Eleanor Roosevelt -- My Day (1943)

41

February 17, 1943

Columbia, Missouri – (Tuesday)
Various delays this morning gave us time for a very comfortable breakfast with Col. and Mrs. Hoag. I have always had a great admiration for Army wives, but it was enhanced by Mrs. Hoag’s philosophical attitude toward the present situation. They left Puerto Rico in June and are still without most of their furniture. Nevertheless, she seems to have enough to make everyone comfortable and she told me that she rather liked living with fewer belongings since the house was less care. Wartime conditions would be easier for everyone if they would face them with this same spirit.

A little before 10:00, we left the field in Des Moines and were in Kansas City, Kansas, at about 11:00 a.m. There the Army is using the Midland Radio and Television School to train men and women, first as radio operators and receivers, and second, as radio mechanics. All those who are there have had their basic training.

As far as I could find out, the men and women are fairly equal in their achievements. Some of the men never touched a typewriter before and, therefore, take a little longer to learn the typing out of code messages. Some of the women have never used tools before and are a little slower in acquiring mechanical skills. A healthy rivalry however, seems to exist and I rather imagine that all the students do their work better because they are there together.

The Army has taken over considerable hotel space and we went over the arrangements, which in many ways are similar to those in Miami. Rooms in the past may have held one guest, they now hold three or four cots, sometimes the double-decker variety used in barracks. On the whole, I think this is an easier life to adjust to than the complete Army routine of the barracks.

We reached Columbia, Missouri, on time and a group of students met us at the airport. I had a press conference, went over the plans for the afternoon, saw Mrs. Middlebush, the wife of the President of Missouri University, inspected the cadets of the Navy Training School and spoke to them a few minutes in the evening.

In the afternoon I spoke to the student body, had dinner with them, visited Teen Town; a recreational center created for the use of young teenage people after school hours. It is the first one I have ever seen and I think it a very interesting idea. I met for a time in the evening with student leaders and attended a short reception, and “so to bed,” as Mr. Pepys would say.

42

February 18, 1943

Washington – (Wednesday)
Tuesday morning saw us up and on our way by 6:00, in spite of the fact that Monday had been a very busy day. Flying certainly does make a difference in the distances one can cover. Even though my husband does find flying over the clouds rather uninteresting, I must register my own enjoyment of what always seems to me like an exciting new world of soft white fleece, with dark caverns opening up in spots, and rearing horses or curling waves in other places. In fact, I can imagine almost anything where the tops of clouds are concerned.

I reached New York City in time to have two young naval officers lunch with me. I had two appointments in the afternoon, and then a friend dined with me. A group of young people came in later to discuss a variety of new occupations which they have entered upon.

I have a great admiration for the way in which these youngsters tackle new jobs, whether it is going into the Army, Navy or Air Force, or becoming a secretary in a new office, or going into a factory for the first time.

Over and over again, I wish I had lived at their age in as free a world and had had the benefit of the variety of experiences which is theirs today.

Back in Washington this morning, I found a good many plans to readjust.

Madame Chiang Kai-shek is to arrive this afternoon and will be our guest. I am looking forward to her visit not only with pleasure, but with great interest. I think any woman in this period must have a special feeling for this very beautiful, very charming, very gentle woman. She has managed to live through such years of hardship and to share so completely with her countrymen, that her husband not only considers her his partner, but the people consider her their representative.

In talking to her you know that she has suffered with those who have suffered and that she never has been content merely to contemplate a situation, but has always tried to do something about it. One of the most charming pictures of her which I have seen, was taken in one of the Chinese homes for orphans, where children are fed, clothed and educated. Evidently Madame Chiang comes to visit them. They seem to recognize in her that quality of loving kindness, which is one of her great assets

The President and I are going down to the railroad station to meet her. On her return, I imagine that Madame Chiang will want to have a cup of tea and rest, since tomorrow will be a busy day for her.

43

February 19, 1943

Washington – (Thursday)
I am still a little breathless, for this has been a busy day. At 10:00, I went to make a recording, which is to be used on one of the Treasury Star Parade Programs. Home again, and a few of the usual complications about tickets for the Senate and House Galleries were awaiting me at my desk.

The speech by Madame Chiang was not only an interesting occasion, but quite unique. It marked the recognition of a woman who, through her own personality and her own service, has achieved a place in the world, not merely as the wife of Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek, but as a representative of her people.

We left the White House a few minutes before twelve to go to the Capitol, and people along the way waved and smiled their recognition of Madame Chiang Kai-shek. I went at once to the gallery overlooking the Senate Chamber, where she was to appear for a few minutes and deliver an extemporaneous, short speech.

When I saw her little, slim figure in her straight Chinese gown, coming down the aisle, she seemed overshadowed by the men around her. I could not help a great feeling of pride in her achievements as a woman, but when she spoke it was no longer as a woman that one thought of her. She was a person, a great person, receiving the recognition due her as an individual valiantly fighting in the forefront of the world’s battle.

I hurried from the Senate to the House Gallery to hear her deliver a speech which she had prepared. Then we went to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, where Senator Connally and Representative Bloom greeted us. Here, Madame Chiang tried to gain a few minutes to correct her extemporaneous speech. For she knows, as we all do, that one may say things in rather careless fashion, which in print look very different from the way they sound when spoken.

People kept crowding around her congratulating her on her speeches. Even when she retired to another room, one member with a special message came to talk with her. It was fortunate that lunch was a little delayed, so she finally had a chance to go through the manuscript.

Lunch was pleasant and restful. At the end, the entire membership of the Foreign Relations Committees of the Senate and the House shook hands with Madame Chiang, after which we hurried back to the White House. I hope she will get a little rest and we shall make no demands on her until dinnertime.

I shall remember for a long time the applause which both sides of the House gave her when she made a plea that we look upon Japan as our major enemy. It was evident that the plea struck a responsive chord in the hearts of the men and women before her. This balance between our two fronts certainly brings up difficult questions for decision, but I imagine we shall have to trust our military authorities to plan the wisest strategy in both oceans.

44

February 20, 1943

Washington – (Friday)
This morning, the President, Madame Chiang and I went over to the Executive Offices for the press conference. We were a little late, for my husband had a number of visitors beforehand. So, as soon as we were seated, the press began to crowd in. I am afraid those at the back could not see Madame Chiang at all, but they went out rather slowly, so I hope some of them had a glimpse of her as they passed by.

The President introduced the press to Madame Chiang and paid them some very nice compliments. Then she spoke to them for a few minutes, reminding them that “the pen is mightier than the sword.” It is always interesting to find some one, who is not a native, knowing the current sayings and quotations well enough to be able to think of them quickly. Everyone was amused when, at one point, she retorted very aptly by using another of our axioms, on which every child in this country is raised.

We took Madame Chiang back to the White House through the Cabinet Room, and she admired the shape of the unusual table there. We stopped for a glance at the swimming pool, and she will now have a chance to rest until 4:00 this afternoon, when the Chi Omega Achievement Award Committee will present her with their annual award at a very informal ceremony.

She is the first woman not of American birth to be given this award. However, her education was received in this country, and she knows it so well that the answer, “I am a Southerner,” which she is said to have given some one the other day, seems to be really true.

Incidentally, one must be very familiar with a language to indulge in repartee, and anyone who attended the press conference will attest to the fact that Madame Chiang was quick and humorous. I have never seen anyone more observant I doubt if anything could happen within her range of vision which she would not see.

I had a luncheon today for the wives of some of our high ranking commanding officers and the heads of the various women’s military groups. Unfortunately for us, Col. Hobby and Maj. Streeter could not be here, since they are at work somewhere in the field, but they were ably represented by their assistants. It was interesting to talk to these women who are directing the work of so many other women today. I am sure they enjoyed meeting the wives of their chiefs.

Tonight we hope to have four young singers from Howard University sing Southern spirituals for our guests. I hope afterwards that those of us who have not seen the pictures taken of the President’s visit to North Africa, will have an opportunity to see them. He tells me that he will have work after dinner, but since he was the principal actor in this film, he is not quite as interested as the rest of us are!

45

February 22, 1943

Washington – (Sunday)
Saturday morning was most interesting. I left the house with Mr. Maury Maverick at 8:30 and caught the 9:00 train for Baltimore. We were joined on board by Mr. John Hall and Warden Lewis Lawes. The War Production Board is interested in what Federal Prisons can produce for the war effort. It is good to know that, evil as war may be, it can bring some people salvation, for it is salvation to be kept busy if you are in prison.

We went to the Baltimore prison and were met by a number of the board members. After a brief survey of the cell block and a trip through the mess hall, we undertook a real inspection of the prison industries. At one time the main industry was the making of tags for automobiles. That had to be curtailed because of the use of essential metals, so only little tags are being made this year, but many other industries have been started.

The men are repairing shoes, making blue shirts for the Navy, long underpants, shell cases and furniture such as double-decker cots, chairs, desks and bedsprings. These last items necessitated the making of their own tools. The printing shop goes on and they do a good part of the state printing. In addition, of course, there are cooks and maintenance men, who, if they are allowed to enlist in the services, will find themselves immediately useful.

At another prison in the State of Maryland they told me that they are raising great quantities of foodstuffs. I understand that where neighboring farmers have had a shortage of man power and have, therefore, discontinued the cultivation of their land, they have been able to lease it and increase their own production. Farming is a very excellent occupation for people in prison, and I hope we shall encourage this kind of production everywhere we find it possible. They also can the food they raise, which will take them out of the market for canned goods.

This work is good for the prisoners and the Nation. Psychologically, nothing could be better than to give these men the feeling that they are doing something for the war effort. I have never seen a group which seemed to be working with more interest than the men we watched yesterday.

I returned in time to have my old friends, Mr. and Mrs. Adolph Miller lunch with me. Then I went to the wedding reception given by Secretary and Mrs. Wickard for their second daughter to be married this winter. Wartime makes the young people very anxious to start on their independent lives.

In the evening we went to see Helen Hayes in Harriet. She is splendid, of course, and I was delighted to have this opportunity to see her and the play.

46

February 23, 1943

Washington – (Monday)
Yesterday was a nice, peaceful day, with with guests at luncheon and at supper in the evening. After supper, we saw two brief newsreels, including the President’s last speech and Madame Chiang’s speech in Congress.

I did not have space yesterday fully to tell you how much interested I was in the play Harriet, written by Florence Ryerson and Colin Clements. Miss Hayes does a very remarkable piece of acting in bringing out the charm of Harriet Beecher, and at the same time leaves you in no doubt as to her emotional motivation.

When Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote Uncle Tom’s Cabin, she evidently had no idea she was stirring other people emotionally to the point where she, herself, would see her own son go to war, because he felt she had been a factor in bringing about the war. She had no feeling for Lincoln until she meet him and he stirred her emotions.

I love the scene where she is talking with Henry Ward Beecher and explains to him that his church, in which he holds dramatized auction sales of beautiful slave girls, is nothing more than a theatre and he is putting on a play. Harriet Beecher was nobody’s fool and had a sense of humor. Perhaps it isn’t such a bad thing when your emotions are stirred in the right direction, to have them become a well-spring of action. In any case, much of this play is applicable to the problems of today and I enjoyed it very much.

I have a letter from a woman in Michigan, who tells me they have a problem in their YWCA. A good many of the women are working on the late shift, from 3:00 p.m. to midnight, and so they are trying to hold dances from 1:00 a.m. to 4:30 a.m. Otherwise, these women, who are either young girls or young married women, have no opportunity for social life. They find that a good time and social contacts are essential, even when you work on a rather outlandish shift.

Some of the town’s people feel that they should go without entertainment, and so she asks my opinion. It seems to me that I have heard of a good many people who seek social contacts and good times at any hour of the day and night, and who often stayed up until these early morning hours.

If these youngsters have to work from 3:00 until midnight, they probably have enough vitality to dance for another hour or two, and they get accustomed to sleeping well into the daytime. I should think that the Y was the best possible assurance to their parents that the dances were well supervised and that the girls would be well looked after. On the whole, it seems to me better that they should dance in the YWCA than that the youngsters should go to a nightclub, which is the place to which they probably would go if the Y was not open to them.

47

February 24, 1943

Washington – (Tuesday)
Yesterday morning, the President, Madame Chiang and I left at about 10:45 and drove first to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, where, as a representative of her nation, Madame Chiang laid a wreath. The usual ceremony, the playing of the national anthems and the bugle blowing taps, seemed as impressive to me as ever.

I find it even harder now not to weep when those bugle notes float into the air, and I think of how often they are being heard over the fresh graves of our boys in many parts of the world. We are getting so much sad news these days, both in the loss of ships and of men, that one’s emotions are rather close to the surface.

From the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, we drove directly to Mt. Vernon. It was not as restful a drive as I had hoped it might be, because we were surrounded by motorcycles which made so much noise. But, I suppose, that is one of the penalties one pays for representing nations. The air was soft and pleasant and I listened with interest to all that Madame Chiang and the President were talking about.

Once at Mt. Vernon, we drove directly to Washington’s tomb, where both my husband’s and Madame Chiang’s wreaths were laid inside the crypt. By chance, Governor Darden of Virginia happened to be there and he joined us, which was very pleasant. We went up to the house, where Mr. Wall, the curator, took Madame Chiang through the first floor and out on the porch to enjoy the view.

She was interested in Mrs. Washington’s tea set, which is quite evidently Chinese porcelain. She liked the lantern in the hall, which she said might be found in a Chinese house. The fields of winter wheat reminded Madame Chiang of China, and she said rather wistfully that the scene might be a Chinese countryside and the house and buildings something like a Chinese compound.

In the afternoon, we had tea with the Vice President and Mrs. Wallace. The members of the Cabinet and their wives were invited. Madame Chiang was present. In the evening, I attended the Democratic National Committee’s dinner, which the President addressed over the radio. It seemed to me that his speech was not a partisan one, but addressed to people of all political parties.

This morning I am going to New York to do one or two things which I had promised to do long ago, and I return in the late afternoon.

48

February 25, 1943

Washington – (Wednesday)
I forgot to tell you that, on Monday evening, I drove around with Commissioner Mason to see the extent and success of a practice blackout. We were only gone from the dinner for about half an hour, but drove down F and G Sts. and Pennsylvania Ave., and no lights were showing from any government building, nor from the theatres, restaurants or shops.

There were two windows on Pennsylvania Ave. from which a little light glinted through badly drawn shades or curtains, and there was one restaurant which was slow in turning its lights out. Another one turned them on again before the signal was given. I was also impressed by the number of air raid wardens, auxiliary police and other civilian defense people with badges on their arms, who patrolled the streets.

Even our escort and official car did not keep us from being stopped. When we showed our lights too brightly we were informed of our mistake by a man in authority on a street corner.

I lunched today with Vice President and Mrs. Wallace to meet the wives of the Central and South American representatives in Washington. They are a charming and very agreeable group of women. I was deeply interested when Secretary Morgenthau told us all about Cuba’s associations for health and certain types of education. Some of the old Spanish families founded these associations.

For a monthly payment of $2.50 a man and his family gets complete care and any kind of operation that is necessary and hospitalization as long as is required for any illness. In addition, these associations carry on classes for the benefit of girls who wish to fit themselves for some particular kind of work, especially in cultural things such as the drama, music and dancing. There is quite a little colony of Cubans, who have settled in Tampa, Florida, and who have established a small association of this same type. Everywhere the contribution to the health and happiness of the people is great.

I am learning something every day, but it never occurred to me that at this kind of luncheon I would need my “short snorter” bill. Madame Martins, who travels by plane to and from Brazil, asked me if I was a member of this fraternity. When I acknowledged I was, she asked me to sign her bill and to produce my own.

Luckily for me, there were only two members at the table, the Vice President and Secretary Morgenthau, because I had left my bill at home at the White House. I had to pay three dollars for my carelessness, and I shall never go without my bill again!

49

February 26, 1943

Washington – (Thursday)
In all the manpower discussions going on at present, I do not think enough emphasis has been been laid on the fact that a young man or young woman, or an older man or older woman, trained for a job can do a great deal more than anyone who is not trained. All through Great Britain I was met by the recurring refrain:

Women can do anything that men can do, short of something requiring mere brute strength, if they are properly trained.

We are all so excited about obtaining manpower, and yet we have put little emphasis on the training that is needed for efficiency. The industries themselves like to train their own people, but it will shorten their period of training if a certain amount of basic training is given all those going to work in industry or on the farm.

That is the real reason why the National Youth Administration is training young men and young women in industry and farm work. It is of inestimable value at this time, and I wish that everyone could see the little booklet about the NYA resident project at Quoddy, near Eastport, Maine, because it shows exactly what is being accomplished to further the war effort.

After lunch on Wednesday, I stopped at the National Housing Administration office to see the furniture which they have developed for the government dormitories and government war housing. They work with the manufacturers and, by doing so, have succeeded in obtaining prices which are phenomenally low. The little dormitory rooms are nicely furnished with a bed (which can easily be used as a couch in the day time) an arm chair, a chest of drawers and a mirror. The bed has a good spring and a good mattress and the cost of it all is under fifty dollars. This furniture seemed to be well built, simple in line and good in construction.

At 4:00, Madame Chiang asked me to be present at her conference with the magazine press, which was to me most interesting. Then Mrs. Carl Dalbey and her son, Carl, Junior, who has twice been torpedoed on a Merchant Marine Ship, came to tea with me. It was fortunate that I happened to have time enough to greet this very courageous mother and her brave son.

This boy wears the emblem which the War Shipping Board tells me is given to all torpedoed men. I feel that the honor of coming to the White House is a recognition not only of the heroism of this particular mother and son, but that they symbolize many mothers, sons, husbands and wives throughout the country who do just as much for their nation, but who, unfortunately, I am not able to see or entertain.

50

February 27, 1943

New York – (Friday)
Yesterday morning I found my old friend, Mr. Frank Harting of the General Motors Company, awaiting me at my apartment. There were several other people who were going out with us to the General Motors factory in Linden, New Jersey. A group of factories in the East have become the Eastern Aircraft Division of the General Motors Company.

I had been asked particularly to see this one, because of the efficient way in which they feel they are running their cafeteria. Right after our arrival at the factory, we went to look at the counters before the next shift came in for food.

I have seldom seen a more attractive room. There was plenty of light, flowers on the tables, and the otherwise plain walls were decorated with banners and War Savings Bond posters. The food, itself, was arranged with such an eye for color, that the whole room looked as though some painter had made a picture with the object of giving one an impression of light and color.

We then saw a movie depicting the whole conversion process of the plant. This gave me my first idea of how much is involved in changing over from the building of motors to the building of planes.

About one-third of the employees are women, and they expect to go up considerably, probably to employing fifty percent of women in the plant. They also expect to increase the total number of workers in the next few months. They have four women counselors in charge of the women, who take an interest in their problems and who are there to be helpful.

I saw the Red Cross rest room, with two nurses in charge. Each girl has a locker and a clever arrangement of locking her coat to the hanger, as well as keeping her bag in safety. We had lunch in the cafeteria and it was a good meal.

Then we walked through the plant and I had an opportunity to talk to this little section of the larger army of workers, which, today, throughout the Nation, is making it possible for people all over the world to win the battle of democracy. They were a wonderful looking group and one could not help feeling very proud of America’s working men and women.

In the afternoon, I had a meeting at the Cosmopolitan Club in the interests of the Women’s Trade Union League, to which a number of New York State union leaders came. Miss Rose Schneiderman and I were anxious to talk over the problems of the League and its opportunities for usefulness in the future.

Last night, Mrs. Henry Morgenthau Jr. and I went to see The Patriots. We both like historical plays. Perhaps, at the present time, it is a good thing to see a play like this and to realize that one’s anxieties are no greater than those which Washington and Jefferson endured in founding our Republic. I thought the play well acted and enjoyed the evening very much.

51

March 1, 1943

Washington – (Sunday)
Friday afternoon I stopped for a few minutes at the warehouse of the Russian War Relief organization. I was much impressed by the way in which bundles come in from all over the country and are repacked and shipped out. They have been fortunate, they tell me, for the loss in shipments has been very slight. Since March is Red Cross month, they are not making appeals for money, but they are still shipping goods. I was happy to see so many medical supplies, as well as clothes, ready to go across.

Yesterday morning, I visited the new naval hospital at St. Albans, Long Island. There are so many wards that it was impossible to cover them all, but I hope I visited those which had casualties back from overseas. One boy had been in Edinburgh when we were there. Another one belonged to the first raider battalion of the Marines, and knew some of the boys who were in the Makin raid with our son.

Many of the boys are back from Casablanca and other North African ports, and so we had plenty to talk about. I only wish that I could have sat down with them and really heard the stories which they are so shy about telling. But there is only a minute or two with each boy as you go through the wards.

I was a little late for lunch at my apartment, but found my three youthful guests, all under 10, awaiting me with their mother. They were warm in their welcome and from then on my day was pure enjoyment. We had a pleasant lunch, during which we competed with each other on nursery rhymes and quiz questions, which I found that morning in a magazine during my trip to the hospital.

The youngest of my guests went home after lunch, and then the rest of us went to see Saludos Amigos. This is really delightfully done with color and charm in every picture. I think it ought to please even artistic and fastidious South and Central Americans. There was enough of the usual Disney humor to keep us all amused. We ended the afternoon by stopping for an ice cream soda, which I remember in my childhood was the proper way to end any Saturday afternoon’s entertainment.

In the evening, I went with a few friends to see Janie, a light and amusing comedy, well-acted by a charming young actress, Miss Gwen Anderson. The play treats with no very serious subjects, and unlike The Patriots, which we saw Thursday evening, teaches no great lesson. Nevertheless, the combination of the two evenings was a good contrast.

I enjoyed The Patriots just as much, but in an entirely different way that would suit a more serious mood. After last night’s play, we went backstage to offer our congratulations to the actors, and then stopped for a few minutes at the American Theatre Wing’s Canteen for Merchant Seamen, which Mrs. Pemberton runs. It was full and everyone seemed to be having a good time, which the Stage Door Canteens always provide.

52

March 2, 1943

Washington – (Monday)
Yesterday evening we were shown a film taken by men in North Africa who must have been in the heart of battle, and sometimes nearer enemy lines than their own. It was an inspiring film because it showed the French troops passing in review before the Americans, and later our own boys gallantly fighting. But it is also a heartrending picture, for it included the inevitable costs of victory, wounded and dead men.

In the White House, there is no chance to forget that one is facing a cruel and terrible war and that victory is only obtained at a heavy price. I hope that all the people in this country will work as hard for the establishment of friendship and good understanding among the nations of the world in the future, as they have to work now to achieve victory in the war.

Every time I see a thoughtless statement about our allies or about our future aims in world organization, I tremble not for the harm it may do other nations, but for the harm it may do us. We are only a small minority in North and South Africa of the population of the world. It behooves us to look for ways in which we can make friends with the other nations, for the results of future wars, if we do not prevent them, will be disastrous to all of us.

I am honorary chairman of the National Advisory Committee of the Campfire Girls, as I am also honorary chairman of the Girl Scouts. Both of these organizations have very similar aims and I have long felt that it would be valuable if they could work together, but such an understanding has never seemed possible.

This month I wish to salute the 321,000 young girls who belong to the Campfire Organization. They are celebrating their 31st birthday. If more leaders could be found, I believe they could increase their membership, for every young girl I know is anxious to do something in the war effort.

Their annual birthday project has been named “Serve By Saving,” and they have become:

…skilled in the saving of money to buy War Stamps and Bonds, in the conservation of clothes, food and home equipment, health and salvage of essential materials.

Their activities are many. Some of them are directly connected with war service.

For instance, they act as messengers for civilian defense and Red Cross organizations. Through home activities, they also free older people for essential war work. I want to congratulate them on their achievements, and I hope this week will bring them a sense of accomplishment and participation in the effort made by the whole country.

53

March 3, 1943

Washington – (Tuesday)
Two days ago, a friend of mine, a young man who has served in the Oregon State Legislature, and who is now aide to Gen. J. A. O’Connor, with headquarters at Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, came to lunch with us. He is back in the United States for a short leave and he told me some very interesting things about the building of the Alaskan Highway.

He wrote the whole story for the Army newspaper Yank, and I think parts of it have been reprinted in newspapers throughout the country. Perhaps many of them did not carry the picture, which I think is most striking. Two bulldozers meet in the Canadian forests, one driven by a Negro corporal from far-off Philadelphia, the other by a private, a white boy from Kennedy, Texas.

They stand on their machines shaking hands when the Alaskan Highway, which was built from two directions, meets. They typify the cooperation of the colored troops and the white troops, who have borne the same great hardships, have worked with the same enthusiasm, and who will continue to work in the same way until the road, which is now open for traffic, is really permanently finished.

This is a 1,630 mile highway. Inspector William Grennan, of the “Mounties,” in the Yukon Territory, told Brig. Gen. O’Connor, head of the Northwest Service Command, which operates the Alcan Highway:

You have both explored and built.

There are many stories of the road, which are going to be told around campfires in the North Country for many years to come. One, for instance, is about Staff Sgt. James A. Price, of Baltimore, Maryland, who supervised the blasting of some of the cuts through Sikanni Mountain. When the ice floes were endangering a bridge, he managed to blast them away without damaging the structure of the bridge. There is the story of the colored boys, who stood waist high in icy waters, pounding in the piling, and who built a bridge in 84 hours which was scheduled to take two weeks.

It is not just the work, it is the loneliness and the difficulty of communication, for even their radios don’t always work, which makes this particular assignment a test of the character of the men. We people at home have so much to be grateful for when we think of the many things, in great cold and great heat, which our men are doing all over the world. Things which mean for us and our children, a better world, but which may mean death for the men who have to accomplish them.

Rationing may be hard to master, but I guess it is up to us to master it. The OPA film Point Rationing Of Food, ought to help considerably. We made a rule long ago here in the White House to simplify meals, to use as many non-rationed foods as possible, especially when we have guests. Even when we have many people, I hope we shall be able to have such simple things, that it will not give anyone the feeling that he is taking food away from people who need it.

54

March 4, 1943

Washington – (Wednesday)
I have just been a to a luncheon given by the newly organized Fashion Group Inc., down here. This is a branch of the original Fashion Group Inc., New York City, and I think it ought to be very valuable to all the other groups in the country, particularly during the war period.

Fashions include not clothes and shoes and cosmetics alone, though these are essentials to turning out a well groomed man or woman. Fashions also include the things that go into a design for living, such as home furnishings, draperies, rugs, art, anything which has to do with beauty and comfort in the arrangement of a home.

The fashion group includes editors, writers, advertisers, as well as designers, producers and artists. It is an interesting audience to talk to, because the faces before you reflect the thinking which is going on in the various people’s minds.

Sometime I think I would like to write on the obligations of an audience to a speaker. There is no question about it – an audience can be to some extent the master of its own fate. I am sure many a speaker is rendered dull and uninteresting when he sees expressionless faces with eyes that look like those of a dead fish. He is spurred on to thought and expression when people before him show that they are being stimulated and are doing some thinking of their own.

I was entitled years ago to membership in the Fashion Group because I helped a friend in an experiment in furniture making in a rural factory. As far as her production went, she was highly successful. The furniture she produced was excellent in quality, but part of the experiment proved to be impractical. We had hoped to use boys who worked on the neighboring farms to work in the shop during the winter, but we found that, having learned a trade, they rarely wanted to go back to farm work.

I imagine the European system whereby handwork is largely done in the homes as an avocation is, probably, the only way in which one can foster any industries in rural areas. A woman can do her housework, and in her leisure hours sit before her door and make lace. She can weave at her own loom. A man may develop some particular hobby, which he carries on in his own home.

As a skilled worker, he may do considerable gardening with the aid of his wife and children, keep some animals to increase his food supply. If he is a farmer, he may leave the farm during the slack periods and do an unskilled job and be glad to return to the farm. But, if he acquires a high degree of skill, he is apt to want to go on in the occupation which probably gives him more creative satisfaction and, incidentally, more pay.

55

March 5, 1943

Washington – (Thursday)
Yesterday afternoon I went to see the first Government Workers’ Club, which has been established in Mrs. Evelyn Walsh McLean’s garage. It is really extraordinary how they have adapted and decorated this room. It is an excellent place for dancing.

Yesterday they had a shower for the kitchen, and I think they will probably have everything they need to serve refreshments in the future. They hope to be able to do over the second floor into a reading and game room, with another room set aside as a classroom.

A great many of our government workers, it appears, would like to study Spanish and I am delighted to find this trend. It shows that we are beginning to realize that our good neighbor policy has to be carried on by all of us, not just by our Government.

On leaving the club, I went to the Pan American Building to see an exhibition of paintings done in Mexico by Mr. Roy MacNicol. They were perfectly charming, and I was particularly interested in the Indian types. Some showed the hardships of the life they and their forefathers had lived. Others had a gentleness and sweetness which seemed to draw you to them through the canvas. The color in every picture was fascinating and I feel sure that this is the predominant note in Mexico which attracts everyone in this country who goes there.

I walked home to find that it was rapidly getting colder. When I opened my windows last night, I looked out at the solitary sentries, who are always the last human beings I see at night, and the first I see in the morning, and wished I could do something to keep them warm. As it was, I was shivering in my bed before morning, and I wondered again how those poor boys had come through their solitary posts. Even walking up and down doesn’t keep one very warm. Long ago I was told that if one took deep breaths it made a great deal of difference, but I find that a rather exhausting occupation.

We have just held the Fourth of March church service, and it was well attended. Everybody present was moved, I think, by some personal as well as national feeling. One no longer only prays in general, for the prayers almost always have some personal application.

You remember, doubtless, that the Armenians are taught only to pray for their own after they have prayed in general terms. Perhaps we are all learning to do that, for we never know when or where our own are involved these days. The news from the Pacific today seems to be very good, and so most of us have gratitude in our hearts also.

56

March 6, 1943

Chicago, Illinois – (Friday)
In the course of the last few days I received a letter which interested me very much. For a long time I have watched the development of occupational therapy in hospitals and the rehabilitation of partially handicapped people. They must become independent and, at the same time, have the mental stimulus which comes from feeling that, through their own exertion, they have mastered something which is difficult. When this once has been accomplished, it is never so hard to do again.

I have always been grateful to enlightened people in industry who were willing to find jobs suited particularly to men disabled in different ways.

Now that we are at war and casualties are beginning to come back to our hospitals in ever-increasing numbers, this whole question becomes infinitely more important. The ordinary rehabilitation program falls rather naturally under the supervision of some part of the Social Security setup.

The letter which I have just received, and which comes from a member of of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, contends, however, that support should be given to Bill HR 801, which would keep vocational training for disabled veterans of this war under supervision of the Veterans Administration. The writer goes on to explain that disabled veterans will require different training in many cases, because they will suffer not from one disability alone, but very often from a much more severe mental disability than the average person handicapped in civilian life.

He pictures wounded men in the Philippines who have gone through a period of imprisonment, jungle fighting and the complications arising from some tropical disease. All in all, it makes me realize that we are going to have a more difficult problem than we had at the end of the last war. In addition, it will be far greater numerically.

I have been through enough hospitals myself to realize how many factors enter into complete recovery in cases where there is a permanent handicap to be faced. To many a sensitive boy, I imagine the first battle must be fought to overcome his distaste for the handicap, whatever it may be. Then he must overcome the feeling that the distaste he has felt also affects those he loves and are nearest to him.

This is a psychological problem for doctors, families and teachers. We owe it to these boys to do for them the wisest and best thing possible. I hope we are thinking far enough ahead to prepare adequate facilities and to use the best talent available in medical science.

57

March 8, 1943

Chicago, Illinois – (Sunday)
Since last Friday, we have attended a luncheon meeting of the War Savings Bond Staff at Urbana, Illinois, and visited the Navy School at the University of Illinois. The boys are studying Diesel engines, signal corps work and are learning to be cooks and bakers. An officers training school is just starting. They have wonderful space for physical training.

I am interested in the way they have set up their masts for signal corps work, so as to simulate a procession of navy ships in line. The University has allowed them to use some of the space in its Union Building as a mess hall for the Signal Corps school. Everyone seemed to be hard at work.

All these special schools have practical work as well as theory, so there is very little time to spare when you have done the required amount of athletic work each day. Calisthenics were going on in the distance when we came out on the parade grounds, where some of the boys were lined up as we passed them on the way back to the hotel.

They are using three-decker cots here. I suppose the Navy thinks it is well to accustom the boys to cramped quarters, since that is how they will have live aboard ship. The Army spends a great deal of time teaching people to be neat and orderly, but it is even more important in the Navy where the space is apt to be more restricted.

Travelling on the train with us were a number of youngsters who had been competing in an ice skating meet. One of them showed me with pride, the medals she had won. There is no doubt about it that young America likes the element of competition in whatever it does. That is why I imagine radio programs like quiz programs have such great success and are so widely listened to.

We talked to quite a number of soldiers who were coming up to Chicago for a few hours leave. Their time is so short that I wonder why it seems worthwhile to take such a trip. Perhaps the trip in itself gives them a change of scene and atmosphere and a chance for a meal in a big city, which undoubtedly varies from the army ration they are now getting.

The Japanese seem to have been hit in the last few days both by the Navy and the Air Force. Even though I never can quite rejoice in the loss of any human life, I can’t help being happy each time we have a victory, knowing that if we destroy ships and supply bases and factories faster than the enemy replaces them, the war will be over that much more quickly.

58

March 9, 1943

Washington – (Monday)
I wonder if other people of my age have dreaded, as I did, beginning to study anything again. If anyone else is as foolish as I am, I would like to say right here, that it really is great fun to try to use your mind again in the way you did when you were at school. After my first Spanish lesson, I sat down to try to write the words I had been taught, and was horrified to find how few I remembered. Nevertheless, I found myself enjoying it.

It is fairly easy to copy what someone else is saying if you know any other foreign language, but my difficulty seems to be in thinking quickly enough. If anyone were listening to what I was trying to say, I think they would get tired before I got to the end of thinking it through.

Perhaps, with practice this will come. I shall go to each lesson hopefully and pray that someday I shall wake up and be able to think of a sentence in Spanish without slowly translating it and having to think carefully of how each word should end and with what it should agree.

I find myself confronted again with a report from the National Safety Council on Accidents in the Home. It is quite appalling and means much now in the manpower situation. Last year a total of 30,500 persons were killed in home accidents, and 4,500,000 were injured. Of these injuries, 120,000 resulted in permanent disabilities.

As housewives, we seem to have a special job to do in the National Safety Council’s campaign. Some of the reasons for many of these accidents can be found in the fact that we allow hallways and stairways to be cluttered up by boxes, mops, toys and other things people fall over. They do this sometimes, because we do not always adequately light hallways and stairways.

Another reason for many falls seems to lie in rugs. We surely ought to be able to make these skid-proof. The kitchen seems to be the most dangerous room in the house, burns and scalds and cuts not only frequently come to the cook, but also to children. If we have small children around the house we should never leave pot handles turned out, so children get hold of them and spill the boiling contents on themselves.

The suggestion is that every woman should consider her house or apartment a business establishment, and should inspect it from time to time and require that people who do the work, including herself, live up to certain safety rules.

59

March 10, 1943

New York – (Tuesday)
Last evening I went to a meeting for the support of Bethune-Cookman College, at which Mrs. Pearl Buck made a most interesting address. She has been studying Thomas Jefferson. Perhaps a little study of his writings would be valuable to the country as a whole at this time, when we are trying to make democracy mean something to the whole world.

I reached New York City this morning and was glad of a few hours at home before starting by subway for Barnard College. Even in my native city, I don’t always strike the right subway, and instead of taking one which would have landed me on Broadway, I found myself at Lenox Avenue and 116th Street!

I had to take a taxi across, and then, because the taxi-driver could not find the number, I stepped out two blocks away. A rather harried young girl awaited me at the gate, and she had a relieved expression when she ushered me into the Deanery and Miss Gildersleeve’s presence.

It is always a pleasure to be with Dean Gildersleeve. The only other guests were four very attractive students. We were through lunch on time in spite of my tardiness, and the assembly began at the appointed hour. Afterwards, I met a small group of students and they escorted me back to the right subway station!

Two youngsters went all the way down to 14th St. with me. They are majoring in foreign languages and one of them told me she had to write a composition in Spanish and French once a week. Her professor had told her to write about her experiences, so she decided that a trip with me in the subway would be a good subject. It evidently satisfied her and the two of them went off beaming, while I waited for the local train to bring me to Sheridan Square.

I worked on the mail for a while, and then a young woman, Miss Venzuella Jones, came to read me her script about a war incident which happened at Pearl Harbor. It is a very moving and thrilling dramatization, and I rather hope that someday it will be done for the public.

This evening I go to the Girl Scouts dinner. I was glad to have word today from Mrs. Paul Rittenhouse, the National Director, that eleven youth-serving agencies are joining together and coordinating their projects. Some of them may hold a joint camp for farm workers this summer. I think this kind of collaboration is extremely valuable and should be carried on in as many fields as possible.

60

March 11, 1943

Rochester, New York – (Wednesday)
After speaking at the Girl Scouts dinner last night, I took the night train to Rochester, New York. Here the various youth groups have formed themselves into a council similar to the one which functions in Schenectady, New York. I spent some time with the Schenectady group last year and am very glad to see the work that these young people are doing here.

Miss Hildur Coon, representing the United States Student Assembly, came up with me, and President and Mrs. Alan Valentine were kind enough to meet us and bring us to their house for breakfast.

The day is fairly full, beginning at 11:00 o’clock with a meeting of the Women’s College Assembly of the University of Rochester. From 12:30 to 2:30 there will be a luncheon meeting with the United Youth Committee, at which there will be informal discussion concerning their own organization and its future possibilities for usefulness. From 3:00 to 4:15, there is to be general discussion of postwar problems with youth leaders of the various groups represented on the committee and a few leaders of additional groups which are not as yet represented in the council.

The day is ended with a United Youth Rally at Eastman Theatre at the University of Rochester. I am to have dinner with President and Mrs. Valentine, and to have the pleasure of seeing my old friends, Mr. and Mrs. Harper Sibley, so I think this day, even though a busy one, will not only be interesting but enjoyable.

Tonight I take the train back to New York City, where I hope to arrive in time for breakfast on Thursday morning.

I am more and more impressed by the fact that young people are undertaking to organize their own groups for the discussion of their activities, both in the war and the postwar period. Boys and girls are participating together. Since, in all likelihood, the home front will have to be protected largely by the girls and the women of the country, while the boys are fighting the war, I think it is a very good sign that the young people are making their plans and having their discussions together, so there will be a thorough understanding of their ideals and purposes.

One thing these young people will need besides the experience which they can only gain as they grow older – that is a clear-cut understanding of the objectives for which they work, open minds as to the methods which can be worked out to obtain these ends, and the courage to meet new problems and solve them in new ways if necessary.