitutional lawyers. The three men interviewed by UPI were Philip B. Kur land, professor of constitu tional law at the University of Chicago; Leo Pfeffer, co6nsel of the American Jewish Con gress; and Fr. Charles M. Whelan, S.J., law professor ut Georgetown university, Wash ington, D.C. All are widely regarded as experts on the First Amendment to the Con stitution, which was at issue in the prayer case. Although they differed among themselves as to the precise meaning and scope of the controversial 8-1 ruling, they were of one accord in re jecting some of the extreme interpretations that have been aired recently. The court, they agreed, did not make it a crime for school children to pray of their own volition. It did not forbid mention of the Deity in na tional ceremonies and patrio tic oaths. It did not "repudi- aie America s religious heri tage, "banish God from pub lic me, or decree that gov ernment in this country must henceforth be "atheistic." "I've heard all of those things said about the decision, and they are all quite fool ish," said Kurland. "The truth is that nothing very drastic happened in this par ticular ruling." Fr. Whelan said It was "actually a very' narrow de cision" which will have no revolutionary impact on The three authorities agre ed that the ruling was con cerned with only one ques tion: The constitutionality of officially sponsored religious exercises in public schools. They differed only in their judgments of how far the court went in forbidding such exercises. Fr. Whcian said it didn't go very far at all. He noted that the majority opinion, by Jus tice Hugo L. Black, "laid great stress on the fact that the prayer held unconstitu tional (New York state's 22 word "regents prayer") was composed by state officials." "The majority did not say that mere recital of a prayer in a public school class room would be unconstitu tional," he said. "I think this omission must be taken as de liberate and significant. The key words in the decision arc the court's statement that 'in this country, it is no part of the business of government to compose official prayers for any group of the American people to recite , . .' " Lord's Prayer Banned? Q. What is the effect of the decision on public school pray ers which were not written by state officials? Specifically, how does it apply to the widespread practice of open ing the school day with the Lord's Prayer? A. If a case challenging use of the "Our Father" or Lord's Prayer came before the pre sent justices, I have little doubt that they'd rule it out. But I do not think they have done so in the June 25 deci sion. Pfeffer contended, how ever, that the court clearly in tended to included the Lord's Prayer, and all other official ly prescribed prayers, within its ban. He said the key words of the majority opinion are to be found in the statement that "each separate government in this country should stay out of the business of writing or sanctioning official prayers, and leave that purely religious function to the people them selves and to those the people choose to look to for religious guidance." The phrase, "or sanction ing," he said, definitely in cludes prayers which are pre scribed or authorized by gov ernment officials, even though not composed of them. "The 'regents' prayer' is about as non-sectarian as a prayer can be," he said. "If it is unconstitutional, I do not see how you can possibly justify the use of the Lord's Prayer, which Is indisputably a Christian prayer, taken from the New Testament." Pfeffer also took the view that the majority opinion, by "clear implication," spelled the death knell of all religioui exercises in public schools, including devotional reading of the Bible and religious holi day observances tucn as Christmas or Hanukkah cere monies. Prof. Kurland, author of "Religion and the Law," a major study of Supreme Court rulings on church-state rela tions, staked out middle ground between these two in terpretations. He agreed with Pfeffer that the majority opinion covers the use of the Lord's Prayer as well as prayers especially composed for schools by state officials. "The court held that the machinery of government can not be used to require or en courage the saying of any prayer in a public school," he said. He also was inclined to think that Bible reading will go the same way as prayer when the court takes up, probably at its next term, three pending cases from Pennsylvania, Maryland and Florida which challenge the constitutionality of reading passages of Scripture at the opening of each school day. But he shared Fr. Whelan view that the court dcliberate- !' 3 W""1 ---- i imnnie vtitpnmymnnmmmmmmmmwammm """f --iiir if, nriti """""I downtown ;; LUGGAGE fWh set rnVMi Blue, tin, emm Irjin cut with mirror, over night and pullm.n. Reg. 18.98 12 88 plus tax SPECIAL BUY s FILM 4:$1 Transistor Batteriot Each 25' REVOLUTIONARY NEW WAY TO KEEP YOUR HAIR-DO leak! Ifi milcl This Hm. Ironically linolued Lu wnn Miric luittin idtieres tn Itsrlf (nd nn your rtjirl) with uit lentla touch, No fistcneii nerifJ whil you protect your hair-do H through trtft niht . . . whlla you bathe, dress, work or pitv. 1t' a glamour turban, jnd airy llht. NEVER AGAIN THAT OLD HAIR NET! Prist tojether - shape ln ertie softly over Mr-tlo. With cut fMeners ol any kind , . . lu Wni M 4 Rl r Turban will lay on at all times. maqc Pat Nit KJITI 6 TRANSISTOR RADIO Complete: with Carrying Case, Battery, Ear Phone. Distinctively styled. Ideal for summer pleasure. 18" lue Sixth and Central Open Friday Nights 'Til 9 ly refrained from deciding any more than it had to in the prayer case. And he warned that it is perilous to assume that its future rulings will always be consistent with the apparent logic or philosophy "The court is not unaware of public clamor and reaction to its rulings," he observed. He noted that the court, in the 1948 McCollum case, held "released time" religious classes unconstitutional on the grounds that they involved a "utilization of the tax-supported public school system to aid religious groups to spread their faith." "That decision touched off a national furor comparable to the one we've been having over the prayer decision." he said. Four years later, in the Zorach case of 1952, the court ruled that released time class es were all right provided they were not held on public school property. Since the location of the classes had not been a "major issue" in the earlier ruling, Prof. Kurland said, the Zorach decision can only be viewed as a "retrac tion." He suggested that this his tory is worth bearing in mind in any attempt to guess how the court may apply the logic of its prayer ruling to other manifestations of religious be lief in U. S. life. Q. You say the ruling means that no agency of gov ernment may prescribe any kind of prayers in public schools. What about individ ual teachers? If they want to have classroom prayers, on their own initiative, can they do so? A. In principle, a teacher is an officer of the state, and comes under the same restric tions as the Board of Regents or any official agency. In practice, if there was broad agreement in a community about religious matters, and if the parents of all or most of the children requested the teacher to make some provi sion for voluntary prayers at the start of the day, I can not imagine that anyone would hale her into court for doing so. After all, the police aren't going to be snooping around the class rooms looking for bootleg prayer sessions. ON CRUISE Midshipman Third Class Ralph S. Lobdell, son of Mr. and Mrs. Vincent N. Lobdell, 1007 Murray ave., is partici pating in a midshipmen's summer cruise aboard the at tack aircraft carrier USS Forestal, operating out of Norfolk, Va. The cruise will last from five to seven weeks. All Naval Academy and Navy Reserve Officers' Train ing corps midshipmen partici pate in summer cruises aboard ships as part of the military training adminis tered to the future officers. Gay Buddies si Two more cooks spier the ' broth - add colorful touch to each day! Applique, Mitchcry. 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The towers will feature an elevated road way winding four times around the entire project in ascend ing the spiral. The project will include a school, swimming pool, a small forest and a non-denominational chapel for all faiths. (UPI) Motel Bankruptcy Disrupts Lodging For Seattle. Fair Seattle - ll'PD - Letters were in the mail today to more than 800 depositors who found themselves without lodging .for the Seattle World's Fair when Traveler's Village, a trailer-motel east of Lake Washington became involved in bankruptcy pro ceedings. The action was the result of a two-hour emergency meeting here Monday night of Hatfield Concedes Chances . Restricted Salem - HOT - Gov. Mark Hatfield conceded Tuesday that the value of a proposed fact-finding committee in the northwest iron workers' strike "is definitely restricted from the very beginning if it does not have the support and cooperation of both sides." The iron workers union ac cepted the setting up of such a committee, but contractors dismissed the suggestion as a blind alley to a settlement. Hatfield restated his call for the contractors and union to resume talks "and stay in session until a settlement." Hatfield said the fact find ing committee idea was part of an attempt to "explore every avenue." directors of the World's Fair Corporation. Joseph Gandy, fair president, said the action resulted from a "ground swell' of public support and offers of financial assistance from the business community to underwrite a repayment plan if needed. Many of those who lost de posits totaling $95,000 had been referred to the establish ment by Expo-Lodging Serv ice, the fair's housing coordin ation bureau. Deposits Guaranteed The letter sent out Monday night stated "the fair will guarantee you the amount you paid in deposits through court action" and asked all deposi tors to assign their claims to the fair. Legal action in the case may take considerable time and fair officials decided to pay the depositors so they can carry out their vacation plans. Travelers Village, inc. noti fied the fair June 8 it would be unable to return deposits to about 1,200 persons who had made reservations. Expo-Lodging then station ed a representative on the sits to inform visitors as they ar rived. For three weeks, th fair provided free emergency accommodations for those who had been en route when tha establishment closed, at a cost of $20,000. BRITISH NEED MARINAS London - IUPD - The British boat industry is experiencing the kind of marina shortage that threatened a couple ot years ago to throttle the boat ing boom in the United States. The Duke of Edinburgh, a yachting enthusiast, recently called attention to the problem. OPEN 24 HOURS A DAY! 24-Hour Wrecker Service AAA Rep. Shell Products Courteous Service MECHANIC ON DUTY Weter & Olsen Shell Service Silver Dollar Stamps 1258 S. Riverside 772-908T SHELL 10 Shell dealers list some causes and cures of sounds, smells other symptoms that often puzzle drivers Even if your car's in good condition, it may act up occasionally. When puzzled, consult this chart. It doesn't cover every problem, but it will help with some of the more common ones. ElSlCt DESCRIPTION LIKELY CAUSE WHAT TO DO 1 . Worn or glazed fan belt. f. Replace tlw belt if it lnoks nam. It could break. Ilih-pifchcd squeal when J'OU first 2. Loose fan belt. 2. Have the an belt tension checked. A loose belt may slarl the engine. 3, Water pump seal needs not turn ,l,e gcncrator last enough to charge the battery. lubrication. i. Atld Shell Crmlinz System Protector tn radiator vnter. Throbbing roar. Damaged or worn muffler. Rcpncc mufllcr. Your Shell dealer can do this for you. High-pitched erratic pinging noise- Frra!ic combustion caused Jryrerjheligaje, It contains three anti knock usually lasts Just a tew seconds. giving carbon deposits ingredients One is TCP. This famous Shell additive (Often called wild pine.) that flake off and ignite the works to fireproof combustion deposits that could ' ' fuel too soon. otherwise cause wild ping. 1. Badly worn brake yiiy brake trouble should be checked immediately by Screeching brakes. linings. your Shell dealer. It could be dangerous. If linings are 2. Glazed brake lining. badly worn or glazed, brakes should be relincd soon. Strong gasoline odor n hen you can't r, , , . Let the car sit a minute. Push the accelerator to the floor start the car. don t pump it), then try the starter. I'xhnusl nines. Most noticeable when First, open a window those fumes can make you groggy driving in (own or when your engine Lcjking tail pipe or muffler. fast. Replace damaged part promptly. Note: Alwavshave is idling. exhaust system inspected when your car is lubricated. When cruising, dashboard generator ' V2w;cn m Mu , pUhLfirst station to avoid running battery down. light goes on-or ammeter needle 2' Fauh; SCI or vo,t- '' i'13" hn bclt' Suggestion: Carry a spare belt it continuously shows "discharge." ac rcSulat"r' 0r 'sc con" d sav; 'ou ,imc and troub,e- ncction in electrical system. 2. I lave electrical system inspected to locate the trouble. llrakc pedal action feels peculiar: 1. Pedal feels spongy. 1. Air in brake lines Brakes u-ith these troubles should be fixed immediately. 2. Pedal slowly sinks to floor under 2. Hydraulic fluid leaking Have )our Shell dealer inspect your brake system. pressure. past master cylinder piston. Car pulls In cither side: 1. Water, oil or hydraulic (TJimUwfc. lf you've just driven through water, drive 1. N hen braking. fluid on brake lining, brakes with caution until linings dry. Otherw ise, have brakes out of adjustment. checked soon-it could be dangerous. 2. When cruising. 2. Uneven or low pressure 2. Check tires for correct pressure. Do this soon. Under- in tires. inflation can also cause excessive tire wear. I'ngine temperature suddenly passes 1 B",lcn ,fan ,bclt' (yu pff-fHS 1. Check fan belt. 2. To check coolant the danger point on jour dashboard a"1hc" '''c da,tcr whcn -follmv "csf rulfs' Lct Sincccil down' Rcmovc radi" p.,,, 'his breaks.) ator cap slowly using extreme care to avoid scalding. Add 2. Loss of cooling water. water slowly with engine idling. Check for leaks. Trir fnr SNtrt riM tw fM'tl r.awhr eomaiairuj Ttr it raiirN by C t. rMnt atltJtl. Keep this guide in your glove compartment. r li ci I jnCbk It may come in handy if your car acts uo. - - - .
