Letter to the Chairman, Committee for Public Education, Charlottesville, Virginia.

[ Released September 25, 1958. Dated September 24, 1958 ]

Dear Mr. Rolston:

Thank you for your telegram of September seventeenth.

I deeply regret the action of Virginia and Arkansas in closing schools that are subject to integration orders of the federal Courts. The direct consequences to the children in those schools and the eventual consequences to our Nation could be disastrous. Their education seemingly has no present prospect of early resumption. for this cessation, they are given a reason which is contrary to one of the generally accepted basic ideals of our country.

Most of us in the United States, as part of our religious faith, believe that all men are equal in the sight of God. Indeed, our forefathers enshrined this belief in the Declaration of Independence as a self-evident truth. Just as we strive to live up to our fundamental convictions, we constantly strive to achieve this ideal of the equality of man. We had been making progress--substantial progress--toward that goal. The closing of the schools, however, represents a material setback not only in that progress, but in what we have come to regard as a fundamental human right--the right to a public education.

I fervently hope that soon the schools will reopen and that progress toward our goal will resume.

Sincerely,

DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER