Mrs. Roosevelt

On Eleanor Roosevelt's seventieth birthday, eight years ago, the Washington Post published a congratulatory cartoon. In the Herblock drawing, a mother is pointing out the Statue of Liberty to her very small son. "Sure, I know who that is, mom," says the son. "That's Mrs. Roosevelt."

It was a fitting tribute. For many people in all countries she has been a symbol of this country's best hopes and worthiest beliefs. Mrs. Roosevelt's good sense, her dedication to the bettering of the world, her sympathy for the sufferings of man, and her trust that the future could be a decent time in which to live, have not always been properly echoed by the rest of us. But while she lived, it was never really possible to forget that social justice is part of America's obligation to the age that is waiting before, or that life itself is a noble under-taking. Her passing is a grievous loss.