Letter from Eleanor Roosevelt to Harry S. Truman

UNITED STATES DELEGATION TO THX GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE UNITED NATIONS London, January 12, 1946. Dear Mr. President, I want to thank you very much for the opportunity you have given me be being part of this Delegation. It is a great privilege and by only fear is that I shall not be able to make enough of a contribution. I do feal, however, that you were very wise in thinking that anyone connected with ay husband could, perhaps, by their presence here keep the level of his ideals. Just being here, perhape, is a good reminder, which I think is what you had in =ind. I feel that the meeting is starting off with good feeling though there was a little difference of opinion over the election of the President of the Assembly. I an sending a little note to General Eisenhower about a group of men who came to see me, representing the soldiers in this ares. They were very well behaved and, I thought, very logical. They said that the men with points below 45 realized that they had to stay here and were entirely reconciled; those with more than 60 had gone home; but those in betareen were very anxious to have a definite policy announced. A great many of them feel that more men are kept in the area than are really needed for the work and that this is done by officers who find their jobs not too unpleasant and like to have a good number of men under then. One boy said he would give anything to do one good day's work. I have had that said to de by a num- ber of men, and written to me by 8 number of them; and of course their living conditions are not as pleasant as the officers'. I think, however, if it is possible for the Mar Department to give them some kind of & definite answer as to the plans made for bringing them home, it would make years being in a longer great the in than Army; difference. the that Pacific, he had and volunteered One was but now boy he told had anxious for been me a he to here year, had get a here, home. been great six after They deal do feel that there is some injustice in the way people are sent home and that I know is difficult to eliminate in any great big undertaking. But certainly a clear and definite policy could now be formulated, and therefore in my note to General Eisenhower I an giving him the same information I - giving you in this letter. They are good boys but if