Eleanor Roosevelt – My Day (1942)

83

April 6, 1942

Hyde Park, New York – (Sunday)
I had an unusual experience Friday. I lunched with Mrs. Kermit Roosevelt with no other objective in view than to meet a few friends. It seemed almost incredible that we were not gathered together to discuss some particular subject, instead of just enjoying each other’s company.

Immediately after lunch, I went over to the Brooklyn Naval Hospital for a brief visit with our son, for he hopes to be out of the hospital by Sunday and to go to the country. The doctors want him to be in the sun for a little while, since country air and sunlight are good antidotes for any germs. Later, I caught the train for Hyde Park and spent a peaceful evening at the cottage.

Yesterday morning, we visited some of our neighbors. All families lead uncertain lives these days. They are constantly trying to adjust to new conditions. One of our neighbors depends on a gas station and a small lunch room with guest rooms above to make her living. In winter she weaves very beautiful homespun material, which she sells to established customers and passing motorists in summer. Less travel on the road, more difficulty in getting wool, may make both of her occupations more hazardous during the coming years.

Another neighbor, whose husband had retired from the Navy, had to see him return to active duty some six months ago. She heard from him the other day from the West Coast after a long cruise. Now she is preparing, if he should be there more than a few days at any time, to take the long trip with her daughter for a glimpse of her husband in between cruises. Fortunately, she has most of her family living on the West Coast, so a long visit will seem a pleasant reunion.

I have not been over yet to see one of our other neighbors, whose boy was on a destroyer last autumn. I am most anxious to get news of him. Another boy I am interested in, is the son of one of the other men, who works for the President. He is in the Army now and I want to have news of him as well.

I read a charming story last night about a little brother who tried to follow his big brother into the army. It reminded me of a little boy who came to see me here last autumn to talk over his brother’s enlistment. He looked so worried that I felt quite sure that the first break in any large family was never easy for the younger boys to bear.

There is a little more sign of spring here this weekend, and there is certainly plenty of work to be done. Always in spring, it seems to me as though it was going to be impossible to get things really started. We are always a little bit late. Perhaps, if I lived here all the time, I could achieve a better schedule.

84

April 7, 1942

Washington – (Monday)
I reached New York City yesterday afternoon in time to visit a friend, and to have a young friend of mine, who is about to join the RAF, come in to say goodbye. For his training, he is going to the West Coast, where his family lives.

He taught me a very good lesson. Unthinkingly, when I heard that he had been turned down by our own air force, I remarked that I wished he had tried for another branch of our own service, rather than join up with the English boys. His answer was:

But, Mrs. Roosevelt, this is our war, so I shall be in our service.

That is, of course, perfectly true and shows how unthinking one can be, even when one knows that our boys are fighting side by side with the Chinese, Dutch and English boys and those from all the United Nations.

After my broadcast and a quiet dinner, I had another rather late appointment. I reached the Pennsylvania Station to find it, as usual, crowded with soldiers, sailors and marines. This crowd was considerably augmented by a number of civilians, who were also traveling. I was, therefore, not surprised to find that there was some confusion about my reservation, and was perfectly delighted when they discovered that the confusion did not mean I would have to sleep in an upper berth, though I was quite prepared to do so.

Washington is already experiencing wartime difficulties. There are fewer taxicabs and many people were waiting for them this morning. They stood guard over their bags with no vehicle in sight. I discovered two gentlemen, whom I knew, and took them in the car with me. I also offered to pick up two soldiers, who seemed to be waiting an unconscionable time, but they were going in the opposite direction so I was of no help.

At 11:00 this morning, I had a press conference, followed by a talk with two gentlemen. Then a variety of people came to lunch. Every age was gathered around the table, from one of my nieces, aged ten, to myself. At 3:30, my niece, Amy Roosevelt’s, high school class, from Birmingham, Michigan, came in for a brief reception. At 4:00, Diana Hopkins and some of her friends and a few younger children came in for an Easter egg hunt and some movies, followed by an early supper.

The red-letter part of my day was when Mr. and Mrs. Donald Culross Peattie came to tea, which we had for the first time this spring on the South Porch!

85

April 8, 1942

Washington – (Tuesday)
It is curious how one can live near people one wants very much to see and still see them rarely. Last night, I finally succeeded in having Secretary and Mrs. Morgenthau here to dinner. I have been trying to see Mrs. Morgenthau ever since I returned from the West. Our only other guest was Judge Robert Marx, of Cincinnati, Ohio, who is in Washington for a day or so.

After dinner we had a newsreel and a movie called On the Shores of Tripoli, a picture about the Marine Corps. We were, therefore, able to induce the President to stay and see it. It proved to be a good picture and very entertaining, but I don’t know whether we were wise to beguile the President away from his work, because I found him still at his desk at 1:00 this morning.

We have left spring weather behind us in Washington and are right in the middle of summer. Our flowering bushes are too beautiful for words. Someone remarked to me this morning that the weather was so lovely one could not be annoyed with anyone. I am not sure that this is entirely my feeling. The effect on me of these first warm days is so completely relaxing that I think I am too lazy to take much action of any kind, but that doesn’t imply a completely kindly attitude toward the world in general.

I put the top of my car down and went to meet the train at noon. Unless I have something which really must be done, I don’t feel that tires or gas should be used. But, since trains have to be met, I enjoyed the drive and had a nice chat with some soldiers, who came up to my car when I parked near the station. They asked for autographs and told me they were on their way to receive training. One boy told me he had just come in and hoped that he could do a good job.

The usual crowds of schoolchildren were in the station, but this year there have been far fewer than usual in Washington. Some of them have written me that they had given up their trips to buy Defense Stamps and Bonds. Others probably found it impossible to find any place to lay their heads.

Dr. Herbert V. Evatt, Attorney General and Minister of State for External Affairs of Australia and Mrs. Evatt came to lunch, accompanied by Mrs. Felix Frankfurter. I enjoyed very much talking to them. It always seems to me that the Australians have a point of view very much akin to our democratic aspirations.

This afternoon I am going to the sale for the benefit of the Scottish Clans Evacuation Plan, and later there will be some guests at tea.

86

April 9, 1942

Washington – (Wednesday)
Yesterday’s sale for the Scottish Clan Evacuation Plan was unique. A real piper piped me in and out and looked very gallant in his piper’s costume. A fresh-faced woman sat spinning in the window and sang a song just as she had for Queen Elizabeth. There were some delightful plaid ties on sale, two of which I brought home to the President.

The picture of the home in Scotland where the little children are now being cared for by this group warms the heart. After all, little children should be saved from as much suffering as possible, for they are not to blame for what may come about in the world as a result of their elders’ actions.

After a very pleasant party last night, which was given by some young friends, we drove around the Basin and along the river to get a glimpse of the cherry blossoms. I know nothing lovelier than the reflection of the light in the river. The quiet and peace seems to take one out of this world of turmoil for a few minutes at least.

The daffodils are blooming gaily in the little garden outside of the Executive Offices. They stand up so gracefully to changes in the temperature and sharp spring winds that they must give courage to those who work in these busy offices day in and day out.

I listened to a news commentator this morning who gave such a gloomy picture of the future and of the leaders in every field in this country, that I wonder whether the effect would not be to discourage people.

Just to give the gentleman a ray of hope as to the good intentions of some people, I would like to draw his attention to an item in the newspaper wires on April 7:

The Executive Board [of the United Automobile Workers] proposed today a legal unit of $25,000 a year on family and individual incomes for the war’s duration, in return for which union workers would accept non-negotiable Defense Bonds in lieu of all overtime pay for more than forty hours a week."

The gentleman said that there was no unselfishness left in any of us. I am not going to contend that this suggestion is entirely unselfish, but at least it is a constructive suggestion showing that someone is doing some thinking. It gives me hope that there may be others who are not as totally devoid of altruism as this morning’s news commentator seemed to feel.

87

April 10, 1942

Washington – (Thursday)
The Vice President and Mrs. Wallace, Mrs. Henry Morgenthau Jr., Mr. and Mrs. John Golden, Mrs. Dorothy Roosevelt and her three daughters, Mr. Earl Robinson, and the cast from Mr. Golden’s play Claudia , which is now playing a return engagement in the city, spent a unique hour with me after 11:00 last night. In the first place, Mr. Earl Robinson played his composition, which I hope will soon be heard on the radio because it is a contribution to the understanding of America and tells us what we, the people, must remember.

Then, in lighter vein, Mr. John Golden and Mr. Arnold Johnson entertained us with reminiscences of bygone days. The President could only spare a few minutes between important conferences early in the evening, but he told me this morning that the songs really had been a joy to him.

The war news is bad today. Even though it has been hanging over us for weeks, so many of us had hoped that courage could dominate hunger and weariness and overpowering numbers. There is no bitterness in this defeat because it carries a pride not only in the heroism of our men, but in the magnificent intelligence with which they fought their battles. Having no bitterness, however, does not mean that the determination is less strong to win in the end, and to give back freedom to the people who have so long looked to us for the ultimate fulfillment of their hopes of self-government.

Fighting in Bataan has been an excellent example of what happens when two different races respect each other. Men of different race and background have fought side by side and praise each other’s heroism and courage. That lesson should be learned everywhere.

It is raining this morning and I am glad that all of my appointments are here at home. An acquaintance of mine came to tell me of a trip just completed, that covered many miles in the United States. One of the things he mentioned was, that after his talks to different groups, one question often asked of him was:

Are the people in Washington turning the Capital into a gay and giddy city, with parties of every kind still going on?

This interested me because I think someone must have planted this idea in people’s minds, for it has been coming to me often by letter. I can only speak with authority on the life in the White House. There is certainly a complete change here, no formal entertaining of any kind. A great many people come here, but with a serious purpose and everything that is done by any member of the household has a connection with the war and war work.

88

April 11, 1942

Hampton, Virginia – (Friday)
I want to tell you about the Girl Scout Pageant held in Constitution Hall on Wednesday night. It was an amateur entertainment and made one feel proud of these young Americans who presented each of their war projects. They showed how they tried to make their contributions by caring for and entertaining small children, by learning to cook and garden, to help at home, etc.

Perhaps, the part of their work which interests me most is their international friendship program. The scene in their pageant of a Western Hemisphere street showed all the arts and crafts of our neighbors to the south of us, and it was really charmingly done.

After we left this entertainment, we drove around the Lincoln Memorial. I was much gratified at the appreciation Mr. and Mrs. John Golden showed as they stood looking up at the lighting of the statue. At night, it is almost more impressive, I think, than in the day, and it always gives me pleasure to take anyone to see it when I think they will really enjoy it.

Yesterday afternoon the Ambassador of Paraguay and his very charming wife came to see me. We had a talk with the help of my cousin, Mrs. Warren Robbins, since I do not yet know enough Spanish to make myself intelligible. I was happy to find that they like Washington.

Paraguayan winters, they tell me, are about as cold as our springs. The Ambassador and his wife will not mind Washington summers, for they are accustomed to some damp heat. I was interested to learn that they also have a program of school lunches in Paraguay, but their problems of providing food seem to be much simpler than ours, for bananas and mate by themselves are apparently a complete meal.

We were not able to fly to Norfolk, Virginia, as we had expected last evening, and, therefore, motored to Richmond where we spent the night. We rose early this morning so as to be in Hampton in time for the morning meeting of the Rosenwald Fund Trustees. My sister-in-law, Mrs. Dorothy Roosevelt, and her three daughters are able to be with me. We hope to go on to Williamsburg after they have had a chance to see Hampton Institute and the countryside.

89

April 13, 1942

New York – (Sunday)
The Rosenwald Fund meeting at Hampton, Virginia, was extremely interesting and constructive. We worked from 10:00 until 1:00 and then some of us lunched with President and Mrs. MacLean. After lunch we met again for an hour and then went to Langley Field.

The commanding officer was kind enough to drive around with us and show the various types of airplanes being used for practice and patrol work. I had an opportunity to see some of the day rooms and barracks, both old and new, in which the men are living. Even the temporary buildings seem to me very comfortable, though they do have to have double decker beds in many places.

One of the officers, who was with another member of the party, said that he had flown the President in France during the last war. I am sorry I did not have a chance to speak to him, for I am sure the President would have been interested to hear from him.

The weather on Friday continued to be rainy most of the day, and the prospects of flying Friday night or Saturday morning were so poor that Mrs. David Levy decided to drive with me to Richmond and take the train back to New York City, in order to be sure of being here for an engagement which we both had last night. Our train was nearly two hours late, but I slept and felt that I had had quite a long night.

I lunched with a friend and did a little shopping, but spent most of the day doing things about the house. Today I have said goodbye to two friends who have gone to the country for the summer. I envy them, for the skies are clear and there certainly is a feeling of real spring in the air, in spite of a chilly wind.

I think the failure to evolve some plan by which India could be given a greater sense of independence and security in the future, has been a great disappointment to many people. One cannot help hoping that some new way will be worked out whereby the people of India may feel that the future belongs more surely to them in their own land.

90

April 14, 1942

New York – (Monday)
Last night I called Franklin Jr. at his home, to find he had just been taken back to the hospital. So, this morning, after breakfast, I started to move and visit on the same trip! I left some pictures at the new apartment and then went over to the Naval Hospital and found a very irate young man who felt the fates were indeed against him.

He evidently picked up a cold from his small son, which developed into sinus and a temperature, probably because of lack of resistance, caused by his operation and slight touch of pneumonia. I hope this time he will return to his own home today.

For those of us who travel by air, that was sad news in the paper yesterday! It has been hard for the airlines to meet the demands of passengers up to now, but with one-fourth of the airliners taken over by the Army, it will mean, I imagine, increased difficulty for civilians who wish to travel by air.

Gradually, we shall have to take more time to get about when we are not doing something which has to do with the war. If we civilians must travel, it will be in a more leisurely fashion. This will be a hard lesson for me to learn, but I feel quite sure that, like many others, I can.

Last night I read an interesting suggestion, which was sent to me by Mr. Joseph E. Goodbar. The plan will go to the Treasury Department, but the idea is simple enough for all of us to understand. He feels that by using a new type of taxation, we cannot only meet the extra demands made by the war, but private industry can be better prepared to reabsorb people back into civilian life.

Mr. Goodbar calls this tax “a pay with added production tax.” He looks realistically at all of us who are taxpayers and says:

We will be required to create an incentive that affects every gainfully-employed person and every person who receives an income, otherwise some would respond and others would not.

So, he suggests that “all of us be taxed 25% on all income from whatever source derived,” but that, "every taxpayer able to do so, be allowed to increase his productive effort 25%;” and this tax would be paid out of extra emergency war production and not by an increase in his normal income.

Just how we are to succeed in getting the opportunity to become more productive has been worked out by him. I shall be very much interested to see what the experts think of his idea.

91

April 15, 1942

New York – (Tuesday)
The final moving day has arrived. The house is filled with barrels and boxes, the van is at the door and being packed as I write this. Before long the typewriter will be taken away from us, so we must get this finished soon!

One cannot leave two houses with which one has had long years of association, without some reminiscent moments. I have spent many years away from these houses since my mother-in-law built them, but we lived here a number of years consecutively when our children were small. We lived here during the first years of my husband’s illness and have been here on and off since my husband returned to public life in 1928.

Many human emotions have been recorded by many people within the walls of these rooms, and if walls could talk, an interesting book might be written. Perhaps the most stirring chapter would deal with the months and years after my husband came back here from the hospital and slowly took up new activities, adjusting meanwhile to a physical handicap which a very active and still young man certainly never could have envisioned.

As I took my maid into the new apartment yesterday, she remarked on how light and bright it was, and said she hoped the happiness within would always keep pace with the light.

This is China Week and the United China Relief is trying to raise $7 million for the work of their participating agencies. China is one of our allies, more than that; China has been a center of interest for many people in this country for many years. I think that some of our citizens watch with sympathy the fight which China is putting up today against an aggressive enemy. They are even more impressed, however, by the fight which China is making at home to build a government and a way of life which is truly democratic and which will increase the well-being of all her people. Hardship and suffering is the lot of her people at present, but they show extraordinary fortitude.

All we can do is to send them whatever supplies they need, and I am sure that we shall do so even if it means sacrifice on our part.

Last night I took some friends to see My Sister Eileen. We dined first at a restaurant in the Sixties and, having enjoyed very good food, we were in the proper mood to be entertained. We found the play light, amusing and well-acted, but we hope that our own abode in Greenwich Village will not attract so many stray visitors as did the one in the play.

92

April 16, 1942

New York – (Wednesday)
With all the world news that there is to read, with things of real importance happening, things which may mean that the people of the United States have much to worry about in the near future, with only one country in the world giving the United Nations cause for congratulation, with that country and all the others asking us that we use our man and womanpower to the best possible advantage and give ourselves to work really worthwhile; certain things seemed to me a little ludicrous yesterday.

When I am in New York City, except for official functions, I feel that I am an unofficial person leading a private life. As Mrs. Roosevelt, not as the President’s wife, I was moving out of two houses which had been lived in for a number of years by the members of our family.

I moved to a very simple apartment, which I hope to occupy whenever we happen to be in New York City in the future. The moving men tell me that they are always busy, somebody moves every day in the year, so one would think that it would be something to which people would be fairly well-accustomed.

With all the interest shown, however, no one found out that Mrs. Roosevelt’s belongings were moved entirely by two private packers and movers. A Navy friend, who is being transferred from one station to another, sent in a trunk to be housed until he gets settled. Another friend loaned Mrs. Roosevelt a car, and all this was headline, front-page news.

The luncheon held yesterday for the Russian War Relief was one of the most successful and inspiring gatherings I have attended in a long time. The Waldorf-Astoria ballroom was filled, and the women’s division of the Russian War Relief must have felt that they had accomplished a remarkable piece of organization.

Groups of every kind attended. Miss Virginia Gildersleeve presided with skill and eloquence. As usual, Mr. Archibald MacLeish spoke effectively, and Madame Litvinov with charm and simplicity. I never saw anyone do the difficult job of presenting the appeal for money as well as did Miss Margaret Webster. I hope the Russian War Relief will profit, and that we shall be able to ship our supplies without delay.

The rest of the day was spent almost entirely on personal things. In the evening we felt we had all worked long enough, so we went to see Paul Muni in Yesterday’s Magic . It is a Theatre Guild production and I was very glad to be able to see it at the present time, for I shall have very little opportunity for any theatre going during the next few weeks.

93

April 17, 1942

Washington – (Thursday)
Before leaving New York City yesterday morning for a dinner given in Boston for the benefit of the International Student Service, I went to the headquarters of the New York City Red Cross. Gen. Davis took me all over the building and I was much impressed by the foresight they have shown in ordering their supplies early and being prepared for any eventuality.

I took a few books under my arm as a token to give to the Victory Book Campaign. I looked with envy at the canteen utensils, which must make working a joy. Compared with what we used in the last war, they seemed to me most efficient and convenient. The motor corps was kind enough to offer to drive me out to LaGuardia Field, but realizing that they have no assurance of tires in the future, and knowing they are much more needed for service transportation, I took a taxi. When taxicab tires wear out, I imagine we shall all take to buses. In the meantime, I hope it is legitimate to use taxis.

In Boston, Mrs. Henry Leach, Mrs. Eliot Pratt, Mr. Joseph Lash and I each had a quiet lunch and then each went our way to do some kind of work. I had two press conferences on the subject of International Student Service. The Boston committee is doing a wonderful piece of work and I hope it will be the nucleus of work all over New England.

In mid-afternoon, I went to call on Professor and Mrs. Whitehead in Cambridge. They are two of the most charming older people I have ever met, but they are only elderly in looks. In spirit and mind, both of them approach the future and the problems of today with a viewpoint strangely resembling the courage and vision of youth tempered by the experience of age. I enjoyed every minute with them.

We attended three different parties given before the dinner and, finally, Governor and Mrs. Saltonstall drove me to the Vendome Hotel about a quarter past seven. I was delighted to see Dr. and Mrs. Endicott Peabody, Mr. and Mrs. William Phillips, and Mr. and Mrs. John Saltonstall at our last small reception. I hope that everyone felt that the dinner was an interesting occasion.

My cousin, Mrs. Alexander Grant, was there and I recognized familiar faces in many parts of the room. Dr. Max Lerner and Dr. Perry, both gave brilliant speeches. Dr. William Neilson presided and introduced each speaker aptly in his kindly and inimitable way. Miss Irene Murray, of Mt. Holyoke, came to tell us from the students’ point of view what the Campobello Summer Institute had meant to her last summer, and captivated her audience. Mr. James Lanigan spoke for the graduate student. The questions at the end came fast and furious and indicated so much interest that it was all I could do to get my party together and make the midnight train back to New York City. Here we are now back in Washington.

94

April 18, 1942

Washington – (Friday)
Yesterday afternoon, the United China Relief Committee of the District of Columbia held their first meeting in the White House to inaugurate their money-raising campaign. This campaign is being conducted all over the country at the present time. I was so glad to be able to have a meeting here, for the relief job needed in China at the present time seems to be so vital to their whole war effort that I feel we are aiding the war in helping to lighten the burdens of the civilian population.

It is interesting to me that the two nations whose men are fighting with the greatest courage, vigor and success, are China and Russia. In both of these countries, at the same time, there is going forward a concerted development of programs designed to benefit the everyday life of the people as a whole. It would seem to indicate that the men feel that at home there is no lessening in the determination to make their government responsive to their needs.

Something is being done in Boston which I wish we could duplicate all over the country. Mr. Allan Forbes and Governor Saltonstall have organized all the war relief societies into one United Nations Relief. The nine major war relief organizations are participating – United China Relief, Polish Relief, Free French, Bundles for Britain, Netherlands War Relief, Greek War Relief, The English-Speaking Union, British-American Ambulance Corps and Russian War Relief. They are making one concerted drive for funds to aid the people of all these nations. There is a representative of each nation on the executive committee.

It seems to me that action of this kind on a national basis would enormously simplify for all of us our contribution to the general effort. Every one of us wants to be a part of the American expression of generosity to those who are suffering more than we are, but sometimes the multitude of demands makes it difficult. One drive for one fund would simplify matters.

It was nice to find our daughter-in-law, Ruth, here for a short visit. She flew up from Texas partly for business, but has given us much pleasure. She tells me that our granddaughter, Chandler, has undertaken to watch over the rounding up of the cattle on the ranch since her father is away. At the age of eight, she stays in the saddle all day until they actually go and bring her in. Even the young members of the family apparently can do something to replace those who are on active service.

I had lunch today with the wives for the heads of various government agencies to consider what improvements, if any, might be made in the programs for new workers in the rapidly expanding agencies.

95

April 20, 1942

*New York – (*Sunday)
After lunch on Friday, I flew up with Secretary Morgenthau and dined with the Secretary and Mrs. Morgenthau at their home in Beacon. Then I spent the night at Hyde Park. So many things were coming to life – lilies of the valley, bulbs of various kinds and lilac bushes. I longed to stay and watch them grow but that was not possible, so Saturday morning bright and early I left by train for New York City.

There were a great many girls from the Bennett Junior College on the train. Three of them came to tell me that they were freshmen, but had taken special courses during the year which they thought would help them during the summer to do some useful work. On every side they were meeting with discouragement.

People told them that unless they had a degree, they would not be acceptable, for instance, in a nursery school, or in a day nursery, or in some recreation program for young children. This seems to me rather foolish, for the best training in the world is practical experience. Every defense community must be conscious of the fact that it is going to find it imperative to start both nursery schools, day nurseries, and recreation projects for children.

Since more women will be taken into industry, it will mean that more children must be taken care of by someone in the community during the working hours. No woman will do a good day’s work if she thinks of her child as crying at home.

So, in the interests of production alone, it is war work to take good care of the children of defense workers. We cannot have enough trained people in the country to do all that is needed, and girls who want to volunteer after one year in college, should certainly find some opportunity open to them.

At noon in New York City, I visited the Knoedler Galleries to see a beautiful collection of Flemish primitive paintings, which is being shown for the benefit of the Belgian Relief. It is well worth seeing. Many of the paintings come from the gallery in Brussels. They were sent over here as a travelling exposition in 1938 and we are fortunate to have this opportunity of seeing them, as well as to help the Belgian boys who are still fighting with the Allies. One young Navy boy who was there yesterday, had been twice torpedoed and rescued.

Then I visited the Naval Hospital because, at last, the doctors have discovered what has been keeping Franklin Jr. from regaining his strength. He is back there this time to stay until he is really well.

96

April 21, 1942

Nashville, Tennessee – (Monday)
Saturday afternoon I caught a train for Trenton, New Jersey, and spoke at a banquet which closed the fourth annual session of the New Jersey Youth Legislature.

The YMCA has been carrying on this work with the Hi-Y Clubs, which take in boys of high school age. They study phases of government during the year, go to Princeton and have a preliminary session and then end by actually going through all the motions of legislative procedure at Trenton. They look like a fine group of young people and those I had an opportunity to meet were very interesting.

Governor Edison made an excellent speech. I think I have rarely had an audience ask more pertinent questions. Afterwards, before catching my train, I stopped at the Y to look in at a dance given for the servicemen who come in from neighboring camps. The train was crowded – people stood in the aisles all the way to New York City. Most of them were servicemen on two-day furloughs. One of them gave me a seat, and so we talked together and I signed innumerable autographs until we reached New York City.

Yesterday morning, after a short time of work with Miss Thompson, I took a plane for Nashville, Tennessee, where the Southern Conference for Human Welfare is being held this year.

I arrived in time for the evening session and I was particularly glad to hear Dr. Frank Graham and Mrs. Mary McLeod Bethune speak. Today has been a busy day. I am a member of the panel of which Dr. Homer P. Rainey, President of the University of Texas, is chairman. Our subject is “Youth and Training: Civilian and Military,” so I had breakfast with Dr. Rainey and some other members to talk over ways to make our discussion most useful.

This evening there will be a concert by Mr. Paul Robeson. I shall have the honor of presenting the Thomas Jefferson Award to the outstanding Southerner of the year. The conference continues on Tuesday but I have one or two things which must be done in New York City, so I am leaving here tonight and shall be back in New York City, I hope, tomorrow morning.

I always feel that these conferences touch on matters that are of vital interest to the whole nation and I wish that more people from many parts of the country could attend them.

At the Y Dance in Trenton the other night, I asked the boys from what part of the country they came from and “Iowa,”, “Texas,” “Georgia,” “Nebraska,” was shouted at me from every part of the room. We are certainly fighting together, and it would seem that at home we should face our problems together.

97

April 22, 1942

New York – (Tuesday)
I returned this morning from Nashville, Tennessee, after waiting quite a time in the middle of the night for a delayed plane. This is the first trip I have taken where we have been made to draw our window curtains at each stop. Most of the time it seemed hardly worthwhile to open them in between, so the plane was like a darkened room.

One of the things I always enjoy most about flying is the feeling of being in the sky able to look at the clouds. But this enjoyment is evidently out for the duration of the war. Instead, we are just a group of people isolated in a machine which is flying through space. So far as we are concerned, we know nothing of the outer world or our direction. It is rather uncomfortable, perhaps too much like what is happening to most of us in the world today.

Last night I presented the Thomas Jefferson Award at the Southern Conference for Human Welfare to two outstanding Southerners. Dr. Frank Porter Graham received it, with a citation which noted his great service to education in the South and the country as a whole through his service on the War Labor Board. Mrs. Mary McLeod Bethune received it because she fights constantly for freedom and has done such a great service in the educational field for her own people.

Paul Robeson’s concert last night was a thrilling experience. He and the Fiske Choir sang “I Am An American” by Earl Robinson. It always stirs me as a ballad, but last night there was something peculiarly significant about it. It was very beautifully done.

I was particularly impressed by Mr. Andrew Jackson Higgins Sr., of New Orleans, Louisiana, and his statement that, as a Southern industrialist, he was going to tap the great unused reservoir of Negro labor in the South. They will receive training, be employed on an equal basis with equal wages and will constitute 40% of his new employees.

I have just been told of a plan which Walter Damrosch, President of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, has announced. They plan to give grants of $1,000 each per year to ten gifted non-members who are doing creative work in art, literature and music. Of course, this is the time above all others to encourage the arts in this country. People everywhere need this kind of outlet from the tragedy of war and the democracies are the only nations where free art can exist.

98

April 23, 1942

New York – (Wednesday)
Miss Luise Rainer came to luncheon with me yesterday. I had not seen her for some time and I was happy to talk with her again. She has such a keen desire to make her art of use in this period. All the other artists with whom I have talked feel the same way. They have a conception of the need which many of us, particularly the soldiers who are far from home, must feel at this time.

This need is for warmth in human contacts. We want to feel this warmth portrayed on the stage and on the screen, to hear it in music, and to read such things as will lift the spirit and leave one still conscious of the world of love which lies around us in the midst of a world of hate.

After lunch, I went over to the Naval Hospital for a visit with Franklin Jr. It is certainly a desperately difficult thing for these young people to be obliged by illness to be laid up for a while. They seem to think that fate is treating them very badly. Franklin Jr. longs for the day when he can walk out of the hospital and back to his ship.

Afterwards, I visited another young friend who is ill, and then went back to the apartment to see Mr. and Mrs. Bruce Gould, who came to tea. I feel a little shy about any guests I have here just now, because nothing is really completely in order. I do so many outside things when I am in New York City that I don’t arrange pictures and books and the things which really mean being settled.

The President must have enjoyed congratulating Lieut. Comdr. Edward H. O’Hare yesterday, and I like the picture in the newspapers today showing his wife placing the decoration around his neck.

One of the readers of my column out in Michigan sends me a note to tell me that one of his Norwegian friends feels that Mr. Steinbeck did not bring out sufficiently strongly, in The Moon Is Down, the cruel treatment which the Nazis have inflicted upon the people of Norway. It seems to me that, perhaps, John Steinbeck in painting the picture he did of the old time German officers in the new Nazi frame, brought home something which might not have been believed if it had not been done in just that way.

Many of us think of the young Storm Troopers as having been conditioned from childhood to cruelty. We do not realize how impossible it is for the older soldiers, in spite of what their feelings may be, to change to the Nazi theory of government and to prevent it from taking toll of the subject peoples. The picture Steinbeck painted lacked no horrors for me.

Miss Thompson and I are leaving this morning for Washington.

99

April 24, 1942

Washington – (Thursday)
We had a pleasant trip from New York yesterday by air, but toward the end it was a little bumpy. Yesterday afternoon I saw a number of people and in the evening the Secretary of the Treasury and Mrs. Morgenthau dined with me. The President had a council of war with some important gentlemen.

This morning has been busy. An old friend of mine, Mrs. Grenville Emmet came to breakfast. She has been here this winter and, unfortunately, I have seen her very rarely. Afterwards, we walked together as far as the hairdresser’s. I was so late I had to hurry them in order to get through in time to reach American University for their chapel period at 11:15.

I liked the service and, after my talk, we went across to the dining room, where they were having a luncheon for United China Relief. The program preceded the actual luncheon and I had an opportunity to speak a few words for the drive which is now going on in Washington and to hear Mr. Liu Chieh give an excellent address. I was quite overcome at the presentation of an honorary membership in Pi Delta Epsilon, a collegiate journalist fraternity. With my membership went a small gold pin, which I shall feel much honored in wearing.

After this, I went to a lunch given by the ladies of the 75th Congress. This year they are giving the money they raise annually for work with the children in the District of Columbia. They feel that there is need for day nurseries and nursery schools, and since the WPA is obliged to curtail so many of its activities, the community will have to take on more of this type of work.

I have a letter in the mail which has touched me very much. It comes from a woman who says:

Mothers of soldiers who lost their lives fighting for the USA are honored and enjoy privileges, but nobody mentions those valiant boys on tankers, struck by torpedoes, who give their lives by burning to death. My only son and support was one of the victims of a “rattlesnake” April 9, 1942, on the Atlantic Coast. He was a descendant of a former Governor of Pennsylania and a seafarer for many years.

We do indeed honor those boys who are doing work which is just as important and just as dangerous as that of those in the armed forces. I am happy to have this opportunity to pay a tribute to them and to their dear ones.

100

April 25, 1942

Washington – (Friday)
The President and I were delighted to welcome the Princess Juliana and Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands, again to the White House. They came in the late afternoon with Mr. and Mrs. Vanteps. Mr. John Gunther joined us on the White House porch for tea. In a busy day, it was a pleasant break which my husband rarely enjoys.

We had a few guests for dinner and then enjoyed a short concert given by a cappella choir from Monongahela High School in Morgantown, West Virginia. Congressman Jennings Randolph asked me to let them sing here while they were on tour in this part of the country. I confess that I had not expected to find them a very good choir, but they turned out to be excellent and gave us all a very delightful three-quarters of an hour.

Afterwards, the President took Princess Juliana and Prince Bernhard up to his study for a talk. Some of the rest of us who are interested in the International Student Service, met to talk over the Leadership Institute, which is to be held in North Carolina this summer. It ought to be a very interesting few weeks for the young people.

Because of an appointment which I made long ago, I have to leave our guests this afternoon to speak at the YWCA in New York City to a group of industrial girls. Tomorrow I have promised to go to Sarah Lawrence College for lunch and a panel discussion in the afternoon. In the evening I am to meet with the students of the New York School of Social Work at the close of their day’s session.

The juvenile delinquency problem in New York City has caused real concern among the social workers, who feel there should be no cutting down in trained workers dealing with young people. In the big cities like New York and Chicago, there should be recognition also of the work done by qualified and trained Negro people, because they are much needed to help the young people in their districts.

I was happy to see that Mrs. Charlotte E. Anderson, wife of a Negro practicing physician in Harlem, had been elected last week to the Board of Trustees of the Community Service Society in New York City. This is a step forward to a better understanding of juvenile delinquency problems in the city.

101

April 27, 1942

Washington – (Sunday)
I came back to Washington by plane this afternoon in order to attend the party given by the Washington Newspaper Guild for the purpose of raising money to send delegates to the National Newspaper Guild Convention, and for the benefit of Army and Navy Relief. They are to show the movie The Invaders.

Washington is at its most beautiful at this time. All the flowering shrubs are out and the spring flowers are everywhere. One cannot help but be impressed by the beauty of this capital of a great country.

In some ways it reminds me very much of Paris, and yet it has its own personality as all cities have. If the war comes close to Washington, it may destroy some of the things which have been so carefully built up through the past few years. I think the effect on many of us will be to augment our determination to see that such wasteful destruction of things of beauty, as has gone on all over the world, never occurs again in history.

I have just received a letter telling me that the League of Nations Association is making a great effort to enlist new members now. They are not suggesting that we subscribe to any blueprint of machinery for the after-war period. They frankly state that what was once thought to be satisfactory machinery for settling international questions, will probably not be so considered today. However, they do feel that since we must take an active part in world affairs, our people should be kept more informed than ever before about what is happening in the world and be ready to act with knowledge, where so many years ago they failed to act because of lack of knowledge.

The retail stores of our country are taking seriously their responsibility for selling War Savings Stamps. Over a million retail stores are now offering these stamps for sale and have imposed upon themselves a quota for one billion dollars for the year 1942. On Monday, May 4, they will launch a nationwide campaign urging the public, when paying for its purchases, to take a part of its change in War Savings Stamps.

This is no short campaign, for they are dedicating themselves to continue it for the duration of the war! It seems to me that every public-spirited citizen will be more than glad of this way of taking part in the nation’s saving plans. If all of us do such little things as these, even though they seem unimportant at the time, they will add up to big results in the long run.

102

April 28, 1942

New York – (Monday)
What warm weather we are having! Everyone in New York City looked ready to put on summer clothes. One nice thing about Washington Square is that it seems to make people feel that they are in the country and can go about country fashion.

Yesterday, after my meeting at International House, I went to the USO canteen run by the Jewish Welfare Board. It is a very comfortable place with plenty of room for dancing, games and food. It was crowded Saturday night and I thought the boys seemed to be having a very good time.

I was very glad to find my son, Franklin Jr. much better yesterday morning. When he is full of new ideas, I can always tell he is beginning to feel himself again. They were bubbling over on every subject yesterday.

I arranged my books and found a duplicate copy of a very lovely edition of Bret Harte’s The Luck of Roaring Camp , so I took it over to him. He seized upon it at once to reread it, since it is many years since either of us read what both of us remembered to be a perfectly delightful story.

Franklin Jr. has also been reading a life of Simon Bolivar and is fascinated by it. Bolivar certainly must have been a wonderful man and I am glad we are now learning to know heroes of South American history better.

I took the night train to New York City last night and went over to the Naval Hospital again this morning. Then I took a last look through the 65th Street houses to make sure that the things we want at Hyde Park have actually gone.

In the afternoon, I am attending a party at 99 Park Avenue to celebrate the giving of the one millionth free ticket for places of entertainment to the men in the Services. Under Mr. John Golden’s leadership, his committee has obtained the cooperation of the various producers in New York City. They have given this tremendous number of tickets to make sure that the men coming to New York City will not spend lonely evenings.

It is a very great service, for if you have nothing to do in a city like New York, lounging around the streets isn’t safe or entertaining. I am sure that similar plans have been carried out in all the other big cities in the country, but it had to be on a bigger scale in New York City than anywhere else. I am grateful to all these people of the theatre who have given so generously of their seats during these past months.