Roscoe Drummond (1902–1983) was a 20th-century American

political journalist Political journalism is a broad branch of journalism that includes coverage of all aspects of politics and political science, although the term usually refers specifically to coverage of civil governments and political power. Political journa ...

, editor, and syndicated Washington columnist, known for his long association with ''

The Christian Science Monitor ''The Christian Science Monitor'' (''CSM''), commonly known as ''The Monitor'', is a nonprofit news organization that publishes daily articles in electronic format as well as a weekly print edition. It was founded in 1908 as a daily newspaper ...

'' and 50-year syndicated column "State of the Nation", serving as director of information for the

Marshall Plan The Marshall Plan (officially the European Recovery Program, ERP) was an American initiative enacted in 1948 to provide foreign aid to Western Europe. The United States transferred over $13 billion (equivalent of about $ in ) in economic re ...

, and co-founding

Freedom House Freedom House is a non-profit, majority U.S. government funded organization in Washington, D.C., that conducts research and advocacy on democracy, political freedom, and human rights. Freedom House was founded in October 1941, and Wendell Wil ...

Background

James Roscoe Drummond was born January 13, 1902, in

Theresa, New York Theresa is a town in Jefferson County, New York, United States. The population was 2,905 at the 2010 census, up from 2,414 in 2000. The town is named after Theresa La Ray, the daughter of an original landowner. The town of Theresa contains a v ...

, to John Henry and Georgia Estella (Peppers) Drummond. In 1924, he received his degree in journalism from

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...

Career

On the same day he received his degree in 1924, Drummond joined the staff of ''

''. He worked as a reporter, assistant city editor, assistant to executive editor and chief editorial writer between the years 1924 and 1930. He was European editorial manager (1930–33); general news editor and member of editorial board (1933–34); and executive editor (1934–40). In 1940 he was named chief of the bureau in Washington, D.C., a position he held until 1953. Drummond took a leave to serve as European director of information for the

(1949–1951) with the

Economic Cooperation Administration The Economic Cooperation Administration (ECA) was a U.S. government agency set up in 1948 to administer the Marshall Plan. It reported to both the State Department and the Department of Commerce. The agency's first head was Paul G. Hoffman, a fo ...

in Paris. A founding member of

in 1941, he was a member of the board of trustees (1962–67) and served as its vice-chair. From 1953 to 1955 he was chief of the Washington bureau of the ''

New York Herald Tribune The ''New York Herald Tribune'' was a newspaper published between 1924 and 1966. It was created in 1924 when Ogden Mills Reid of the ''New-York Tribune'' acquired the ''New York Herald''. It was regarded as a "writer's newspaper" and competed ...

''.(James) Roscoe Drummond. ''

Contemporary Authors Online ''Contemporary Authors'' is a reference work which has been published by Gale since 1962. It provides short biographies and bibliographies of contemporary and near-contemporary writers. ''Contemporary Authors'' does not have selective inclusion cr ...

'',

Gale A gale is a strong wind; the word is typically used as a descriptor in nautical contexts. The U.S. National Weather Service defines a gale as sustained surface winds moving at a speed of between 34 and 47 knots (, or ).

Legacy

Drummond is best known for a political column he wrote for more than 50 years, called "State of the Nation". Syndicated by the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'', the column was carried by 150 newspapers in the U.S. and abroad, and reflected Drummond's Republican point of view. He began writing the column in 1951, succeeding

Joseph C. Harsch Joseph C. Harsch (May 25, 1905 – June 3, 1998) was an American newspaper, radio, and television journalist. He spent more than sixty years writing for the ''Christian Science Monitor'' and at the time of his departure from his stationing i ...

; he stopped writing the column in 1981 after he was injured in an automobile accident.

Works

He was co-author (with Gaston Coblentz) of ''Duel at the Brink'' (1960), a book about Secretary of State

John Foster Dulles John Foster Dulles (, ; February 25, 1888 – May 24, 1959) was an American diplomat, lawyer, and Republican Party politician. He served as United States Secretary of State under President Dwight D. Eisenhower from 1953 to 1959 and was briefly ...

. Drummond was writing his memoirs and a mystery novel at the time of his death at the New Jersey nursing home where he had lived since his car accident in 1981.

References

External links

Finding Aid, Roscoe Drummond Papers
at

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

Roscoe Drummond Papers
at

* 1902 births 1983 deaths Journalists from New York (state) Syracuse University alumni People from Theresa, New York 20th-century American non-fiction writers The Christian Science Monitor people 20th-century American journalists American male journalists 20th-century American male writers {{US-journalist-stub