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

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NEW YORK.—Red China now has asked for reciprocity on United States newsmen entering that country in exchange for allowing U.S. reporters into Red China. This permission the State Department has refused to give.

This reciprocity would seem to be entirely fair, and the same rules that cover our newsmen in China should cover the Chinese newsmen in the U.S.

This session of Congress is coming to an end and it is evident that by Saturday Congress will have voted on the civil rights bill, foreign aid and perhaps on the bill concerning the Federal Bureau of Investigation files.

I shall be glad if the civil rights bill goes through, for I think it is a step forward. Some of us will want more than the bill provides, others less, but at least it represents a move ahead.

I have not been able to follow the progress in Congress of HR 1159, sponsored by Representative Eugene J. Keogh of New York. This bill will provide social security coverage for American employes of foreign government offices in the U.S.

If this legislation has passed, I am glad; if it has failed, I hope it will come up in the next Congress, and I am writing about it because I think its passage would correct a real injustice.

At present these employes are subject to all American taxes, including the income tax, but because foreign governments cannot be taxed, they are excluded from social security coverage.

You might say that foreign governments should bring over all the people they wish to employ here. It is an advantage, however, to us to have this avenue of employment open to our citizens. And I think it is a hardship for them not to be permitted the same social security coverage as other workers in this country.

It is gratifying to hear that a memorial day for Ruth Bryan Rhode will be observed on October 6 at the Starr Commonwealth for Boys at Albion, Mich. A memorial fund is being raised to help students of the commonwealth obtain advanced education.

Ruth Bryan Rhode was one of the great women of our country—ambassador to Copenhagen, member of Congress for a number of years, and a great influence because of her ability as a writer and speaker. She was interested primarily in peace in the world, and many of her speeches were on this subject. They left a deep impression on her listeners.

Those of us who knew her as a public personage will never forget her charm, the warmth of her friendship and the great interest she had in the learning of people to get on together. It is fitting that there should be a memorial in her honor.

Many years ago Gladstone said the Constitution of the United States was one of the greatest works ever produced by the hand of man.

I have just been sent a recording of the Constitution which cites the original words—although, I regret to say, not all of them. A musical score accompanying it gives the themes of certain patriotic songs.

The record is well worth having, and I should think that schools and libraries would find it valuable. It also might be something which many homes would want to use in the observance of patriotic days, reminding children of the great significance of these days.

E.R.

(Copyright, 1957, by United Feature Syndicate, Inc.)


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About this document

My Day by Eleanor Roosevelt, August 28, 1957

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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