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

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BAYSIDE, N.Y..—It was interesting to note that Communist leaders in the Russian satellites of Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria and East Germany have supported Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev in his position that war between the Communist and capitalist worlds is not inevitable.

This, of course, differs from that of the Chinese Communists—which is the real orthodox position of Communist doctrine, namely, that the whole world must be Communist or there can be no peace. The People's Republic of China follows the line that we are aggressive toward the Soviet Union and its people, offering as proof our bases on the perimeter of the Communist world. But they would never give the reason these bases were established.

It is possible that this outline of Premier Khrushchev's position acknowledges that times have changed since Nikolai Lenin laid down his doctrines and that this more reasonable stand, proclaimed in public as it was, may prove to be a really important milestone in the relationship between the Communist and non-Communist worlds.

I have a feeling Poland will join the other satellites in supporting this new position. Albania is the only Communist country I do not feel I know enough about to determine what her position will be.

The Soviet Premier's speech draws clear lines of difference between Communist China and the Soviet Union. These may largely be attributed to the passage of time, for the Soviets have had contacts with the outside world longer than have the Chinese Communists and know more about the advantages of coexistence. It will be interesting to watch developments in the future.

I am sure that many people were highly relieved and grateful for Mayor Robert Wagner's pronouncement on the request of George Lincoln Rockwell of Arlington, Va., who says he leads the American Nazi party. Mr. Rockwell had requested the right to hold a rally in New York City's Union Square on July 4, and Mayor Wagner said the guarantee of free speech did not cover incitement to riot and this rally would certainly lead to disorder and bloodshed.

Even Mr. Rockwell's visit to the State Supreme Court building, where he appeared at a hearing in Justice A. Luciana's court to defend his application for a rally permit, created such a commotion that the police had to guard him and take him out by a side door. No small group, it seems to me, has a right to insist on a public rally in a public square when there is such violent opposition from so many people.

It is not merely that this group is considered anti-Negro and anti-Jewish that makes the Mayor's decision important. Certainly veterans' organizations must be outraged that we have an American group which supports the type of thinking against which so many of our boys fought in World War II and, in consequence, so many died.

E.R.

(Copyright, 1960, by United Feature Syndicate, Inc.)


Names and Terms Mentioned or Referenced

Geographic
  • BAYSIDE (N.Y., United States) [ index ]


About this document

My Day by Eleanor Roosevelt, June 25, 1960

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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