LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: ONE TIME WAS ALL SCHOOL CHILDREN KNEW STORY OF EASTER

To the Editor:

I am so pleased with your editorial on Saturday, March 26, in regards to the real meaning of the season of Easter. It truly tells what Easter is all about. This is of course a subject that was taught in ALL schools in the early history of our country. In fact, the first group schools in the United States were Catholic. Because of all the Protestants in the country, they did not want their children educated in the Catholic religion, so they started their owns schools, which gradually became the "public schools" of today. A good many of the colleges started in this country were also Christian like Yale, Harvard and Princeton.

An early "primer" that was used in the schools was the McDuffy Reader, which was Christian oriented, and also, the Bible was an early learning tool for these schools. It is truly amazing how far we have come. Through various prominent atheist people in the hierarchy of the public schools, Christianity is gradually being driven out.

In addition to the schools going secular and anti-Christian, so is the public domain. In 1776, 98 percent of all the people in the United States were Christian with the other 2 percent Jewish. There was a smattering of other religions and atheists.

There does seem to be an undercurrent going today, as witnessed by your editorial and on the same page a column by Rep. Bill Emerson regarding prayer in schools. Also, there is an effort on the part of the children in the schools to get prayer and Bible studies back in to the schools. The Supreme Court has ruled that this is acceptable as long as the students themselves initiate the action, and this includes Baccalaureate ceremonies.

Congratulations to you for the editorial. Keep up the good work!

RALPH E. FLORI, Sr.

Cape Girardeau