Eleanor Roosevelt – My Day (Dec. 1941)

8

December 9, 1941

WASHINGTON, Monday – At noon today, at the Capitol, I had a curious sense of repetition, for I remembered very vividly the description of the same gallery, when Mrs. Woodrow Wilson listened to President Wilson speak to the assembled members of Congress. Today she sat beside me, as the President spoke the words which branded a nation as having departed from the code of civilized people.

Everyone in this house was up late last night. Early this morning the President was on the telephone and, with every bit of information, the situation in the Pacific showed more clearly what damage had been done by surprise.

Some will think that the people of Hawaii and the Philippines and our other islands should not have been taken by surprise. They have to think back to yesterday, however, to realize how impossible actual war seemed to us. Even today, I heard people say: “Oh well, those islands are vulnerable, but we here on this Continent have nothing to fear.”

How hard it is for human beings to learn that the only safety there is, lies in being prepared for any eventuality. When people are making desperate efforts, they will try things which seem foolhardy to more secure people. If you are going to die anyway, you might just as well die with a grand gesture which stands a chance of winning high stakes for you. That is what Germany has planned today, for this attack is German strategy.

If you live along the East Coast, don’t be too sure that you are out of the danger zone. Sign up today and do a job, because if you have a job to do, that responsibility will see you through any situation.

I opened our staff meeting in the Office of Civilian Defense this morning, by saying that I thought this was no moment for any of our able women to accept the invitation of Great Britain to go over and visit them. There was no one in the room who was not alert to the fact that their work had ceased to be the work of preparation and was now work which required action immediately.

After the short time spent at the Capitol, Director La Guardia held his staff meeting. Since then I have been contacting regional directors and obtaining all the information I need for the work which we hope to get done on the West Coast during the next few days. I am leaving tonight and hope to be in Los Angeles tomorrow morning.

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December 10, 1941

Los Angeles, Tuesday –
We left last night with the usual rush of last-minute things which must be done. Three of us had supper in my sitting room before we left. With us were Jimmy, Elliott and two friends with whom Elliott had flown from the school in San Antonio, Texas. One of the younger men was head of the school and had come to Washington to attend a conference. The other two had just finished their course.

After flying all summer over the uncharted northern places in which we now have an interest, and after taking these present courses, in aerial navigation, gunnery, etc., Elliott will be much better trained. It looks as though we shall need all the trained people we can get.

Our trip was smooth, except for one perfectly tremendous bump, which came just as some passengers were having dinner. Most of them found themselves with food and drink spilled all over them. Luckily we had eaten before boarding the plane, and so we only hit the ceiling and sat down again, surrounded by papers and books in various odd places. It took a little longer to tidy up the rest of the passengers, than for us to retrieve our belongings.

Just before we reached Nashville, Tennessee, word came to us that San Francisco was being bombed. We awakened Director La Guardia and he decided at once we must make arrangements to proceed as quickly as possible to San Francisco.

At Nashville, I telegraphed and discovered San Francisco had not been bombed, but that a blackout had been ordered up and down all the coast, because enemy planes had been heard from the Army posts. All of us went to bed feeling happier than no real harm had come to one of our cities.

I like to get up with the dawn on this flight and watch the colors in the sky and the wonderful play of sun and shadow on the mountains. Before we reached Phoenix, I had my first cup of coffee and enjoyed the view of the country.

We thought for a while that we would have to land in Palm Springs, which is a three-hour drive to Los Angeles. However, the weather cleared and we were able to land in Burbank on schedule. Director La Guardia and I may separate in Los Angeles. He will go to San Francisco, while I think it may be wise for me to go to San Diego first.

I shall use my column as far as possible to tell you what we plan to do in civilian defense in this area, for I think it may be useful to everyone. There is one thing which every woman can do to prepare her house for blackouts. Namely, arrange with black cloth, or heavy curtains, or even a rug, so that light will not show through a window, to make a room livable in a blackout. Preferably, it should be the kitchen, so that food can be cooked.

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December 11, 1941

San Diego, Wednesday –
We arrived in Los Angeles in the rain yesterday morning. The Governor of California and the mayor of Los Angeles met us. The Governor drove off with Director La Guardia. Gilbert Harrison and I followed with the mayor. I was astonished to find that, even now, some people can’t believe our shores are actually a possible target for attack.

We went straight to the State Building, and in a very few minutes the State Council of Defense met in open session. All the seats in the room were filled and people stood in the aisles as the morning wore on.

I felt extremely virtuous, because I had not gone to the hotel to dress. I usually feel that this is essential after a night trip. I patted myself on the back and felt that since this was not entirely comfortable, this was my first real job for civilian defense.

It is remarkable how a real threat will change the whole aspect of a situation overnight. The State Defense Council met, found an executive secretary, decided to establish a central office in the State Capitol in Sacramento and two branch offices in San Francisco and Los Angeles. The local council of defense was setting up its volunteer office also.

Guards had already been placed on watch at all strategic places such as bridges in the state. The need for money was already being canvassed and the Governor was making necessary preparations to meet the requirements.

Director La Guardia made an excellent speech and it was splendid to see the response to concrete suggestions. In the afternoon, the meeting was divided and Mayor La Guardia went to a meeting of the section on health and welfare.

I found that there were many very excellent plans on paper, but actual assignment of people to specific posts and their training in what they should do on those posts had not yet been undertaken. It seems to me that, with real danger hanging over our heads, when we discuss the actual work that has to be done, we discover that the protective measures are really very closely allied to the voluntary participation.

You cannot, for instance, be a good air warden without knowing exactly how all the people in your section live and what their needs are. Yet the air raid wardens are trained under the Army and the community services, which they have to invoke to do their job well, are all on my side of defense.

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December 12, 1941

San Francisco –
Yesterday we left by the eight o’clock train as the rain still continued and no planes were flying. We reached San Diego at 10:30, accompanied by Mr. Neustadt of the Federal Security Administration and Mrs. Shreiner, of our own OCD regional office in charge of the establishment of voluntary bureaus.

In San Diego I found during the Defense Council Meeting that they have actually accomplished a good deal. Their medical setup for disaster is very complete. They need more medical supplies, but they have a greater reserve than most places, and they have actually practiced how long it takes to cover the city and the country. They tell me in ten minutes any part of the city can be covered and in half an hour, any part of the county. They have tried setting up an emergency hospital in one of their schools with two hundred beds installed and ready for use.

They are training their air raid wardens, but they have comparatively few of them as yet. their volunteer bureau is functioning in the city with a number of outposts in schools and firehouses for registration and information.

I visited the Red Cross which is in a building in the old fair grounds. They have a great many volunteer workers and are doing a great deal of work, but I was distressed to find that they are only training thirty nurses aides every four weeks, which seems to me a very inadequate number.

We went over to Coronado to lunch with our son, John, and I was happy to find his wife sufficiently recovered from the ear which had to be lanced a week or more ago, to be downstairs while we were there. Little Haven is able to walk about now and he has learned one whole sentence: “Daddy, all gone,” which he acquired when the new rules required young officers to stay at their posts from early one morning through to the next afternoon. Haven couldn’t understand, of course, why his father was away so long.

We took the train back to Los Angeles and dined in the railroad station. While eating, we heard the announcement:

The United States Army has ordered a blackout along the coast from Bakersfield and back to Las Vegas.

In a few minutes all the curtains were drawn and candles were brought for each table as the electric lights went out everywhere. Only in the underground passageway leading to the train shed, were the lights left lit. Everything else was done by lantern or candlelight. People moved along, however, quietly and without excitement, but our train was somewhat delayed in leaving.

Today we are in San Francisco.

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December 13, 1941

En route from San Francisco to Portland, Ore. –
We are on the train this morning, going up through the mountains of Oregon. Much of this country was settled by New Englanders, and the rushing streams which look as though trout and salmon would be plentiful in them, remind one of Maine rivers, though the mountains are so much higher.

I wish I could say that wherever I see magnificent trees cut down, I could also see plantations of new trees, but I have not noticed that as yet. One important lesson we still must learn is that we cannot ask anything which comes from our soil and not return something to the soil for the use of generations to come.

I went straight to a meeting of the San Francisco metropolitan area defense councils yesterday morning. Mayor La Guardia had held a meeting the day before with the police and fire chiefs and had evidently given them much information. The fire chief in San Francisco is no longer young and he is very much upset because the federal government has not as yet provided him with all the machines he thinks he needs. I hope for the safety of San Francisco that he will use his ingenuity to achieve results that must be achieved in any area. This is a lesson which we are going to learn, men and women alike, in the next few months, because we are often going to find we cannot have what we want, but nevertheless things must be done.

The spirit of officials and people in general seems to be resolute and everyone has awakened from a period of apathy to a period of action.

I thought the best suggestion made at this particular meeting was offered by the head of the labor council who is also a state senator. He suggested that during this period, the local defense council meet every morning at nine o’clock, and the other defense councils included in the metropolitan area, come in at least two or three times a week. This is surely the most rapid way of coordinating all their activities and making them useful to each other.

I met with the federal council of all the federal agencies in the area at lunch, attended the opening of the volunteer bureau under the San Francisco defense council and visited the Red Cross headquarters. The Red Cross units on this coast have had training in meeting disasters caused by earthquakes and are perhaps for that reason better prepared to meet the present situation.

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December 15, 1941

Seattle –
We had a full meeting of the state and local defense councils and heads of various other organizations in Portland on Friday afternoon. Oregon has a coordinator for defense work and he and the Governor assured me that they actually have more plans in operation and functioning than has seemed to be the case in some other places. Here also the Red Cross seems well organized and active, and the medical profession seems to be prepared for emergency work. Everywhere they say the same thing, that they need more supplies to meet a real disaster.

I had a very good opportunity to talk to the Governor and the coordinator of defense activities on the train for an hour before we reached Portland, and went to the meeting.

I think it is going to be necessary for the army and civilian defense officials in these northwestern areas to work more closely together. The two activities are so closely connected it is almost impossible to separate them at many points.

At 4:15, we were back on the train and we reached Seattle a little after 10 p.m. It was good to see my daughter and son-in-law at the station, and this is the first chance I have had to see their home which they bought last summer. It is a low, rather rambling house, down by the lake with nice trees and an orchard. We had hardly been home a few minutes when our eldest grandchild, Eleanor, came in from her first formal dancing party, wearing her first real evening dress. Life for the young must go on even though Seattle is perhaps the nearest point on this coast to Japan!

Much to our surprise yesterday morning, Johnny, aged two and a half, greeted me as though he really knew me and promptly demanded:

Where’s Tommy?

…so he evidently connects the two of us!

Anna, John, and I, with Mr. Neustadt and Mr. Davis from the regional office of the D.H. & W Administration, drove over to Tacoma right after breakfast for a local defense council meeting there. The Mayor, Mr. Cain, is a young and capable man, and the medical work seems to be well organized and much of the other defense work is at least begun. The volunteer bureau is being established, air raid wardens are being trained, though not yet in large enough numbers. The county was also represented at the meeting and I am glad to see the realization that county and city must work together.

We had a quiet afternoon and evening together and this morning we are going down for meetings of the Seattle state and local defense councils.

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December 16, 1941

Washington, Monday –
We are back in Washington. During the trip, I read Louis Adamic’s book Two Way Passage. It is a book that every American should read. I have not quite finished it, so I cannot really discuss it, but it has started a trend of thought which is pointed up by the situation on the West Coast for the American-born Japanese.

We know that there are German and Italian agents and people representing other sympathetic Axis nationalities who have been very active in this country during the past few years, just as the Communists have been. We know that now, there are Japanese as well as these other agents, who are here to be helpful to their own nation and not to ours. But these people are gradually being rounded up by the FBI and the Secret Service.

We, as citizens, if we hear anything suspicious, will report it to the proper authorities. But the great mass of our people, stemming from these various national ties, must not feel that they have suddenly ceased to be Americans.

This is, perhaps, the greatest test this country has ever met. Perhaps it is the test which is going to show whether the United States can furnish a pattern for the rest of the world for the future. Our citizens come from all the nations of the world. Some of us have said from time to time, that we were the only proof that different nationalities could live together in peace and understanding, each bringing his own contribution, different though it may be, to the final unity which is the United States.

If, out of the present chaos, there is ever to come a world where free people live together peacefully, in Europe, Asia or in the Americas, we shall have to furnish the pattern. It is not enough to restore people to an old and outworn pattern. People must be given the chance to see the possibilities of a new world and to work for it.

Perhaps, on us today, lies the obligation to prove that such a vision may be a practical possibility. If we cannot meet the challenge of fairness to our citizens of every nationality, of really believing in the Bill of Rights and making it a reality for all loyal American citizens, regardless of race, creed or color; if we cannot keep in check antisemitism, anti-racial feelings as well as anti-religious feelings, then we shall have removed from the world, the one real hope for the future on which all humanity must now rely.

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December 17, 1941

Washington, Tuesday –
In returning to Washington yesterday afternoon, I called Mrs. Morgenthau and some of her assistants in the Office of Civilian Defense, to learn what had happened while Mayor La Guardia and I were on the West Coast.

Then I considered some of the difficulties now arising. There have been conflicting directions as to what people should do in case of air raids. The reason is that there are quite a number of people, who have no official sanction whatsoever, are giving advice and directions about a number of things.

In addition, there has been conflict in the minds of people actually in charge of developing programs. However, much of the confusion is being cleared up, as it always is. Actual experience on the West Coast has helped.

Up to last Sunday, it was almost impossible to accomplish any real work with state and local defense councils, which were often nonexistent, or existent only on paper. Frequently, people who wanted to work, were given no money by state or local governments with which to do so. Volunteers did not materialize in such great numbers until a real war was upon us. Now there is cooperation everywhere.

Even with that cooperation, it is going to be necessary, to work out certain plans in the light of experience. No one should be surprised if there is a certain amount of change that develops in the handling of different situations. The organization for actual defense, even where civilians are concerned, is primarily under army control. However, in many cases, the welfare of the people of the community, which is also part of defense, is closely tied up with the actual protective organization.

Mayor La Guardia has succeeded in establishing a pattern for the work of the police and fire departments, and this is functioning very smoothly everywhere on the West Coast. The other community needs must be met through the cooperation of a great many agencies. These are gradually drawing together more closely and cooperating on every level. I think it eventually will lead to a stronger community organization than we have ever had before in our country.

It will be easy to criticize many things in the coming weeks. The proof of the pudding will be in the eating, and if, as time goes on, communities find themselves better able to work together for the common good, civilian defense will have accomplished much of the purpose for which it was organized.

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December 18, 1941

Washington, Wednesday –
I started this day with a committee meeting at 9 o’clock, at which all the government agencies met to find ways in which they could cooperate.

From there, I went to a meeting of the District of Columbia social agencies. They have gathered a group of volunteers who have been taking a course in an effort to prepare themselves for work which would necessitate a knowledge of all the available resources in the community. This kind of knowledge is valuable, and I think it is a good preparation for the type of activity which defense work asks of us all.

There was a time when many people thought that the word defense meant simply physical protection. This could be given by the army, navy and air force, plus the police and fire departments. Even the air raid warden, who became a recognized person in defense through our knowledge of what had happened in England, was looked upon primarily as a person who would see that lights were out and people were notified where fires were to be extinguished.

Now it is understood at last, that real defense begins in every home. The insecure home is a menace to the security of the community. Therefore, the air raid warden, who knows every family in his or her area, must know upon what agencies to call to meet the needs of each and every person in it who is not able to meet them himself. The job is not just policing, it is social service as well.

I am told that some people have an idea that this has nothing to do with defense. They say it is really only a way of putting over on an unsuspecting community, in the guise of defense, some of the very bad things which go by the name of “New Deal Measures.” These people, I am afraid, are putting the cart before the horse.

If there had never been a New Deal, we would have had to accept this conception of defense. We have learned from London that it is the insecure who rush in large numbers to congregate together in air raid shelters. They must be given security or their fears run riot.

I had a reception this afternoon for the foreign students of the various universities around Washington. I looked at the young faces and thought of all they and their countries are now going through, and my heart went out to them in sympathy and yet in hope for the future.

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December 19, 1941

Washington, Thursday –
I spent the entire day at the office of Civilian Defense. I drank a glass of milk and ate sandwiches at my desk at lunchtime. As a result, there is not one single unanswered thing in my briefcase, and I have managed to see a number of people for very brief interviews during the day.

Curiously enough, a day with less talk and more time to think and to clear up the things which come in the mail, gives one a sense of greater accomplishment than a day which is filled with conferences and interviews. Occasionally, it is absolutely necessary to have a day of this kind, otherwise one’s desk is never cleared.

I came back to the White House at 5 o’clock to see Madame Tabouis at tea time, and was very happy to hear from her that she is to publish a French newspaper in this country. This new weekly will, I am sure, be representative of all that is best in French culture and spirit. I am delighted she has an opportunity to work at her profession again.

There is an announcement in the evening paper which seems to me of great importance. Secretary Stimson has announced that the War Department, while planning to expand the Army to whatever strength is needed, will depend entirely upon the selective service system and not on voluntary enlistments.

This seems to me the only sensible procedure. Through the Selective Service, if our draft boards function properly, men will be used where they are most needed and will not be wasted in positions for which they are not fitted.

I know of a boy who left his college in the last year of a chemistry course and enlisted as a private. This is a sign of patriotism, but it is also a great waste of human material, for we need chemists. We need doctors and nurses and other trained people, and the Selective Service is supposed to provide them.

This system is designed to use men in the best possible way. It keeps men not in uniform from being made uncomfortable, because the nation knows that every man is doing the thing he is called upon to do in the way the proper authorities decide is most useful.

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December 20, 1941

New York, Friday –
Yesterday evening we had a strictly family party, just my husband, our son, Jimmy, his wife and me. This afternoon, these two young people are leaving for San Diego, Cal., and all too soon Jimmy will be off on his active work again in his own branch of the service.

We made it a Christmas and birthday party combined, for this boy of ours was born two days before Christmas. He has always complained, because the two dates come so close together that no one ever gave him all to which he was entitled.

I am really sorry for my daughter-in-law Rommie, because she had barely settled her house here and now has had to tear it all apart again. But this is war, and men must do the things which are “musts” to them.

In the paper, a few days ago, I read that our second son, Elliott, was assigned to an aviation unit and will be off on active duty again. This time it will not be, I am sure, over the wilds of Iceland, Greenland and Newfoundland that he will fly, as he did all last summer. I thought he was still taking a training course and secretly rejoiced with his wife in the comparative security of routine flying. Shortly, apparently, there will be three boys whose whereabouts for us are wrapped in mystery.

I left Washington last night on the night train and found my cousin, Mrs. Kermit Roosevelt, waiting for me at a very late hour to talk over certain changes in the organization for which she has done so much work. “Young America Wants To Help” has been a part of the British War Relief. Now, I imagine, they will redouble their efforts to help not only young people in England, but young people anywhere in our country who need it.

I love the photograph which was in some of yesterday’s papers of young Colin Kelly and his mother. I think many people will be touched as I was, by the letter addressed to the “President of the United States in 1956” by my husband. He asked that this little boy be given an appointment to West Point because of the services which his father had rendered to his country.

Colin Kelly has a proud heritage and though pride can never remove the sense of loss which Mrs. Kelly and this little boy have suffered, still, in the future, it will mean much to both of them. Perhaps a child brought up in the shadow of heroism may find it always a motivating force in his young life.

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December 22, 1941

Hyde Park, Sunday –
After a busy day on Friday in New York City, I came up here yesterday. Just before Christmas there is always a great deal to do delivering parcels to everybody on the place and the people who are our near neighbors. Someday I hope that we shall be back here and able to have a Christmas party, where we shall be able to get together to enjoy the real Christmas spirit. That is impossible for the present, however, and all I can do is to be sure that everybody feels remembered at this time.

It seems queer, in winter, to be thinking about shipping seeds to England, but England can think about gardens earlier than we, I received a notice today that the New York Home Bureaus had sent more than $2,000 for the purchase of vegetable seeds to Mr. Donald Neville-Willing, who allows his home at 18 East 70th Street, New York City, to be used as headquarters for the committee working for American Seeds For British Soil.

Mrs. A. W. Smith, the state leader of the Home Demonstration Agents in New York, writes me that one dollar’s worth of seed will provide enough vegetables for a family of five. I can only believe that the English are better gardeners than we, for I am sure that the vegetable seeds that I buy for my own use cost me far more. I am not, however, a very good gardener, even by proxy.

While I was in New York City, I stopped in at W. and J. Sloane, to see an exhibition of contemporary ceramics produced in our Western Hemisphere. This exhibition will go on tour to leading museums in the United States, when it closes at Christmas in New York City. Countries represented in the exhibition are Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Cuba, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Iceland, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, the United States, Uruguay and Venezuela. New York City artists are participating by doing work on the spot, which will, I am sure, be extremely interesting to others, as it was to me.

I give my broadcast from New York City this evening and take the night train back to Washington.

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December 23, 1941

Washington, Monday –
I want to go back a little over my time in New York City, because I failed to tell you some of the things which interested me.

In stopping at the headquarters for the celebration of the President’s Birthday for the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis, on Friday, I found that Mr. Keith Morgan was pleased and deeply stirred by the telegrams which he has been receiving from his chairmen throughout the country.

Apparently, being at war has not in any way lessened their interest in the war against this dread disease. They feel more intensely than ever, that they must save the children by finding out how to prevent epidemics and how to care for those who are stricken. The strength of our children is the strength of our nation.

The heavy epidemics of infantile paralysis during the past three years have brought us 26,000 casualties in this particular war. We can ill afford such losses as these, and so, no matter what we give in other ways, this fight must go on.

Friday evening, I took a group of young people, who are all working together, to see a light and amusing play which they had chosen. I must say they made a good choice. Let’s Face It, is full of tuneful songs and amusing, clever lines. Danny Kaye has a great gift for entertainment and the whole cast contributed to what was a very pleasant evening. I strongly recommend it, if you don’t want to think too much or too deeply. I imagine, these days, there are quite a number of people who are looking for just that kind of evening.

I didn’t have space to tell you yesterday what really beautiful days Saturday and Sunday were in the country. It was cold and the pond was beginning to freeze, so there will soon be skating. The sky was a washed blue, as though the few flakes of snow, which had fallen Saturday morning had cleared it of every imperfection. I walked to the top of the hill on Sunday morning, just to have a look at the foothills of the Catskills and the lacy silhouette of trees against the sky.

I wish I could tell you how clear and beautiful the stars were that twinkled through the windows of my porch on Saturday night. I almost felt that I could touch them, and they made the world of war and sorrow seem so very far away and unreal. You have to come back to it, but it is good to escape for even a few minutes now and then.

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December 24, 1941

Washington, Tuesday –
I was late arriving at the Office of Civilian Defense yesterday morning because, the President who has been very mysterious as to what was going to happen over these holidays, finally decided to tell me that the British Prime Minister, Mr. Winston Churchill, and his party were arriving sometime in the late afternoon or evening. It had not occurred to him that this might require certain moving of furniture to adapt rooms to the purposes for which the Prime Minister wished to use them.

Before all the orders were finally given, it was 10:00 and I was late at my office, and half an hour late in getting back to the White House for my press conference. I caught up after that and was only five minutes late in reaching the Salvation Army Headquarters at 2:00. We had the usual Christmas celebration there.

From there I went to the meeting of the American Committee for British Catholic Relief. Justice Murphy presided and Father D’Arcy read some interesting excerpts from letters, which showed great appreciation and gratitude for the efforts of the American Catholics to help their friends overseas.

Back to the office from that meeting, I talked with a series of people until it was time to go to one of the alley Christmas trees. These parties are sponsored by the Washington Federation of Churches, and every evening this week, there will be a gathering singing carols around a little lighted Christmas tree in an alley.

I returned to the White House at 6:15 and waited to greet our distinguished guest. The President had gone to the airport to meet him and they did not come back till 7:00. After a few minutes conversation and a very belated cup of tea, we all went to our rooms to get ready for dinner. The only other people at dinner were Secretary of State and Mrs. Hull, Under Secretary of State and Mrs. Welles, and Lord and Lady Halifax.

The gentlemen all gathered together in the President’s study after dinner. The ladies were left to talk a little while, and then to go home. They sent their cars back to wait for their husbands. I did a couple of hours work on the mail before finishing the day.

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December 25, 1941

Washington –
There are few homes in this country or probably anywhere in the world where this will be a merry Christmas. Germany, from whence once came so many of the most delightful Christmas customs, which we all observe, can hardly observe them this year with much merriment. For years the German nation has been sacrificing for what at best could be but a very empty victory. The control of other peoples through fear and force, can never bring any real satisfaction.

And now the sacrifices are likely to be not only greater than ever before, but to have less meaning, because instead of victory, there are the rumblings of a slow but sure defeat.

I am more concerned at this time with the hope that we in this country may preserve the spirit which lies back of Christmas and remember above everything else that when wars cease goodwill to men must be paramount in our minds and in our actions. Without the ability on our part to keep free of bitterness towards the peoples of the world, we cannot hope to build a new order which shall give to peoples an opportunity to live together in peace and justice, and yet control the aspirations which men may have for power when they are at the heads of governments, and are not too responsive to the voice of their people.

In the Christmas story, there is much food for thought for all of us, and in the whole New Testament, which tells the story of a perfect life, I think there are to be found some principles of conduct which may perhaps be wise guides for our own conduct in these coming years. Because we expect to come out of this struggle still a strong nation and able to help other nations to build up their resources again, we will have to watch ourselves and remain willing to serve, but not to control. This is no easy role to play, and it seems to me that much of our ability to carry it through rests with the younger generation and their understanding of the value placed by Christ on the individual. He never asked the race, the creed or the color of any individual when He could ameliorate their lot in any way.

If at this Christmas season we can think of this whole story as a guide to our own future conduct as individuals and as a nation, we may be able to bring about a world in which there is:

Peace on earth, goodwill toward men.

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December 26, 1941

Washington, Thursday –
Yesterday, I started the morning at 9:00, by saying a word at the Capitol Theatre, where the Central Union Mission always holds a children’s Christmas party. The children seemed very jolly and happy. I am always surprised at their patience, for one would expect little children to clamor for their presents.

Instead, they sat quietly in their seats and listened to the speeches and joined in singing the carols before anyone suggested that they come up to get their Christmas gifts. I suppose it is long habit with them, but it never seems quite natural to me, even now.

Afterwards, I went over to Arlington, Va., where the Kiwanis Club held their children’s party. Then I spent an hour and a half at the Office of Civilian Defense to clean up the most essential work. I left there at 11:30 and hoped that the office staff could get through what was left to do and have a little time for their own Christmas preparations.

At 1:30, I went to the Volunteers of America, where they give out big and generous baskets of food every Christmas. General Maud Ballington Booth was present and made a very eloquent short speech.

Back at the White House to work until 4:00, when the party is held in the East Room, for all those who are around us in the house. This is the one occasion when we have an opportunity to see the children. I am always much interested, for even a year will bring about great changes in the young members of a family.

Some youngsters who took no interest in shaking hands with the President a year ago, seem suddenly to have acquired a realization that seeing him is an event. They stand wide-eyed and look at him, whereas a year ago their eyes were riveted on the Christmas tree. Carrying out his promise, the President had the ceremony surrounding the lighting of the municipal Christmas tree held on the White House lawn, and spoke from the South Portico.

This morning we all went to the church service, held under the auspices of the Federation of Churches.

The Prime Minister of England said to me that Christmas, or any other holiday, must give way to the necessities of work in the world as it is today, and I can well realize that this is so. These necessities are certainly bound to make a difference in any household where responsibilities for the world situation are centered. For that reason, I think this has been a very unusual day. In the White House we were conscious of the need to stress the spiritual side of this celebration. There can be no merriment or joy, but we can pray to grow in the spirit of goodwill to men.

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December 27, 1941

Washington, Friday –
Last night we had a rather large gathering of various family groups at Christmas dinner. The number of cousins was really quite amusing. I think the complications of family relationships, as regards my husband and myself, became completely baffling to our English guests. I tried to explain to Lord Beaverbrook, what relation my husband is to Mrs. Theodore Douglas Robinson, and I think at the end he was as mystified as if I had never attempted an explanation!

When you tell someone, that the lovely lady sitting opposite him is your husband’s half-niece, that she married your first cousin, and that he was her sixth cousin, whereas you are married to your fifth cousin once removed, and are also her sixth cousin and that her children, in order to simplify life, say “Uncle Franklin and Auntie Eleanor,” when the relationship is really only that of a half great-uncle; you may well imagine that you have led anyone, no matter how great his interest in genealogy, through a maze from which there is no emerging!

Field Marshal Sir John Dill, celebrated his birthday as well as Christmas here last night. I wish I had known sooner, for I would certainly have provided him with a birthday cake.

A few old friends were here with us as usual, and we drank the usual toasts to absent family and friends, adding one toast in tribute to our British guests. After dinner, we had newsreels, featuring both the Prime Minister and the President, and then sang some Christmas carols together before saying goodnight and letting the President, the Prime Minister and Lord Beaverbrook go back to work again.

I was a little late at the office this morning on purpose. My office force, however, was all there ahead of me. So many people left Washington for the weekend, that there was comparatively little to do.

After clearing up the mail and seeing one or two members of the staff, I listened on the radio to the Prime Minister’s speech in the Senate, and then came home to a late luncheon. I am planning to devote the afternoon to telling some of the kind people who sent me Christmas gifts how much I am enjoying them.

It will be quite impossible for me, of course, to thank the many people who have sent the President and me Christmas cards and telegrams, but I want to say here how grateful we are for their thoughts & the confidence and affection which so many of them expressed.

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December 29, 1941

Washington, Sunday –
A few people came in to tea on Friday afternoon. The President worked right through with the Prime Minister and others, so we were late for an 8:00 dinner. The President made up his mind that they had all worked enough and needed relaxation, so we had a movie, which apparently was just the right thing for the occasion. It was called The Maltese Falcon, and as far as I could discover was a mixture between an old-fashioned melodrama and a detective story.

I had to work and wasn’t quite sure that I was up to anything so exciting as this movie promised to be. I joined the party at the end of the picture and found everybody completely restored to working capacity. They had really been engrossed in the picture and were then able to turn back and to go to work for another hour or so.

I have promised Diana Hopkins every day that I would go swimming with her, but guests and baskets of mail have kept me from fulfilling my promise. Before breakfast Saturday morning, we went down to the pool and I discovered that she has learned to dive and do all kinds of tricks in the water, which is a great improvement in the past year.

I spent nearly two hours yesterday morning with some of the officials of the Bureau of the Budget over the estimates for the coming three months for the Office of Civilian Defense. Then a number of people came to lunch, among them Dr. John Studebaker, Commissioner of Education.

He has such an extended program for forums all over the country, that I wanted to discuss with him the possibilities which lie ahead in education through forum groups in matters relating to civilian defense.

It is evident that a great many people do not yet grasp the fact that civilian defense can not really be accomplished by adding auxiliary police and firemen to our existing forces, or even by appointing air raid wardens. There are some things which we can learn from England, different as our setup must, of necessity, be.

If we should ever be unfortunate enough, for instance, to have a bombing, the protection side of civilian defense will be very quickly swamped by the need for community services of every kind. The Red Cross will provide many of these services, but it meets the first emergency and then the community service must step in to meet the continuous needs of the people.

As the months go on, we shall understand increasingly that the strength of our communities under the impact of war is only at its maximum when every individual has a part to play, and every need is met whether it is material, psychological or spiritual.

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December 30, 1941

Minneapolis, Minn., Monday –
I left Washington early yesterday morning and went straight to Philadelphia to see our new little grandson, who was just a week old yesterday. He is a little bit darker as to hair and complexion than Franklin III was at his age. But changes are rapid in these first few weeks. I suppose I may be forgiven for thinking him a very charming baby.

I was happy to see my daughter-in-law and this baby, who is to remain nameless until his father gets home to see him and to share in choosing his name. I have a suspicion that both of them would have welcomed a little daughter. But that old superstition that boys predominate in wartime has held good in this case. And, of course, I think when a baby arrives, everyone is always happy with whatever sex the good Lord sends.

I returned to New York City in time for lunch and I am planning to spend a little while thinking out problems of organization. We have, in my department in the Office of Civilian Defense a number of divisions reaching out through the regional bureaus down to the community level. I am convinced, however, that we need one overall planning group, and two other groups to meet those needs by the use of every available agency, public and private. This overall planning group will tie in all the other divisions and use them to the best advantage, besides working closely with the civilian protection organization. The whole picture will be able to meet new needs and unexpected demands as well as those situations which already exist.

I have always held that a good organization should function in whatever way you planned it to function. In this particular case, I think it important for the heads of the Office of Civilian Defense to keep in close touch with the regional offices and to see as much of different localities as possible.

The day when I shall be satisfied that my small part of the Civilian Defense Office will go on, whether I am on hand or not, has not yet come. I feel sure that it will soon be accomplished, particularly with the able leadership heading up the various divisions, and all the people who have been my close assistants working with Mrs. Henry Morgenthau Jr.

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December 31, 1941

Washington, Tuesday –
On Sunday evening I left New York City for Minneapolis, Minn., for I had promised some time ago to spend a little while at the convention held there by the National Student Federation. This organization is composed of the elected heads of student government bodies and can be of great value in directing the thought and activities of these young college people, many of whom are going to be leaders of their generation.

I read an editorial written by Dr. Alvin Johnson, the Director of the New School for Social Research, in New York City, in their bi-weekly bulletin, and I could not help thinking how valuable a stimulus to young people this type of short article might be. I hope that many of the publications reaching them will reprint this editorial.

The outstanding thought in it is, that in the past, at the end of periods of great crisis, we have tried to reconstitute the past and we have never been successful. Two short sentences point the way to the future:

The physicists have discovered the possibility of penetrating the black fog of London with infra-red rays. Reason is, after all, a kind of infra-red ray.

We should use our reason to understand the meaning of the past and to shape our action in the future. We have learned what not to do. Have we the courage and foresight to begin to build a new order when this crisis is over?

Since mentioning Mr. Louis Adamic’s Two-Way Passage, I have finished the book. I thought it showed keen insight into the various strains which make up the United States. Whether his plan for a two-way passage is possible, just as he describes it, or not, only time will show. One thing is sure, this two-way passage must serve to interpret what we have accomplished in this nation by way of goodwill and better understanding.

This puts upon us in this country, a tremendous responsibility to live up to our theories of democracy and make them a reality in every part of our own country. We must live down our prejudices whatever they may be, and be sure that we make every act of ours conform to our Bill of Rights, and to the highest ideals of a democratic nation.