Eleanor Roosevelt – My Day (1945)

121

May 17, 1945

HYDE PARK, Wednesday – Those of you who like dogs will be amused at my discomfiture yesterday. I had just built what I thought was a perfect pen for Fala. Like all scotties, he is a hunter and he loves to run along the edge of the brook, where he finds innumerable holes down which to poke his nose. So I enclosed a point of land near the cottage and thought that now I had a safe place where he could be left quite happily. No more would I have to search the woods for him and undergo that dreadful sinking of the heart when you call a little dog and get no results whatsoever.

I put him in the yard and left him. Ten minutes later, I found him walking around the lawn. He had calmly swum out into the brook and walked up on the other side of the fence. His expression was one of complete triumph.

Wire fencing is scarce these days even on our place, where it was saved from Fala’s old pen. My husband used to have it out on the lawn in front of his study windows at the big house. But I shall have to build this fence out into the water in the hope that Fala won’t swim far out from shore.

I had two young visitors yesterday afternoon who are trying to plan for a delegation to go to the world Youth Conference in London during August and September. I think it is right for young people, particularly those who have been in the armed services, to meet together and discuss the problems of the world from their point of view. But I can see great difficulties in getting transportation so soon as this. I have worked so little with youth groups in the past few years, except for my contacts with the United States Students’ Assembly, that I feel very much out of touch with both the leaders of youth organizations and their objectives.

After the young people left me, the postmaster and the supervisor of the village of Hyde Park came down to see me about memorial services on the 30th of May, and we talked over a number of activities in the village. I hope that now I am back here to live, I may be more useful in my own community.

It is getting a little warmer now, and this morning I thought my chorus of birds was distinctly louder, even though the skies were gray. Last night we had a thunderstorm, and it seems as though we could not have more than a few hours of sunshine at a time. Things are growing, however, and just a little sun will mature everything very rapidly. The cold weather has nevertheless done terrible damage to the fruit trees, and I doubt if the fruit crop in the Hudson valley this year will bring any sizeable returns to the farmers.

Living more of a country life, I have come to listen in the morning to the farmer’s hour on the radio while I dress, ending up with the 7 o’clock news. In the old days I should have thought that a radio turned on at 6 a.m. was just a little early, but now I rather like it.

122

May 18, 1945

HYDE PARK, Thursday – Henry Kaiser, who heads the United National Clothing Collection drive, released a very significant plea on May 10. He explained that our success in Europe meant that people who had been held in bondage by the Nazis would be returning to their homes, many of them having only rags and tatters of clothing worn during their four or five-year period of enslavement. Most of them have done hard labor during this period, so it is easy to see that all we can possibly send will not be enough, and we will have to keep on sending for a long time to come.

Figures were also released covering the states which have sent in clothing. Every state, including Alaska and the District of Columbia, has contributed, but it is interesting to note the comparison between population and poundage received. For instance, New Jersey, with a population of 4,460,165, has sent in 4,739,771 pounds. New York, with a population of 13,479,142, has sent in 6,504,186 pounds. Alabama, with a population of 2,832,961, has sent in 282,290 pounds. Alaska, with a population of 72,524, has sent in 82,500 pounds.

An analysis of the reasons for the differences between population and pounds would be very interesting to have. I cannot help wondering whether it is an indication of the variation of organization in different places, or whether it shows the condition of the people and their ability to give away clothing.

In the last few days I have finally heard from our two sons in the Navy, who are out in the Pacific. They wrote, both of them, immediately upon receiving my message last month, but they have been so steadily on operations that it has not been possible to send out mail for two or three weeks. I hope that the other families whose boys are on these same ships, or in the same divisions, have now heard also from their boys. I know how hard it is when weeks go by without news of any kind.

Many kind people wrote me on V-E Day and on Mother’s Day, and I want to thank them in this general way for their friendly thoughts. Others who have written me during the last few weeks have been contacting some of my friends because their letters, which required replies, have not been answered. The simple truth is that we have some thousands of letters still that came during the weeks after my husband’s death, and we are able to read through only a few hundred a day. It will take a long while before we are able to keep up with the mail as it comes in day by day.

123

May 19, 1945

HYDE PARK, Friday – I started out with Fala for his regular early morning walk in the woods today, and before we knew it the rain, which began to fall gently at first, had turned into a miniature deluge. Every day the puddles grow bigger on the roads, the streams are fuller, and what usually are little trickles of water are now rushing brooks with waterfalls here and there. It is all very lovely; but if you are trying to put a place in order and get a garden planted, it certainly is rather difficult to find time in which to work. I like spring rain in the woods, but Fala and I decided, as we trudged along, that on the whole we had had almost enough during the past week and we could do with a little drying out in the sun.

I am sure many of my farmer friends around here feel much the same way. If only one could store up the extra rain now for the periods of drought which, I am perfectly sure, will come later on to make up for this present munificence.

Back on March 14, my husband proclaimed Sunday, May 20, as “I Am An American Day.” In his words, it was to “honor those who have recently become members of our body politic, and at the same time reaffirm our allegiance to the principles of American citizenship.” He called upon federal, state and local officials, as well as patriotic and civic organizations, to hold exercises “designed to impress upon our citizens, both native-born and naturalized, the privileges of their new status in our democracy, and their responsibility for building this nation’s security and advancing its welfare.”

I hope that every year this celebration will take place in every community. It has always seemed to me that we make too little of our coming-of-age as citizens – both as regards our native-born young people who reach voting age, and our foreign-born new citizens. They will have all the more appreciation of the significance of American citizenship if their induction is given due importance and conducted with ceremony.

Now, above all times in our history, we need citizens who know why they believe in a democracy. They must realize that being a citizen in a democracy entails greater responsibility than any other type of citizenship anywhere else in the world, for in a democracy there is no way in which you can put upon any other individual the responsibility which you should carry yourself.

124

May 21, 1945

HYDE PARK, Sunday – Some of my friends are very much exercised because they fear that the Bretton Woods plan will not go through. This financial plan frightens many people purely because it is a financial plan and they think they cannot understand it.

Two hundred financial experts, representing 44 nations, met together at Bretton Woods in New Hampshire last summer for several weeks and agreed on this plan after much discussion and, naturally, some compromise. The main feature is the stabilization of currencies all over the world for the benefit of international trade.

How is this done? Through a world bank and a monetary fund. The bank will have a capital of $9,100,000,000, to which every nation contributes in proportion to its wealth. Our share is $3,175,000,000. Voting power and control correspond to contributions. The bank will approve and guarantee loans for reconstruction and development of countries ruined by the war.

Some foolish people will ask: Why do we have to concern ourselves with the development and reconstruction of the ruined countries? The answer is simple. We are the greatest producing country in the world. We need markets not only at home, but abroad, and we cannot have them unless people can start up their industries and national economy again and buy from us. If Europe or Asia falls apart because of starvation or lack of work for their people, chaos will result and World War III will be in the making. In that event, we know that we will have to be a part of it.

Why do we need a monetary fund? This fund is an international stabilization pool of $8,800,000,000, to which we contribute $2,750,000,000. Members may borrow from it, to the extent of 25 percent of their own contributions in any one year, in order to stabilize their currency.

We need to stabilize currencies throughout the world because in the past there has been much speculative trading in currencies. Economic warfare results, and in time this brings us to shooting warfare. The simple way to look at it is this: If you want to sell goods in Holland, and their currency is depressed between the day that they agree to buy and the day they actually pay for what they buy, they are unable to buy because it costs them too much. The outcome is either that we lose our markets, or we are paid the amount we bargained for in money that does not have the value we expected it to have – which is a loss to us as individual merchants or traders. Consequently, we need both the bank and the fund for our own security, as well as for that of the rest of the world.

You can write your Senators and Representatives and tell them how you feel about this. Whether you are a farmer or a merchant, whether your business is big or little, you are personally affected by it. Even if you don’t sell directly to a foreign country, you are indirectly affected – for the prosperity of the country means your prosperity, and we cannot prosper without trade with our neighbors in the world of tomorrow.

125

May 22, 1945

HYDE PARK, Monday – I was shocked on Saturday to read about the hearing before the House Veterans Legislation Committee in which Albert Deutsch, of the newspaper PM, was questioned.

I imagine that most people are interested, as I am, in making sure that our returned veterans, if they need treatment at a veterans’ hospital, receive the best medical care possible. At this hearing, however, the discussion did not seem to center on an effort to find out whether that care was good or bad. It seemed to be primarily directed at trying to discredit a man who had written some critical articles. He was cited for contempt because he would not give the names of a few employees of the Veterans Administration who, in confidence and on condition that their names be not used, gave him some information.

I certainly am conscious of the wisdom of asking newspapers and their writers to show that their information has come from good sources. Plenty of things have been written about me which had no foundation in fact whatsoever. Yet in this particular case the writer had given plentiful evidence as to his sources. To force him to give a few names of people from whom he had obtained confidential information would mean that in the future no employees of any government or private group would dare to give such information. That would mean, in many cases, that investigations would not be started, because no one would know that anything was wrong. Few people can afford to risk their jobs in order to bring to light things which they may know should be remedied.

If good sources of information had not been given, there would then be valid criticism of a writer or a newspaper. But this was not the case in the present instance, and therefore the procedure of holding Mr. Deutsch in contempt endangers the public interest. I hope that all who have any interest in our veterans or in good government will write to Representative John Rankin, chairman of the committee, as well as to their own Congressmen, and protest the action. If this procedure is not changed, future sources of information will be intimidated, and that is dangerous to the public good.

I am sure that the men who took this action did so without thinking through what the implications were, and how it might harm not only the veterans, but the public. If our veterans do not receive the best medical care, they will not return to a self-supporting basis. These men are young men, and the cost to the public of good care which returns them to normal living will be far less than poor care which leaves them a burden on the public for the rest of their lives. Beyond that, the public is entitled to know the truth as a reputable journalist sees it.

126

May 23, 1945

HYDE PARK, Tuesday – I had to go down to New York City last Friday afternoon on business, and so I remained over Saturday to accomplish a number of errands and see several friends who have been anxious to talk certain things over.

I came back to the country Sunday, and it certainly is always a joy to return. Everyone used to tell me that I would never grow accustomed to a quiet existence. But as a young girl I spent a great part of the year in the country, leading a quieter life than anybody today would dream of. It has consequently never been difficult for me to slip back into finding my own company and my own private occupations very pleasant and entertaining. I cannot say, of course, that as yet I have had any time which wasn’t filled with activity. It has not been the same kind of activity as during the past years, for I can now stop at any point and say: “I have reached the limit of my capacity for work this day.” Yet my schedule still compels me to take up my work the next day where I left off.

While I was away, a very tragic thing happened. I had engaged a young man a week ago, and thought him sufficiently tried out to let him drive me to the train. He was supposed to do the daily errands afterward and drive back to the cottage. But early the next morning Miss Thompson called me in New York to tell me that he had failed to appear. She got in touch with the sheriff, and later it was discovered that the man had stolen the car and been in an accident with a number of young people. Four of them were killed, and he and another young man were in the hospital, seriously injured.

It was tragic and a great disappointment to me. I had determined to use the U.S. Employment Service because they are the agency through which our returned servicemen are supposed to get jobs. After our local agency sent me this young man, I called up to ask if they had investigated his references. I was told that they were not supposed to do that, but would comply in this case.

It seems to me that a government agency should be given sufficient appropriations to do its job on a basis which really services both the employee and the employer. To send out people without any investigation is rather dangerous. In this instance, we found that the man had not given his right name or address, two very easy things to check. I am telling this story today only because I think that people interested in the service which the U.S. Employment Service can render should protest to Congress about a situation that prevents this service from being of any real value to the public. Because of that, it can also be of no value to the men who will be looking for jobs in the future.

127

May 24, 1945

HYDE PARK, Wednesday – Yesterday was set aside to commemorate the part played by the Merchant Marine in the war, I am glad to know that an organization called “The Merchant Marine Veterans’ Foundation” has been formed for the purpose of aiding permanently injured and retired veterans of the American Merchant Marine.

The maritime unions on the East and West coasts, to which men in the Merchant Marine belong, have often been considered our most radical unions. This arises out of the fact that in the old days working on our merchant ships was probably the hardest job of any that a man could hold. Conditions over the years have greatly improved, but you still have to be hardy and adventurous to go to sea in the Merchant Marine.

There have been rather fantastic stories of pay and bonuses on dangerous trips during the war, but people forget that a man receives no pay when ashore. He is not included under the regular social security program, nor does he receive many of the benefits for himself or his family which men in the Navy receive.

A member of the Merchant Marine, as a result of a law passed by Congress, is cared for in Public Health Service hospitals if he is injured. The men give high praise to these marine hospitals, which are located in most of the larger ports and several of the interior cities. There are, however, certain limitations to this service. If a man is discharged from the hospital and does not return for treatment within a period of two months, he no longer has any right to this care, for after two months without treatment he is presumed to be cured of any injury connected with the war.

Many a Merchant Marine crew has been torpedoed more than once in the course of the war. They have gone on trips to every part of the world. The Navy crews who operate the guns on merchant ships and the protection given convoys by our naval ships and planes have been greatly appreciated, but they have not been able to prevent enemy attacks and heavy losses at times. There has often been a sense among the sailors who operated the guns that their lives were harder than those of the merchant seamen. But I think in the long run the average Navy man has as much for his family and himself in the course of a year as the merchant seaman can make and provide for his family.

Without our Merchant Marine this war could not be won, and it is greatly to our interest to make the life of our merchant seamen a worthwhile existence in the future, because I believe we are going to need our ships to sail the seven seas.

128

May 25, 1945

HYDE PARK, Thursday – I have a letter from the Veterans Administration informing me that the educational age limit in the G.I. Bill of Rights is not nearly as crippling as it might seem.

They write:

Any veteran who meets the basic eligibility requirements, Title #2, Public #346, 78th Congress, in respect to length and character of active service may (without regard to his age at the time of his entrance into active service) pursue a refresher or re-training course for a period of time not in excess of one year, or the equivalent thereof of part-time study, or for such lesser time as may be required for completion of the course chosen by him.

It is only when the question of education or training for a period or periods in excess of one year arises that the age of the veteran, at the time of his entrance into active service, becomes an essential consideration. If a person who was over 25 when he entered active service is able to establish, by competent and acceptable evidence, that his education was impeded, delayed, interrupted or interfered with by reason of his entrance into active service, he may be entitled to the full educational benefits provided by this legislation.

I am very glad to make this clear because a number of veterans, I think, have not been sure as to the full extent of their rights. I still believe that to make education really valuable to the veterans, much more will have to be done by states and localities than has been done in the past.

In that connection, a publication issued by the U.S. Office of Education in the Federal Security Agency, called “Data for State-Wide Planning for Veterans Education,” by Ernest V. Hollis, principal specialist in higher education, will be valuable to the educational authorities who really want to do a good job. This pamphlet gives much information on the probable needs of men in the armed forces with reference to their level of education when they went into the service. It includes tables made with the aid of data furnished by the army on both officers and enlisted men.

The Veterans Administration also informs me that the national service life insurance, issued to men in the services on or before December 31, 1945 and not exchanged or converted prior to that date to a plan other than five year level premium term insurance, will be extended for an additional period of three years if proposed legislation is passed. The legislation has already been favorably reported out of the World War Veterans Committee of the House of Representatives.

129

May 26, 1945

HYDE PARK, Friday – I was amused the other day to be sent an editorial from a paper published in the southwestern part of the country, which claimed that there was no more reason for backing the fair employment of people regardless of race, color or religion than there would be to back a bill insisting that people be employed regardless of whether they were union members or not.

It seems to me that this is a very peculiar attitude. It shows a lack of understanding of the reasons why we have unions and of why it is possible to insist that people in certain industries shall join a union before they are employed. Unions were established for the protection of the workers. Like all other organizations composed of human beings, unions sometimes go wrong; but the objective for which unions exist still stands. Agreements under which certain employers employ only union members are entered into after negotiation between the union and the employer.

I know that in certain unions the fees demanded are too high, and practices sometimes arise which are harmful to the union members. But the remedy lies in their own hands. Under a democratic form of government you have to use your franchise, and use it fearlessly, to be free and to have the kind of government that you desire. The same holds good in a union organization.

I have always felt that the closed shop was debatable, but I have never felt that the desirability of joining a union was debatable. There are plenty of associations of employers. Evidently they feel there is something valuable to be derived from group associations. Since that is the case, it seems to me quite plain that there are advantages to be derived for the worker in forming associations.

The last part of the editorial sent to me suggests that there is something un-American in employing anyone who is not a native-born citizen, and that a native-born American citizen should get a job ahead of any foreign-born person, regardless of qualifications and without being a union member. Apparently, this editorial writer would have us ignore the fact that an industry may happen to have an agreement with a union requiring that a worker shall be a member of the union. In war work, besides, it is very rare for anyone who is not an American citizen to be employed. If he is, it must be because he is really needed and has been carefully checked. Yet I think this question, in any event, was simply raised as a red herring to confuse people about the real issue of whether unions are valuable to the workers or not.

130

May 28, 1945

HYDE PARK, Sunday – I have a letter from a friend which says: “I am seriously disturbed by the rising tide of criticism about our two chief Allies in the war, Russia and Great Britain.”

This letter points up something which a number of people seem to feel, for I have read editorials on the subject of the amount of common gossip which one can hear in almost any gathering of people today. Frequently it is said that this type of gossip is started deliberately as enemy propaganda, and anyone who is familiar with “Tokyo Rose” in the Pacific knows that many rumors start from her broadcasts.

I suppose there are people in this country still working for Nazi and Fascist interests deliberately. In addition, however, there are a great many people who, without knowing it, are working against the future peace of the world. These are the people who are motivated in all they do primarily by fear.

They are afraid that their statesmen are not going to be equal to dealing with the statesmen of foreign nations on an equal basis.

They are afraid that we are not going to be able to compete with strong nations in the world of the future, and therefore they want to keep other nations weak.

They are afraid of Russia, and therefore feel that Germany must not be too weak; or they are afraid of Great Britain and believe that we must curtail her prosperity in any way possible.

Fear is the chief word in their vocabulary.

These are the people who pass on any disparaging things they may hear about other peoples or other governments before they really investigate to find out whether these things are true; and, if so, whether there is a reason why they are true.

I remember the indignation with which someone wrote to me that on D-Day our ships, operating against the Nazis in France, were charged for docking facilities in a British port. On investigation I found that our ships were paying, just as every other ship paid, a small sum of money for docking privileges, and these funds were used to keep the port going. Had we not paid, we would not have been doing our share. This is common practice throughout the world, and we expect others to do the same.

I think the only assurance we have that in the future we can hope for a chance to build peace lies in our own sense of confidence in ourselves. We may differ with our Allies. We have in the past. If we live up to our word once given, however, that will lead others to trust in our strength, because it is exercised by men of goodwill, with love in their hearts which wipes out fear.

131

May 29, 1945

HYDE PARK, Monday – My daughter Anna has been here for two days, and for the first time I have a sense of actually getting some things permanently moved out of the big house. She is one of the most satisfactory people I know to work with, because she knows so clearly what she wants or does not want. My daughter seems to be fairly well satisfied with the preliminary work which I had done in dividing the family possessions, but she did not take things just because I had put them with the things I thought she could use. She looked them over carefully and discarded quite a number as not fitting into her scheme of life.

Anna took certain things purely for their sentimental value. I imagine that will be one of the things all of the children will want to do, and it will be fortunate if they do not have sentiment about the same objects.

Our continued rain and mud forced me to give Fala a bath yesterday. He was wet enough without it, but the mud he was bringing into the house was more than I could bear. I have not bathed either a dog or a baby in a good many years, and I found that I was almost as wet as Fala when it was over, having forgotten my old precaution of putting on a rubber apron. I did a good and thorough job; but it took me longer than it would have 20 years ago, and I certainly was a bedraggled sight when it was over.

Having fought cleanliness with all his might, Fala, however, was very proud of himself when he was all brushed and combed and clean, and he seemed to be showing off to everybody all the rest of the evening.

Whenever I feed Fala I make him go through all of his tricks. But he evidently feels that his age makes rolling over too childish, for whenever we come to that he groans and grunts protestingly, though he still does it.

My lilies of the valley and forsythia have stopped flowering and it seems to me as though the syringa is never going to come out. Just a little sun would bring everything out very quickly, but even my birds seemed to be hushed and dispirited this morning. I hardly heard a sound as I awoke on my porch about 6 a.m.

There is a beautiful cock pheasant who struts across the road as I drive through to the big house every day. Fala gets all excited, but the pheasant never hurries and seems to know that he is quite safe. He looks at us as though he were saying: “Look at me; I am one of the most beautiful creatures you have ever seen.” I haven’t seen the hen as yet, but I am sure she must be a particularly modest one. She must have had to admire her husband so often.

132

May 30, 1945

HYDE PARK, Tuesday – Tomorrow will be Memorial Day, and all over this country people will be going to our cemeteries and placing flags and wreaths on the graves of the men who died for their country in this and other wars in our past history. The graves of others, too, will not be neglected.

But it is not of those who have died that I am primarily thinking today. During the past weeks I have been able to go to my husband’s grave in the quiet and beautiful hedge-enclosed garden. Delegations from many foreign nations have come to pay their respects, and they have gone away apparently with a renewed strength of spirit. I believe this always comes when we think of the courageous people who bear their burdens in life without fear and, like Lincoln, never troubled about their detractors but did the best they knew how from day to day, trusting in the strength of a greater power than their own.

Each time that I talk to people who seem to leave here with a little more courage than they came, I cannot help thinking of the many women who have written me during the days when I lived in the White House, begging to be allowed to bring home from overseas the fathers, husbands or brothers who lie buried far away. Always I had to answer that when the war was over the question would be sympathetically considered by the various departments, but that for the present people must lie where they fall.

I talked about it with my husband, who always said: “If I die at sea, I want to be buried at sea just like any sailor;” and I am sure that had he died on foreign soil he would have wanted to be buried in the place where he died, much as he loved his own land and the little patch of ground which was particularly his.

One wonders, nevertheless, when there is no tangible grave to be visited, how these people can get comfort not only on Memorial Day, but on all the other days of the year. They would still get it, of course, from the man who gave them courage and care and love on earth, if they could feel his spirit. Everyone who leaves this world must want to give those left behind that lift of the spirit which he left in his home in the morning and brought back when he returned.

Perhaps if the women who have no grave to visit could go to some place that together they had known and loved in the past, and think not of the body of a man but of his mind and soul and heart, they might then be able to feel some of that sense of nearness which is, I think, at the root of the craving people have to know and visit the spot where someone they have loved and depended upon is laid to rest. Perhaps if, day by day, they try to carry out some wish or some interest which was close to the man’s heart, they may find themselves sharing more intimately in the actual things which moved him. This will give them comfort and courage to face the future with a “head that is bloody but unbowed.”

133

May 31, 1945

HYDE PARK, Wednesday – I listened to Secretary Stettinius’ speech on Monday evening and read it the next day, and in addition I have read many of the editorials and comments upon it.

It was fitting, I think, for our Secretary of State, the head of our United States delegation, to report to this nation and to the men in the armed services during the fifth week of the conference. The objective for which we all live and fight today is ultimately to have a peaceful world. This conference is one of many early steps in the direction of world unity. It is the most important one so far, because without the organization which we hope it will establish no further steps could be taken.

I liked the way in which Secretary Stettinius gave the background for his speech. When we think that representatives of almost 50 nations are gathered in San Francisco, and stop to realize for a minute what our internal differences are when we try to agree on some specific policy, we get a better conception of the gigantic task of making all those nations agree on a charter and on the framework of an organization which will bring them together in the future and give them an opportunity to build for peace.

Two things stand out in my mind as I think of this report. I would like to speak of one point today.

Our Secretary of State did not shirk the unpleasant task of talking to us about Argentina and Poland, and that showed courage. Many of us – and I am among the many – wondered whether the decision reached in Mexico City to grant Argentina the opportunity to join in the conference, if she fulfilled certain conditions, was a wise one. We know that there are many people in Argentina who are neither Fascists nor in sympathy with the Fascists. But we also know that the policy of the government has been controlled by people who either were in sympathy with the Fascists or had made up their minds that it was to Argentina’s economic and political advantage to continue close ties with the fascist nations. Today, with Germany decisively defeated, it is quite evident that that was a bad guess.

The people who could think that way, however – who could ignore the rights and wrongs of the world situation, and believe in fascist doctrines – are certainly no more to be trusted in the democratic family of nations than they were before it became evident to them that their bread would be better buttered by joining with the democracies.

Secretary Stettinius minced no words, however, in speaking of what would be expected in the future. We evidently thought it wise to handle a difficult situation in this way, and as long as the people of our country are aware of exactly what the situation is and why we have done certain things, I think we are safe.

134

June 1, 1945

HYDE PARK, Thursday – Yesterday I wrote about one of the points raised in Secretary of State Stettinius’ recent speech, and today I would like to continue with a discussion of the Polish issue.

It is evident that the Yalta agreement, as far as Poland is concerned, became difficult to carry out and the much-to-be-desired creation of a new government was not accomplished. Poland has a right to freedom. But it is evident, too, that Russia, in return for her valiant fighting, has a right to feel that her European doorway is safe. That being the case, the type of government which exists in Poland and the boundaries which are finally agreed upon will be of greater concern to Russia than to any of the other Allies. Some compromise will have to be reached. It is not yet clear what can or should be done, but I think it is good that Secretary Stettinius spoke out and did not treat these subjects as something which the people of this country were not concerned with.

All thoughtful people agree that Russia, Great Britain and ourselves must cooperate in peace as we have cooperated in war, if the world is to have peace. Therefore, I like very much the plain speaking on the part of our Secretary of State, which emphasized for all of us the fact that machinery cannot make peace. Only the goodwill of peoples and their leaders can develop understanding and create an atmosphere in which peace can exist.

We might as well frankly face the fact that in this country there are many people who do not like the British empire. Sometimes this feeling may be a carry-over from old world backgrounds; sometimes it is still our Revolutionary War; sometimes it is a sense of inferiority, which makes us insist on our superiority and look down on anything which differs from our own habits and customs.

Fundamentally, however, I think it is most often the type of dislike which exists in families now and then. The various members will call each other names, but they do not like it when outsiders do it. I do not think there is any real fear in this country of war between the English-speaking nations of the world.

Our feeling toward Russia, however, is different. She is an unknown quantity. Her strength is not yet measured. The fact that she has done in some 25 years what the rest of Europe has taken several hundred years to do gives many a sense of insecurity. We know how rapidly her people have become literate. We know their fanaticism in defense of their form of government and of the leaders who have turned medieval conditions into a modern industrial civilization. We often do not understand that such rapid development means uneven development. I am told that throughout Russia you often hear the phrase, “It will be better.” That is a sign that they know their full accomplishment is not yet achieved. Something great has happened, nevertheless. We, in this country, do not quite understand it as yet, and there lies one of the reasons for our uncertainty.

With both Great Britain and Russia, however, we must decide that peace is worth the effort we must make in order to understand and like each other, and that effort must extend to all other countries as well.

135

June 2, 1945

HYDE PARK, Friday --Last Tuesday evening Postmaster General Frank Walker, who had consented to speak at the first Memorial Day services at my husband’s grave, held under the auspices of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Home Club, came to Hyde Park with Mrs. Walker to spend the night with me. Major Henry S. Hooker also came up for the night, and on Wednesday morning we all went over to the garden where a little less than a month and a half ago we had together attended my husband’s funeral.

The people were gathered all around the square grass plot, and several very beautiful wreaths had been sent. The grave itself was covered with our own flowers from the place, as my husband would have wished. The ceremonies were broadcast, and therefore many of you know that it was a sunny, beautiful day and that the service was simple and in keeping with what my husband liked on Memorial Day.

The Postmaster General made a most moving speech, a speech which came from his heart. I am sure that he wondered beforehand whether he would be able to make it without breaking down, but I think the past few years have put many people through experiences which have taught them self-control. Mr. Walker is one of those steady persons whom people have depended upon and will depend upon because they have depth of feeling and of sympathy, and also great strength.

After some of the people had left, and the first ceremonies were completed, a group of officers and cadets from West Point arrived to hold a simple ceremony and lay President Truman’s wreath on the grave. So, for the second time, the simple prayers were said and taps were sounded in the quiet garden. I was deeply appreciative of the President’s thought and of the kindly feeling of so many others which prompted the sending of the beautiful flowers and the attendance of so many people at this Memorial Day service.

Realizing the difficulties of transportation these days, I know how much it meant in sacrifice for many of those who came. Maeterlinck, in The Bluebird, reminded us that the thought of those on earth is what wakens the spirit of those who have gone on. Those of us who believe that the things my husband stood for must go on are glad to feel that his spirit is awakened by the thoughts of such a multitude of people and that therefore his courage and strength march on with us.

136

June 4, 1945

HYDE PARK, Sunday – I have a letter in my mail which I think shows a bit of short-sightedness that we should take note of and explain very promptly. The writer, evidently someone with boys in the service, feels that people who have worked in war plants – where before the war they were farmers, or household workers, or perhaps mothers of families who stayed at home – should all be urged to return to their original employment and should not receive unemployment compensation.

I don’t believe that men or women will have to be urged to return to their former work, for I think one predominant trait of the American people is that they prefer to work than to sit idle. By and large, we do not like receiving money and sitting in idleness unless we are ill, tired out or cannot find work. In this last case, unemployment insurance is not only a godsend to the unemployed, but a godsend to the economy of the country as a whole.

That is the point I want to bring out today. Unemployment insurance is not a plan just for the benefit of the people who happen to be out of work – or who do not want to work, as certain people seem to feel may happen. It is a plan to keep our whole economy from starting on a downward spiral. If many people stop buying, there is no market for anyone’s goods.

I think mothers will go back to their homes and, where they have small children, it will be better for the children. Many people went to work for patriotic reasons or because they had debts they wanted to pay off – perhaps a mortgage on the farm – and they wanted to meet the post-war period in a stable financial condition. That was the reason why many farmers went to work in shipyards or in war plants. In the days when they couldn’t sell what they grew, they had to incur debts and mortgage their farms. War work gave them an opportunity to get out of the red, and they took it, as they should. But often they put in long hours at home, after the war work was done, to keep the farm going, and even the younger children helped.

To deny unemployment insurance to war workers, however, would be a very unwise move. Every citizen of the country, including our returning servicemen, depends for a livelihood on factories, farms and businesses going at full tilt. Our servicemen must find work to do. Unless people are able to buy food and clothing and goods of all kinds, the reconversion period will be a very bad period indeed, and may even start us on a new depression. Anyone who went through the early 'thirties can hardly wish to see those conditions return.

President Truman has done a wise thing, from the economic standpoint of the country as a whole, in advocating more generous unemployment insurance.

137

June 5, 1945

HYDE PARK, Monday – At the beginning of the war, we often heard air power enthusiasts say that now we would see it proved that only air power was needed in the future. For that reason, I think many people gave somewhat less thought to the foot soldier – the infantryman – who in the wars of the past always did the hard fighting and had the least glamor attached to his particular achievements.

Although air power is vital in the preparation of objectives, in the support and protection of ships and land forces, and for reconnaissance, it has been proved again in this war that in the end the infantry has to do the final job. The cavalry, in the past, probably held the place of glamor which the air force holds today, and the artillery, with its galloping horses, was always picturesque. But I imagine in the past, just as today, you heard grumbling from the infantry that their job was the toughest and the dullest, and that they got very little recognition.

So, on June 15, we are going to celebrate Infantry Day in this country, and I hope we do it with grateful hearts.

One of the people who more than any other endeared the average soldier to us was Ernie Pyle. He lived with them, understood them and loved them, and he made the rest of us understand and love them, too. His voice is stilled now, but I think the columns he wrote will be reread constantly and will keep before us always the human side of this war.

There is another man who, through the medium of the cartoon, has passed on to a great many of us the humor and the pathos of the infantry. He is Bill Mauldin, and his book of cartoons, called “Up Front,” will be published on June 15 in honor of Infantry Day. It is the story of the foot soldier and contains 170 pictures.

I think this permanent record of a story which we have enjoyed and laughed over, and sometimes felt like weeping over, will be a record that most of us will want to have in our libraries. We have to remember that in the future we will want to keep before our children what this war was really like. It is so easy to forget; and then, for the younger generation, the heroism and the glamor remains, while the dirt, the hardships, the horror of death and the sorrow fade somewhat from their consciousness.

That is one thing that must not happen in any country in the world. Young people must have adventure in their lives and an opportunity for heroism. Perhaps one of the things we will have to do is exercise our ingenuity and imagination to the point of finding peacetime ways in which youth can feel that they are developing the traits which we admire so much in the heroes of our wars.

138

June 6, 1945

HYDE PARK, Tuesday – From releases which have come to me lately, I gather that we are all going to have less sugar in the near future. Our supply is now coming chiefly from the Caribbean area, and the shortage is intensified, of course, by the liberation of European countries, since last year these countries made no demands on the United Nations’ supplies.

I wonder how many people remember the way in which we saved sugar in the last world war. I seem to recall that a request was made of us to ask every individual in our households to use just half the quantity of sugar they ordinarily used. If they usually used two lumps in their coffee at breakfast time, they were asked to use one lump and put the other back in the sugar bowl. If a child was allowed two teaspoons of sugar in his cereal, he was asked to put one back in the sugar bowl. I know it became a game in our house, and worked very little hardship on anyone.

I haven’t seen any lump sugar for a long time, but we certainly could do the same thing now with spoons of sugar. If we also kept a little jug of honey on our tables, perhaps we would get accustomed to pouring honey on many things and using less sugar. It does not cost less, but honey on berries brings out the flavor far better than sugar does, and I think it is probably more healthful.

For people who are canning – and most people with gardens will be canning – there is going to be stricter supervision, to make sure that they use their canning allotment for that purpose only. Some people have used canning sugar simply to augment their supply for ordinary household use.

I think the OPA is quite right in making certain that people carry through honestly on their use of canning sugar. I am sure, however, that every effort will be made to give the full 120-pound allotment to those who are really trying to preserve food for winter use. This is a reduction from last year, and will be a hardship on many people who have always canned to the very limit of their ability. But there are other ways of preserving some of our foods, and the Department of Agriculture is glad to send people information about them.

I am afraid that because of the weather many of us will be short, in this area at least, on some of the small fruits for canning. Our strawberry crop is going to be small, and we accepted long ago the sad fact that apples and pears will also be scarce because of the early warm weather and the subsequent cold spell. The meat shortage may teach many of us that we can feed our children more fresh vegetables and salads and cottage cheese than in the past, and I am quite sure that we will find they thrive on this diet.

139

June 7, 1945

HYDE PARK, Wednesday – For a long time I have been concerned about our migratory farm workers, who move from place to place following the crops wherever there is need for their labor. I read in the paper the other day a report on conditions in some of the camps for these workers in New York State, and I must say, when I have seen some of the places in which families are expected to live, or even just the barracks where we expect the workers themselves to be housed, I am filled with shame.

Now and then you see something really good, and then you find contented workers. Their comments are appreciative, but at the same time show surprise at the good conditions. These workers are essential. Without them our big growers of vegetables and small fruits and other seasonal crops could not possibly operate, and yet we have given very little thought to their problems.

If these workers have children, how do those children get an education? It would really make sense if schools were organized to move with them. As it is now, many of these children, if they go to school at all, go sporadically for a few months here and a few there, and there is no continuity in what they learn. It is from their ranks that we recruit a goodly number of our illiterates.

You have but to read our draft records to know that we are not a people who are universally able to read and write, and in a democracy those are two requisites to good citizenship. It is entirely true that intelligence cannot be judged by whether you are able to read and write; in many cases, this is only a question of whether you have had the opportunity to learn. But in our country, when we find illiterate people, it is an indication that as citizens we have not faced our responsibilities and tackled the difficult problem of seeing that everyone has an opportunity for an education.

Since the war, in order to get the emergency seasonal work done on our farms, we have imported labor through arrangements entered into with nearby countries. I was ashamed to read some of the things which Mexico felt it had to write into our labor contracts in order to protect those of its citizens who came to work on our farms and ranches. But I was glad, nevertheless, that the workers were protected.

The other day I happened to see affidavits signed by workers who had come into Florida from the Bahama Islands, and the complaints which were made were not simply of poor living conditions. They were of treatment in which, apparently, the local governmental authorities connived with the employers in flagrant violation of civil liberties. Such practices as those sworn to in these affidavits can, of course, be fought by union action, but I also think they should be fought by our federal government, which has a responsibility to the governments from which these workers came.

140

June 8, 1945

NEW YORK, Thursday – As the international scene unfolds before us day by day in San Francisco and in other parts of the world, it becomes increasingly clear that the meetings of statesmen; the articles written in papers and magazines, which frequently reflect not just the thoughts of the authors, but the points of view of those who control the various publications; the speeches of men representing various groups and sections of thought in various countries; all of these, added together, are not going to give us a peaceful world.

The statesmen may succeed in setting up some machinery through which spokesmen for various countries can be called together and even take action in certain situations in the future. But the object for which our men are fighting and dying today is a peaceful world in the future. I think it is as well that the people of the various nations of the world face the fact that this object is going to be achieved only when the peoples of the world insist that it shall be the one objective to which statesmen, businessmen, the press and communications generally throughout the world devote their best energies.

Only people can bring this home to their leaders. They alone can say:

What will it profit us if we acquire a better oil supply in some part of the world, or to be assured of trade with this country or that? If our standard of living goes up, but our neighbors’ standard of living goes down; if we eat, but our neighbors starve, we may have power for a little while, but we will not have assurance of peace and security for all.

It is generally conceded that there cannot be peace in the world unless the three nations which fought together and won the war in Europe continue to work together for such conditions in the world as will keep us at peace. That being the case, we should be making far greater efforts to understand the particular situation which each one of these nations confronts.

We know they want security as we do – freedom from fear and from want. Security is not a matter of armed forces alone. We can build those up at great cost and still not be able to stand alone, or even form a group to battle the rest of the world. Germany proved this. Security from fear of aggression is really a matter of good faith and trust among nations and their people. Security is also a matter of economic resources and of ability, through trade and production, to give peoples the world over the things which they need in order that they may feel their lot in life is steadily improving.

Definite actions, however, stand out as detrimental to our chance of building future security. Some of these actions, in connection with Communist activities, I want to bring to your attention tomorrow.