Eleanor Roosevelt – My Day (June 1940)

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eleanor

MY DAY

By Eleanor Roosevelt

June 1, 1940

New York, Friday –
I wonder if any of you have been fortunate enough to hear the Coronado Exposition radio program from 3:30 to 4:00, Eastern Daylight time, every Sunday afternoon? These programs give one an idea of what there is to see if one is able to visit the States of New Mexico and Arizona during the next few months. Two of the series have already been given and two more are coming in the next two weeks. The next one will particularly feature the Indians and what they have of interest to show this year at the Coronado Exposition, which opened in May and covers a variety of interesting places in New Mexico and Arizona.

While travelling to it, there are many other interesting things to see. For instance, the work being done by the Uplands Association in the Cumberland Mountains in Tennessee. The Uplands Hospital and Health Center was founded by Dr. May Cravath Wharton to try to give adequate medical care to the people of these mountain regions, who are so often ill largely because of chronic undernourishment and lack of opportunity for any medical advice and care. The staff goes out from this hospital and covers 600 miles of rugged mountainous country. It extends its service through this area by holding mother and baby clinics and regular clinics in the most isolated sections.

The hospital itself now has 50 beds and owns 230 acres of land. Tuberculosis takes a heavy toll in Tennessee because, wherever it occurs, the whole family is exposed to the disease. Hookworm and pellagra are widespread, typhoid and colitis are common ailments, and pneumonia and influenza epidemics rage during the winter months. The work done in this area is for people who are the descendants of fine old American stock, but who suffer because of the isolation of their surroundings and from ignorance, sickness and poverty.

The rain is coming down in torrents and I think April showers have extended themselves all through May. Instead of sun and warmth, I feel as though it were the month of November! Luckily, our morning is fairly free, with one appointment and a luncheon engagement with Mrs. William Randolph Hearst, before going to see the exhibition of costumes at Wanamakers which is being given for the benefit of the children’s milk fund in which Mrs. Hearst has long been the moving spirit. Then we start for Asbury Park, NJ, where I lecture tonight, and we shall have the pleasure of dining with Mrs. Lewis Thompson beforehand. After the lecture is over, we shall motor back to New York City.

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June 3, 1940

New York, Sunday –
There are times when I regret not being able to write you on Saturdays because, now and then, there is much more than happens in two days than I can possibly tell you.

Yesterday morning, I went out to the World’s Fair to open the World of Fashion Building. Mr. Irvin Scott has been most successful architecturally and the color scheme inside and exhibitions are charming.

After leaving the Fashion Building, I went over to the opening of the American Common. The most moving part of the ceremony was a procession of little girls of all the nationalities which make up our great country, who placed flowers in a little Indian girl’s basket, acknowledging thereby the fact that she was the one whose race originally owned this country. The costumes of all the different nationalities made a brilliant picture and I wish I could have remained to see the folk dances which were given.

From the Fair, I went to the Persian Art Exhibit at 51st Street and 5th Ave. It is impossible to describe to you what it is like. If you have not seen it, I can only urge you to go at once. Everything is so beautiful that you can spend hours in any one of the rooms. The important thing is the realization that here is an art which has survived through 6,000 years of invasion, war, tyranny, prosperity and power. Here is the real proof that the spirit as expressed through the arts transcends all material things. These priceless treasures from the Iranian civilization are gathered from collections all over this country and may never again be seen by the public, so do not miss this opportunity.

I tore myself away from this exhibition to go to a tea given in order to tell a group of people about the work done to help boys when they come out of our New York State reformatories to find a job and get a new start in life. I hope this work can grow for many, many boys could be helped if there was an interest on the part of the public which would make expansion possible.

And now I come to an evening which was an experience I shall never forget. Robert Sherwood has written a remarkable play in There Shall be No Night. Of course, Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne give a performance so perfect that I felt I was living in this portrayal on the stage. The rest of the cast is so good that we finished the evening feeling that we had actually been through every experience in that Finnish family’s existence, which tragically enough, is now part of the life of so many other people. May God grant that if such dark hours should ever come to us, we may acquit ourselves as well!

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June 4, 1940

Washington, Monday –
It was a really thrilling experience yesterday afternoon to look out over the Court of Peace at the New York World’s Fair and to see thousands and thousands of people gathered there for the program which the International Ladies’ Garment Workers Union had arranged for the afternoon.

Very lovely music was given by the professional artists as well as the talent the garment workers, themselves, so ably develop. Senator Wagner gave an interesting address. I received more than I was able to give, however, for as I looked out over those faces and listened to them sing “The Star Spangled Banner,” it seemed to me that my faith in the reality of our democracy was deepened. When you feel something deeply, it is doubly hard to be articulate. Here stood a cross section of our people from many lands, bringing us an infinite variety of backgrounds and cultures. However, in all of them one felt, a confirmation of our determination to remain free and cooperatively to work out our destiny in the world.

Some of us forget occasionally that this cooperation for the good of all of us is the basis of our strength. A meeting, such as the one yesterday, reminds us how great is our power when we work together. Our citizens come from many lands where sacrifice and oppression and resistance are nothing new. They have met these conditions with determination through generations, and this generation will find strength to meet whatever comes to us. I get such a sense of power and solidarity from a meeting like yesterday’s that I can face the uncertainty of the future with far more strength and courage.

From the purely personal point of view, seeing again many of the people who are now leaders in their unions and whom I used to see more often when I lived in New York City, was a great pleasure. I always feel like saying, “Thank you” to Mr. David Dubinsky for what he has accomplished through his leadership in this great union of organized workers.

Before this meeting, I saw the WPA Contemporary Art and Craft Show at the Fair. The crowds made it a little difficult to see all the things easily and I felt a little guilty each time kindly people tried to push aside other people who, like myself, were trying to see the show. I enjoyed the exhibition very much, however, and thought it far superior to the one they had last year.

I also saw again the General Motors “Futurama.” It is fresher in color and all the little automobiles now actually run. I am sure vastly complicated machinery accomplishes this feat which is so amusing to watch.

I returned to Washington last night to welcome Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Hayes and their family, who were here for the night. The President returned from his overnight boat trip and we saw the newsreels which have become to me a perfect horror.

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June 5, 1940

Washington –
At luncheon yesterday, a group of people met here in the White House to discuss plans for expanding the Army and Navy Young Men’s Christian Association. The personnel of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard is being expanded, the boys come from all over the United States and the YMCA has offered them a friendly atmosphere and an opportunity for recreation in their leisure hours. It should greatly expand its work to meet the present needs. Money will be required in large quantities and, in addition, we must have the interest of communities where young men are coming in to train or where they are sent on duty. I cannot believe that people will not meet this need, for it seems only fair to our young people who voluntarily enter the service of their country. I hope I may find some ways of helping the people who are planning this campaign.

Several people came to see me in the afternoon. In the evening, Miss Thompson and I went to dine with Mrs. Frances Parkinson Keyes in a new home which she has bought in Alexandria, Virginia. She showed us pictures of the house as it was in February, and I must say that the changes she has wrought in it and the garden are remarkable.

When I returned, I found that Franklin Jr. and two friends had just arrived from Charlottesville. They spent the night at the White House. Two other house guests had never seen the Lincoln Memorial at night and the reflection of the Washington Monument in the reflecting pool, so we took a short drive to see this really beautiful sight.

This morning I actually had time to try my new horse and I liked him very much. His gaits are perfect and I have a feeling that “Charlie” and I are going to be good friends. They told me he had never before had sugar but I doubt if that is true, because with very little urging he ate two lumps of sugar and seemed to enjoy it greatly. I have always taught my horses to “shake hands” with me when we come in at the end of a ride. For that they get one lump of sugar and then I hold the second one out and they follow me a little ways and nuzzle me with their soft lips before they are rewarded with this second lump. I think Charley is very intelligent because he seems to understand at once. Perhaps he has had some training from the grooms in preparation, but in any case he will soon be perfect in these habits.

I have just been to my broadcast and in a few minutes we shall have lunch. This afternoon I am attending a reception for the Daughters of the Confederacy.

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June 6, 1940

Washington, Wednesday –
Last night, I went to a dance given by the various state societies here for the benefit of the Alliance for the Guidance of Rural Youth. I hope these societies are not only going to raise a fund to use in establishing a center here and in other places to assist young people coming from the country to the city, but that they will awaken interest all over the country in an effort to have better vocational guidance in rural districts and in all federal and state employment agencies. The work of these agencies can, I hope, be extended with special thought to the assistance to be given young people.

I had a ride this morning and a talk with Mrs. Mary Bethune who, after weeks in the hospital, is back at work in the National Youth Administration. She came to see me with the desire to get some information as to where the Negro people could function in helping the unfortunates in other countries and in taking a real part in national defense.

Every patriotic citizen is anxious to be doing something these days. However, it seems to me that probably the best thing we can do is to go about our regular jobs, doing them as well as we can, improving them where we can, keeping as calm as possible and waiting until some definite plans are evolved where we can be of real value.

I am afraid that too much desire to serve may result in neglecting the jobs in which each and every one of us should continue. I will acknowledge, however, that it is desperately hard to wait in inactivity when a battle costing thousands of human lives is going on across the sea and when things of great moment to the human race are hanging in the balance.

Perhaps this is the time to ponder over and improve our own citizenship. In Brand Whitlock’s Life of LaFayette, he quotes from a speech Lafayette made in the Chamber of Deputies in France on January 3, 1834. Lafayette said in substance:

Liberty is never a static thing. It has to be won over and over again. It is a living thing, never to be relegated to the archives.

In another part of the book, there is a letter written by General Lafayette to Mr. F. B. Morse in 1830, in which, after reviewing the gains made for democracy in Europe, he rather ruefully remarked:

But it will not be so short and so cheap as we had a right to anticipate it might be.

Nothing worth having is ever “short or cheap.” Perhaps our difficulty at the present time is that each and every one of us must make up our own mind where we stand and what we are willing to do for our own country and other countries. These decisions are always hard.

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June 7, 1940

New York, Thursday –
Yesterday afternoon, Mrs. Morgenthau and I drove down to a little craft shop which has been started two miles beyond Quantico, Va., on the main highway to Richmond. Here they are collecting handwork done by individual Virginia craftsmen. They have a good many hand-woven things, such as baby blankets, ties and the like. A number of individuals are sending in articles like baby garments, summer hats, bonnets and aprons. One potter, who has his own kiln, had some rather nice pieces of pottery on exhibition. A brown jug with some brown mugs looked as if it would fit into some cottage very well. A blue bean pot, while not the color I usually associate with Boston baked beans, still was very pleasant in color and had a delightful shape.

A group of Indians awaited us and presented me with a vase and a bowl. They had samples of their traditional bead work and basket work. One very nice old lady was demonstrating with her spinning wheel. She told me she thought she had carded and spun thousands of pounds of wool in her lifetime, but that she now no longer had her own sheep and the wool was not as good. That amused me, for it sounded like my mother-in-law, who believes that only when a thing is produced on her own farm is it really good.

There were men making baskets and caning chairs. I should say that the skills of the people in Virginia are excellent, but that they need some help in design and producing original articles for sale.

Yesterday, the news came to us of a new grandson born in Boston. We are particularly happy to have everything go well with Anne and the baby. I hope soon to have a glimpse of this newest grandchild.

Back in Washington in plenty of time to greet our son and daughter, Elliott and Ruth, from Texas. They only spent a few hours with us, but it was a joy to see them, for it has been a long time since I have been with them.

Miss Thompson and I came to New York City by the midnight train last night and are trying to do a few errands today and then go to see a housing project in Red Hook, in which Mrs. Samuel Rosenman is deeply interested and where they are holding a meeting this afternoon. I am afraid there is no chance of the President joining me in Hyde Park this weekend, but these days everything must be subordinated to the work to be done. We will return to Washington Sunday evening.

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June 8, 1940

New London, Conn., Friday –
Yesterday afternoon, I visited the Red Hook Housing Project in Brooklyn, NY, and enjoyed seeing the various apartments and having the opportunity to talk with some of the people living there. Of course, the ultimate object of any housing project is to have satisfied tenants. Our first visit was to an apartment with two bedrooms, kitchen, sitting room and bath. The young couple had two children and the wife’s mother with them. The man is a longshoreman with only intermittent days of work. The girl seemed proud and happy and she had acquired many possessions which she showed me with pride. Her mother brought out a plate of little cakes and some little glasses and poured out some homemade wine which she offered to us all. We drank to their health and happiness and we wished for them the steady job on which so much depends. Little enough to ask of life and yet often impossible to attain.

Our next family was in a larger three bedroom, sitting room, kitchen and bath apartment. They had four children and the man was on WPA. Our last apartment was one of the very small one bedroom, sitting room, kitchen and bath type. The young couple who lived there, had had the sad experience of losing their first baby, but the young woman’s mother, who was visiting her, told me happily what a change this new apartment meant in her life.

These apartments seemed to me very well-planned. All of them have eliminated unnecessary doors. The kitchen, for instance, has no door, neither has the living room. The bedroom, bathroom and one closet have doors. The other closets are recessed with curtains. The landscaping around the houses is attractive, and scattered around the project are eight small playgrounds for children. This is in a part of Brooklyn where Park Commissioner Robert Moses has built one of the best swimming pools I have ever seen and which was being used to full capacity yesterday. Nearby, there is also a great deal of play space for older children in a park area. One feature which is particularly interesting, is the placing of the community house in one corner of the project. Here it is available not only to those living on the project, but to the neighborhood all around it.

As is so often the case, before anyone moved in, there were innumerable stories spread about the restrictions put on the individuals and the rules and regulations which would govern everybody’s daily existence. It is easy to spread this sort of rumor when something new is being done. As a result, the tenants came very largely from Manhattan and now the people nearby see “foreigners from Manhattan” living in better quarters, which they might well have occupied themselves. I hope that someday everyone can live in quarters which are as pleasant as these, if for no reason than that it will cost the taxpayers less and that the next generation will be healthier.

We left Brooklyn at 4:40 and drove to Westbrook, Conn., to dine and spend the night with our friends, Miss Esther Lape and Miss Elizabeth Read. The Merritt Parkway makes a difference in the time this drive consumes and we were here by 8:00. After an early lunch today, we shall drive on to Boston, where I hope to reach the hospital when Johnny returns from work, so he can show me their new baby. Seeing a new grandchild is always an exciting experience.

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June 10, 1940

Hyde Park, Sunday –
On Friday, we went to Boston to see my new grandchild and, like every proper grandmother, I feel I must record my enthusiasm. He is a sweet baby with a nicely shaped head and ears that lie flat against his head. His hair is so fair that it hardly shows. He refused to open his eyes for me, so I don’t know their color, but I surmise it’s blue. I was only allowed to see him through a glass window, so I am looking forward to seeing him next in his own home and knowing more about him. I am sure he is going to be a real person very soon.

On the whole, our family works and plays hard, but there is one member who takes his job so seriously that not even the advent of a baby curtails his working hours. Don’t think John lost one hour. I am glad of this, for there is a real obligation on every one of us these days to do our job, whatever it may be, a little better than we have done it before.

In that way, we may contribute more jobs for people and be a steadying influence to those people who feel that, because we face troubled times, none of the daily routine of life is important. There never was a time when it was more important. If the need comes for any of us to do a different kind of work from what we are doing at present, the call will be unmistakable. But the fact that we do our daily jobs well will make it easier for anyone who has to take our place, and will make us more efficient in anything else we have to take up. Besides, going on with the daily routine, keeps our feet on the ground and that is sorely needed in times like these.

Two extremes have come to me in the last few days. One was a young man who announced to me that all talk of a “fifth column” was ridiculous and that there was no such thing in the United States. This, just because he and his friends and those with whom he had talked, did not happen to touch any “fifth column” activities. On the other hand, a woman suggested that we all go out and learn to shoot and sleep with a gun beside our beds in preparation for parachute troops or riots in our neighborhoods. Both of these attitudes are obviously silly. We want to take proper precautions through the constituted authorities but, in other ways, we want to go on with our daily life and our daily job in calm security.

We returned here late Friday night and yesterday was a fairly busy day. I spoke at the luncheon meeting in Poughkeepsie of the County Democratic Women’s Voters League. After that, Miss Thompson and I dined with a friend and had a most beautiful drive while the new moon played hide and seek among the clouds.

Today, the sun is playing hide and seek, but the weather is mild and everything is beautifully green. Mr. Smith, our nearest farm neighbor, sent us some fresh asparagus for lunch. I wish I didn’t have to leave immediately afterward for Washington.

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June 11, 1940

Washington, Monday –
It was warm when I reached Washington last night and I found everyone here in the same tense mood they had been in when I left. When one is receiving dispatches from abroad every little while, it is almost impossible to feel that any of the normal occupations of life have any reality. The only reality is dead and dying human beings – men without proper equipment, who meet mechanized armies which mow them down and, behind them, streams of women and children inadequately fed, clothed and housed.

The rest of us throughout the country may be able to forget this for a time, but here in the White House there is never a minute when we can ignore it. I do not wonder that every effort is bent toward one objective, to have the mechanized materials for war ourselves in the hope of keeping us at peace. At least, if we ever have to go to war, we should be sure that our soldiers have as much protection as it is possible to give them under modern conditions.

Someday, perhaps, we shall be able to think again about friendly relations with European nations, but, for the time being, it seems to me we shall have to devote ourselves entirely to knowing our own country better and developing our relations with nations on this continent. I am very much interested, therefore, in the arrangements which have been made by the “Open Road,” an organization which arranged many trips for college students, teachers and members of professions to European countries. It is now arranging trips in this country, with the special object of having people really know the lives and problems of other people throughout the nation.

This summer, five universities and colleges are developing plans with the cooperation of the “Open Road” organization. Under the auspices of the Graduate School of Harvard University, one group will study social and economic factors which influence education in urban and rural New England. A representative county in the South will furnish five intensive weeks of study, under the auspices of Teachers’ College, Columbia University. The School of Education, New York University, will conduct a seminar in the Tennessee Valley, while life problems of the Great Plains and Rocky Mountain area will be studied under the Colorado State College of Education. A group of Antioch College students will spend three weeks in a New England textile town and three weeks in an Alabama textile town, investigating life in a textile manufacturing community.

This seems to me a very valuable offering in education. The “Open Road” is an institution which I think deserves support from us all.

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June 12, 1940

New York, Tuesday –
The President, his aides and I left Washington yesterday at 2:00 for Charlottesville, Virginia. On the way down, he went over his speech and I could well understand his desire to weigh each word, for I do believe the time has come to speak out as to where we stand. Unless we do, there can be no moral unity and no spiritual preparation for the conflict of ideas.

Many years of public speeches have taught me how easy it is, for those who wish to do so and even for those who seek the truth, to misconstrue the meaning of phrases or words or to be confused. It is important, therefore, that every expression of opinion by a public leader should be carefully weighed.

Those who desire to read their own ideas into any expression of opinion will misinterpret anything which is said, but it is possible to cut down confusion. I do not think that anyone who knows the real facts of today’s situation can feel that the United States is anxious for war. I doubt if there ever was a nation more anxious for peace.

However, I think that the leaders as well as the people have become convinced that peace in a world where force dominates can only be attained by a self-disciplined people who prepare themselves as efficiently as any dictator would prepare his obedient servants. For a people to do this, they must have a conviction of need and a religious fervor for the cause they are defending.

When the soldiers at Valley Forge wanted to go home, it was not only loyalty to George Washington which kept them suffering in the snow – for they grumbled and complained bitterly about his leadership and even about the cause they were defending – but deep down in their hearts they knew they could not live as free men unless they stuck it out, just as we will today if the need arises.

It was grand to see our daughter-in-law, Ethel, at the station in Charlottesville, walking without a cane after her long weeks of convalescence since her fall. She is still a little lame when her leg gets tired, but looks very well, far better than Franklin Jr., who, I think, must have sat up a few nights before his examinations. Now he has his law degree, but somewhere in the near future there are the New York State bar exams to be taken and a job to be prepared for, so education always goes on.

Meanwhile, it is holiday time for all these boys. Two of Franklin Jr.'s classmates joined us at the White House last night, and before I left on the night train, I found all of them discussing world economics with the Secretary of Commerce. Though I mildly suggested that a little sleep would do them all good, I left them convinced that the discussion had just begun.

Gray skies greeted us here in New York City this morning, but I am not going to try to do many errands before we go to the broadcasting station. After that, a luncheon meeting and later in the afternoon a drive to Montclair, New Jersey, for an evening meeting is today’s program.

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June 13, 1940

Washington, Wednesday –
I visited the “Gardens On Parade” at the New York World’s Fair this morning. They are delightful and I enjoyed every minute there. The little “Garden of Today” is small enough to give an intimate feeling, and I should have liked to sit down on the little bench and remain to read a book or do some sewing.

I never saw a greater variety of roses. I am afraid that my first love among roses is the common and plebeian kind – the old-fashioned yellow rose bush covered with small roses and the many colored little roses which bloom all through the summer. They are associated with the garden of my childhood, where my grandmother used to work, and they will always remain my favorite.

Mrs. Harold Irving Pratt and all the other ladies connected with the gardens were very charming. They sent me away with a sweet little corsage of carnations, which gave off the most delicate perfume all the way back to Washington.

On the plane, I sat next to a very interesting gentleman, an expert on lighting. We talked about the lighting of galleries, for he is interested in the work being done in the Mellon Gallery. Then we progressed to the lighting of homes and stage lighting and the relationship which light may have in the creation of atmosphere, and how important that atmosphere may be in effect on human beings.

I read Dorothy Thompson’s column on the way down. While I think she is probably right and there is nothing undemocratic in compulsory military service, I think we have to reckon with a very deep-seated feeling which many of us have fostered in the past few years, namely, that we connect compulsory military training with a desire for aggression.

In the case of very small nations, this obviously could not be true, but in the case of any great nation, military training and armament has always meant to us the possibility that people would desire to aggrandize. Therefore, it seems to me that we should devote ourselves to developing in our young people, skills which would be useful in either peace or war. They should desire universal service because, if we believe in democracy, it is worth serving. Perhaps, in the future, we can trust ourselves when we give this service to our democracy not to be afraid of losing that democracy through militarization. A willingness to discipline ourselves and accept whatever life may hold in store for us is all-important now. The thing which troubles me today, is meeting people who are worried about what the future may bring. We can be sure of nothing in this world, certainly of no material thing, but whatever we are as individuals, cannot be taken away from us.

That is the security we should give young and old alike – a security in our own ability to meet whatever comes, with courage, with constancy and self-abnegation.

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June 14, 1940

Washington, Thursday –
I reached the White House yesterday in time to greet my luncheon guest, who entered at the same moment. The afternoon was a succession of callers, among them a group of 4-H Club representatives, who brought me two delicious looking packages of products from the newly formed Atlantic County, New Jersey, Women’s Market. I have ordered them sent to Hyde Park, for I always feel that there I am better able to appreciate special things of this kind.

A group of colored people also came to talk over conditions at the National Training School for Girls. The percentage of white girls sent to this institution is apparently growing less and less, so we have an opportunity for making this an outstanding model institution for the re-education of young delinquent colored girls. The present appropriation is entirely inadequate and has resulted in the staff not being able to do a good job. Too much is expected of them and therefore no real program of education or rehabilitation can be carried on.

I wish that I could feel that this administration would leave an improved condition in District of Columbia institutions as a memorial to the interest taken by the wives of the members of Congress and the wives of administration officials. I cannot say, however, that I feel that any of us could leave here tomorrow with a sense of great accomplishment.

In the afternoon, my old friend, Mrs. Anne Winter, who for years was my grandmother’s companion, arrived to spend the night at the White House with her friend, Miss Marie Voydi, who is an attendance officer in the school system of New York City. Mrs. Winter is a character and the President always enjoys hearing her tell of things which have happened to her during the 80 odd years she has lived. She is a gallant spirit and nothing ever seems to daunt her.

Miss Thompson and I worked all evening, though for a part of the time she was a little discouraged with me because I kept falling asleep, which I think is the effect of returning to a fairly warm day and the relaxing Washington climate.

I held my last press conference this morning, but I promised if I came back for anything of special interest during the summer, that I would call a special meeting. I hope that most of the ladies of the press will have some holiday and enjoy relaxation such as I look forward to and which is necessary for us all.

I have a number of guests coming to lunch today. A little later this afternoon, I am going to visit the local Red Cross headquarters to see what they are doing. I hope I may be of assistance to the Red Cross in Poughkeepsie and in Hyde Park during the next few weeks.

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June 15, 1940

Washington, Friday –
A great friend of mine, Miss Martha Gellhorn, arrived from New York City yesterday afternoon. After dinner, three of us sat out on the south porch with our eyes fixed on the gleaming whiteness of the Washington Monument and talked as everybody else does today of the world in which we find ourselves, and of the preparation we must make in our minds to meet the future.

I was interested to find in the two women with whom I was talking, a greater understanding of the attitude of our young people than one usually discovers in the older generation. Our great writers and those of us of lesser degree, have told youth how horrible and futile war is. Honest people, whether they are artists or just ordinary individuals, must tell the truth as they see it, and there are few of us today who believe that war is an instrument for good. We know that it calls out in human beings fine qualities, but so does any event requiring great self-sacrifice.

Being honest, we would not want to change our teaching. We hope that youth will always feel that war is a horrible thing, but we know that we have to meet circumstances as they exist and that when there is a war of opposing ideas and it becomes a war of force, there is nothing to do but accept force as a weapon, unless we wish to accept that which submission represents. The choice is not as yet before us, but we must in our minds prepare to meet it if necessary, and so must all our young people.

I can’t blame them for not liking the choice. I can’t blame them for trying to find alternatives to it. If you haven’t lived at all, or have lived very unsatisfactorily, and no one has been particularly interested in how you have lived, it is a bit ironic to find that you are chided for not wanting to die. So let us have patience with young or old who find it hard to face the mental preparation necessary to meet today’s peculiar conditions. Circumstances and time will force us to ultimate decisions and I have faith that they will be the right ones.

I receive word every day of small groups that are trying to do relief work in different parts of Europe. Mr. and Mrs. Waitstill Sharp, of Massachusetts, under the auspices of the Friends of Czechoslovakia, and cooperating with the Red Cross and other organizations, have just sailed to work among youth and children of France.

Of course, it seems to me that all such groups should be coordinated in closer cooperation with the Red Cross, for all available workers and all possible equipment should be directed by a coordinating group. I hope experienced workers such as these will realize this necessity and put themselves under the direction of a central organization.

I spent the morning getting my usual summer permanent wave and I discovered that new inventions made it much pleasanter than in the past, so we move along even in matters of such trivial importance as curling ladies’ hair.

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June 17, 1940

Orange, NJ, Sunday –
On Friday afternoon, the President and I went over to the 4-H Club encampment, which is held under the auspices of the Department of Agriculture every year. I have usually had an opportunity to visit the camp, but it was particularly fortunate that the President could go over this year. These young people come from all over the United States and they have gone through various competitions before they obtain this opportunity. It is the exceptionally able ones who are gathered here.

My husband fully expected to find that the Secretary of the Interior had allowed them to bring to Potomac Park, their various prize calves, bulls and pigs, but the Secretary of Agriculture said that he had too much consideration for the Secretary of the Interior’s feeling to ask for this permission.

I heard a rather amusing story told there. Lately they have put a group of domestic animals in the zoo, and these attract more attention from the young visitors than the wild animals.

In the evening I attended the dinner and the jury trial staged by the Washington Youth Council. The subject was “Youth and the District Institutions.” I am sorry again to have to say that the District of Columbia can hardly have a clean bill of health where its contacts with youth are concerned. One can only hope that such efforts as these will finally awaken public opinion to the fact that the young people in the District are not getting a square deal.

I left Washington on the midnight train and did various necessary errands yesterday, including an hour at the dentist, which can never be considered a very happy occupation.

In the afternoon, I motored out to my cousins, Mr. and Mrs. Henry Parish, in Llewellyn Park, Orange, New Jersey. This is a restful quiet household which seems far removed from the hurly-burly of ordinary life. I am always happy to have the opportunity of being with Mr. and Mrs. Parish. It takes me back to the days of my girlhood, which seem at present very calm and far away.

The appeals coming in from the women of France in the areas not already devastated, begging the women of America, through me, to do all they can to assist them, are heartrending when one can do so little. It must be stark anguish when these women receive the refugees from other places, knowing that their own fate may be similar in the course of the few next days, and realizing that their men may never return.

15

June 18, 1940

Washington, Monday –
I had a most beautiful drive yesterday afternoon along the banks of the Hudson. However, I learned all over again how many of us in this country have cars, for our progress was slow indeed. Though that gives more time to enjoy the scenery, if one has a destination to reach at a given time, it can be a trifle distracting.

On the way back, I found a much less frequented, if not quite as scenically beautiful road. I arrived home in plenty of time to dine with Mr. and Mrs. Parish and have another quiet evening before I had to leave for New York City to take the midnight train for Washington.

It is gray and cool here today and I have spent the morning at a meeting of the state directors of the National Youth Administration. These people have such an important and responsible piece of work to do. I am sure for many of them the adjustment to world developments during the past few weeks has been as difficult as it has been for the rest of us.

The world in which we all advocated peace and reason, suddenly turns into a world in which we must prepare grimly for defense. It is not easy to face, and yet the very people who believe in peace and reason must be the ones to take part in the changes of attitudes and of approach to new situations, or we lose the chance to preserve the things we hold dear for the future.

I had a most interesting visit the other day from a young man who is planning to make a tour this summer with a group from Harvard College. During the trip, a real effort will be made to get in touch with the people of the countries they visit, which include Brazil, Uruguay and the Argentine. It seems to me that this group will have an extraordinarily interesting and worthwhile summer vacation. I hope it will be the beginning of many such interchanges of hospitality between South and Central America and the United States.

Here, in our own country, there is another educational experiment, which I think of great value. It is called “Work Camps For America.” These camps develop young people in ways which today are especially valuable. They live, work and play together and have an opportunity to discuss and put into practice their concept of democracy.

In explaining their work, they say one thing which I think we need to keep before us:

The task of democracy in this generation is essentially the same, a call to work out basic spiritual values in terms of new threats and new oppositions. The only thing to do is to regenerate our democracy.

16

June 19, 1940

New York, Tuesday –
Yesterday afternoon, at the session of the state directors of the National Youth Administration, they discussed the problem of obtaining better health facilities for the youth of the nation through the cooperation of the Social Security Agencies. First a doctor painted a very pretty picture of the health facilities available through state departments of health and local set-ups, and then gradually this charming picture was spoiled by the reports of actual conditions in the field.

One encouraging thing was the ingenuity which has been developed in certain places by the NYA directors in their efforts to obtain cooperation from state and local health groups. They have gone on the principle of “give, so that others may give unto you.” In many cases it has proved a very good theory of action. One young man has his NYA projects making oxygen boxes, tuberculosis collapsible tents and incubators, and in return he receives a health examination for all the young people on his projects.

Since we are all interested in the training program now, which may be of service to youth whether it is called to war or whether it is allowed peacefully to pursue its livelihood at home, there will, I hope, be a coordinating of all the facilities for training young people. Among these, the trade schools of the nation will be extremely valuable. I was interested to find that the United States Office of Education has information on just what facilities are available.

We have in this country 1,053 well-equipped schools in 825 cities, representing every state in the Union. There is a joint investment totalling a billion dollars in all these schools, one-half of which is in equipment. In addition to this, there are 155 engineering schools on the higher level of technical ability. With their equipment they could increase their present enrollment by 30,000 trainees per year. This information is valuable in coordinating our efforts in the field of training.

I am sure that many people who, like myself, have lived long periods of time in foreign countries, are feeling heavy-hearted these days because of the sorrow which is engulfing friends in other nations. This taking over of three small countries by Russia may be a case of self-defense, but we used to think ourselves equally well-defended by friendly neighbors. The plight of France, which has been a refuge for so many exiles from other nations, brings up a sad picture of what may happen to these refugees, as well as to the natives of France itself.

The German people have been fortunate that neither in the last war nor in this one, has much of the fighting been on their own soil. I sometimes think that has built up insensibility among them to what it means to be invaded. One does not expect mercy from their leaders, but one hopes almost against hope that the qualities of the individual Germans, whom so many of us have known and respected and loved, will make it impossible for them to carry out harsh and unjust demands made upon their gallant enemies.

17

June 20, 1940

Hyde Park, Wednesday –
Yesterday morning, at the invitation of Mrs. Pearl Buck, I signed a book which is to be sent to the women of China as a tribute for the way in which they have carried on during these past years. Women in every country are being forced to show qualities of heroism and endurance which in recent years of civilization they have hardly been called upon to develop.

Somehow or other, the inevitable is always met and the march of force at the moment seems to have an inevitable ending of oppression and sorrow for those who fall beneath its power, and the victims show an unexpected kind of stoic strength.

After my broadcast yesterday, we went directly to the Ethical Culture School at Fieldston, where some scenes from plays were given by high school students. These plays were written and produced by the youngsters themselves. They did their own research. The object was the development of a better understanding and more real fellowship between the representatives of different races and cultures. In their plays the young people touched on all the questions which confront their elders.

When the plays were over, Professor Lindemann of the New School for Social Research led a panel up on the stage to discuss the value of these productions. Half of the panel consisted of teachers who had assisted their students, either as part of the curriculum or as extracurricular activities, in producing these plays. The rest of us were lay people, though, as I think it over, I was the only genuine lay person there, everybody else could claim to be an expert in some field.

Not only the panel, but the audience and the actors took part in the discussion. I am more and more impressed with the ability developed in high school students to express themselves and to have definite views of their own based on reasons which they can explain.

We reached Hyde Park at about 6:00 and found our only guest was a young artist, Mr. Mitchell Jamieson, who has been doing some watercolor sketches of the countryside. Soon after we arrived, Lieutenant Cole, who brought up some of our horses yesterday, appeared to spend the night and we had a very pleasant evening.

Everyone went to bed early. The van with the horses had been loaded at 3:30 a.m., and actually had left Fort Myer, Va., 4:00 a.m. and those who came with it were sleepy. The rest of us were equally ready for the peace and quiet of a long country night. My sleeping porch seemed particularly attractive and the frog chorus put me to sleep.

This morning, I went over to the big house to see my mother-in-law, only to find that she is not yet back from New York City. I am going down shortly to lunch with Mrs. Henry Morgenthau Jr. and then return to New York City for a few hours to hold a meeting of various organizations interested in the question of bringing refugee children to this country.

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June 21, 1940

New York, Thursday –
Something curious is happening to us in this country and I think it is time we stopped and took stock of ourselves. Are we going to be swept away from our traditional attitude toward civil liberties by hysteria about “fifth columnists,” or are we going to keep our heads and rid ourselves of “fifth columnists” through the use of properly constituted government officials?

If we violate the rights of innocent people or even of guilty people, we lose our long established liberties because of our desire to curtail the activities of those who are dangerous as groups or as individuals, by trying to curtail them in unconstitutional and ill considered ways.

On page one of a newspaper this morning, there appear three articles showing the heat and lack of consideration with which many people are acting. One heading reads “Crowds Force Sect Members to March with Flag in Wyoming.” The story tells how six people of a certain religious sect were dragged from their homes and forced to pledge allegiance to the flag.

In public places at this time, we might exact this of all people, and the most dangerous fifth columnists would be the first to conform. Must we drag people out of their homes to force them to do something which is in opposition to their religion?

In another article, it is reported that the Attorney General has had to explain to Congress that a bill approved by the House will, if it becomes a law, constitute a historic departure from an unbroken American practice and tradition for 150 years. This bill is perhaps the best example of abridging our liberties in order to protect ourselves from one individual, who can easily be rendered harmless by far less dangerous methods.

The third article is one which states that a leader of great prominence in Catholic Youth, Boy Scouts and Boys Club of America, is going to lead the fight on what he considers subversive elements in a youth-led organization. One of the first things he suggests is that he will demand that this organization advocate the suspension of civil liberties in this country as far as Communists are concerned. He is quoted as saying:

I don’t think it is any time to pamper those who are bent on destroying our country. These birds (meaning the communists) are saboteurs. I fought in one war and I will fight in another to defend my country, but I don’t want to do it with a lot of saboteurs at my back.

The gentleman in question is 42 years old. The people in the youth-led organization are likely to be dead in the front line of battle before he is even called. If they happen to feel that our Constitution should be adhered to, unless it should be changed, they seem to be thinking along the same lines as the Attorney General of the United States.

19

June 22, 1940

Hyde Park, Friday –
This morning, I drove up along the Hudson River via the Parkway, where the planting of laurel is most beautiful at this season. The Parkway extension which now takes you just east of Poughkeepsie, has some beautiful views over wide valleys and in one place, a lovely view of the Catskill Mountains.

Yesterday was a very interesting day for me. I saw two very successful National Youth Administration projects in the early afternoon. The first one is giving training in radio work. I enjoyed the orchestras, bands and choruses at work. Many young people are being trained in the technical end which makes the programs possible. At the same time, they receive instruction as radio operators for ships and various other purposes, all part of our defense program. This is non-military training of use for war purposes and for daily living.

Then I went to a big workshop in Astoria, Long Island. It is one of the best shops I have ever seen in which training in many different kinds of work is being given. There is a machine shop, an upholstery shop, a sewing project and many other things. The suggestion is sometimes made that in giving boys and girls such training we are only adding to the number of unemployed in various trades.

To me, this does not seem to hold water. Skills are picked which will be useful in many ways, even in improving the conditions of the home. There is specialization in skills where there seems to be an opportunity for increase in employment. For the young, however, learning any skill is valuable, for it makes them adaptable to a variety of things.

We cannot let our young people grow up twiddling their thumbs, in order that they may not clog the labor market. The labor market is clogged because we have not learned to manage our civilization. I will grant that every project in NYA and WPA is a challenge to our intelligence, but that is no reason for deserting these problems and leaving men, women and young people with nothing to do.

I went to the World’s Fair and met Col. Somervell, Mrs. Florence Kerr and various other WPA state officials. I saw the WPA Building, which I think is more interesting this year than last. It shows how much useful work is being done all over this country by people on WPA jobs. These projects may be costing the taxpayers some money, but I doubt if they ever drew more good, solid returns from any investment for themselves or their communities than they have through this program.

I also visited the New York State Building and was delighted to see Mrs. Lehman, wife of the Governor of New York, as well as all the other New York State people assembled there. I think this building has perhaps as interesting exhibits as any of the state buildings and I would like to have had more time to see them.

20

June 24, 1940

Hyde Park, Sunday –
Yesterday was the coldest day for June 22, that I can remember, but we have been remarkably fortunate in having sunny, beautiful weather while the President has been here. Friday afternoon, we spent an hour driving up to his cottage and looking at a number of plantings of small trees. They were not visible until you gazed into the tangle of grass and weeds for a long time, but my husband said by winter we would discover quite a forest growing up.

Yesterday morning, we visited the new school which has been given his name and is just back of our cottages. It is really a building of which to be proud, in good taste and very up-to-date. I think both teachers and pupils have a good plant. The only criticism I could possibly make is that there may not be enough shoproom, for the pupils in this part of the world should be given every opportunity to obtain experience in manual skills.

Two Harvard boys, sent by Mrs. Dorothy Canfield Fisher, came to see me at lunchtime. Both of them are desirous of entering public service when they have completed their education. In order to obtain some practical experience, they have spent six months in CCC camps and have come out with a definite idea that a CCC camp should not be run as a relief organization, but should be open to boys from various income groups.

I was interested to see that these young men had gone far in the realization that a democracy which really functions, must receive service from all its citizens. There must be no distinctions on the service plan, everyone must give what he has to give, and receive the same compensation, opportunity for training, and considerations when his service is needed by the country.

I have always objected to compulsory military training by itself. I believe that, given the character and the discipline, it does not take long to become a soldier. Training to be an officer is a different thing, and training for the qualities which fit you to become a soldier takes time. I feel that universal service should not be a question of military service alone.

It should be a time when all boys and girls know they are giving a year of their lives to fit themselves better to serve their country. In return they receive training in manual skills, some additional academic training when necessary, and some absolutely vital character training and discipline which can only come with group living. This universal service should, of course, include older people on a different basis, but still with the idea of fitting them into the service of their country when needed.