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

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CLEVELAND—It must have been an interesting conversation that lasted several hours last Sunday between our Secretary of State, John Foster Dulles, and Marshal Tito of Yugoslavia. That they agree that Soviet satellites should be freed is not astonishing. And on that score the parade outside the Soviet United Nations offices in New York, as reported in the newspapers must point up to the Soviet representatives the fact that former political prisoners and escaped nationals of countries that are no longer free, are not going to forget their desire for freedom.

Of course, if those countries on the border of the Soviet Union were to be given a free election it might well be said that with the Soviet armies on their borders freedom would be a rather empty promise. This would depend, however, on whether it became possible to set up force within the United Nations. Then a guarantee by the U.N. to take action anywhere against aggression would have meaning, even where the big countries are concerned.

That is why it is important for us to insist that talks on disarmament go on until some formula is found for gradual disarmament of all nations. This would, of course, necessitate the setting up of some type of strong police force within the U.N. In the long run, it seems to me, this is the best guarantee of freedom for small nations and for peace in the world.

The Supreme Court of the United States is carrying on its policy of recognition of the equality of all our citizens. The latest decision—barring segregation in public playgrounds, golf courses, and beaches—means that the separate but equal facilities for whites and Negroes has no longer any value, since all facilities are open to all persons.

This means that all public facilities are open to all our citizens alike. An individual owning property has a right, of course, to refuse anybody the use of his property. But if it is publicly owned and supported by taxpayers' money it is open to all our citizens.

This seems such a fair and logical position that it is hard to understand why we have had to fight it through the courts up to the Supreme Court, but now that it is decided we must hope that there will be prompt compliance by all states.

It will save a great deal of useless argument and bad feeling if we learn to look upon all our citizens with eyes that are color-blind.

Our state meeting of the American Association for the United Nations in Detroit on Tuesday proved successful and brought forth two very good reports from our chapters in Flint and Kalamazoo. In the evening, under the auspices of the Detroit chapter and in cooperation with the University of Michigan and Wayne University, a meeting was held in Rackman Hall which was filled to overflowing.

The interest in the United Nations everywhere seems to be keener than it was a year ago and our field worker, Miss Ruth Morton, reports that wherever she goes she finds increased interest. This is very encouraging, as I hope in part it is due to the increased activity which the AAUN has been able to generate.

E.R.

(Copyright, 1955, by United Feature Syndicate, Inc.)


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About this document

My Day by Eleanor Roosevelt, November 10, 1955

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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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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