Transcription of Letter
November 18, 1954
Honorable Richard M. Nixon
Vice-President of the United States
Washington, D.C.
My dear Mr. Vice President:
Though it has not yet been made public, one of America's greatest and most courageous women, Miss Helen Keller, will leave New York early in February 1955, to conduct a 40,000-mile goodwill tour of conditions among the blind, the deaf, and the deaf-blind.
Under our sponsorship, Miss Keller will travel to Scotland, England, India, Pakistan, Burma, the Philippines and Japan.
As you may know, Helen Keller is now approaching her seventy-fifth birthday, and it is likely this will be the last in world travels which, under our sponsorship, have taken her five times around the globe. Wherever she has gone, she has brought new hope to the healthy and the sick alike, and new respect for America.
As our way of wishing her Godspeed, we are hoping that her departure may be the occasion for a spontaneous expression of warmth and approval from people in many lands and from all walks of life.
Miss Keller and our Foundation would be deeply honored to have you contribute to this genuine tribute to a great and good lady.
Certainly we know what a busy schedule you must maintain. But we earnestly hope that you may find a few moments to write Miss Keller, or to send her a telegram wishing her well on a difficult and important journey.
Because all of us are deeply interested in the promotion of real friendship based on understanding between the nations of the world, I feel you must already know the immeasurable good which has flowed from Miss Keller's previous world travels.
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Her forthcoming journey, in a large sense, is her most important one. For it concentrates on an area of the world in which the United States desperately needs friends and allies in the fight against totalitarian ideologies.
And I feel you will agree with me that the genuine friendship and good feeling engendered by Miss Keller in her travels can only speed us toward that worthwhile end.
Letters and telegrams should be addressed to Miss Keller and marked to the attention of the undersigned. They should arrive no later than December 15, and will be opened and read during a testimonial dinner for Miss Keller, which our Foundation is sponsoring.
We sincerely look forward to hearing from you. Until then, we remain,
Cordially,
AMERICAN FOUNDATION FOR OVERSEAS BLIND, INC.
William Fisher Jr.
Director of Public Information
WF:ip
