The Eleanor Roosevelt Papers, Digital Edition > My Day
My Day by Eleanor Roosevelt

      

HYDE PARK, Friday—A lady has written me a slightly critical note from Des Moines, Iowa. She failed to sign her name, simply identifying herself as "A woman reader of all the news." However, she did not read very carefully what I recently wrote about Dr. Ralph Bunche of the United Nations Trusteeship Council.

She says that the investigation and clearance of Dr. Bunche by the loyalty board which investigates American employees in the U.N. was a routine matter. As a matter of fact, though the great majority of employees were cleared quickly, Dr. Bunche's case was held up ten months because of accusations made by two ex-Communists—accusations which were proved untrue but which meant he was under a cloud all that time. Such a situation is a strain for anyone, no matter how loyal he is or how clear his conscience. I do not think Dr. Bunche should have been subjected to this.

I hope that the anonymous letter-writer will take note of the fact that it is the methods of investigation that I object to. Most of these investigations seem to me to do more harm than good.

I have had an interesting letter from a history class in Modesto High School in Modesto, California. They write that they have been making a thorough study of the question, "How We Can Avoid an H-Bomb War with Russia." They give me their conclusions, and I think my readers might be interested in these.

They feel: (1) We must continue to expand all service organizations at home and abroad in order to help people help themselves. (2) We must strive to make religion a worldwide practice, and understand and tolerate the views of others, both at home and abroad. (3) We must realize what has caused wars in the past and that the same things may be happening today. (4) We must keep the United Nations a sounding board for world opinion and try to maintain its original purpose of preventing aggression and maintaining peace.

(5) We must be prepared militarily at all times at any cost. (6) We must keep our resources in check, for behind any war in the future will be our resources. (7) Education on our foreign policy should begin as early as the grammar-school level.

These are interesting conclusions. But if they are to be implemented, they mean an acceptance by the people of the United States of a considerable amount of sacrifice. I am not quite sure what these young people mean by point 2. Are we to strive for a similar practice of religion throughout the world or simply for greater spiritual development in all nations? The latter would seem to me easier of achievement and wiser in the long run.

E.R.

(WORLD COPYRIGHT, 1954, BY UNITED FEATURE SYNDICATE, INC. REPRODUCTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART PROHIBITED.)


Names and Terms Mentioned or Referenced

Persons
Geographic
  • Hyde Park (Dutchess County, N.Y., United States) [ index ]


About this document

My Day by Eleanor Roosevelt, June 12, 1954

Roosevelt, Eleanor, 1884-1962
[ ERPP bio | LC | VIAF | WorldCat | DPLA | Wikidata | SNAC ]

Digital edition created by The Eleanor Roosevelt Papers Project The George Washington University 312 Academic Building 2100 Foxhall Road, NW Washington, DC 20007

  • Brick, Christopher (Editor)
    [ VIAF | ORCID ]
  • Regenhardt, Christy (Associate Editor)
    [ ISNI ]
  • Black, Allida M. (Editor)
    [ VIAF | ISNI ]
  • Binker, Mary Jo (Associate Editor)
    [ VIAF | ORCID ]
  • Alhambra, Christopher C. (Electronic Text Editor)
    [ VIAF | ORCID ]

Digital edition published 2008, 2017 by
The Eleanor Roosevelt Papers Project

Available under licence from the Estate of Anna Eleanor Roosevelt.

Published with permission from the Estate of Anna Eleanor Roosevelt.

MEP edition publlished on June 30, 2008.

TEI-P5 edition published on April 28, 2017.

XML master last modified on May 2, 2022.

HTML version generated and published on May 3, 2022.

Transcription created from a photocopy of a UFS wire copy of a My Day column instance archived at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library.
TMs, AERP, FDRL