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

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WASHINGTON—Everyone in this country must have been concerned at the demonstration in Peru against the United States and Vice President Richard M. Nixon, who is our goodwill ambassador.

It has been no secret, of course, that there was anti-American feeling in Peru and that it would be seized upon and played up by the Communists at the time of Mr. Nixon's visit.

But it certainly was not wise for the Vice-President to go against the advice of the people who knew the area and begged him not to try and keep his appointment at the university. Like all young men, however, he wanted to prove his courage. This is understandable but sometimes leads to unfortunate results.

In this case, we must be thankful that a cut and a chipped tooth on the part of someone in the party were the only physically harmful results.

The demonstration certainly will not make people here feel any more kindly disposed towards the Communist element in Peru, but I hope it will not affect the fundamental friendship existing between our two countries. And I am quite sure this friendship also prevails at the student level, among those who are less hot-headed.

The Humane Society of the U.S. has produced a pamphlet designed to urge all of us who love animals, particularly dogs and cats, to try to stop the breeding of so many unwanted puppies and kittens. The poor little things are either done away with at birth or if they do grow up they are left alone to run wild and join the homeless strays who look for food from house to house.

If anyone owns a female cat or dog, he should see that the animal is bred only when he is prepared to find homes, and good ones, for the offspring. If he cannot look after his pet properly in the breeding period, then he should have the animal spayed. It is cruel to contribute to the unwanted population of animals.

A letter to me suggests that if no solution has been found to the ownership of Ellis Island, the people of the U.S., many of whom came here as immigrants and passed through Ellis Island, should contribute to a fund to buy the Island and then build a park.

Then some great artists and sculptors should tell the story of the U.S. with particular emphasis on the contribution of the immigrant. Once created, this could be turned over to the state for care as a historic monument.

My correspondent feels that children visiting such a spot would learn that many nations have contributed to our America and thus would come to understand and appreciate the variety of our heritage, regardless of race or color or creed.

This strikes me as a rather inspiring idea. If enough Americans think well of it, we might petition the Governor of our state to undertake something of the kind.

E.R.

(Copyright, 1958, by United Feature Syndicate, Inc.)


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About this document

My Day by Eleanor Roosevelt, May 12, 1958

Roosevelt, Eleanor, 1884-1962
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Digital edition created by The Eleanor Roosevelt Papers Project The George Washington University 312 Academic Building 2100 Foxhall Road, NW Washington, DC 20007

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MEP edition publlished on June 30, 2008.

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