Eleanor Roosevelt -- My Day (1943)

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December 10, 1943

Washington – (Thursday)
The other day Dr. Wu Yi-fang lunched with me and brought me a little piece of embroidery from the students at the women’s college, of which she is president. It is the Ginling College, in Chentu. In China, there are only two women’s colleges, but a great number of coeducational universities have sprung up during the war, because of the great shortage of college-trained manpower.

They need doctors, engineers, chemists, etc., in great numbers. Their difficulties are not a shortage of manpower for the army, but a shortage in the field of higher education and in the branches of the service where the knowledge of some profession is required.

Even in areas which are under constant attack, universities have carried on in caves. Men in the army have been given leave to attend courses, so as to prepare themselves for the work of the present and the future.

Some of their beautiful handicraft work may suffer in the future, for it looks as though a great period of industrial development lies ahead for them. In such periods, there is rather less time for the perfection of detailed work which has made artists and craftsmen in China famous in the past. If living standards go up, this kind of work will have to be subsidized there, as it should be subsidized here.

We can only hope that they will see the need and do so from the beginning, instead of going through the long fight for the recognition of the artist’s value to the public and his or her contribution to modern civilization. We are only beginning to grasp this here.

Dr. Wu Yi-fang is here working on post-war problems as a representative of the Chinese government. I am sure she will make a very fine contribution, for she knows English well and is a charming and easy person with whom to become acquainted.

Yesterday afternoon and today have been given up largely to seeing individual people and doing the constant mail. Sometimes this mail is quite heartrending, for there is nothing one can do in many cases. Yet, it seems incredible to many people that this should be the case. One poor mother writes me about her son who failed, for apparently entirely understandable reasons, to live up to Army regulations.

She cannot see why the inevitable punishment has to be meted out to him, when he had no intention of doing wrong. The lesson, that not our intentions but only our actual performance is taken into account, is one of the most difficult things for all young people to learn. Often it’s equally hard for the parents, who usually try so hard to understand their children that they forget to tell them once they are out in the maelstrom of life only performance will be taken into account.

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Her last sentence is extremely accurate and applicable today in an entitled culture.

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December 11, 1943

Washington – (Friday)
Yesterday morning Miss Evelyn Haynes, of the Huckleberry Mountain Workshop, of Hendersonville, North Carolina, came to see me to tell me about the school which they run in the summer for artists. You can go there and study short story writing, radio scriptwriting, music, poetry or painting. The surroundings seem ideal. Someday, perhaps, when the war is over, I shall put it on my list as a place to stop when we can motor again through this lovely country of ours.

A few people came to luncheon. I had appointments in the afternoon, among them Mr. Walter F. Walker, the Consul General for Liberia in New York City, who was appointed as envoy from Liberia to the UNRRA Conference. He sent me an interesting article on the history of the Liberian Republic and its relationship to the United States. I was greatly impressed by the difficulties which these men have lived through, and I must say I wonder that the country has survived at all.

It certainly has not had much help in the last few years from any of the older nations. In the early years, people in this country, largely through private organizations, gave a good deal of money and thought to starting them off. I think we need to know a little more about the past and the present of this whole experiment. Then I feel sure our interest will revive in helping them to develop their country and their people.

In the evening, the second group of soldiers came in for another party and then the mail kept me busy until fairly late. In that mail I found an interesting account of the Maumee Valley Country Day School in Maumee, Ohio, where a group of high school students have undertaken to prevent inflation. “The Squander Bug” idea has taken hold with them and they have formed an organization called the “B.O.N.D.,” which stands for “Buy Only Necessities for the Duration.”

They have translated it into very practical things – sweaters only when you need one, no new party dress unless you absolutely need it, and the like. In other words, need governs your actions, not inclination. I think that is a standard which many of us think we live up to, and few of us actually achieve.

Today I had a letter from England which gives a good picture of the much more difficult situation in a little country, which has been so much longer at war. It says:

No tinsmiths, our garbage can leaks, you can’t get a new one and you can’t get them mended. The rubber stoppers in wash bowls and baths wear out, you can’t get rubber and the new ones made of substitute material don’t fit. The handle comes off a sauce pan, it can’t be mended and you can’t buy a new one. Ink – the next supply will be in powdered form.

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December 13, 1943

Washington – (Sunday)
Yesterday, my daughter and I attended the National Housing Association luncheon. Various people spoke well on their different points of view. I had promised to answer some questions which Brig. Gen. U. S. Grant III asked me. Then I was moved to ask a question of Mr. Waverly Taylor, since this was an occasion on which different points of view were being expressed and one could disagree amicably.

In the afternoon a lady came to see me, who for twenty years of her life had worked in Europe in theatres for children. She is now living in this country and felt we would be interested in developing a theatre for youth here. I fear very much, however, she is doomed to disappointment, since we are not ready to accept art as the responsibility of the community, rather than as a commercial venture.

A number of people have been writing me lately, some in sorrow and some in wrath, because they say manners in this country seem to be deteriorating. Some people complain of one group of citizens, some of another. Some people tell me they go into shops in our city and the girls behind the counter pay no attention to them, and, finally, if they say anything, the girls look haughtily at them and ask: “Don’t you know there is a war on?”

Others tell me they can buy no food, the crowds are so great. Finally, they give me examples of occurrences which go far beyond rudeness. It is easy, of course, to blame everything on the war. We know all of us are affected these days by the tensions in the atmosphere in which we live. Thousands of people are worried about their loved ones. Thousands of people are doing unaccustomed work. Many people are doing without things which they are accustomed to having.

Everyday life is more difficult for us, but for that very reason all of us should watch our manners. When we are tempted to say a quick word, or to let ourselves go – thinking it will make us feel better afterwards – we must remember that other people feel just as badly as we do. One person wrote me the other day that, if we only realized we received from life what we put into it, she was quite sure that our attitudes would change.

If we really accepted the fact that kindness begets kindness, and consideration begets consideration – which it often does – we would still have to accept the fact that often it doesn’t. It is still the people who have the most self-control, who return the soft word, even when they feel they are in the right, who make the real contribution to a world in which peace may be possible in the future.

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December 14, 1943

New York – (Monday)
Four of us went to tea Saturday afternoon with Mrs. Harry Hopkins. Of course, you must know by now that I love going over a newly-furnished house. To see how people arrange their own surroundings has always interested me greatly. These old Georgetown houses lend themselves to interesting arrangements. You go up and down a step here, and a step there, to different levels and it adds to their charm.

Mrs. Hopkins has a real gift for creating a charming interior and the house already has the atmosphere of a home, even though she and Diana have been in for such a little while.

My last party for the MPs and the anti-aircraft artillery men came off Saturday night. I would like to pay a tribute to the young captain who gave me the names of all of his men as they came along.

After I said goodnight to them, I went up to the Shoreham Hotel, where the North Carolina Society was having its annual get-together. I said a few words to them and they presented Christmas gifts to the President and to me. Mine has already gone to the Red Cross, with a request that they use it for hospital comforts in the Southwest Pacific. This was a very charming gesture on the part of the North Carolina Society and I deeply appreciate it. I hope the Society will have pleasure out of the disposition of their gift.

Yesterday I attended a ceremony in Philadelphia in honor of Miss Marian Anderson. In the evening I visited a number of canteens for servicemen in Brooklyn, New York, with Mr. and Mrs. Edwin B. Wilson.

A few days ago, I received a booklet in the mail on the Victory Center, America’s clearinghouse for war winning ideas. It is really an interesting plan.

A group of outstanding citizens of various professions and different political and social views financed the organization of Victory Center. They solicit no funds, but they plan to arrange and to finance worthwhile, winning projects and ideas by patriotic firms and individuals.

If you have an idea you think can solve some difficulty you see ahead, send it in to Victory Center and you may be assured of expert consideration.

This promises to be a busy day with a luncheon at the Architectural League, and the African Dance Festival in the evening. In between, I hope to have a few people from the entertainment world at tea.

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December 15, 1943

New York – (Tuesday)
Yesterday morning, we got word of the death of Mr. Marvin McIntyre who has been friend and associate of the President for many years. He had been ill for some time, but his loyalty and his desire to keep on working were so great that he was in the office only a few weeks ago. He enjoyed life and made others enjoy it. Many will miss him.

For my husband it will be one more loyal friend gone. I know that these losses are the things one cannot replace in life, which make the years grow heavier as you grow older. I am glad that “Mac” had the joy of grandchildren before he died, and that Mrs. McIntyre has her family to help her through these difficult days.

I lost another old and very dear friend yesterday. Many people who worked for the League of Women Voters in the early 1920s will remember Miss Elizabeth Read and the help she gave us on the legislative committee in this state. That was my first opportunity to work with her. Ever since that time she and her friend, Miss Esther Lape, have been close and dear friends of mine.

Miss Read was one of the rare people who was a loyal friend but at the same time an honest one. I always felt that she would be critical, but critical with a desire to help you to do the best you could.

Her standards of work and action were high, and I have always been humbly grateful that she gave me her friendship. She has been ill for some time, but it is her friends who grieve now that she is gone. Elizabeth herself will meet with courage and a high heart whatever is to come.

Though the day had been filled with such sad news, I went to the African Dance Festival at Carnegie Hall last night because many weeks ago I had promised to go. It was to me a very interesting occasion. I had never before thought of drums as a means of communication. Somehow it had slipped my mind that they are really the oldest language in the world, until I saw the people actually talking to each other on the drums on the stage last evening.

The opera, which was written to present courtship and a marriage ceremony, was very charming. The chief singer, who had studied at the London Conservatory of Music, had a lovely voice. The girl dancers were graceful and very expert. Mr. Dafora has made his country’s dances familiar to many in this country. In some parts of the performance, I felt as though I was looking at an old Egyptian picture. The color and rhythm of the evening remains with me as a very vivid impression.

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December 16, 1943

New York – (Wednesday)
In a discussion yesterday evening, one thing was said which I hope will be repeated over and over again. A man remarked that in whatever was done for the future, we must realize that human nature was motivated largely by enlightened self-interest. Civilization progresses according to the amount of our enlightenment.

When people are purely selfish and act on immediate self-interest without the saving grace of enlightenment, they sometimes fail to attain their objectives. Enlightened self-interest, however, would lead us to see that what was good for the great majority of people would also be good for a minority group and for us as individuals. We are part of a world rapidly becoming more closely knit by transportation and communication. We feel changes that affect our neighbors more quickly than ever before.

A man named Gilbert Wilson writes me that he is an obscure artist but that he has created a stamp which he wants used to impress us with the need for being “United for Victory.” The background is an American flag and two clasped hands are the symbols of unity. One hand is white and the other is black, but it might have been brown or yellow, or both hands might have been white, for underneath is written “Minorities are Vital to Victory,” and we have many white minority groups. If we could forget being minorities and just be people, we would help win a real-world peace through enlightened self-interest.

Trying to obtain world peace is enlightened self-interest. Working for anything tied up with this effort, whether it is in economic situations or in health situations or in cultural efforts to draw people together, can be part of the work to establish world peace.

War leaves us, in the end, poorer, not because we have incurred a monetary obligation, but because we have destroyed masses of available materials and especially many young lives which would otherwise have contributed to the prosperity of our nation and of the world. If we find ways to prevent war, it will be because we are convinced that wars are detrimental to us and to our civilization. If we find ways to help other people to a higher standard of living, it will be because we are convinced that their higher standard of living will be beneficial to us and help us to preserve our own standard of living.

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December 17, 1943

Washington – (Thursday)
December 17 is the birthday of the Prime Minister of Canada, the Right Honorable William Lyon Mackenzie King. He is a public servant of long standing and he has given unselfishly of himself for the good of his country. On several occasions Mr. Mackenzie King has been our guest, and I always look forward to his visits, not because of his importance as a public figure, but because he is a delightful person with whom to talk, and his sincerity and high standards of public service are an inspiration.

I often wish that we in this country knew more about the contribution which Canada has made to the war effort. Her people have expanded their industries and they have trained innumerable men sent from England – as well as those recruited in Canada – to serve in various branches of the armed forces. Canada’s population is far smaller than ours. So, some of their problems may be a little easier to handle. But, by and large, they have faced the same difficulties and they have met them with courage and a truly progressive spirit. They are not afraid of new experiments in government, in business or in social concepts. That augurs well for the future.

At present in our country, as in every other country in the world, we are assailed by many fears. The evidence of these fears lies in the acceptance of methods which closely resemble some of the methods of the Fascist countries. This tendency we must watch and prevent wherever we can.

People – quite obscure people – are questioned today about their political beliefs, their affiliations and their friends, and letters often are watched, all because we are afraid that in our midst we may be harboring those inimical to our democratic way of life. It is essential, in some cases, that precautions be taken, but we ought to call attention to such conditions now because they are a sign of fear. As soon as possible we should rid ourselves of fear and of the practices which fear has brought about.

In the past no one was afraid to state what he believed or was anyone called to account for the unpopular organizations to which he belonged – or for his friends, or his comings and goings. They were his personal affairs and only if he broke our laws did he become a concern of our law enforcement officers.

In wartime the growth of fear is inevitable. But we should recognize it and see to it that we return to the practices guaranteed to us in our Bill of Rights, as soon as the dangers brought about by war are past.

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December 18, 1943

Washington – (Friday)
This morning the President returned to us and Anna, the older grandchildren and I went to meet him. We drove home with him, but haven’t had a real account of the trip, only a very general impression. We are deeply concerned about Mr. Churchill’s illness, and that was the first question which the President asked us this morning. The bulletin sounded encouraging and one hopes that all will go well, but pneumonia twice in one year is somewhat serious, even for a young person. One cannot help being anxious, therefore.

To obtain a really full account of a trip of this kind, one must listen whenever one has a chance. So, this afternoon, I shall go to the President’s first press conference and so will all the family that can slip into the room. Tonight, we shall ply him with questions at dinner. But we know quite well that, because of the accumulation of work which he will find on his desk here and in the executive office, we shall have to take our chances whenever we can.

It is a great relief to have him safely back, and I know he must have been pleased at the spontaneous welcome which greeted him when he came into the diplomatic reception room after leaving his car. There were the Cabinet members, delegations from the Senate and the House, and heads of commissions, besides members of his own secretariat.

Anna looked everywhere for little Johnny, and finally found him out in the hall. He was standing entirely alone, looking at the backs of the crowd, evidently not quite having the courage to get through. She rescued him, but when he did get to his grandfather, he wasn’t quite sure that he knew him. That will soon change, however, for children get on well with the President.

I forgot to mention the other day that I made a recording for the Voice of the Army radio program. It was far easier to do than the one I did as a Christmas message for the OWI in French to the women of France. Somehow, when you talk French as rarely as I do now, suddenly to improvise even a few words, presents difficulties. I only hope it comes out understandably, particularly as it is a Christmas message to people who are suffering and can only convey hope to them. But the outlook is brighter this year.

Have you seen a little book which the Institute of Decorators has produced, called For You And Your Home? It is written to help defense workers to furnish their homes attractively. Its production is part of a real movement undertaken by the artists of America in many fields to help in the war effort.

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December 20, 1943

Washington – (Sunday)
On Thursday afternoon of this week, I had a tea party for the International Students, who gather in this city to study at the various universities. Some of them are undergraduates, some of them in medical, law or business schools.

At this party I usually hear my first Christmas carols. This year they began with “Silent Night, Holy Night,” which is known in many languages all over the world. These young people also sang a Spanish carol, which to my surprise, I could understand and sing with them. This gave me a sense of companionship and kinship with the South and Central American students.

I wonder, if in every school in this country, the pupils couldn’t learn a Spanish or Portuguese Christmas carol for their next Christmas celebration. Perhaps, in every South and Central American country, the children could learn the words of “Silent Night” in English.

Friday afternoon I went to visit the first of the areas in the District of Columbia where colored people, who cannot find any better places in which to live, are now living. I was appalled to find blocks where many of the houses had outside toilets. The water pipes, on which the people depend for all the water used for washing, cleaning and drinking, come up directly next to this outdoor toilet. This water is also used to flush the toilet.

I am told there can be no contamination because the pipes are separate, but I think the risk is ever present because pipes deteriorate. The houses are old, patched up with uneven floors and the ingrained dirt of ages. The pathetic part is, that in nearly every house, it was quite evident than an effort was made to keep the house clean and to sweep the yard.

Every bit of water for scrubbing, washing and personal bathing must be carried in and, if wanted hot, must be heated on the stove. The one stove downstairs must usually heat the upstairs floors, and these are only small coal stoves. The bedding on the beds I saw was anything but adequate.

One two-room house had three old ladies living in it. The next-door neighbor had been trying to get them some coal for a fire. They were in bed because they had none. The effort to make these places livable was pathetic – so little furniture, so few cooking utensils. In one place I saw no china with which to set the table, though the family consisted of mother, father and three or four children.

For four rooms of the type I have described, the family paid $23.75 a month. The rent includes no heat and no light. In other words, all they get besides a tumbledown shelter, is water from a pipe in the backyard, and this water may or may not be contaminated. The man of the family earned $4.60 a day, which is average wages, and should provide decent shelter if available.

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December 21, 1943

New York – (Monday)
One of the newspaper girls who went with me last Friday afternoon to look at the housing conditions in Washington, asked me what the object was of my looking into the situation. Perhaps many of my readers may have the same question in mind.

I would like to say here that, in general, I consider housing basic to the wellbeing of any community. Health, juvenile delinquency, adult crime, all these have their roots in bad housing conditions. Housing is no new interest of mine in the District of Columbia.

When I lived here 25 years ago, Mrs. Archibald Hopkins interested Mrs. Woodrow Wilson in the condition of Washington alleys. The Senators of that day were aroused to their first action by the sight of their senatorial laundry blowing in the wind of one of these typical alley backyards.

Mrs. Hopkins was still alive when I came back to Washington in 1933, and one of the first things I did was to visit some of these alleys with her. Through the Alley Dwelling Authority, considerable constructive work has been done to eliminate bad places and to increase decent housing, but it has never gone fast enough and there have always been bad spots in the nation’s capital.

The war has aggravated this condition. To do anything about it will require not only the interest of the commissioners of the local district agencies, but the full cooperation of Congress, which is fundamentally responsible for the government in the District of Columbia. However, even the Congress, without an understanding on the part of the people who live in the District, will probably not achieve rapid enough results.

The war has created situations which are dangerous to health and moral standards. We must know about these conditions if we are to remedy them. Therefore, I have decided to see with my own eyes just what they are and from time to time I shall tell you about them.

These conditions exist in the capital of the United States, and I think for that reason are of interest to the country as a whole. The capital belongs to every citizen of the United States. This is not, however, the only reason that I report to you through my column. I hope that you will realize that these conditions exist because of overcrowded centers throughout the nation. They exist in rural areas. The more you know about them, the more you will be awake to their implications if they are happening in your own home area.

Saturday and Sunday were family days in which, whenever we could, we made the President tell us about his trip. Franklin Jr. was here also. We listened to his stories of his men and their magnificent service.

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December 22, 1943

Hyde Park, New York – (Tuesday)
On Sunday, by the midnight train, we left Washington for New York City. There we barely had time to wash up and breakfast at the apartment before starting off for Hyde Park. The train seemed almost empty, since we are now so accustomed to overcrowding when we travel.

We had a very comfortable trip and I read the morning papers and an article by Mr. Hiram Motherwell, as well as an article by a soldier on what the soldier is concerned about. Almost before I knew it, we were well up the Hudson River and in the midst of what seemed a good, healthy snowstorm. But, by the time we reached Poughkeepsie, the sky was cleared and a deep wonderful blue. The landscape is a wintry one with only the evergreen trees giving color to the woods.

We went over to my cottage for a few minutes just to make sure that everything was well, since I am not going to open it on this trip. Then I went over to the big house. There I planned for our large family over Christmas. The family begins to arrive today, when my daughter and her children come for a week in the old home, which the children have never entered without finding my husband’s mother there to greet them.

I am sure it will seem very strange to them, as it does to practically everyone. My mother-in-law lived for so many years in this house, that she really seemed a part of it. Her personality seems to go right on living here, so you expect to find her sitting by the fire in the big library, or up in her own bedroom.

Right after lunch on Monday, I had a short call from one of our neighbors, Mrs. Gerald Morgan, and then Miss Thompson and I went over to the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library for the tree which we have over there. First it will be shown for all the people on our place, and then on Sunday and Monday nights for all the soldiers from the MP school near here.

The wind began to blow and the air was distinctly cooler as we walked from the library to my sister-in-law, Mrs. J. R. Roosevelt’s house. We found her suffering from the cold which seems to have attacked so many people. But she was cheerful and glad to see us and interested in the Christmas plans.

Another sad loss came to us yesterday in the news that Mrs. Josephus Daniels has passed away. No one could have been kinder to young people than she was to us when Mr. Daniels was Secretary of the Navy and my husband’s chief in Washington. She was full of fun and her life was a very rich and useful one. I cannot bear to think of Mr. Daniels and her boys without her. She gave out a great deal to those around her and I think she was always the tactful and unifying influence which someone must be in every big family.

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December 23, 1943

New York – (Wednesday)
Having done all we could at Hyde Park, we came to New York City yesterday morning to meet my daughter and her children, so that Johnny could get a nap at our apartment between trains. Then I saw them off on a train for Hyde Park and went back to my apartment to have a quiet pre-Christmas dinner with an old friend.

I have had several appointments today but a part of the day was spent with a friend and her children. This is the children’s season and they are about the only ones to whom a happy Christmas spirit is possible. I take the midnight train back to Washington and many duties await me tomorrow.

I was very sorry to learn a few days ago that Mrs. Dwight Davis had to resign her position in the Red Cross because of ill health. She has done so well with her volunteers. While I am sure her successor will continue to do good work, everyone must regret the loss of Mrs. Davis’ executive ability.

I have been thinking a good deal these days of the boys who are now in the fighting forces but, who, at one time, passed through the hands of the Vocational Foundation Inc. To many of these boys, this organization seems to have meant the only real interest they could count on. All of us on the board were asked to send Christmas remembrances to those who had no other people who would be thinking of them at Christmas time. These were a goodly number.

It is easy to understand how young boys and girls get into trouble when they have no background of home life. Now the Foundation is finding many of its boys coming back, discharged from the services, and looking for a job as well as readjusting to civilian life. Some of them with an added physical handicap find it even more difficult than it was before.

On January 12, at Carnegie Hall, the Vocational Foundation will have a concert at which Nathan Milstein, the violinist, will play, and Valentin Pavlovsky will be at the piano. The program sounds delightful and I wish that I could be there myself. I hope the house will be packed for the benefit of the foundation and that there will be some seats given to servicemen by people who, like myself, would like to be there but cannot attend on that particular date.

I have had a very kindly reproof from Mr. William R. Harshe, who says that unintentionally I may have done harm by grouping Nurses’ Aides and the Nurses’ Cadet Corps together. I thought it was well understood that a Cadet Nurse, enrolling under the Bolton Bill, was pledged from two-and-one-half years to three years of service.

Naturally, she will look on nursing as a career, unless she marries. Nurses’ Aids are volunteers who take a Red Cross course and then pledge themselves to a certain number of hours work in hospitals, but not on the level of a professional nurse.

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December 24, 1943

Washington – (Thursday)
Yesterday, in New York City, I went to present one of the “househould kits” at the Russian War Relief Office. I found a Christmas party for the children going on, with a real Santa Claus and snow maidens who, I understand, accompany Santa Claus in Russia. They offered to dress me up as a snow maiden, but I decided that, since the extent of my activity was the bringing of one household kit, I could do that in my ordinary clothes.

These household kits contain what the Red Cross considers the essential things which a family returning to a devastated home must have. Free transportation for these kits has been arranged to the USSR through the Soviet shipping authorities. It is hoped that many families in this country will sends kits of this kind to a family in Russia as a sign of the gratitude we feel for having been spared the fate of these unfortunate people.

I returned to Washington this morning and the day has gone according to schedule so far. I started out with much mail accumulated during my few days away. Eleven o’clock found us over in the Executive Office shaking hands with the members of the staff. This is always a Christmas Eve affair, but most of the things which we usually do on Christmas Eve have been moved up a day, so as to allow us to go up to Hyde Park.

I have had another suggestion sent in to help out with the juvenile delinquency problem, and it seems to me rather a good one. In Buffalo, New York, mothers and daughters are starting “TACs,” which means “Teen Age Clubs.” The organization is only three months old and started with eight members in Mrs. Edward F. Freitas’ home as a Junior Red Cross project. They now have 300 members.

The young people are organized on a military basis and have full charge of their own activities and management. They elect their own members to the house committee, formulate and enforce rules of conduct and penalize disobedient members. They plan eventually for a recreation center, similar to a grownup club, where youth can meet for such social activities as dances.

They will serve light refreshments, but no liquor. It will be youth’s own club, open every afternoon and evening. If this has been done by one mother and her young married daughter in one locality, it surely can be duplicated in many others.

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December 25, 1943

Hyde Park, New York –
“The great use of life is to spend it for something that will outlast it.” (William James). The best illustration that I can think of which proves the truth of William James’ thought is this day when we celebrate.

Christmas Day is the day on which Christ was born. Every Christmas we should reread that story of the baby who lay in a manger because his parents could find nowhere else to stay. His life is told in a few brief chapters of the New Testament and if anyone ever “spent” their life, He did even before the final sacrifice.

All these years after we still celebrate His birthday because He “spent” His life so well. He must have had times when He wondered whether He as doing anything that would outlast His day. For part of His sacrifice seems to have been that in spite of the flashes of insight which carried him beyond this world, for the most part. He lived and suffered all the uncertainties and limitations of the ordinary human being. So His triumph was the proof that in every human being there is something divine if only one can keep the faith which carried Christ through His final sacrifice.

Through the years we have added to our Christmas celebration many things which are merely Christmas customs, but which have nothing to do with the spiritual side of the festival. I enjoy these things and want them all remembered and observed, but I hope we will never forget that the basis of everything else on this day in the year is the story of the Christ Child and it should always have a part in our celebration. Christmas is a time when every family should develop its own customs and traditions. I have always loved the Christmas carols and like to have them sung as often as possible through the Christmas season.

In many homes this year there will be sadness because of empty seats around the family table. Some of these seats may be permanently empty. but the symbol of Christmas is eternal giving and words will ring our ears:

He that loseth His life for my sake shall find it.

Hope should rise in every heart for the story of Christ is a triumphant story. Down through the ages the spirit which He died to keep alive has lived. In every saddened home as the Christmas bells ring out, the determination should be strengthened to bring to this earth those things for which Christ died. By His [?] he made it possible for humanity to continue striving for a better world.

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December 27, 1943

Hyde Park, New York – (Sunday)
First, I want to thank all the kind people who have sent us Christmas cards. I think there were more this year than ever before, and so many of them have kind messages written on them. It is, unfortunately, impossible to write to each person who sends in a card, but my husband and I both look them over and they bring us a great deal of happiness each year.

This has been a very wonderful Christmas, for which we personally feel deeply grateful. In spite of hardships and difficulties throughout the world, our men are winning victories and every victory means one step nearer to peace and the happy day when they will be home with us again.

Though two of our boys and our son-in-law were far away, two of them were able to be home. One was here only for 24 hours, but the other one for two or three days. Our daughter was with us and seven grandchildren, besides two old friends, so we felt greatly blessed.

On Christmas Eve, when the President broadcast to the armed forces and to the country, we all gathered in the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library from which he spoke. Some of our neighbors and all the people who are employed by us on the place were with us. The big tree stood where it has stood each year in the middle hall.

We all joined in the Christmas carols as they came over the radio, and then after distributing our gifts, everyone had ice cream and cake. There is certainly no dearth of children on our place.

Friday night we had early supper so that as many of our grandchildren as possible could have it with us and listen for a little while to their grandfather’s reading of Dickens’ Christmas Carol. He cuts the whole story, of course, but he is so expert at reading it now, he can hold even the small children’s attention for a little while.

Saturday, we kept entirely for our own family, but today, for an afternoon party, we are having a few of the children from the Wiltwyck School, who could not go home to their own families. Tonight, the first party of 250, including men of the military police school and their wives and sweethearts, will be with us in the library. We have two parties, since they cannot all be off duty at the same time, and this makes it possible to include the wives and sweethearts.

It is the first year since we went to Washington that my husband has not been in the White House. I have been gone twice, once when Franklin Jr. was in the hospital in Boston, and once when I went to Seattle because Anna was ill. The older grandchildren and our own children were so anxious to be home this year, that I am glad the President felt it was possible to do so.

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December 28, 1943

Hyde Park, New York – (Monday)
I thought last evening that we were really going to have a touch of snowy weather and the children were all excited at the thought of having some coasting. But it turned out to be sleet and the roads became icy, which today has turned to slush.

Unexpectedly, the President had to return to Washington. He could stay long enough to meet and talk with the soldiers and to enjoy a short entertainment by Mr. Paxton, who has the most remarkable memory I have ever known. It was amusing to hear the soldiers call out the name of the city from which they came and to hear Mr. Paxton rattle off all the facts about that city – the names of the newspapers, the railroads, the hotels, the movie houses and the chief industries.

The boys gave him a tremendous hand. The President was as much entertained by his feats of memory as the boys were. It was really a most successful evening. The ice cream and cake also seemed to be much appreciated and I decided that soldiers have as good appetites as have my own boys.

It is amusing to me to hear the boys in the armed services, returned from the far corners of the earth, gloat over some of the foods they have been unable to have for long months. For instance, one of Franklin Jr.’s friends, who spent last night with us, was just back from the Southwest Pacific. When I offered him a glass of milk, he said:

No thanks, I don’t want to become accustomed to something I can’t have when I go back. But it was just wonderful to have fresh eggs and this chicken. I haven’t had chicken in over a year.

Franklin Jr., in telling us about the first days after their ship was dive bombed and brought into a port in Sicily, remarked on how scant their foods were. Knowing his usual, hearty appetite, I noticed with joy his appreciation of the pheasants which we had for dinner, and which were a Christmas gift to my husband from one of his old friends up here, Mr. John Mack.

Fala returned to his master as soon as we got up here. While the President was away, Fala visited with a young friend of his, a lady Scottie who belongs to Miss Margaret Suckley, one of our neighbors in Rhinebeck. Fala seemed quite pleased to see his master again, but he missed his companion and looked very dejected when he was put all by himself in his pen on the lawn.

Now he is going to have a little dachshund for a companion during the next few weeks, since my daughter-in-law, Mrs. John Roosevelt, and her children will be here with us with their pet in Washington. It was good to have our son here even for such a short visit, but I felt sorry for them all when he said a last goodnight to his little boy and baby girl. As you see this come to each young family, and you think of the thousands to whom it is coming throughout the country; it seems no longer to be a personal grief but one compounded by the many sorrows that face the country as a whole.

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December 29, 1943

New York – (Tuesday)
Here I am in New York City again. I have already kept three appointments, though our train was somewhat late in arriving. Several people will be in to see me a little later in the afternoon. Last, but not least, I promised to take my two oldest grandchildren with their mother to see Winged Victory tonight.

This will be a great thrill for them, for I doubt if they have seen many theater performances. Certainly not the type of performance which I am given to understand this one is. Mr. Moss Hart, the author, has urged me to see this Air Force show ever since it opened, so I am glad we can go tonight.

Tomorrow we shall be on our way back to Washington and our minds will turn to all the problems facing the government today. One cannot help feeling sad that there should be any strikes in wartime. Yet, knowing as I do how long certain grievances have been building up in railroads, steel mills, and coal mines, I feel that not only the workers involved, but the people of the country as a whole will have to take some responsibility for these situations.

If we had been concerned about injustices in the past and had insisted that disinterested investigations take place at once and solutions be found, we probably would not have had the tense situations we face today.

It is not only the rise in the cost of living that brings these strikes about, that is just the last straw pressing on the camel’s back. It is quite obvious that the soldier out in the field must not be the one to suffer. Production and transportation must go on wherever it affects materials which go to soldiers. I hope that the public learns from this situation not to ignore complaints or difficulties until they build up into mountains, which can be no longer ignored.

To my certain knowledge, there have been a number of investigations into the entire situation of the coal industry in our country. Each time there have been a number of recommendations made by the investigators. But the things that needed to be remedied were not. The public has apparently never taken the slightest interest to see that any action followed an investigation. Investigations are only of use if results follow.

I saw with regret this morning that the number of pneumonia cases was increasing. This is not strange at this season of the year, but the shortage of doctors at the present time makes it extremely difficult for both doctors and nurses when epidemics spread. We should, therefore, make a great effort to keep well.

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December 30, 1943

Washington – (Wednesday)
Someone has pointed out to me that I was a little abrupt in saying that we must make a great effort to keep well. Of course, every one of us wants to keep well, but too few of us consistently keep ourselves in good condition.

I am the last person to suggest that one should be afraid of picking up germs, or of doing anything because one might run into some kind of contagion. I have never found being afraid of anything did one any good. I have always gone on the theory that if one could be useful, one took whatever risks were incurred and was glad of the chance to do whatever needed to be done. One learns to take risks sensibly and takes as many precautions as possible.

Don’t get overtired unless you have to. If you do get overtired, take the first chance that comes along to catch up on sleep and rest. Eat and drink sensibly. See that you get your quota of fresh vegetables and fruit, and that you don’t eat too much. See that you get a certain amount of fresh air and exercise every day. The rest of the time, work as hard as you like and keep as interested as possible in your work – that is what I mean by making an effort to keep well.

If you are in good condition and become ill, you have something to help you fight the little bugs – some reserve that can be called on if you’ve kept in good condition. The less we add to the doctors’ and nurses’ burdens these days, the better it is for the communities in which we live. Remember, however, that if you or anyone in your family runs a temperature, it is better to see a doctor as soon as possible and follow the doctor’s directions, otherwise you may have a serious illness instead of a slight one.

We saw Winged Victory last night and enjoyed it. It is emotional in spots, particularly these days, when so many people see situations on the stage through which people they love are passing. I hope it leaves every person in the audience with the thought that the sacrifices are only worthwhile if we learn something from them and do better in the peace than we did before – otherwise we have no right to waste hundreds of young lives.

The show is well written, acted and produced. I am sure the audiences will increase in magnitude wherever it goes. The house was crowded and enthusiastic last night.

Now we are on our way back to Washington. Two grandchildren, Sara and Kate Roosevelt, are added to those who will be with us for the next few weeks. Over New Year’s we shall have seven grandchildren in the house, which is a good way to begin the New Year.

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December 31, 1943

Washington – (Thursday)
Not long ago I lunched with the members of the Architectural League of New York to talk about the great contribution which Mr. Henry Bacon, architect for the Lincoln Memorial, had made to the beauty of our capital city. He created the surroundings which give innumerable visitors an unforgettable emotional experience.

Like many other artists, Mr. Bacon thought more of his art and less of the material things of this world. When he died, it was found that he had left comparatively little to his wife. For some years friends have been contributing to a fund for her use. It seems only fitting that those of us who have stood before the Lincoln Memorial and have been inspired by the figure of Lincoln and his words carved in the stone around the rotunda, should make some slight return in a tangible form to this memorial.

Thousands and thousands of visitors walk up those steps and pause as they gaze at the statue. They give thanks that here, in our great capital we can be so reminded of the value of character and courage in our leaders. Lincoln gave much to his own generation. He still lives in our minds and hearts and provides an example and an inspiration to the people of the country.

This memorial in Washington is one of the ways in which we are reminded of him and brought closer to an understanding of his value to us as a national leader, whose influence we must never lose.

If all the people who have felt gratitude for the truths which this memorial keeps before us would send to Mr. Fletcher Collins, the Architectural League, 115 East 40th Street, New York City, a small or large sum of money, according to their circumstances, Mrs. Bacon’s few remaining years could be made comfortable. We could feel that we had made a slight return for what Mr. Bacon had done during his life for us.

Last night a few of us went to see Over Twenty-One, a play by Ruth Gordon, in which she acts the leading role. Miss Gordon is charming in this new comedy with a war background. It is a good play and will give you an evening of laughter.

The British gentleman, who sat beside me, said: “I have not laughed so much in weeks.” The British people have not had very much to make them laugh in the past few years, so I was grateful both to the author and the players, and to Mr. Max Gordon, who presented the play.

As I walked along this morning, I noticed that the clear snappy air made everyone move quickly and put color into their cheeks. We are having unusually chilly weather for Washington. I think it is making us feel well and, perhaps, will cut down the flu rate.