Eleanor Roosevelt – My Day (1942)

123

May 22, 1942

New York – (Thursday)
I came to New York City from Washington yesterday in order to keep several appointments with individuals who wanted to see me in the afternoon. In the evening I attended the executive committee meeting of the International Student Service.

I shall be allowed to visit the information center of the Aircraft Warning Service this morning. Women have undertaken to do the work that is needed in all these centers throughout the country. There is just one point I should like to stress, namely, that ladies are never considered to be able to keep a secret. Yet, all over the nation, these centers exist and complete secrecy about them is maintained!

I don’t know whether, as the days go by, other people are finding themselves unexpectedly brought up against their consciences in meeting new restrictions. I always do something and then realize under new regulations it is perhaps something I should not do. For instance, I must no longer take planes unless I am going to do something of value in the war effort.

In fact, I must not even take a night train unless my arrival at the other end is really essential. In all probability, I should not ask for any pullman reservations at any time! Once these things have become part of my consciousness, it will be quite easy to plan for them, but just at the start it is a case of forgetfulness more than anything else. I suddenly wake up to the fact that I am doing something I have no right to do.

Today I am attending the Barter Theatre Award Luncheon, which is an annual affair now. Mr. Robert Porterfield established this award, given to some outstanding person in the theatrical field every year. This lunch gives an opportunity for people interested in the arts to come together. Many things are said which I think need to be said, because artists need encouragement to do their best work and to feel that their contribution to the morale of the nation is appreciated by their fellow artists and by many other people in the nation.

This year we shall meet at the Stage Door Canteen of the American Theatre Wing Service. I am particularly glad of the opportunity to see this canteen, for I hear such fine things about it. It is one of the most popular places with men in the Services and I think that is because the men and women working there have given such devoted service.

I have visited the outdoor art exhibition in Washington Square. The artists offered me a painting, another delightful gesture of welcome to this part of the city.

124

May 23, 1942

Washington – (Friday)
Mr. Eric Gugler called for me at 9:30 this morning in New York City and, with shame I admit, for the first time I visited the Sub-Treasury Building on Wall Street. A group of people have been interested in seeing the very beautiful rotunda restored and made a fitting place where ceremonies of different kinds can be carried on.

At present, it is used by the passport service and it is difficult to visualize how beautiful it will be when the partitions are taken out. The detail around the doors, the old iron grill work of the balcony, the beautiful pillars and really perfect proportions make it a most beautiful and dignified hall.

Later in the evening I went to see an exhibition of articles which have been made by manufacturers from materials not required for war purposes. It is astounding what ingenuity has been shown in the development of things which have been made almost entirely out of metal and are now made in plastics and wood. Some of the blankets are being produced with a minimum of wool. They look delightful and when the winter comes, we shall know whether they are as warm as “all wool.”

Of course, for years the Chinese have been using cotton quilted coats for winter, and China has a cold climate! I also saw some curtains which can be sponged off, and yet look like chint as they hang in the window.

I discovered we are not really being asked to do anything quite as drastic as I thought in the matter of transportation. On Wednesday, when I announced at the airport that I was taking my last flight, the officials looked at me with horror. They said that because so much publicity had been given, they had very little travel between New York City and Washington and were flying with empty seats on every trip. They really want the public to understand that when seats are needed, they must be given up, but ordinarily reservations can be held.

When I inquired about train travel, I was told that so long as accommodations were available, they would be glad to have them used. They only want people to accept cheerfully a certain amount of uncertainty. If people have to travel by coach, or sit up at night, they hope it will be accepted with a smile. They did ask that week-ends be left free by the general public, so that service people could travel in greater comfort.

125

May 25, 1942

Washington – (Sunday)
I returned here Friday in time to welcome Mademoiselle Curie and to receive several people in the afternoon. Among them was Miss Therese Bonney, who brought some very remarkable photographs as a gift to my husband for his library at Hyde Park. They were taken in various war-torn countries in Europe. I am keeping these photographs here for a time to show to various people, because some of them are really great contributions to the realization of what war brings in its wake.

It is always a joy to have Mlle. Curie here and it was extremely interesting to glean from her some of her impressions of the various countries she has visited on her extraordinary trip. She has a map on which she has traced her journeys, and someone at lunch yesterday, on looking over it, remarked to me:

She has outdistanced you many times.

Mlle. Curie certainly has both in mileage and in the variety and interest of her travels. One looks at this chic, well-groomed, delicate French woman and marvels at the calm with which she must have faced many dangerous moments, and one is proud of women!

Yesterday afternoon I went to a tea given by the Democratic Women’s Council, to which they had invited groups of war workers from the different agencies. They are planning a series of such teas in the hope that they will bring together women who might not otherwise meet, and in this way make life a little pleasanter for the newcomers in Washington.

Yesterday evening we had some young people dine with us, because Miss Patricia Mountbatten came to spend the night. She will go back to England when she graduates from school this spring, to join the army of women workers in her own country.

After dinner, a number of government officials came in to see the moving pictures which Mr. Charles Palmer brought back from his trip to England. He went to study defense housing as it is over there today. The most interesting developments are in houses which, when peace comes, can be enlarged and changed so that they will look more like the traditional English workmen’s homes.

Mr. Palmer says that in England the war effort has had to be so great, people have not had time to develop substitutes and are, therefore, going without a great many things. Of necessity, this must temporarily lower the standard of living and we are fortunate indeed that we have time to develop substitutes for many of our needs.

126

May 26, 1942

Washington – (Monday)
This column has to be written at an extraordinarily early hour because I must make an 8:00 ferry in Annapolis to go to Chestertown, Md., where I am attending the commencement exercises at Washington College. I am to give an address and receive an LL.D. degree.

Last night, at 7:00, I went to the Foundry Methodist Church to talk with their group of young people, who have been meeting on Sunday evenings at the Institute of Christian Citizenship. This is another of the efforts made by different groups to give newcomers in Washington some feeling of home environment away from their own church and home occupations.

I wonder if you have been amused by the cartoons of the President’s little dog, Fala, which one of the weekly magazines has been publishing. This week Fala is looking disconsolately at a collection of bags marked with my initials. As a matter of fact, the only person Fala would object to seeing depart is the President, and the dog is quite sure that will never happen. So far, he has always gone along, except on one occasion. Then he did take refuge with me, but he was such an inconsolable little dog I was glad the separation was a short one.

I have just finished Granville Hick’s Only One Storm. I enjoyed it even though these days we seem to be driven by something within us to move quickly, and it was hard for me to stick to a novel which developed so slowly. Yet it was healthy and there are passages in it which I want to remember.

For instance, there is a line:

You cannot be tolerant unless you are perfectly sure you are right – or do not care much.

That is absolutely true. I am afraid with a good many people tolerance is a matter of indifference. But, when it has its roots in the security of one’s convictions and beliefs, then tolerance can be a very fine thing. In that kind of tolerance there is true humility which, in spite of personal conviction, listens and tries to understand other points of view.

There are some pages in chapter 16 which I think we can all read with care at the present time. At the very end of the description of the funeral of the important old man of the village, there is an observation that just now has a special significance:

One had to die, but one did not have to waste life in thinking about death.

Something, perhaps, many of us will have to remember in the course of the next few years.

127

May 27, 1942

Washington – (Tuesday)
On Sunday the group who lunched with me had the pleasure after lunch of hearing recordings made by Mr. Robert Vincent. These recordings, which Yale University is preserving for the future, will be most interesting historical documents.

With the cooperation of USO, Mr. Vincent has visited many of our Army camps. He has recorded letters for many of our boys and sent the records home so the recipients may hear the voices of the boys they love, even though they are separated from them for many months. I can well imagine that letter will be played over and over again by the mother, sweetheart or wife.

Mr. Vincent has also recorded songs and pieces of music written by the servicemen; some dedicated to the President, some to the outfit with which they are serving. He also played for me Earl Robinson’s cantata, as sung over the air by Paul Robeson and the NBC chorus. He told us that he had begun to do these recordings at the age of 12, and, from the early discs, found a way of transferring some of the voices which most of us had thought were lost to posterity.

He has something said by every President since Grover Cleveland, except President Harrison. I was very much interested to hear a speech by my uncle, President Theodore Roosevelt. It sounded absolutely natural. Another record made by my aunt, Mrs. Douglas Robinson, was equally good.

There is one boy in the service who does imitations of people and Mr. Vincent had several of these, among them an imitation of. a speech by my own husband. Some of the tones were perfectly wonderful but on the whole I think the boy had not practiced long enough, so that a great deal of it did not sound entirely natural.

The commencement exercises at Washington College at Chestertown, Maryland, yesterday were serious as such exercises must be in these days, but very beautifully carried out. The Governor of Maryland gave the diplomas to the graduating class. Since they were celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of the admission of women to the college on an equal basis with men, it was fitting that the highest academic honors were won by a girl.

The last time I had been there was when President Mead was inducted and the President spoke at the ceremony and received a degree. Yesterday was a less crowded occasion, but afterwards we went to lunch with Colonel and Mrs. Brown as we had on the first occasion. It was a delightful end to the ceremonies. The view from their porch is restful and beautiful and I can think of nothing more delicious than their Maryland fried chicken!

128

May 28, 1942

New York – (Wednesday)
I left Washington yesterday morning on the 11:00 train for Philadelphia, where I was met and taken to Allentown, Pennsylvania, for the Muhlenberg Bicentennial Celebration.

I had wondered whether the floods would interfere with this trip, for we had to motor from Philadelphia and from there to New York City after the evening meeting. However, I had no word to the contrary and started off. It turned out to be an interesting and delightful day.

The Muhlenbergs have been a very remarkable family and this celebration has become one which receives nationwide notice.

Before leaving the station yesterday, I was able to drop in at the USO lounge room and canteen for soldiers who are passing through the Union Station in Washington. They are using the President’s Reception Room and I was happy to see how it had been adapted to this new purpose. It is pleasant to think of it being really useful to the men.

While the State Department has reserved the right to change it back to a reception room, if necessary, for the reception of important dignitaries, I feel very sure that will not often have to be done. In fact, I am not at all certain that the dignitaries would not be more interested in seeing it as it is, than in coming to the bare, cold room it used to be where the first formal greetings were exchanged.

I have just seen an account of what one woman in England has accomplished in her garden through intensive gardening and preserving. I think it will spur some of our own women if I tell them a little bit about it.

Mrs. Carlotta Oppenheimer owned an estate which was largely devoted to flower gardens. When the war started, she decided her best contribution would be to secure the maximum production from her gardens and put them to a specialized use – her jam factory. With no previous experience in vegetable gardening or cooking, she managed with a small staff from July of last year to June of this year, to turn over to the hospitals in the armed forces, three-quarters of a ton each of onions, beet roots and carrots; a ton of beans, peas and sprouts; a ton of plums, 27 tons of potatoes, thousands of heads of lettuce and cauliflower, thousands of tomatoes, dozens of cucumbers and melons.

With Mrs. Kooyker, she made 1,903 pounds of cakes, 3,300 pounds of jams, marmalades, pickles and chutney, 1,500 bottles of fruit and tomatoes, and innumerable other things I have no room to tell you about!

129

May 29, 1942

Washington – (Thursday)
I did not have space yesterday to tell you of the very beautiful pageant they are giving every night this week at the Muhlenberg College Celebration. It records the contribution of the whole Muhlenberg family and is also historically interesting. Since Tuesday was Women’s Day, I was particularly interested in the contribution which women of the early days brought to the country.

I doubt very much whether any of the men could have accomplished what they did without the backing of their staunch and courageous women. These women were very capable and managed a household on a businesslike basis which met the needs of their day. We have new needs and different situations to cope with today, but we would do well to study the standards and methods of these successful pioneer women.

I went to the Appellate Court in New York City yesterday morning to see our son, Franklin Jr. and two other young men take the oath as lawyers. I must say I am glad that these examinations are successfully over and do not have to be taken at the end of the war.

Then I went to the Navy Relief Society Headquarters and was photographed with Miss Alice Marble, who is helping to distribute the little banks throughout the city in which people can put small coins for the benefit of the Navy Relief Society.

From there I went to the Mark Twain Foundation, where the sculptor, Mr. Walter Russell, has a studio. He has done a most interesting head of the President, but never has had the opportunity to sit before him for ten minutes and to watch him in action. It is natural, I think, that Mr. Russell should feel a desire to do this. He says that it is difficult to translate the spiritual quality of a man into the sculptured face without a real study of the subject and his changing expressions. I can well understand this, and hope the President will have time to see Mr. Russell some time before the head is finished.

Then I returned to my apartment to hold a committee meeting over the luncheon table. After lunch, I walked over to the Judson Health Center, which is on Thompson Street just south of Washington Square. Dr. Campbell, who is in charge, certainly succeeds in using every bit of available space and real health education is going on in this center.

Later, at my apartment, we held a small afternoon meeting to discuss what could be done to assist the Progressive Schools Committee. It has been caring for refugee students, whose parents, one or both, are in this country, but not as yet sufficiently well established to take proper care of the children.

130

May 30, 1942

Arthurdale, West Virginia – (Friday)
I was not able yesterday to tell you that I ended my day on Wednesday in New York City by going over to the Wanamaker Auditorium to speak with two other people at a youth rally under the auspices of the Friends of Democracy Inc., and the Greenwich Village Center.

A great many young people were there. The subject discussed by all the speakers was our attitude toward Axis propaganda. I think the most effective speaker was Miss Lisa Sergio, because she had actually been a Fascist and could speak from experience on the effect of propaganda on youth.

Miss Naomi Block and three of her friends from Hunter College walked back with me to my apartment afterwards. They are tremendously proud of the way in which Hunter College has met every war demand. I think in the book campaign alone they have collected more books than any other college in the city. Dr. George Shuster, the President of Hunter College, has the gift of inspiring the students to take seriously their responsibilities to the community. After giving the girls milk and cookies, I shooed them out and made ready to take the night train back to Washington.

I arrived there at 7:00 this morning and walked through a crowd of khaki clad soldiers in the station, and was glad to see both the USO canteen and lounge being used.

At noon, a group of people who own a building in Washington which they have used as a hostel, came in to talk to me about the possibilities of its present use. I am sure it can be of great value if they find the group which really needs it for war purposes.

Several people came to lunch. Appointments during the afternoon which lasted until nearly 6:00, made the day a fairly busy one. I tried to catch up on my mail in between times before I left Washington again last night to give the commencement address today at the high school in Arthurdale, West Virginia.

There are always a great many people I should like to see when I come to Arthurdale, but I am particularly anxious this afternoon, before taking the train back to Washington, to visit the community in Scotts Run. It happens to be very near Osage, where they had the mine tragedy only a few weeks ago. I know that Mr. and Mrs. Smith have been doing all they could to help the poor families who lost their main support in that accident. This young couple gather together the young people and older ones, and form a center for the social life of that whole mining area.

131

June 1, 1942

Washington – (Sunday)
The commencement at Arthurdale, West Virginia, on Friday morning was really quite impressive. As I look back over the years and remember that the first class had three high school graduates, the 20 fine looking young people who received their diplomas yesterday show great progress. In order to buy War Savings Stamps, they gave up their annual spring visit to Washington, for which all high school students save their pennies throughout the year. One felt that here was a group of young people who already understood many of the responsibilities which come with maturity.

The hazards of industry are brought home to all of them rather frequently, so the hazards of war are nothing new. They all felt very close to the mine disaster at Osage, for one of our Arthurdale homesteaders lost his life in that accident. For ten days his body was not found, and those ten days were days of uncertainty and agony to the young wife, her six and eight-year-old daughters and her neighbors.

Visiting her, however, gave me a renewed respect for the courage of human beings. Another baby is coming in December and instead of bewailing the extra burden, she said she was so happy that this is the case, for it gave her something more to live for. Social Security and Workmen’s Compensation take on real meaning when you see a little family of this kind facing the future.

From Workmen’s Compensation, this woman will receive $30 a month, and $5 a month for each child. Her Social Security payment will be $17 a month – a total of $57. She and her husband had just decided since he had a steady job in the mine, they could take over the contract and buy their little place. She still hopes to be able to make her monthly payments and eventually own her house and land, on which she can grow much food for her family.

I visited the community house in Scotts Run and saw the nursery school. They need a little more equipment in their outdoor playground, but otherwise the arrangements for the little children seem very adequate.

I went to the Osage Mine and saw the men going on their afternoon shift and talked with a man who is nicknamed “Happy.” He, with about thirty others, came out alive at the time of the accident. I asked him how it had been possible and he said:

Well, I don’t really know, but I always joke a lot, so I thought it was better to go on joking until we died, if we had to die, but instead we got out.

Like the sailors who go back on our merchant ships after they have been torpedoed, these men go back into the mines because they know their work is needed for the war effort. They must go on, not only to earn a living, but to help the war effort.

132

June 2, 1942

Washington – (Monday)
On Saturday morning I went over to Hains Point at the invitation of Capt. Kentor to visit the headquarters of the 71st Coast Artillery. This regiment guards the White House and neighboring public buildings. I was particularly interested in the classification section under Capt. Kentor. Some days ago, I told you about plans which are made in the central office. Here they are put to work with enthusiasm and intelligence.

Capt. Kentor knows his men, their IQs, education, former occupation, hobbies and aspirations. There is a real effort to put a round peg into a round hole, and at the same time to provide the right people where they are needed in this new citizens’ army of ours.

Col. Wyant asked me to come back to see some of the other activities of the regiment and I am planning to do so as soon as possible. There is a Red Cross recreation room maintained at this post, which evidently does a very grand piece of work. It is well used and must be a help to the officers in keeping up the morale of the men.

In the afternoon, I went with the President when he reviewed the Memorial Parade. It was most interesting to me because so many new types of equipment were shown. The first soldiers to pass were the parachute soldiers and they were enthusiastically applauded. I doubt whether the interest in them made up for the heat which they had to endure, with helmets buttoned and light but lined uniforms! The day was warm enough in any case, and marching in the sun with full equipment must have been a test of training for every unit.

All over the country Memorial Day was celebrated this year, but in the hearts of our citizens there must have been very different sensations from those experienced in former years. I am sure that, by and large, we vowed again to come victorious in this struggle, determined to bear with fortitude whatever has to be borne to achieve a victory. More people than ever before probably decided to be prepared to secure a peaceful world as well. Mrs. Pearl Buck’s Sunday article deals with one phase of this preparation and I hope will be widely read.

133

June 3, 1942

New York – (Tuesday)
Yesterday morning in Washington dawned with a grey and stormy looking sky. Soon after breakfast I went to see my friend, Mrs. Edward Maccauley, who fell the other day and broke her hip, which means three months in bed. To anyone so active as she is, this is a real penalty at such a time.

We had an early luncheon at which the Duke and Duchess of Windsor were our guests. I was very much interested to hear from the Duke that he had started a small organization, resembling our CCC camps, in the Bahama Islands and felt it was going to do valuable work.

With naval activity in the Caribbean, these islands have been kept much more active than usual. I think the Duke and Duchess were looking forward to a few days of rest in the United States. I see by the paper, however, this morning, that the Duke has been called back to the islands because of some labor disturbances.

Immediately after lunch, we went to the airport and waited for a delayed plane. This resulted in my being somewhat late at my apartment in New York City for a meeting at which I had asked Miss Viola Ilma to tell something about the work of the Young Men’s Vocational Foundation. Miss Ilma had so many interesting stories to tell about the boys whom she has succeeded in placing in jobs, that I think everyone present was interested.

Those she helped to get into the Army and Navy are apparently making good. The right job in industry, however, is hard to find. I think the success of the work of this organization can best be shown by the simple figures she gave.

During the first year, she placed some 80 boys out of the New York State Reform Schools, in jobs. This past year, with the aid of a larger staff, she has developed such good relationships with case workers, the parole board and employers, that over a thousand boys have been placed.

We are very anxious to interest more groups of people in this work, not because it is necessary to have a big staff or a very large budget, but because much can be done with comparatively moderate sums of money and a greater number of people who are really interested. At this time, it is important to give a helping hand to boys who find it hard under the best of circumstances to establish themselves, because they lack real stability in their lives.

After dining at home, we went to see Miss Mayris Chaney dance. We ended the evening enjoying a glass of lemonade on a very crowded hotel roof, where Tommy Dorsey’s orchestra evidently attracts a great many young people every night.

134

June 4, 1942

New York – (Wednesday)
Yesterday morning I went to an exhibition at the Hotel Gotham branch of the Grand Central Art Galleries. This exhibition is for the benefit of scholarships in American citizenship at Barnard College, Columbia University. It is fitting, therefore, that the portraits, sculptured heads and paintings should all feature American historical personages and scenes.

There are some beautiful and interesting paintings with captions well worth reading. No one with an interest in our history should fail to see this exhibition, for many of the paintings are in private collections and may not often be seen by the public.

I was glad to see the portrait of Samuel Bard and wondered if it would inspire a few of our medical students to stop at the little Hyde Park church to see the memorial tablet there. Bard College also has interesting books and documents which once belonged to Dr. Samuel Bard.

Robert R. Livingston is in the collection and there are some interesting portraits of women. I liked particularly the bust of James Monroe by Attilio Piccirilli. After I had seen the whole collection, I wandered into an adjoining room to look at a very charming collection of landscapes.

Later I walked up to our 65th Street houses thinking I would take a last look around to make sure that nothing was overlooked or neglected, but the outer doors were tightly closed and I was unable to enter. I lunched with a friend and returned to the apartment to see various people with whom I had appointments.

My friend, Mrs. Franklin K. Lane Sr. has been staying here for a few days and I was delighted to have the opportunity yesterday afternoon to meet her young grandson, who is one of our neighbors in this part of the city. I remember young Mr. Lane Kaufmann as a little boy and it was interesting to meet him now as a grown person with something reminiscent about him of his grandfather.

In the evening I attended a dinner given to Dr. Alvin Johnson. The history of his attainments is one of such scholarship and of such variety of experience in different parts of the country that one is left with a feeling of gratitude that he is now a fellow citizen of the City of New York.

I am thankful that he heads the New School for Social Research where, with his gifts of courage and appreciation for ability in different fields, he can make a contribution to liberal education which would not be possible for a man of less heroic mould. I hope he derived some pleasure from the many pleasant things which were said about him last night. At least, he must have recognized his friends who spoke from the heart.

135

June 5, 1942

New York – (Thursday)
I left New York City early Wednesday morning by train for Albany in order to spend a few hours with some friends. In the evening I dined with a group sponsoring the College Faculty Workshop. I spoke at their meeting on the subject of “Safeguarding the Children and Young People.”

I spent the night with Mrs. Earl Miller and took the train to Hyde Park this morning. Much of my day has been spent trying to sort out various things which are to be stored for the children, who may want them again in the future when they settle down again to quieter lives.

Some friends are staying here in the big house and a few others came to lunch. I went over to my cottage in the afternoon and saw a few of my neighbors. Before long I hope to be there for longer and more frequent visits.

I returned this afternoon to New York City in time to attend a supper meeting given by Mrs. David Levy for the executive committee of the International Student Service. Then I shall take the night train back to Washington.

I have just seen a book written by a young private in the Army, Donald F. Smith. It is called Are You Sure of America, or The Spirit of Youth Today. I hope it will be read by a great many young people, because Private Smith takes up many of the questions which confront youth in this somewhat confusing world and deals with them in an honest and simple manner.

I have written a magazine article on a subject which I think of great importance to the boys in our armies all over the world, and also to their families at home. I realize quite well that there must be many divergent points of view on this extremely important subject and one never can hope to cover completely all the points that need to be considered when one is discussing great issues.

However, the more we think about each different point and the more we talk about it and discuss it, the clearer we will be in our own minds as to what we believe and what we are really fighting for at home and abroad.

We, at home, are really fighting, for without our help, cheerfully given, the things which are needed to carry on the war will never be produced, nor will they be conserved. We are changing the pattern of our lives. That is hard for a nation to do unless it feels very secure in the foundation of its beliefs. We can ill afford periods of weakness and uncertainty in the months to come.

136

June 6, 1942

Washington – (Friday)
I came into Washington early this morning to find a beautiful day. Since there is a new regulation which asks passengers to leave the train by 7:30, one of the officials of the company greeted me on my way out. He smiled and said:

At least, Mrs. Roosevelt, we do not have to hurry you off the train. You are always among the first to get up!

Whenever I am up early, I think how foolish we are not to get up with the birds in the summer.

The first thing I came across in my mail this morning was a statement written by Dr. Remsen Bird of Occidental College, on the present situation facing many of our colleges. With so many students going into the Army and Navy, graduate schools are going to suffer. Yet, it seems to me that in one way or another, we must preserve our higher educational systems fostered by cities and states. We must also aid independent colleges, which are valuable just because they are independent of government.

One small college in Iowa, Iowa Wesleyan College of Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, is the oldest college west of the Mississippi. It is actually older than the state of Iowa and will celebrate its 100th anniversary on June 8. It is facing again a crisis it has faced before. During the Civil War the number of enlistments among the students was so great, it was almost forced to close its doors. The Spanish-American War and the last World War presented similar problems.

You will remember seeing in the paper not long ago that perhaps the state of Iowa had the largest percentage of men in our forces in the Philippines. In any case, many of this little college’s graduates were there and some have not been heard of for many months.

Iowa Wesleyan seems to breed adventurous young people, perhaps because the college itself rather likes adventure. It was the first college ever to confer an educational degree upon a woman. This was given to Mrs. Frances W. Berglehas, who is now living in Seattle, Washington, and is 97 years old, a graduate of the class of 1862!

Somehow, I think history will repeat itself and Iowa Wesleyan College will weather the storm. So will all our other institutions which are really needed and doing a constructive piece of work. We citizens must recognize the need for their work and put our shoulders to the wheel. A few people may not be able to carry the financial burdens, so the interest we all take in higher education must increase.

I am just starting out for my second visit to the unit personnel section of the Army at Hains Point. Later, a few people will join me at lunch. This afternoon I have several appointments and there will be some people at dinner.

137

June 8, 1942

Washington – (Sunday)
I have been getting some inquiries which lead me to believe that some people are still a little puzzled about the price control regulations. These regulations are an effort to keep down the cost of living, and to prevent people bidding against each other when they have the money and goods are scarce, which sends the price up.

Since May 18, stores cannot charge more for the articles which come under OPA regulations than they charged in their particular store at the highest peak in March. This price is called a ceiling price and obviously it may vary in different stores. Stores may sell below this price, so the public may find sales going on of certain articles, but no store can sell above its own ceiling price. You should find posted in the store, or on the price tags “of cost-of-living commodities,” notices giving these prices, which cover the articles considered most important in our daily living.

There are no ceiling prices set on fresh fruits and vegetables, and there are a few other food products exempted from the regulations until they attain the price level prescribed by Congress. Bread, milk, beef and pork and all clothing and household furnishings are covered, however, by ceiling prices. On July 1, ceiling prices on some services will become effective. For instance, laundries and dry cleaning will come under this regulation, but professional services, motion pictures and other entertainments will not be covered.

The income of the people of the country as a whole has gone up. therefore, there is more money to spend. But the amount of what we can produce for civilian use will be far below what we have to spend and if we do not put a definite top price on goods, which price cannot be changed, we will see prices go up.

This is only one step in the program to prevent inflation. Next, debts must be reduced. We must have wider rationing in order that people may share equally in what is produced for civilian use. Wages must be stabilized when once we really succeed in keeping down the cost of living. This last step cannot be taken, however, until we have machinery whereby we can prevent wages from being depressed by various methods which may come into use if proper supervision is not exercised.

138

June 9, 1942

Washington – (Monday)
On Saturday night a few of us attended a performance of Candida, in which were Katharine Cornell, Raymond Massey, Burgess Meredith, Brenda Forbes, Stanley Bell and Ernest Cossart. They have been giving the proceeds of all their performances to Army and Navy Relief. Saturday night’s performance closed their run in Washington.

The members of the cast came back to the White House with us afterwards for supper. I was so sorry the President could not see this play, but I tried to convey to the cast how much his appreciation is of their generosity in putting in so many weeks work on benefit performances.

Yesterday afternoon I had the pleasure of attending a tea given for Mrs. Ruth Bryan Rohde by Mrs. Robert Armstrong Jr. I was very happy to see Mrs. Rohde again and much interested in the war production which she and her Danish-American husband are accomplishing on their West Virginia farm. I suppose all Danish people know how to farm successfully, but just at present I wish that we all had the same amount of background and could make our land as useful.

In the evening I went to the National Gallery and took with me Mr. and Mrs. Jack Warner and Mr. and Mrs. Jack Fahy, who had been with us at supper. Mr. David Finley had written me with great pleasure that beginning last Sunday they would be able to keep the National Gallery open from 2:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. every Sunday.

Mr. Chester Dale, who had given his whole collection of 19th Century French paintings to the Gallery, has made it possible for them to have a part of the symphony orchestra there every Sunday evening. People were gathered around one of the fountains listening to the program and I think it was one of the pleasantest hours that anyone could spend on a hot summer evening.

I have always hoped that we could use our galleries on Sundays and holidays so that government workers – and now the men in the camps – could have a chance to see some of the treasures housed in our capital city. Judging by the number that crowded the National Gallery yesterday, I think it is going to be a popular idea.

Today is a gray day and not as warm as yesterday. I have a press conference this morning, one or two guests at lunch and several afternoon appointments. However, on the whole, we are settling down to less crowded days and I actually read nearly halfway through a book at one sitting yesterday afternoon!

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June 10, 1942

Washington – (Tuesday)
There was an article in one of the Sunday papers, written by Dr. William Allen Neilson, which I hope a great many people read. One paragraph seemed particularly thought-provoking to me:

What is important and essential is that our teachers should keep vividly aware of the ends for which they work and resist the perennial temptation to content themselves with operating little devices inside a sequestered field. Their duty is to society and their concern is with lives. If these are attended to, their students will not fail to value the institutions and privileges of the tradition they inherit.

So many students come out of school and college, and their first experience with life makes them question how honest their teachers were with them. Young people can value only the institutions, privileges and traditions which they inherit if their teachers have made them face the whole picture. This includes the responsibility which each person carries in a democracy and the realization that the objectives the people of a democracy must have are never won, they are constantly fought for with new objectives developing out of the constant struggle.

One thing that has been brought to my attention has deeply troubled me. We are told that there is no real reason why anybody should be unemployed today, but I receive letter after letter from older unemployed people. Some of them cannot adapt themselves to new jobs and their old jobs are wiped out under our war economy. Sometimes even the little businesses they are able to establish either disappear because they can no longer obtain the materials they need, or people are no longer buying from them. This is really becoming a problem of some magnitude in some communities.

Employers would rather employ young people, who learn more quickly and easily. Some of these young people even think if they accept lower wages, they are fulfilling a patriotic duty. I am told that, in Detroit, some older women who have been employed in the automobile industry are still out of work. In some of the converted plants, young college people have been taken on and are paid less than the union member women made and, naturally, want to earn again. These are puzzling and distressing situations. The public should know about them and think them through to a just handling.

140

June 11, 1942

Washington – (Wednesday)
The other day I went to look at the first permanent hotel for government women workers. It is simple but very attractive and well placed. Meridian Park is on one side, so that the dining room, lounge and garden have a pleasant outlook. The rooms are not large but they seem to have possibilities of comfortable arrangement. If the prices can be kept low, I think this will be the beginning of a great improvement in the housing of single women who are employed by the Government.

I went last night to a dinner given by the Washington Workers’ Education Committee. This committee is part of the group which sponsors summer schools for women workers. Miss Hilda Smith has long been interested in it, even before her experience with WPA workers service projects. She presided last night and the principal speaker was Mr. R. H. Tawney, President of the British Workers’ Educational Association.

There were more than two hundred at the dinner and we adjourned for the speeches to the auditorium, which filled up rapidly, even in the gallery. I was much interested in Mr. Tawney’s account of the influence which graduates of his classes had had in the labor movement, and particularly in his statement that workers’ education in England has had the support of the government in such tangible form as actual cash appropriations.

This is, of course, probably more than we can hope for here immediately. In any case, I think it is wise for the workers themselves to recognize the importance of this educational movement and to give it their support. They must control the curriculum, because no one else can really know their needs. Once they have established the importance of this movement, they can apply for government support and integrate their work with the whole educational setup of the country.

I have just finished Louis Bromfield’s new novel, Until the Day Break. It is a real picture of how the little people in occupied countries carry on and resist regardless of what is done to break their spirit, and how useless it really is to try to conquer people by terror.

The love story, which must be part of any novel, is rather unusual. Two people, both of whom were denied many things in their early lives, evolve before you through their love and hate and make their contribution to the cause of freedom.

141

June 12, 1942

Washington – (Thursday)
Yesterday afternoon, the King of Greece was received at the White House on the South Lawn by the President and his Cabinet, with Justice Stone and Congressional Representatives attending. I was very proud of the formal salute given by our Army and Navy boys and the playing of the two national anthems by the Navy Band. It made a very charming ceremony of welcome.

We sat on the South Porch, had tea and talked for a little while. The dinner in the evening was entirely official. The President, both last night and this morning, had an opportunity to get to know this ruler of a country which is today undergoing such terrible hardships. Of all the countries in Europe, Greece seems to be suffering more from lack of food than any other.

From everywhere one hears the same story of an attitude on the part of the invaders, which would indicate that they are made of wood and not of flesh and blood. When I read this morning, the story of the Czechoslovakian village which had been entirely wiped out, I could not help wondering at the psychology of a people who believe you can crush a nation by such tactics.

Every woman and child taken from that village to a concentration camp will carry in their hearts a hatred which can never turn into tolerance for the people or the system, which assumes that through such brutality one can force people to acceptance of a conqueror and forgetfulness of the methods used in subjugation.

Mrs. Martin Vogel came to see me the other afternoon to tell me a little about the work which the Home Hospitality Committee, now numbering 56, has been doing during the spring. Over one hundred hostesses, Mrs. Vogel told me, have entertained service men in their homes. More than a thousand men have been to these parties which have ranged from an invitation to two men to take Sunday dinner, to a buffet supper for 200.

Many boys have been found with talents – painters, composer musicians, singers – so they have often contributed as much to the pleasure of the company as the hosts themselves. This committee is inviting girls from government departments to attend their parties. In this way, they give pleasure and hospitality to two groups of young people who really need it. They have also raised some money and furnished some of the camp dayrooms with radios and small comforts which were not available before.

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June 13, 1942

Washington – (Friday)
In the morning paper I read that, not satisfied with wiping out the village of Lidice, the Germans have gone further and killed 34 more people in the cities of Prague and Brünn “in reprisal.” It does not seem to cross their minds that they are imprinting the name of this village on the minds of the people of the world. None of us will ever forget a little village named Lidice. Reprisals of this kind only bring more reprisals, so that it is an unending spiral of murder.

How curious is the German mentality, that does not realize in giving a dramatic incident of this kind to the world it has stimulated imaginations to the point where, I am sure before long, there will be a play written about this tragic village, there will be a book in which this name will be immortalized. It will appear in current songs. People will paint scenes from memory or imagination. What the Germans thought to do away with forever, will be remembered the world over and lead perhaps to a better understanding of the type of people we will have to deal with when this war is over in Central Europe.

There is a book everybody should read called German with Tears by Peter F. Wiener. It is a collection of letters. The first one is written by a student in England, now in the Army, writing to his German professor at the university. It tells him that his education unfitted him to deal with German people as they actually are and was a purely sentimental and unrealistic approach to international relations. The professor pleads guilty and tries to make amends by telling the truth in this series of letters.

The appalling things to me are the quotations which go back to the time of Bismarck and Frederick the Great, and have nothing to do with Hitler. But it is better to have these things out in the open. All the people of any nation, no matter how they have been conditioned, are never identical. But if you know what the conditioning has been, you can judge the general results and prepare yourself for the time that it will take and the methods which will have to be used to develop a new mentality and new characteristics in Hitler’s Germans.

After lunch today, I went right to the Cathedral to hear the young organist, Mr. Paul Calloway, who has been so successful in training a chorus of war workers, in addition to his work at the Cathedral. He is a delicate looking young man. Since he has lately been drafted, he will be in the service before long. I only hope that his gift of music will give as much pleasure there, as it has to the people of the City of Washington. He played a very lovely short program from Bach.