Eleanor Roosevelt – My Day (1944)

281

November 22, 1944

New York – (Tuesday)
Yesterday, in a number of places throughout the country, memorial services were held at the same time that funeral services took place at Groton for the late Rev. Endicott Peabody, who founded the school and was its headmaster for so many years.

Being the head of school, whether you are training boys or girls, is a tremendously important piece of work. It is hard to evaluate how far the influence of a man or woman with strong personality may reach. In the case of Mr. Peabody, he was always a forceful person, and his influence affected not only the boys, but the parents with whom he came in contact.

As the years went on, his influence became even greater. Not every boy loved him, but I think I have never heard of a Groton student who did not respect the Rector. I am sure that throughout this nation there are many men today who owe much that they have done in life to the personal influence of Mr. Peabody. His loss, even at the age of 87, will be a shock and grief to many people.

On Sunday in Washington, a number of old friends came to luncheon, among them Bishop Atwood, who was one of Mr. Peabody’s oldest friends. They knew Arizona in the early days, and of late years they had made it a practice to visit each other several times during the year. One of the sad things about growing old must be to see one’s friends depart on the greatest of all adventures, and to find the world growing lonely. It is perhaps this gradual feeling of detachment, however, that makes it easier for us older people to cross the last bar with apparent ease and equanimity.

I stopped in for a few minutes Sunday afternoon at a meeting of a government girls club, held at the Women’s City Club in Washington. Some of the counselors present, and some of the girls themselves, seem to feel very strongly that a central meeting place for government girls is a very great lack in Washington. Before I left, I promised to talk this over again with other interested people.

On Monday, between 10 and 3, I attended the Rosenwald Fund semi-annual meeting in Chicago, and then I went to the Stevens Hotel to speak before the CIO convention. I was glad to see Sidney Hillman looking young and well, and apparently no more affected by the slings and arrows cast at him during the last campaign than any of the other prominent figures who engaged in this political battle.

I had hoped to be able to fly back for the meeting here this morning of the Committee for the Care of European Children. Unfortunately, I had to take the train, which meant that I could not arrive in time.

282

November 23, 1944

New York – (Wednesday)
It is amusing that this year we are having in different states, different days on which we celebrate Thanksgiving. To be sure, in each case it will be on a Thursday. But some states are holding it on the traditional last Thursday in November, the 30th, while other states have decided that that comes too near Christmas, and are celebrating on the 23rd. We, here in New York State, turn our minds to the business of Thanksgiving on the 23rd.

I realize that for many people in the country the thought of any kind of Thanksgiving is bitter beyond words. They have lost their dear ones in a war far from their own shores. Life seems vacant of all interest for them. Perhaps they have other loved ones still in jeopardy. Yet, in spite of all this, as a nation we have much for which to be thankful.

By the grace of God and the courage of our younger generation, we have kept from our own shores the devastation of war. In the whole United States, no one is homeless because of enemy attack. We may have great groups of people who have moved from one part of the country to another, but they have done so because they could find more profitable work away from home, and not because the roof had been destroyed over their heads by war or because they had to flee from invading enemy armies.

This mere fact makes it possible for us to have great opportunities in the future. We have strength, we have great industrial and productive resources, both in agriculture and in industry. Our people have developed new skills. We are, on the whole, probably better fed and more physically fit today than we were ten years ago. This is something for which to be devoutly thankful. The opportunity to lead in the world of the future may fill us with a sense of awe, but should give us a great sense of satisfaction.

On us, the people of the United States, does depend whether our feet are set in the paths of peace. If our feet are set in those paths, the rest of the world may follow suit. We must be the example and the torch bearer, however, and we cannot afford to forget it. Everything we do at home will be viewed in the light, not just of its effect at home, but of its effect on other people and on the world situation as a whole.

The Lord has blessed us with great strength and an abundance of material resources. He has given us human resources beyond those enjoyed by most of the world today. This may well be our testing time. If we are thankful for our opportunities, perhaps we may lead into the dreamed of “Better World.”

283

November 24, 1944

Hyde Park, New York – (Thursday)
I had a few busy hours in New York City yesterday morning, doing the things I had not been able to do the day before because I had spent a morning on the train peacefully reading The First Round, by Joseph Gaer.

The book is worth spending a few hours on, and will give you a clear picture of the CIO Political Action Committee. My time on the train was not completely uninterrupted, however. A young man who had worked with our son, Elliott, years ago, and who in fact had his start in radio work with him in Texas, came to my compartment to tell me he is now working in Chicago.

Then two sailor boys wandered in to talk, and later three soldiers, discharged after going through the campaigns in Africa, Sicily and Italy, chatted on many subjects. They were going back to the world of civilians, but I didn’t find in any of them a great zest for the opportunities which lay ahead. Perhaps in our communities we ought to make a little more fuss about the men coming back from the wars. They should have a pride in their accomplishments, a feeling that the work here at home needs them very much, and, above everything else, that their wishes for their country in the future are going to count with the people in their communities.

Having promised long ago to be a speaker and join in a radio program at the dinner given by Theta Sigma Phi to the South American women journalists on Wednesday in Washington, I took the train back, fulfilled my promise, and took the midnight for New York City, in order to join some of my family for Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving Day was a quiet one, with only a small group of us elders around. I imagine we are doing what many other people in this country are doing – working at our usual jobs, except for a brief interlude in the evening.

There is one thing I have not been able to do in New York because of my very brief time there, and which I genuinely regret having missed. On the 19th, at the American British Art Center, 44 West 56th Street, Maxim Kopf opened his exhibition of paintings. Although the exhibition runs until December 2, I shall unfortunately not be back until after that date. This is a real regret and I shall hope to find some future opportunity, perhaps, to catch a glimpse of these paintings in the artist’s own studio.

284

November 25, 1944

Hyde Park, New York – (Friday)
Today is a peaceful day in the country. The usual occupations, a walk in the woods, much writing and reading, are all that I can report.

As we read our newspapers today, I pray that the valor of our men in their determined attacks will finally discourage the enemy. These attacks are costing much in the way of ammunition, planes, guns, tanks, etc., as well as our boys’ lives. It is for that reason that General Eisenhower begs the people at home not to let up in their production. Those of us who have sons on the fighting fronts realize what the work of the people at home means to them. They are grateful for what the people at home have done in the past and hope that they will find the strength to continue to the end.

It is hard to think of another Christmas approaching with hate and bloodshed intensified all over the world. If only the teachings of Christ were accepted as the actual code by which we lived, how different our world would be! There would be no labor-management problems in industry, no racial or religious hatreds, no wars to bring sorrow to men, women and children throughout the world. I wonder if it is too much to expect that Christ’s ethics will someday govern the actions of human beings.

There is a symposium called “Shall We Have Compulsory Military Training After the War?”, in one of the November magazines; which I read with considerable interest. I am particularly glad whenever I see that this question is widely discussed. I do not, myself, want purely military training, but I think it is a subject that we need to discuss from many angles. It will do no harm for our enemies to know that we are thinking about building up our future strength in many different ways.

Some people say that if we really believed we could build up lasting peace, we would not trouble about building up the strength of individual nations. But since we have not yet proved that we can build a lasting peace without the physical strength to enforce it, the need to remain strong is apparent. That does not mean that moral and spiritual strength will not have great value. It simply means that as yet we cannot quite do away with the old custom, with which we have lived so long, of expecting physical strength to back up moral and spiritual strength.

Besides, we need sound minds and bodies for many other purposes in our daily lives. We can begin to give our children these from their earliest days. They certainly would benefit by a checkup in the adolescent years. The training should not be a wasted year if skills and aptitudes are studied and attention given to the building of character and the development of cooperative attitudes in the young people.

285

November 27, 1944

Washington – (Sunday)
We got back from Hyde Park this morning and were immediately plunged into a riot of dogs, because Miss Laura Delano, who came back with us, brought one of her red setters; Fala, of course, was with us; Anna and Johnny with Ensign, their Labrador retriever, met us at the door; and a new mastiff puppy, two months old, was disporting herself around us in typical puppy fashion!

Every day, while I was in Hyde Park, I took a long walk in the woods with the dogs up there. We had beautiful weather and I discovered that when the leaves are down, walking through the woods is very revealing. You learn so many secrets that the trees in their summer garb hide from you. You see how many trees have been blown over by the various storms, and what a nice, warm blanket of leaves covers all the ground in anticipation of winter’s cold and frost.

The little ponds had just a thin coating of ice; but the brooks were still running merrily, and here and there, where a log had fallen across a shallow place, the leaves were piling up and creating a little dam to impede the flow of the stream. The rocks show up so much more clearly, and though I thought of the many times in the past that I had climbed them, I wasn’t quite sure that either the dogs or I would find them as easily to scale in these days.

On the 23rd of this month the SPARS, the women’s reserve of the Coast Guard, completed two years of service. There are more than 10,000 women enrolled, and they are enrolled for the duration and six months thereafter. Their work has been highly praised by the officers and men of the Coast Guard, and they have shown real patriotism, for many of them gave up good civilian jobs and left comfortable homes. Separation from family and friends is always hard; and for a woman, taking the training, accepting full military discipline and, above all, living in barracks is probably harder than for a young man. Therefore, I think we owe the women in all the military services our gratitude and a word of congratulation and praise when their anniversaries come around. I tender mine to the SPARS with heartfelt thanks.

There has come to my desk a publication for which we have to thank the Welfare Council of New York City. It is published by the Contributors Information Bureau, and it is a statement of the standards to be applied to voluntary welfare and health agencies appealing to the public for financial support. I think many people, both social workers and individuals interested in charitable work, will be anxious to send for this publication.

286

November 28, 1944

Washington – (Monday)
Yesterday we had a rather quiet morning. The afternoon was fairly busy, for we had to meet people at trains and get them off on others. There were a few guests for tea who must have thought we were a constantly moving group!

At 6 o’clock, I went to speak for a few minutes at the second annual Thanksgiving dinner given at Lucy Diggs Slowe Hall by a group of girls calling themselves the Equestriennes. The dinner was attended by veterans from Walter Reed, Bethesda and St. Elizabeth’s Hospitals. It was a very pretty picture as I walked in and saw the lighted tables with their gay decorations, and the dinner was certainly enjoyed by everybody.

I returned to the White House and cooked scrambled eggs for our own Sunday evening supper. My niece and her friend, who had come down from Swarthmore College, left shortly afterwards, and we all went back to our desks to work until a late hour.

I have just been told a rather nice story which I think may be of general interest, since it bears on the salvage campaign. In Hartford, Conn., the chairman of the salvage committee is Edward Brown, who is promotion manager of the Hartford Courant. He felt that in his position he could not do as much actual leg work as needed to be done, and so he took his problem to the U.S. Employment Service. They found the answer for him. A young ex-paratrooper, Stanley Krasnicki, 24 years old, was just recovering from a long convalescence after a parachute training accident. He is now employed full time, and his salary will be paid out of the proceeds of Hartford’s monthly curb collection of waste paper from homes.

Hartford’s population is 200,000, and Stanley’s first assignment was to set up a comprehensive dealer service to all Hartford retailers in disposal of waste paper. He will also call on institutions, hotels, schools, etc., to check tin salvage participation. War veterans can do this work particularly well, for they have a strong appeal to make to civilians, and should be able to get every one of us to feel that our participation in every type of war effort is the least that we can do under the circumstances.

I have a letter from a woman in Cleveland, Ohio, who tells me there are no homes for helpless, retarded children whose parents are unable to pay for their care in that area. If the mother has to work, the child is left without proper care. I cannot believe that Cleveland does not have free care available for these children. But evidently the place where application for such help should be made is not well enough known, since this mother with a 4-year-old helpless child has no idea where to go. This points up something which is very often true. Help exists, but the people who need it know nothing about it.

287

November 29, 1944

Washington – (Tuesday)
Yesterday afternoon, on the mezzanine of the Statler Hotel, I had the pleasure of seeing the exhibition of photographs taken by the White House photographers during the past year. Many more were sent in, of course, than were put up, and those from overseas, while they make the most interesting section, form a really very small group. Among them, however, I saw several that I have already seen in various papers and magazines, and all of them tell never-to-be-forgotten tales about our men overseas.

The sports group is arranged together, and I think I have rarely seen so many good sports pictures. Among the others, of course, the photographs of children appealed to me. The little boy looking over the side of his crib may have had a soulful expression only because of his temperature, which, his father assured me, that day stood at 104. Nevertheless, I would like to meet that youngster, for I am sure he is an interesting child. The photograph called Solitude, which portrays the same child standing in the waves on a limitless beach with no other human being in sight, is well named. There were also a number of excellent action shots of animals.

It is natural, I suppose, that there should be a good many pictures of my husband, since these are the White House photographers. But there were also some very good photographs of Henry Kaiser and Secretary Ickes. I never like myself in photographs, but I imagine most of those taken of me are very good, too.

It was amusing to see the prize winners squirm under the demands of the still photographers and the newsreels. Photographers are not accustomed to being their own victims, and I think it is probably very good for them.

The exhibition will be open until the end of this week, and I think that everyone who has the opportunity will want to see it.

Yesterday afternoon I was given a most wonderful present. Mrs. Grace Kiess Swiggett, who was an art teacher in Seattle, Washington, brought me some white wool material, woven in the Greek fashion. She learned this type of weaving from Isadora Duncan’s brother, who married a very charming Greek woman. The difference between this and the average handwoven material is that, ordinarily, threads of the same weight are used for both warp and woof, whereas in this Greek material, one thread is much heavier, which makes the material fall into graceful folds. I love hand work of all kinds, and I can hardly ever pass any pottery made by hand without wanting to possess it. The same is true of glass, jewelry and materials, and so I was particularly grateful and appreciative of this very unique gift.

288

November 30, 1944

Washington – (Wednesday)
Yesterday morning I received a memorandum on conditions existing among the civilian population of Yugoslavia at the present time.

I only wish that more people in this country might have a real knowledge of these conditions. It would certainly make us feel rich, at least from the material standpoint; but we might wonder whether we are rich enough in character to stand up to the same deprivations and show the strength which these mountain people have shown in the defense of their liberty. We hope the day will come soon when some relief can be brought to them.

The ladies of the cabinet lunched with me yesterday, but unfortunately a number of them were absent due to illness.

At 3 o’clock, Lt. Willis brought a number of men from the Naval Hospital to visit the White House, and I was interested to see one young sailor wearing on his yellow ribbon the insignia “A,” which denotes that he was in the North Atlantic convoy work before Pearl Harbor. There were also several marines who had served in the Pacific, some on Guadalcanal.

Later in the afternoon, Miss Agnes Inglis came to tell me about the very unusual little school which she is carrying on, and which in a very unique way will emphasize the things which Washington has to offer to children.

In the evening William Courtney, a British war correspondent, showed us some of his films taken over the last three years while on duty with our troops in the Pacific. You may remember him for his remarkable reporting job in 1941 on the Battle of Britain. He gives a running story while the pictures are being shown, and I think everyone enjoyed hearing him. Mr. Courtney landed with the 1st Texas Cavalry Division in the Admiraltys in February and his pictures show the campaign at Los Negros and Manus, the landing with the 24th Infantry on Dutch New Guinea and the Hollandia campaign. At the end, he shows the convoy and the landing on Leyte in the Philippines with the 1st Cavalry Division.

Anyone who really wants to make a record in travel mileage should be with him, for since he was here a year ago, he has traveled 80,000 miles, crossed the Equator 13 times, flown across the Pacific seven times, and taken part in eight landings and eight campaigns!

Here in the White House, of course, we see a great many of our American war films, but this is the second of the English films I have seen, the first being the battle of El Alamein. It does not really matter, however, who takes the pictures or whether the troops are American, British, Australian, New Zealand or any other of the valiant men in our Allied services. Always the impression is the same – tense faces, determined to do the job and win eventual and complete victory.

289

December 1, 1944

Washington – (Thursday)
I had a small luncheon yesterday for Mrs. Marvin H. McIntyre, who is soon leaving Washington to return to the West Coast to be with her daughter. Mrs. McIntyre said a rather lovely thing, remarking that she felt sure that, in spirit, Louis Howe, Marvin McIntyre and Missy LeHand had all taken part in the last campaign, showing plainly that to her there was no break between this world and the next as far as love and affection are concerned.

In the afternoon, Mrs. Francis Biddle brought Mrs. Catherine Drinker Bowen to tea. Mrs. Bowen wrote the life of Justice Holmes. She told me that she had often written about the White House purely as she imagined it, and that seeing the rooms which she had so often pictured in her mind’s eye was a really exciting experience. I can well imagine that for historically-minded people with imagination, a tour of the White House is full of visions of former years and varied characters.

An officer just back from overseas dropped in for a chat before dinner, and an old friend dined with us.

At 8 o’clock, Mrs. Robert John Matthews visited me with 23 students who have been working in her courses on political science at the university. A few of them are trying to gain some first-hand knowledge by talking with the secretaries in certain Congressmen’s offices, by attending hearings and talking to the clerks of the committees on which the particular Congressmen in whom they are interested serve. I think there is much interest among young people in questions of politics and government, and I am always glad of a chance to talk with them and hear the questions which come up during a period of discussion.

Someone who read my column about Harold McMahon’s shop for the employment of disabled people in Buffalo, New York., has written me of a plan started in Reno, Nevada, by Morris E. Heiser. He has equipped a large building in a downtown area with stone polishing and cutting machines for the cutting of gems and the making of jewelry. His interest is in the employment of handicapped war veterans. Mr. Heiser is negotiating with the Naval Hospital at Mare Island, California, for employees, and he will run a school to teach the trade and will pay veterans during the learning period. My correspondent feels sure that men who have considerable handicaps will nevertheless be able to earn a good living. The plan has been approved by the Nevada Veterans of Foreign Wars, and I am sure that other people will be interested to watch its development, since in many parts of the country industry should take the lead in providing employment for handicapped men.

290

December 2, 1944

Washington – (Friday)
I find in my mail an increasing interest in the problems of individuals living in farm communities, who feel that it is easier for the larger farm owners to get consideration for their needs than it is for the farmer with a small acreage. The knowledge of the disparity of opportunity for the child living in some of our Mountain States, or in some of the poorer agricultural states where the average holdings are small, is gradually becoming a real concern to people here and there throughout the nation.

It seems to be recognized that the Farm Security Administration has done more than any other agency to help the small farmer, and perhaps this awakening among people to new desires, which I notice in various groups, arises from new opportunities that have been made available. If this is true, it should have a bearing on the work done by us in other nations as well as in our own, for it should emphasize the fact that people have to experience the benefit of something before they realize that they desire it.

At lunch yesterday we had a discussion about the returning disabled veterans, and the need for publicity which would really tell people the truth and help to fit them more adequately to welcome the veterans home. Since the numbers are going to increase month by month, more people will be in need of help and advice, and frequently they do not know where to find it.

In the afternoon Lt. Col. Sir William and Lady Fraser-Tytler and Mr. and Mrs. Hans Sulzer came to tea. Mr. Sulzer is here from Switzerland for the economic conference. It seems a long while – 25 years, I think Mr. Sulzer said – since we had been together in Washington in our more youthful days.

Some young people came to dinner with me, and I worked until late on the mail.

I think that I have really succeeded in complying with the request that all Christmas packages go out by mail before December 1. I still have one or two which must go today, but if I slip up, I can take them in my hands to New York and deliver them myself. It has been quite a struggle to get everything off, but it is a great pleasure to have most of the Christmas packages actually out of the house and on their way. I have had more fun doing them up because it has not been a last-minute rush.

Some friends of my daughter are here from Seattle on business. They have a son at school nearby, and I expect another couple, whose boy is about the same age, to arrive from New York tonight, so I hope these young people will enjoy themselves.

291

December 4, 1944

Washington – (Sunday)
Saturday morning, I went over to speak in the Pan-American Building at the meeting held in celebration of Pan-American Health Day.

I think it is interesting to note the emphasis that is now being laid on public health services throughout the world and on the need for cooperation everywhere. Our public health service in this country may be very good, but if Dr. Thomas Parran, who is the head of it, cannot rely on getting the necessary information and cooperation from other countries, we are placed at a great disadvantage. The same thing holds true for the other countries, where we are concerned.

In the future, it seems to me that public health is going to be increasingly important to the nations of the world. If a whole community does not live under sanitary conditions, no one in the community is entirely safe. Therefore, it is important that the average man and woman in this country recognize the need for the public health service, back it with enthusiasm, and comply with all government regulations.

These services were in the past rather narrowly interpreted, embracing only safeguards against bringing in diseases from other countries and spreading of diseases within our own nation’s borders. It seems to me, however, that nutrition, as well as sanitary conditions in homes and in communities, should increasingly be the business of public health doctors. In addition, the regular care of people not in a financial position to obtain adequate medical attention could certainly be considered a part of our public health service.

I received yesterday from John Groth, an artist-correspondent just returned from overseas, a pamphlet entitled The Camp of Disappearing Men, for which he did the illustrations. It is a story of German atrocities in Oswiecim, and is published by the Polish labor group. I do not know whether it is generally available to the public, but it should certainly be given wide distribution. The story is made vivid by the illustrations. It is a tale to fill you with horror, worse than almost anything your imagination can conjure up. And the end – the picture of how in desperation a man went gladly to a death that he knew awaited him – leaves you with a determination that such cruelty and such treatment, with men turned into beasts, must never again be allowed to occur in this world.

Any system which can train men through discipline to do the things which were done in Oswiecim must be so completely eradicated that there will never again be a resurrection of it.

292

December 5, 1944

Washington – (Monday)
Yesterday afternoon a group came again from Walter Reed Hospital to visit the White House and have tea, and I spent some time talking with them. A number of the men came in wheelchairs. Though the elevator has sometimes seemed to me a rather large and cumbersome one, on occasions like these it is most convenient. As we were going up, I told the men of the days when the children of President Theodore Roosevelt took their pony upstairs in it. Since the elevator can take several chairs at a time, it is possible for the men in wheelchairs to see both the lower floors in the White House.

The men all wanted to see Fala. But he was not around at the time, so I collected our visiting two-and-a-half-month-old puppy and brought her in. Someday she will be a bull mastiff of considerable size, and even now the men looked at me unbelievingly and asked: “Two months, did you say?” as I carried around a very large-size puppy for them to pat.

Today in my press conference, Miss Helen Ferris of the Junior Literary Guild is going to talk about the value of books for children, and their possible use in combating juvenile delinquency. I feel that the children’s library rooms in public libraries and in schools can be made real centers of attraction and keep many a child from idling on the streets.

Perhaps this is a good time to mention the Boys’ Clubs of America, a philanthropic organization headed by former President Herbert Hoover. They have 250 member clubs and provide places of recreation, under constructive leadership, for boys in congested areas. On Pearl Harbor Day, December 7, more than a quarter of a million members will assemble in their clubs to do honor to their 150,000 former club members who are fighting in all parts of the world.

They will repeat and reaffirm the pledge of the Victory Volunteers, which is a good one for us all to remember. The pledge reads:

I want to do all that I can to help win the war against the enemies of the United States, and I want to prepare myself for service to my country. Therefore, I pledge and promise that I will guard my health and develop my body. I will learn with mind and hands. I will be honest and mindful of the rights of others. I will be obedient to my parents and all those in authority. I will be reverent and faithful to my religion. I will give service. I will be loyal to the United States of America. For us here today, and for those now serving our country, I take this pledge.

293

December 6, 1944

Washington – (Tuesday)
I lunched yesterday with the members of the American Newspaper Women’s Club. They reminded me of the fact that they were celebrating for me approximately nine years as a columnist! It was rather a shock, as I had not realized I had been writing My Day for quite that length of time.

I am rather proud of the fact, however, that during that time I think my column has only once missed getting in before my deadline. There have been a few times when both the United Feature Syndicate and Miss Thompson or I have put in a few hectic hours trying to find out what had happened to the column, or trying to find a way to get it sent in. But on the whole, I think my record is good!

I shared honors at the luncheon with Miss Vera Bloom, whose book on Washington has just been published. She remarked that she was glad to find that a prediction which had been made to her before publication had not come true. Someone told her that those not included in her book would be annoyed, while those included might not like what she said, and therefore no one would speak to her! She said she felt that everyone had been generous and accepted what she had written in the spirit in which she had written it.

At 3 o’clock I attended the United Nations bazaar. It was crowded as usual, so I am sure it was a great success.

In the evening, Judge Robert Marks, my husband’s old friend from Cincinnati, who is staying with us, had dinner here. Then I dashed off to speak at the forum run by the WAVES in their barracks near American University. The subject was postwar readjustment, and the questions were thoughtful and interesting. Present were some of the students from American University who are taking a course designed to prepare them for work with the Disabled Veterans of Foreign Wars. All of them are veterans, and I am hoping to have them come here some evening in the near future and tell me a little about their work and their experiences.

This morning and this afternoon the East Room in the White House was given over to a conference held by the War Recreation Workers Association. I sat with them from 9:30 until 11:30, when they adjourned for lunch. I heard Capt. Mildred McAfee of the U.S. Naval Reserve, Roy Sorenson of the National Council of the YMCA and John I. Neasmith, regional recreation representative of the Federal Security Agency, all of whom gave very excellent papers.

Training and leadership for recreation seems to be one of our problems in wartime, but I am sure it will continue to be of great importance to our communities in peacetime. Mr. Sorenson said that the last war had given tremendous impetus to community recreation, and he felt that this war would further stimulate community interest in this field, which will certainly be a very important one in the future.

294

December 7, 1944

Washington – (Wednesday)
I was not able to be present yesterday afternoon at the first roundtable discussion of the War Recreation Workers’ Association Institute, but I heard much of the second panel discussion under the leadership of Dr. Howard Y. McCluskey of the University of Michigan. The subject was “Community Recreation Looks Toward the Post-War Period.” The general consensus of opinion seemed to be that there must continue to be coordination if we were to have proper recreational activities, and in many ways these activities must be widened in the postwar period.

The final address, given by Mark A. McCloskey, director of Community War Services, was on the subject of “The Challenge for Recreational Workers.” He pointed out that this might be one of the most exciting professions in the world, having great influence on the young as well as the older people in all the communities of our country. But, he added, if the workers themselves looked upon it merely as a chance for a job, and considered it only from the point of view of salaries and hours and a way to earn a living, there would be very little chance that they would have the right influence in the communities in which they served.

Dr. McCluskey expressed concern because he felt that not enough planning was being done for the young people in junior high school, who, with the end of the war, might become another “lost generation.” I am not quite as pessimistic as he, because that could only happen if at the same time we allowed a financial slump to occur like the one we had in the early 30’s; and I think our experience of that time will prevent any bad economic situation from gaining dangerous proportions and affecting our younger generation.

Dr. Rosalie Slaughter Morton, the distinguished surgeon, and a friend, Mrs. McKinley, came to tea, and we discussed questions relating to the postwar period in Europe. I am always very glad to find that the representatives of great women’s organizations are interested in talking over the conditions of the other countries of the world as they are going to face us at the end of the war. Of course, Dr. Morton has had such unusual opportunities for visiting a great many countries in an official capacity, that her interest will be of value to many groups.

In the evening, a group of our MPs, augmented by some men from the Walter Reed and Naval Hospitals, came in for a movie. Afterward, they saw the White House and had refreshments. In the words of Mr. Pepys, after they had gone the household said, “And so to bed.” I continued to work on my mail, however, for some time.

295

December 8, 1944

New York – (Thursday)
This is Pearl Harbor Day, and for three long years, now, we have been at war.

The summary of war news makes us realize how far we have come in military power during these years, and yet the appeal for more production at home is a sign that we have not yet grasped the fact that the war is not yet won. The casualties today on every fighting front are heavier than they have been at any previous time. The weight of sorrow, the hardship of long separation, are still realities to many men and women. Let us put aside the thought that post-war readjustments are imminent, and devote ourselves to war situations as they are before us today.

Yesterday afternoon, I went to Philadelphia, and enjoyed very much attending a meeting at which ex-Governor Pinchot presided. He organized the independent voters’ groups, in the last campaign, which worked together in Pennsylvania for the election of President Roosevelt.

In a number of places in and around Philadelphia, these groups are now meeting together and planning what their future shall be. I think many people who never before worked in a political group found interest and satisfaction in the work of the past campaign. People met each other who had not before known of each other’s problems and interests, and there seems to be a real desire to continue the association. If it works out into real activity in civic affairs, with an interest in all problems, local, state and national, as they arise, it will certainly be a very great gain to democracy as a whole.

I have received a copy of the American Bible Society’s statement of the war emergency and postwar rehabilitation requirements for the Bible. The Society is trying to raise $2,500,000 beyond its regular budget during the next four years, and it is also planning to raise its regular budget during this same period by $702,000. They say that this additional money is needed so that enough Bibles may be printed to meet the needs of men and women all over the world.

They are forecasting what will be needed after the peace in countries which have been ravished by the war, but they feel that above all other books, this book must be furnished now to men and women in the services, to prisoners of war, and to civilians at home in every country which can be reached. Later, of course, there will be great demands for the Bible by churches and ministers as they try to rebuild their congregations in war-torn countries.

There are few of us, I think, who will not want to give something toward meeting this need. It is a real need, for since time immemorial, almost everyone has found some particular part of the Bible to carry a message of comfort which they want to read and reread in times of stress.

296

December 9, 1944

New York – (Friday)
I began the morning yesterday with a 9:30 visitor, and then went out to do a little necessary shopping, arriving at the Sale for the Blind at 608 Fifth Avenue, which is one of the charity sales I never miss at this season.

I was interested to see the blind gentleman who makes the little angel heads which I like so much, and which at different times I believe I have given to almost all my grandchildren. The first one ever given to me hangs over my bed in this apartment, and, if I remember rightly, someone gave it to me right after the last war.

I bought my usual quota of dish towels and knitted articles, and also some of the lovely weaving, which I think the blind do better than many of us who can watch our fingers move. I am always tempted to buy some of the very fine brooms or mops which they make; but they are rather awkward to carry around the streets of New York, and yesterday my packages had to go with me as far as John Golden’s office, where Miss Thompson and I were meeting him to go to lunch at Sardi’s.

In the afternoon at 3 o’clock I went down to New York University to speak at their Pearl Harbor ceremonies. Chancellor Chase was also a speaker, and gave a very fine talk. When I came out, not only some of the young people who had been at the meeting, but a whole troupe of youngsters between the ages of six and ten were waiting to walk the two blocks back to my apartment with me! I could not imagine what they were doing there, until I discovered that they were on their way to Greenwich House. Once there, they told me, they did modelling, worked in the gym and played games.

Pointing to one of the little boys who was dancing ahead of me, a youngster walking at my side said: “He’s building a house,” and another child said: “I’m helping him.” There was no question but that Greenwich House to these youngsters was a place of joy and an outlet for their creative urges. I could not help thinking how much Mrs. Mary Simkhovitch had done for many, many of the young people of this neighborhood since she had opened the doors of this well-known settlement house.

I had a few friends to tea to talk about Wiltwyck School, and finally a last visitor came in for a few minutes at 6:30. Afterward, Miss Thompson and I went out to dine and to see the new apartment of some young friends of ours who have just settled down near LaGuardia Field. They are fortunate indeed, for apparently a roof over your head is as hard to find in New York City as it is in Washington or any of the other towns that have become crowded because of the war.

297

December 11, 1944

Washington – (Sunday)
Friday in New York City was a tempestuous day, but in spite of the fact that I had come from Washington without bringing along any rainy-day clothes, I managed to weather the day satisfactorily.

Fortunately, most of it was spent at home. After two meetings at my apartment at 9:30 and 10, I did venture forth to see my cousin, Mrs. Henry Parish. Then I came home to a leisurely lunch and talk with the four young cousins who, once or twice a year, manage to get together and keep me up on news pertaining to that little part of my family.

One of them now has a son in France, another a boy in training for the navy, and a third a daughter who has completed her nurse’s training and is waiting for her army orders. I can remember all of them when they were little girls. In retrospect the time seems short, but 30-odd years ago I thought there were just endless years ahead.

I suppose that is what happens to all of us. Yet it does give the feeling that one must not waste time as one grows older, but spend it for the things that one feels are really worthwhile.

I had made an appointment at 4 o’clock for Madame Kung to come and spend a quiet hour with me. To my astonishment, not only Madame Kung, but five other people whom I had expected at 5 o’clock, walked in all together. It turned out very pleasantly, however, and I think all enjoyed their unexpected tea party. I am quite sure that the discussion my five guests had expected to have with me was really far more interesting because of the very pleasant opportunity of talking with Madame Kung.

A quiet dinner, and an evening to catch up on mail and letters, ended the day.

I had expected to leave for Washington at 8 o’clock on Saturday morning, but late Friday afternoon the sad news came that Monroe Douglas Robinson, one of my first cousins, had died, and that the funeral services would be held at noon on Saturday. I was very fond of this cousin, who was somewhere near my brother’s age. Though the opportunities for seeing him had not been very frequent, we always enjoyed those occasions when we were together.

I was able to change my afternoon engagements in Washington, and did not leave New York until 2:30. I got back in time for my evening appointment with some American University students, but I will tell you about that tomorrow.

298

December 12, 1944

Washington – (Monday)
The other night I met the 30 students who are now taking the five months’ course at American University. They are disabled veterans and have been carefully chosen by the Veterans’ Bureau for the particular work which they will do. They are now receiving their training under a Veterans’ Bureau program, and will serve in hospitals as the first contact for veterans returning to civilian life.

They told me a number of things which I would like to pass on to you. They said they wished that the public would remember how many young boys have already been wounded and are now retuning to civilian life after months in the hospital. This means that when you see a boy in civilian clothes who looks to you of draft age, you must not jump to the conclusion that he is evading military service. One boy told me that a serviceman had taunted him for not being in service, when the boy had just been released after more than 20 moths in the hospital.

Another boy, the calf of whose leg had been shot off in battle, said that the man who shined his shoes while he was still in uniform said to him: “It’s funny that they would take you into the army with that kind of a leg.” It never seemed to dawn upon him that the boy was suffering from wounds received in battle.

The fact of the matter is that this is so completely new to us that we don’t stop to think when we look at a young man, that he might be back in civilian clothes because he had served our cause to the limit of his ability. We have not grown accustomed to the realization that we now have a job to do in serving him and helping him back to normal life in our communities again.

All of us should familiarize ourselves with the pin which discharged servicemen have the right to wear. The law reads that in order to buy these pins you must show your discharge papers, but I believe here in the east there is not always the insistence on this safeguard. It should be rigidly followed, for every boy wearing that pin is entitled to our consideration. For all we know, he may not be able to stand in street cars and in trains. He should be allowed to go ahead of us wherever we have to wait in line.

There was an article published not long ago in the Woman’s Home Companion about a returning flier, which every citizen should read. It tells you a little of the peculiar strains and stresses men undergo in coming back to civilian life. There is a book by Dr. George K. Pratt, entitled Soldier to Civilian, which all of us should read.

Yesterday afternoon the disabled veterans’ organization brought another group of approximately 100 veterans from Walter Reed hospital to see the White House and have tea after the football game. Early in the afternoon I visited the Chapel Oaks housing project, about which I will tell you more tomorrow.

299

December 13, 1944

Washington – (Tuesday)
I told you yesterday that I would write more about the Chapel Oaks housing project.

It is built by a private firm and is not as yet quite finished. The architect told me with some pride that they were trying to fill the great need which now exists in Washington for housing for colored people. They told me no land, however, could be obtained anywhere in the District, so this development is outside, in Maryland. The architect told me that a bus ran within two blocks of this development, and that it took only 35 minutes to reach the city. I found, however, that men going to work in Washington allowed as much as an hour and a quarter, but nobody complained of transportation.

The development has water, sewers, electricity and gas. The houses, one story with cellar, are detached. Along certain streets the drainage is bad, and water stands in some of the cellars. The builders assured me that they intended to continue the draining and landscaping of the project, as it is not yet entirely finished.

Such houses as are there have already been filled, clearly indicating the need for housing in Washington for this group. But they agreed that a man should earn $55 weekly to live there. I can well understand, however, that people with children will prefer being there, where they have a little space, than in two rooms in the city, even if these can be obtained.

This is a project where the people may buy their homes, but I hardly think it is suited for the income group to which it is catering. The bank, of course, is the ultimate landlord, and it seems to me that the rents are too high for the people to be sure of retaining their properties. In addition to rent, there is a charge of $1 a month for water and $1 for garbage disposal.

Next door there is another settlement which does not compare to this one, where houses have no plumbing nor any planned space around them. I am afraid I did not feel that the interests of people on the project were being properly safeguarded, nor did I feel convinced that private enterprise could do this housing job at all, even with such government assistance as is available.

Yesterday morning, I took the members of my press conference on a tour of the White House. I was glad to have this opportunity, as many of them had never seen the White House in pre-war days.

I had a talk with someone in the morning on the subject of the work done by the Jeanes teachers, and in the afternoon a group of 16 representatives of various organizations came to talk about consumer problems.

300

December 14, 1944

Washington – (Wednesday)
Bishop Baddeley, the Bishop of Melanesia, came to tea with us on Monday afternoon. He certainly has gained a great understanding of this country from his daily contacts with the American Navy in the Pacific. They urged him to travel in leisurely fashion across the United States and talk to as many groups as possible, telling of the life of our boys in that area. He has done that, and I think he must have given valuable information to many mothers, wives and sweethearts.

In the evening I had a second party for the MPs and men from the Walter Reed and Naval Hospitals.

Yesterday morning I had the pleasure of talking for some time with Miss Katharine Lenroot and Dr. Martha Eliot of the Children’s Bureau, who are concerned, as many of us are, with future plans for the health of the nation. We have learned through Selective Service that many of our boys and girls do not get proper medical care. This results in neglecting many conditions which might easily be corrected in childhood. Many children in school are considered stupid, when all they need is a little medical attention to discover some physical defect which may perhaps be remedied, making their school years far more profitable.

This would pay us dividends when the young people reach their working years. Some of our hardheaded business men are discovering that it pays to give their employees medical care while they are employed, as it cuts down absenteeism and increases production. I think it will be easy to prove someday that a comprehensive medical service plan will pay us dividends as a nation.

The day was such a stormy one yesterday that only a very small group came from the Naval Hospital in the afternoon to see the White House. This made it a very pleasant party for me, as everyone could sit down in the State Dining Room and we could talk together.

In the late afternoon three young people with ties to our Hyde Park neighborhood came in to see me – LtCdr. Russell Lent, whose parents lived at Hyde Park when he was a youngster, and Lt. and Mrs. F. Wright Jr. Lt. Wright’s mother came to Hyde Park with the late Miss Harriet May Mills many years ago, and I wish Mrs. Wright could have been here with her charming son and daughter-in-law yesterday afternoon.

A few people at dinner and then a long evening of work at my desk.

I have already had two appointments this morning, and I am going to the luncheon which the Red Cross is giving in Miss Mabel Boardman’s honor at the Statler Hotel today. Miss Boardman’s many years of devoted work for the Red Cross entitle her to every honor we can pay her.