School Prayers

For about 200 years, public schools started each day with an opening prayer. During that time, there was very little crime and morals were on a much higher plane than today.

Sun columnist Mike Littwin said things such as, "What's so special about having prayer in school?" My opening statement above answers his question. He also says that "school prayer violated the First Amendment, which prohibits state-established religion."

I would like to know how a moment of silence could be compared to establishing a religion?

Walter S. Kenton Sr.

Towson

No Draft Dodger

Within the usual dreary litany of President Clinton's ills, J. Edward Johnston Jr. (letter, Sept. 9) continues to perpetuate a fiction about Mr. Clinton's activities during the Vietnam War.

To charge him with draft-dodging is patent nonsense. I was not aware that he burned his draft card or fled the country to escape induction into the armed services.

He did protest the war, as many of us did, and wasn't ashamed to voice his views, even while abroad (he was a student at Oxford at the time).

Our erstwhile vice president, on the other hand, did support the war, and promptly joined a well-protected National Guard unit. In fact, it is safe to say that Mr. Clinton spent no less time in Vietnam than Dan Quayle, Newt Gingrich and Rush Limbaugh combined.

Mr. Clinton has incredible responsibility as commander-in-chief and must exercise his military power carefully. In any event, he must not let criticism of his earlier anti-war stand divert him from making important decisions.

An invasion of Haiti will undoubtedly cause casualties. Hopefully, these will be fewer in number than those suffered in Desert Storm, where we halted (but hardly eliminated) an aggressor who, during the past two administrations, actually enjoyed our country's support.

Kurt R. Keydel, Jr.

Severna Park

Floral Highway

What a delight to drive on I-83, north of Shawan Road and see the successive swathes of wild flowers someone has planted in the median, and on the northbound side at one spot.

I don't know who to thank but I do thank whoever is responsible. It is soothing and uplifting and a joy to tired eyes.

Margaret G. Christy

White Hall

Cowardice over the Confederate Flag

Political cowardice took over the Cumberland City Council on Aug. 16, when this body of spineless politicians, without even the courtesy or formality of a recorded democratic vote, went against a majority of Cumberland citizens as expressed in a recent survey, as well as unanimous letters to the editor to the Cumberland Times-News, and decided that the honorable and historic battle flag of the brave men that served the Confederate States of America during the War for Southern Independence BTC should be removed from the City Hall rotunda in Cumberland.

This raises the question; on what other issues is the Cumberland City Council acting in such a high-handed and disgraceful manner?

The mayor and City Council caved in to threats and intimidation from a handful of NAACP members, who now have a veto over the heritage of all Americans, including the heritage of the citizens of Cumberland.

The NAACP can now, it seems, with impunity censor our nation's history to suit its own present day political and social goals.

I assure you it will not stop with this temporary victory. It is the stated purpose to eradicate from our national life all symbols of the Confederate nation, including Confederate monuments, songs and, in at least one case, the graves of our dead.

The Sons of Confederate Veterans is a national patriotic and historic organization made up of descendants of members of the armed forces of the Confederate States of America.

It is neither political nor sectional, and is not affiliated with any other organization. We have, by two resolutions passed at national conventions, condemned any racist group that would misuse the Confederate flag as a symbol of hatred against any American.

Our sole purpose is to honor our Confederate ancestors and their leaders, preserve Confederate graves, monuments, war relics and symbols and present the Southern perspective on the history of the War Between the States.

It was in that spirit that the Sons of Confederate Veterans made every good faith effort to reason with the mayor and the Cumberland City Council to retain the display of the Confederate flag along with other historic flags in the City Hall collection.

All this was to no avail. Although the Confederate flag had been on display for almost 20 years, along with a number of other historic flags that had flown over Cumberland at one time or another, and some or all of them were a gift to the city from a now deceased Cumberland citizen, these people had already made up their minds.

They chose to single out one of these historic flags and removed only the Southern Cross. There apparently was also some discussion of placing this one historic flag, but not the others, in a local museum. The mayor and City Council should know that our heritage is not subject to such cheap political compromises.

The Sons of Confederate Veterans is a strictly hereditary society. We have no political agenda and certainly no racial agenda whatever, but we will continue to speak out and defend our heritage when it is distorted or maligned by any person or group.

Those that seek respect for their heritage must learn to give the same to others.

The Confederate flag will fly again in Cumberland in the near future, when the Sons of Confederate Veterans marks with a dignified and appropriate ceremony the graves of six of our honored dead in that city.

The fair minded citizens of Cumberland will be invited to join us in that ceremony. The mayor and City Council will not be invited. I ask those fair minded Cumberland citizens, in the name of these men, to see that this outrage is overturned and the Confederate battle flag is returned to its place of honor in the City Hall.

P. James Kurapka

Catonsville

Pratt Branches Change Hours

After reading your Sept. 2 article, "Waverly branch cuts hours," I felt the public needed some clarification about the reorganization taking place within the Enoch Pratt Free Library's branch system.

I feel that it is very important for the public to know that the readjustment of hours occurring at the Waverly branch is only a part of a much larger system-wide reallocation to reduce the disparity of hours of service currently available to the various neighborhoods served by the library's branch system.

The reorganization plan equalizes hours of service across the city on a district-wide basis, while restoring all 28 library branches to full service operations.

Those branch communities that are expected to experience an increase of services and/or hours of operation include Clifton Park, Cherry Hill, Hollins/Payson, Pimlico and Washington Village.

Because of staffing constraints, however, these changes must be phased in rather than enacted all at once. The changes taking place at Waverly are simply the first part of this overall process.

Regarding the readjustment of Waverly's hours of public service from four nights a week to two nights a week, this was a recommendation made by the Waverly branch library staff based on staffing constraints and their assessments of how the local community currently uses the branch facility.

We will be working with the Waverly branch staff to revisit those hours in light of the needs of working families and students who have made their concerns known to the Pratt administration.

In our continuing efforts to provide public library services fairly around the neighborhoods of the city, the Pratt Library calls for the continued support and understanding of all citizens and taxpayers.

ames Welbourne

Baltimore

The writer is the assistant director of the Enoch Pratt Free Library.