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

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HYDE PARK, Monday—There is a bill before the Interior and Insular Affairs Committee of the Senate, of which Sen. Joseph C. O'Mahoney is chairman, that would create a national trust to take over buildings of historical interest and manage them, thereby preserving them and adding to the store of historical interest in our country.

For instance, this trust would be able to take over an old tavern which might have many historic associations. The group could continue to run it, but at the same time it could restore it, look up its history and preserve it for future generations.

There probably are at the present time quite a number of old and historically interesting houses that have been allowed to deteriorate rapidly simply because it was nobody's business to find them and take care of them. Once it is known that there is a national trust to which these places of interest or monuments of any kind may be turned over, there will be plenty of people availing themselves of this opportunity.

There is no appropriation that goes with this bill. It is simply the creation of a trust. This trust may receive donations or develop a variety of ways to become self-sustaining, but as these monuments would be of historic interest it is well to have some connection with the government.

The historian acting as executive secretary of this organization, Fred Rath, has been in the Interior Department for a long time. It is because of the interest of the Interior Department in the new program that Mr. Rath was released to help in getting it started.

I congratulate them on the good start they have made and hope the program will develop rapidly.

I was sent a page from the Congressional Record the other day in which the Hon. Thomas S. Gordon had a prayer for peace reproduced. The prayer was written by Robert Gale, founder of the International Peace Church. Mr. Gale feels that "we can have peace if we pray for it." The last paragraph of his prayer reads:

"No matter what your creed you are a believer in the end of all war; outlaw it forever by praying in your house of worship, or in your own home if you wish. But pray every day; do a service to your religion and to your country; pray only for the peace that will surely come."

The suggestion is that we stop praying for anything else and concentrate daily in praying for peace.

I doubt whether wars can cease until individuals learn the Christ-like spirit of really loving their fellow men. It probably would be extremely helpful if each of us prayed for the ability "to love those that hate us." If we can attain peace in our hearts and love for our neighbor, we may hope someday to attain peace in the world.

E. R.

(WORLD COPYRIGHT, 1949, BY UNITED FEATURE SYNDICATE, INC., REPRODUCTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART PROHIBITED.)


Names and Terms Mentioned or Referenced

Persons
  • Gale, Robert [ index ]
         American editor and publisher, founder of International Peace Church
  • Gordon, Thomas S., 1893-1959 [ index ]
         US representative from Illinois
         [ LC | VIAF | Wikidata | SNAC ]
  • Rath, Frederick L. [ index ]
         American historian
         [ LC | VIAF | SNAC | FAST ]
Geographic
  • Hyde Park (Dutchess County, N.Y., United States) [ index ]


About this document

My Day by Eleanor Roosevelt, July 26, 1949

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)
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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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