If You Ask Me
by Eleanor Roosevelt

The establishment of the U.N.—the second effort of the world's people to do away with war.

I don't think that either President Eisenhower or my husband were naïve at all about the Communists. Sometimes it is wise to try to attribute the best of motives to people and occasionally one may be able to make others live up to higher standards. Even though this does not always work there is nothing "naïve" about trying it.

No.

I always invest anything I have left over but I rarely have much!

I campaigned and worked very hard for Alfred E. Smith when he was a candidate for the Presidency. Whether I would do the same for another Roman Catholic candidate would not depend on his religion but on his qualifications as a statesman and a man.

I think the Democrats can turn the tables around and talk about corruption. That was a frequent theme in the last campaign against the Democrats and justifiably so. It is equally justified in this campaign against the Republicans, and they have only been in four years. The farm issue is one that can be taken up, and the whole question of foreign policy needs revision and more imagination and flexibility. The Republicans in turn can say that they have brought about peace and have kept peace. They can say that no one can do better on the farm question or on foreign policy, but they will be on the defensive and not on the offensive.

I was very sorry for them both.

Yes, I can well believe that this can happen in the U.S.A. Welfare in the areas where there are mines is usually not at all adequate. I don't quite understand why your union benefit should come to an end. Perhaps you could make an appeal to Mr. Lewis, and you certainly could make an appeal to the church to which you belong and to your local charities.

I don't think Mr. Truman hurt Mr. Adlai Stevenson. Mr. Truman campaigns in his own way and Mr. Stevenson in his. They appeal to different people in different ways and I don't think they hurt each other.

I think I probably see as much of my children as most mothers do. They all live in the East now except James, and he is in Congress and I see him from time to time. I have always had the theory that too long visits by the older generation with the younger, except where it is an economic necessity, were not very wise, and I would not like to pay long visits to any of my children. Seeing them frequently for short visits and knowing they are well and happy is something on which I count and without that I should certainly be unhappy.

I have 19 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. I keep a book but I frequently forget to put in odds and ends I accumulate through the year. Therefore it would be impossible to answer with any degree of accuracy.

Since my husband's death I have not considered anyone to be the head of my family. Each one of my boys is head of his own family and they are separate family units.

On the whole I would say that American men are more companionable with their children, but that does not mean that the European does not take as much interest. It simply means that this interest shows itself in slightly different ways. I think it is hard to compare situations which depend so largely on the customs of the individual country and the manner of life.

I feel that the Vice-Presidency is not really a very wise post for women to seek as yet. I should prefer to see them in other positions where policy-making is part of their responsibility. I can understand, of course, why women voters have wanted to have a woman named for the Vice-Presidency, and I consider many women in both parties eligible for the nomination. I feel, however, that it would be wisest to seek this post when the country is ready to accept a woman as President.