Eleanor Roosevelt – My Day (Nov. 1939)

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eleanor

MY DAY

By Eleanor Roosevelt

November 1, 1939

Oklahoma City, Tuesday –
One of the things I noticed yesterday afternoon in visiting a Farm Security Administration project in Millington, Tenn., was that space was provided in every barn to store the farm machinery. Instead of finding it scattered in the fields or yards, where it gradually deteriorates, these farmers have their tools under shelter and it makes a great difference in the appearance of the farms. I must tell you more about this Farm Security project and the people on it, as well as something about the people who took me to see it, because the success or failure of these projects lies in the hands of the personnel administering them.

The home economics advisor for this district has worked here some time. Her name is Mrs. Brooks and you feel that she knows her job and that people have confidence in her. She said that someone asked her one day what she did and her reply was that she was everything from a missionary to a veterinary! The young man who is the farm advisor, Mr. Jakes, is only 23 years old and works closely with the county agent, Mr. Kerr, who was also with us. It is grand to find anyone of this age on this kind of a job because it requires enthusiasm and ingenuity and it means a great deal to the younger people growing up on the project to have someone to whom they can talk who will understand their problems.

The houses we visited were spic and span, poor to be sure, for many of these people have had but one harvest on the project. Out of 12 families, however, 5 who have had 2 years on this land, have paid all their indebtedness up to date, and the others are coming along with a good hope of catching up by the end of the second year.

These are not picked families and the life is none too easy. One family has 11 mouths to feed, another 9, and the smallest family I saw had five. This last family had succeeded in getting linoleum for the floor of the living room and a sofa and an upholstered chair which the woman had recovered herself. Even in the family of 11, they had found time to plant flowers around the house. When I left, the woman broke off one of her chrysanthemums and handed it to me, a gesture which showed the spirit of the community.

I felt they were all willing and anxious to help each other and anyone they felt needed their aid. They wanted to give as well as receive and were very proud of what they had accomplished in growing food for themselves and their stock to tide them over the winter. They are planning to improve their land by proper care and one man showed me his cotton seed ready for planting.

During the World War, the land they are now farming was an aviation field where our boys trained for service overseas. I could no not help thinking that its use today is perhaps more profitable to the nation. I like to see our boys learn to fly, but not for the purpose of destroying other people’s homes.

We left Memphis last night and have now arrived in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. It is a gorgeous day and we are starting at once for a luncheon with my fellow Altrusans, who are responsible for sponsoring the lecture tonight.

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November 2, 1939

Fort Worth, Texas, Wednesday –
Before we left the train in Oklahoma City, Okla., yesterday, we saw a newspaper which carried a most amusing account, written by a newspaper reporter who acted as though he were a detective describing his day’s efforts extracting the information concerning the time of my arrival in Oklahoma City. It always seems a little unfair on these lecture trips to tell people every detail of your plans so far ahead that they feel obligated to look after you and try to do something for you. If no one is quite sure until the last minute, except the sponsors of the lecture, then the plans are left entirely to them as they should be.

We were greeted on arrival by some members of the Altrusa Club, and after getting settled at the hotel, we went down with them to lunch. It was interesting to find myself again with this group which seems to attract particularly active business women. They made their regular business reports, and I was struck by the useful work they are doing.

One committee was arranging a series of six discussions and talks for young working girls at which their problems will be discussed and advice given by experienced women who have already established themselves in some business or profession. Another committee chairman reported on the work done to help older women who have to go to work in middle life with comparatively little training. The particular procedure they follow originated in Dallas, Texas, with the Altrusa group there. The chairman told the story of a woman who wanted employment in an office, but who after careful interviewing was found to be primarily interested in sewing for her own home. A number of people had her make slipcovers and drapes for them and she made such a name for herself that one of the big shops in the city in which she lived finally employed her. She was able to save her home, which was her main reason for wanting work.

The third report dealt with a project which might be termed pure charity. The support of a room in the home for unmarried mothers.

After a press conference, the WPA and NYA representatives came to see me. The construction programs being carried out by both of these agencies in this state seem to be extraordinarily successful.

On the train yesterday a gentleman spoke to me who is connected with the training of Indian boys in their CCC camps. Some 7,000 of them are doing soil conservation work. Yesterday afternoon the representatives of the WPA Administration presented me with some bead work done by their Indian girl’s project. This project has meant a revival of the old Indian crafts and the young people are being taught by the older people. The belt which was given me is of exquisite workmanship and shows how much skill can be developed in our native Indian groups.

We left last night for Fort Worth, Texas, and are now with my daughter-in-law, Ruth, and the children, before driving over to the college at Denton, Texas.

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November 3, 1939

Hutchinson, Kan., Thursday –
We reached my son’s house yesterday morning so early that the entire family had finished breakfast and felt that the day was already well advanced, when my small grandson demanded that we go for a walk. We looked at our watches and found that it was just 8:30. We finally did take a walk in the warm sunshine, even though our clothes on this trip are not very well adapted to rough roads or fields.

The weather was too lovely, however, to stay indoors. After an early lunch, we drove to Denton, where we went directly to the Texas State College for Women. President Hubbard took us to a little chapel in the woods which they were dedicating. This is an NYA project, the chapel was built by NYA boys and the decorations are being done by the art students in the college. One stained glass window is already finished. Each one of these windows is to show some form of service performed by women. The window over the altar is to glorify motherhood with the Madonna in the center, and the rose window above the door will contain Texas wildflowers.

The setting of the chapel in a grove of trees on a little hill is very charming. An atmosphere of peace surrounded it yesterday, in spite of the crowd of people who had come to the dedication ceremony. The most moving part of this was a little speech given by one of the boys who worked on the chapel. I could not help thinking of the spirit of the master craftsmen of old who devoted years of their lives to building the beautiful cathedrals which we visit today in the countries across the water. Perhaps some of their spirit has descended upon our boys.

A group of farm security people waited for me afterwards to present me with a magazine which contains photographs of what they accomplished over a period of four years. I think this rehabilitation of farm people gives the county agents and the farm security representatives more satisfaction than any other type of government work, because the benefits are so tangible in the families they serve. I had the pleasure of seeing a group which had come some 265 miles from Lockhart, Texas.

The girls who are taking the home economics course arranged the decorations and served dinner. I admired the charming table just as I had when I was here before. They do marvelous things with the butter, evolving a beautiful yellow rose reposing on green leaves which one is almost loathe to eat.

After the evening lecture, we left at once for the train and this morning encountered our first real delay, arriving three-quarters of an hour late in Newton, Kansas. Our hostess, who had driven over here from Hutchinson, had to wait for us. As there was no diner, we had to be content with someone’s kind thought in putting on board for us some bottles of milk, graham crackers and apples. I don’t think Miss Thompson thinks cold milk takes the place of hot coffee so, as soon as we arrived here, our kind hostess served us coffee.

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November 4, 1939

St. Joseph, Mo., en route, Friday –
Mr. and Mrs. John P. Harris were the most delightful and understanding hosts. They gave us time to write this column yesterday in Hutchinson, Kansas, arranged quiet and peaceful meals, and then held an informal reception in the hotel near the railroad station after the lecture. As a result, everybody was happy and we had as much time as possible to do the one thing which I was really anxious to do while in Hutchinson – see the shelter belt planning.

Mr. F. A. Silcox, Chief of the Forest Service, had written me that I could obtain a very good idea of it by taking a three hour trip. His representative in that region, Mr. Russell Reitz, came for us at 2:00 and Miss Thompson and I started out. Our first stop was at some planting which had been done four years ago.

The land is first cultivated and then a row of thick shrubbery is planted, followed by rows of different kinds of trees. One row is usually either fruit or nut trees, while in the middle the quick growing cottonwoods have already attained a height of 25 feet. On the far side of these, the planting is reversed until you end up with shrubs again. Fences are strung on either side of the shelter belt to keep cattle out. The weeds have to be kept down the first few years so as to permit the trees to gain their maximum growth. To achieve the best results in breaking the wind velocity, each shelter belt should be a half a mile long.

About 14 or 15 old-time farm people – men and women – met me there. The forestry representatives told me that because this section of Kansas once had trees, some of the earlier settlers recognized their value and planted hundreds of trees themselves. They at once took advantage of the help offered by the government and were its best cooperators. One of the councilmen told me that now the value of this planting had become apparent to many farmers, who at first scoffed at the idea that you could make trees grow and had considered it a waste of both money and time. One white-haired woman said to me that she had not believed in it, but had been willing to try it out because women were more willing to try new things than men. Now her family called the planting her forest, but they no longer made fun of her.

Another councilman told me that there were a few people still who refused to cooperate on the ground that it was the wrong administration making the suggestions. I remember well some of the gibes this idea evoked and it was certainly a satisfaction to see the results in better crops which wind protection had brought to many a farmer’s land.

We covered miles of dirt roads yesterday. While those farms where oil has been found, and a few other farms, looked prosperous and well kept, I think it is evident that many of these farmers have been hard hit the past few years.

We left last night for Kansas City, where we joined Mrs. Flynn and Miss Cotsworth, and are now on our way to Lincoln, Nebraska.

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November 6, 1939

St. Louis, Sunday –
We are becoming so familiar with Kansas City, Mo., that when we walked into the hotel there yesterday morning, I felt almost as though we were coming home. We started off with a press conference and then I had a talk with the representative of the NYA, Mr. Sykes, who was anxious to have me visit their project where colored girls were being taught to sew and were receiving other training which fitted them for a variety of work. He said this training had made it possible for a number of them to be placed in permanent positions. I should have liked to visit this project, but I had promised to see the WPA representatives and there are only a certain number of hours in a day.

The WPA people arrived at 11:00 and I went out with them to see a nursery school for colored children. It was situated on the second floor of a building which belongs to a group of labor union members. 12 or 14 men belong to the plasterers’ union. They, I believe, have been able thus far to donate the second floor of their building for this nursery school. The WPA workers in charge seem to be doing a very good job and the sponsors are really interested in their young tenants.

We then went to the Mexican community house called Guadalupe, where WPA workers were making it possible to have teachers for various crafts and supervised play and recreation. The community house was attractive and a group of young musicians played really remarkably well. They were dressed in picturesque Mexican costumes. I was told that the young man who directed them, with a group of other young people, had succeeded in using their music in periods of unemployment as a means of support for their families.

Some guests joined us for lunch and one or two people came during the afternoon. We made a dent in four large envelopes of mail from Washington which had waited for us in Lincoln, Nebraska, on Friday evening, and two more from Kansas City. When we reached St. Louis this morning, we were really relieved to find only one large brown envelope of mail.

Last night, I did a thing for which I have been apologizing ever since. I completely forgot the hour at which our hosts had said they were going to call for us, and when they arrived I was still doing the mail. I packed, shoved all the mail into my briefcase and dressed in 25 minutes. I shall never cease to be grateful to Mrs. Stark, the Governor’s wife, who for some reason was delayed also and arrived a few minutes after I did. There was no excuse I could offer. I think I just had a mental blind spot for the way time was passing. I hope I won’t do it again, for it has left me with a most apologetic spirit.

A lovely day here and we are going out with the WPA representatives after lunch.

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November 7, 1939

Pittsburgh, Monday –
I visited a training school for boys between the ages of 12 and 18, yesterday afternoon. It is about 16 miles out of St. Louis and is run on the cottage system with much land around it. The boys work three hours of the day on academic school courses and four hours on actual labor jobs.

Yesterday being Sunday, the WPA orchestra and the choral leader were putting on a concert in which the boys themselves participated. The commentator told the story of the music which the orchestra was about to play and the boys joined in the singing. Sometimes, it was a quartette of boys trained under the WPA recreational project by the choral director, sometimes it was a song by the entire glee club.

The boys never had any time to weary of too much orchestral music, nor did they have to sit still too long, because periodically they rose and sang as loudly as they wanted.

It seemed to me a very well planned entertainment. When it was brought to an end by the singing of “God Bless America” I could not help thinking that these boys, handicapped at the start but with a future still before them, were singing this song with more spirit than did the audience at the Kiwanis Club on Saturday.

As we went out, a sextet of rather elderly musicians was playing on the lawn. The musicians’ union has sponsored the music project in St. Louis.

The NYA representatives came to see me after I returned to the train and told me of some interesting projects in the State of Missouri. One of them, a project in the southern part of the state in the Ozark region, has taught the boys how to use stone for building purposes… It appears that they have not been slow in applying this knowledge to their own needs and there is an “epidemic” of stone houses in that part of the state. In the Ozark area, the local court judges have sponsored many of the NYA projects and they say that delinquency has been cut down 65 percent as a result of this work.

Since I have been thinking so much about boys and young people these last few days, it seems an appropriate time to mention a book which has just appeared called Parenthood In A Democracy by Margaret Lightly and Leroy E. Bowman. It is a memorial volume published in memory of Robert E. Simon’s significant and lasting achievements in the cause of public education in New York City. It will be of value to every parent because it tells the story of the United Parents Association’s contribution to parent education. It is not only of interest to New York City, but of value to parents all over the country.

We are on the train today and will arrive in Pittsburgh late this afternoon.

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November 8, 1939

Hyde Park, Tuesday –
We left our kind friends on the railroad on Sunday night in St. Louis, Mo., after the lecture. Something unusual and quite delightful happened to us on our way to the lecture in St. Louis. It was only three blocks and we were actually allowed to walk it! All the exercise one obtains on these trips is getting on and off the trains and in and out of automobiles. The rest of the time is spent either in a hotel, or viewing a project, or on the train.

I have always hoped that the motion of the train might give a little exercise, but I confess that when nearing the last two days of a two week trip, the chance to walk three blocks and breathe the fresh air and stretch one’s legs, even though I had on evening clothes and evening slippers, was a very welcome change!

In almost every place I have visited on this trip, I have been asked to say something about the community chest drive. It seems to me that the value of the organizations supported by the community chast, should by this time, with the help of active groups of women, have become well known in every community. There is a great advantage in having a coordinated drive for funds, because one can be sure that each organization has been carefully investigated and allotted the amount of money which is needed to run it to the best advantage. When one is constantly receiving appeals for this or that charity, the difficulty of making personal investigations leads one frequently to ignore the appeal.

I am beginning to feel the same way about appeals for war refugees in different parts of the world. I wish very much that we could have some central organization, now coordinating civilian relief, make the contacts necessary for the best results with foreign countries. They could allocate funds needed for adequate care of refugees in our own country and help other nations whose refugee loads are far greater than ours. We are a neutral country at peace and, in spite of the fact that our first duty is, of course, to meet the needs of our own citizens and give our best thought to the solving of domestic problems, still those of us who have anything to spare, should feel the call of suffering humanity all over the world.

Think of sixty million Chinese war refugees! “Bowl of Rice” parties held all over the United States under the auspices of the United Council for Civilian Relief in China, have probably helped to alleviate their suffering. The overhead expense could be cut down and a better job could be done for the Chinese, Spanish, Polish, Czechoslovakian and German refugees, if it could be coordinated under some experienced and able organizer.

On our arrival in Pittsburgh, Pa., yesterday afternoon, we had time only for a press conference and a short interview with some Democratic ladies Mrs. Emma Guffey Miller had asked to see me. Then came the lecture and another night on the train. I reached Hyde Park by noon in time to go up to the polling place, but I had voted by absentee ballot, fearing that something might delay my arrival at the last minute.

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November 9, 1939

Washington, Wednesday –
It was grand to have even a few hours in the country yesterday. As I told you, I arrived in time to go up to the polling booth to see the others vote and to pay my annual subscription to the Hyde Park Red Cross. Up there, it is an institution for the Red Cross membership drive to begin on Election Day, on the theory, I imagine, that they will catch more people together than at any other time.

The New York Chapter of the American Red Cross has opened an information bureau at 590 Madison Ave. This is an effort to spread information about the National Red Cross roll call and to tell people what the national headquarters are doing to help war sufferers in addition to their general work. There will be celebrities present on different days. Gertrude Lawrence, who is at present playing in Skylark, has agreed to help in the roll call.

If you happen to want information as to what you can do to be of assistance to people who are in need of Red Cross help anywhere in the world, go to this office, for they are prepared to answer all questions of this kind.

The President had a grand time yesterday inspecting the first little house built on one end of a barn at Hyde Park. Another week should really finish it, and my brother and husband are so pleased with their handiwork that they are planning to build a great many more around the place.

As the President has had a little cold, he decided to stay over another day. Not being anxious to spend another night on the train unnecessarily, I took an afternoon train back to New York City and came down here last night. I had an interesting time on the train, for for two or three people felt kindly inclined, my neighbor in the next seat talked with me as did my neighbor across the aisle.

One amusing incident occurred when a lady across the aisle, not having a watch and having lost track of the time, suddenly thought she had reached her destination and hurriedly rang for the porter to find out if she ought to leave the train. I have done that very often when absorbed in a book or some work I was doing. Once I actually did find I was pulling into a station where I should be prepared to get off and I practically fell out of the train, putting on my things as I went.

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November 10, 1939

Washington, DC –
Yesterday, I went to my first real party, a lunch with Mrs. Hull which had all the zest of an adventure. At noon, I shook hands with the Dagenham English Girl Pipers. They have been at the World’s Fair in the British Pavilion during the summer and are now down here for a short while. They look grand in their Scottish costumes, although they apparently come from a small place not far from London. A minister started off six girls as pipers as a recreation and it has finally developed into a means for making a livelihood for quite a big group. They have been all over the continent and were well received in Germany two months before the war. How curious it is that one can be friendly one day and at war the next.

After they had gone, I saw a representative of a homesteaders’ group in Tennessee. I must say that I have a great admiration for the energy with which these groups are trying to find ways of adding to their agricultural income. These Tennessee mountaineers have a great deal of folk talent among them and still know a great many of the old-time songs and dances of the mountains.

With better roads and numerous parks, I feel that a revival of these mountain entertainments, plus the sale of some of their craftwork, might prove an interesting summer occupation for many of them and add considerably to their income. I know that I would be much interested in taking a trip, if I knew I would have an opportunity to hear different festivals in various communities which had folk music and dancing.

In the afternoon, a large group of people came to talk to me about plans which Miss Hilda Smith, under WPA, is making for a really worthwhile program in workers’ education. I hope to be able to tell you more about it later on, for I feel this program should develop into a helpful thing for the employers as well as the employees. It seems obvious that many people in the future will have to be re-educated in new skills and this type of education could frequently be useful in the transition period.

Later in the afternoon I planned a little friend’s birthday party and arranged for several guests, who are going to be here while I am away this coming week. Then a few visitors came to tea, one of them Mr. Harry Slattery of the Rural Electrification Administration had so many human interest stories to tell that I have decided on my next trip to see some of the farms which have lately acquired electricity and to tell you more about it.

The rest of my time, except for a delightful dinner with some friends, has been spent on mail. I thought we had done a great deal while we were away, but I find I was mistaken and we have any amount here still to do.

The President arrived here this morning and I think he hated to leave the country as much as I always dislike leaving it. The Cabinet ladies are lunching with me and I have a number of foreign visitors this afternoon.

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November 11, 1939

New York, Friday –
The Florida State Music Teachers Association has a new and novel idea. Like all citizens of Florida, they feel that no one should be deprived of spending some part of the year in that state. They have started out, therefore, to get 20,000 professional musicians to become members of a club. The idea is that this “Musicians Club of America” will be maintained for the benefit of professional musicians.

Any surplus beyond expenses remaining in the club treasury will be used to support club members who have reached the age of seventy years and who have no other means of support. It will also go toward providing a congenial home for retired musicians who may not be in need and who wish to pay something for their support, but cannot afford, perhaps, to be in such a pleasant climate or in as comfortable surroundings as this club membership will give them.

Miss Bertha Foster, who started this whole idea, is head of the conservatory of music at the University of Miami, at Coral Gables, Florida. She was not content, however, just to have an idea, she went to work and apparently is going to be rewarded by seeing it bear fruit.

I know of a number of other places which have been established to give artists an opportunity to live comfortably with as little anxiety and cost to themselves as possible. The MacDowell Foundation in New Hampshire, is one such place, and “Yaddo” established by the late Mrs. George Foster Peabody on her estate at Saratoga Springs, NY, is another. I have always felt that those connected with these institutions must obtain a great joy in the contacts with the various artists and also have a personal pride in their creative work.

I have been receiving of late a number of appeals begging that I assist artists who are no longer young. Others beg that I try to obtain a hearing of some kind for some young artist who has not yet had a chance to become known to the public. Of course, when the arts flourished in the old days, it was sufficient for an artist to have a rich patron and then to develop under the protection of his important sponsor. All nobles had their pet artists in many lines who painted pictures for them, wrote books and verses about them, or played music for their pleasure. Today, for the most part, this method of developing and protecting art has passed out of existence and I am wondering if the WPA art projects may not take their places.

Instead of one noble, it is now the people of the United States who give protection to artists and develop their own culture through their familiarity with the arts, which up to the past few years were a more or less closed book to them. I think it is safe to say that we have developed taste, discrimination and curiosity about the great painters and great artists generally in the world through these programs.

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November 13, 1939

Hyde Park, Sunday –
I forgot to mention on Friday that I came to New York City on Thursday evening to see our son, Jimmy, for a little while before he went back to the West Coast, and to continue doing a number of errands. Late Friday afternoon, I came up to Hyde Park for a quiet two days and a little exercise in the open air. I have enjoyed every minute of it and today I have been thinking over our whole two weeks trip.

One of the amusing things about travelling around the country is that people whom I know on paper, sometimes for months and years, suddenly appear and you find yourself knowing them as individuals for the first time. They rarely resemble the individuals you have pictured to yourself. I have been thinking over the many landscapes through which we travelled. On our way to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, it really looked Western. Some of the soil had a reddish tinge. The trees were smaller, more wind blown and showed a tendency to develop more on one side than the other. Here and there we saw some neatly painted white houses with good farm buildings, but also saw a great many unpainted ramshackle buildings with untidy yards.

When we were inspecting the shelterbelt project in Kansas, we passed through a Mennonite settlement. It was easy to see that these people are good farmers. Interesting too, were the men with their beards and the children coming home from school. The girls wore black sunbonnets and the boys straight, broad-brimmed, black hats. Several horse-drawn buggies, with comfortable elderly ladies in bonnets driving them, meandered along the roads and looked disapprovingly at us as we passed in automobiles, for Mennonites do not approve of “horseless carriages.”

On Saturday, November 11, the nationwide roll call for the American Red Cross began and will continue through November 30. Not since the World War has it seemed so important for us to contribute to the Red Cross. Its obligations to alleviate human suffering in many foreign countries are very heavy at the present time. It is true that, so far, the Red Cross has done its traditional work of helping every nation at war which asked for help, with supplies needed for the sick and wounded. In addition, however, until some permanent organization is set up for the relief of civilian populations, the Red Cross will find itself called upon to meet a great number of emergency situations which deal not only with refugee populations, but with people of their own homes who are hungry, cold or sick in these countries far away from us.

I hope that all of us will make it a point to set aside some small sum regularly every month for the Red Cross as long as war lasts throughout the world. No matter how small the sum, it will mean much in the aggregate and it will mean much for us, for we will have the satisfaction of knowing that we are contributing to the alleviation of human suffering.

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November 14, 1939

New York, Monday –
How reluctantly I left the country this morning! It was another beautiful day and all the way down in the train I could scarcely read the newspapers, it was so lovely out the window. There are still enough leaves on the trees to give some color to the landscape, but I think by next week it will probably all be gone.

The end of November is apt to be a dreary part of the year, but even then I love the sound of fallen leaves as I walk through the woods, and I can’t help scuffling just as children do. There is a smell in the air of burned leaves and apples and cider which is very pleasant. I haven’t had any fresh cider this year and I must try to get some the next time I am in the country.

I arrived in New York City in time to do several errands, go to the dentist and reach my apartment in time for lunch. This afternoon I have a number of appointments and tonight I go to Newark, NJ, for a lecture.

When I was here with our son, James, last week, we went to see a most entertaining play. Anyone who has read Clarence Day’s Life With Father, would expect to have an amusing evening. Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse have been most successful in creating the atmosphere best suited to “Father.” In the late 1880s, men must have blustered a great deal and life for the ladies must have been difficult, for while they had their own way, they went through so much subterfuge to get it!

At heart, “Father” really was a mouse. I think his wife knew it, but she stuck to her pretense as did the children. I wonder how those children ever turned out as well as they did. The perfect scene between “Father” and Clarence is one where “Father” announces that he will tell his son “all about women,” and then informs him promptly that there are certain subjects never discussed between gentlemen.

I suppose that appealed to me because, being brought up by my grandmother, I remember that atmosphere between generations very well. There were certain subjects never discussed by gentlemen old and young. There were also certain subjects never discussed by ladies of different ages and the result was frequently very bewildered young people when they found themselves faced with life.

I was very glad to see this morning that a committee had been set up again, with Dr. Henry MacCracken as chairman, which will undertake relief work for the Poles. At first it will be largely among Polish refugees in other countries, and later it is hoped work may be done in Poland. I hope that everyone who can, will help this committee. It should inspire every confidence because of past experience in this work.

I was glad to see by the papers the other day that thought is being given to the very difficult situation in which our American seamen find themselves. Today I noted with interest the efforts which are being made to find new outlets for our shipping, difficult as this would seem to be. Perhaps the war will create a shortage of shipping in the zones that are not closed to us.

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November 15, 1939

New York, Tuesday –
It is a most beautiful day and I feel so rested that even a lecture last night in Newark, NJ, and sitting up late to catch up on mail doesn’t make the sky one bit grayer. It think it must be my two nights in the country.

I had an interesting time yesterday with Mr. Philip Hiss, a well known New York architect and an old friend, who showed me a development which is the result of long time planning and research. It may mean more permanent and better housing for people of very moderate income. I was fascinated by all the details and would have liked to spend many hours with Mr. Hiss to go over all the plans and possibilities.

Two things which appealed to me greatly were the economy of the heating and the air-conditioning. The fact that the structure would be fireproof is also a great point in its favor, for one of the things which always worried me about housing developments is the possibility of fire. In addition to that, I have wondered frequently on seeing some of the so-called low income housing, about the life of the building which must of necessity be amortized over a long period, whether it is government-built or built by private enterprise. Houses are valuable to the tenants in exact proportion to the amount of repair bills over the years, and yet we give this item little thought.

As I stepped out of a taxi yesterday afternoon, the taxi driver in handing me my change, to my complete surprise said:

God bless you ma’am.

I wonder whether it was for the tip or whether he really wanted to say something nice about the Administration. In any case, it is a happy salutation and I wish we used it more often to each other.

The questions in the Town Hall series last night in Newark, NJ, where I spoke, were very interesting. I understand that Mrs. Parker O. Griffith, Chairman of the Town Hall, is the moving spirit. I should think that she would be very satisfied with the interest shown.

I was told that Mr. Alexander Woollcott was their first speaker and I was a little nervous at following such an expert raconteur. When I discovered that Secretary Ickes and General Hugh S. Johnson are to debate at the next meeting, I felt that the “meat” in this sandwich was not as good as it should have been to live up to the “bread” on either side! I wish I could be in the audience for the coming debate. I am sure it will furnish plenty of fireworks and a good many laughs.

I see today that Holland has been assured that there is no intention of invading her borders and I confess to being glad every time a small country is assured of safety. I feel quite a personal tie with Holland and Belgium because of our ancestors.

I wonder if we will ever return to the day which I can remember, when little was thought of passports. You did not need them to visit most countries. While certain difficulties existed, if you did not know the language or found the exchange of money hard to master, still travel was a very easy thing. Now no one can travel anywhere without a certain risk, and one can certainly not journey for pleasure in many parts of the world.

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November 16, 1939

Logan, W. Va., Wednesday –
The drive from Lancaster to York, Pa., yesterday afternoon was lovely and through rich farming country. Mr. Laucks had asked us to stay and, since that was impossible, we drove up to his place and I had an opportunity to walk around the grounds. From the terrace there is a most beautiful view of the Susquehanna River. Mr. William Adams Delano, who built the house, has given it the atmosphere of intimacy, which to me is the most charming thing about a French house. As you come in, the wall around the courtyard seems to shut out the outer world. One stout and ageing scottie accompanied his master around and two young and vociferous scotties were chained up near the stable. They wriggled and jumped in their efforts to get free and follow us and, since I can never resist Scotties, I had to go and pat them.

We had a glimpse of a Japanese garden, very charmingly laid out on a hillside with a tiny waterfall dropping into a succession of pools. Off in the distance we had a glimpse of two thousand white turkeys covering a hillside, but I did not have time to see the dairy where Mr. Laucks has some very remarkable stock.

It must be most interesting to have a place of this kind which gives an opportunity for real business management and yet has great beauty. Mr. Laucks kept telling me how much he wanted the President to come to see it. I know the President would enjoy it, but I fear this visit will have to wait until Washington days are over.

In York, we passed through some interesting old streets. I was much interested in a bit of history which I probably should have known, namely, that York was the seat of the first meeting of the Continental Congress and that the first national Thanksgiving Day was proclaimed here by George Washington after the Battle of Saratoga. No one seemed to know exactly what date this was. Perhaps that year had some of the difficulties that we are having this year.

Once at the hotel we had a few minutes to unpack. Then came a press conference consisting largely of high school students and a short visit from the local representative of the NYA, who brought me some interesting pictures of their projects.

The sewing project makes costumes for various school activities and for poor children, a toy project reconditions toys of every kind and has reached thousands of children every Christmas. These are projects carried on by NYA and WPA all over the country, so there was no real loss in not having time to go out to visit them.

After the lecture we drove into Harrisburg. We are now on the train for Bluefield, W.Va., from where we drive 96 miles to Logan, W. Va.

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November 17, 1939

Washington, Thursday –
When we arrived in Bluefield, W. Va., yesterday we had had no lunch, so we crossed the street to a little restaurant to have a sandwich and a glass of milk. In a minute the proprietor was at Miss Thompson’s elbow, saying that if he had time he would go home to find his letters from the President and, in view of his friendship, would I go on the radio and talk to the people of two counties! Since we had a long drive before us and several engagements, any further delay seemed out of the question, but before we left a few interested spectators had gathered to find out just what we were doing in Bluefield.

The drive through the mountains to Logan was very beautiful. I never cease to marvel at the ease and rapidity with which those accustomed to mountain driving cover the miles over those rather narrow and twisting roads.

A press conference in Logan was interesting because of the youth of the press. They brought me copies of the local paper, which was very well printed and set up. It was evident that these young reporters were really deeply interested in their jobs.

One young girl, who is the only feature writer in Logan, I had met in Fort Worth, Texas. After all the others had left, she lingered to ask about her great ambition – a chance for a few minutes private interview, which I fear will not be granted because so many ask. Then came a talk with a Quaker woman who ran, for a time, a clinic in Logan in which I was interested, and who is now trying to do a real job for the crippled children of the locality. Finally, two teachers brought in a little girl they discovered as having real musical talent.

She is now 12 years old and they have been watching her ever since she was six. Her parents are Hungarians and the father is a miner, so her opportunities to develop what talent she may have are limited. She played the piano for me in a manner which showed a real feeling for music. It would be wonderful if someone could send this child to a good music school where she could obtain some training in dramatics as well. I hate to confess knowing very little about the possibilities for this type of education, but I am going to try to find out, not only what schools there are, but what chance there might be of obtaining a scholarship, for without it she can certainly never go beyond what she has already attained.

After the evening lecture, we were driven into Huntington, W. Va., in time to make a 1:30 a.m. train. I must have been a very unsatisfactory guest on this trip, because I was completely overcome by sleep and could only prod myself awake sufficiently now and then to make some stupid remark.

We saw a forest fire in the mountains as we drove along. In the dark, it looked dramatic and beautiful, but I could not help thinking how dreary and sad those blackened hillsides would look by daylight. What a shame it is that these forest fires, usually started by carelessness, cannot be stopped. Now we are on the train arriving in Washington in time for lunch.

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November 18, 1939

Washington, Friday –
The weather in Washington is still like Indian Summer. I could not help thinking how breathtakingly lovely this city is, for it is more nearly like living in the country since trees and parks are so much a part of the landscape.

Three gentlemen came to lunch with me yesterday. Each one of them has something really interesting that he is working on. The Secretary of Labor had asked me to see Father Patterson of South Dakota. I was prepared to be interested in his work, but found myself equally interested in his personality. Determination and driving power come out strongly in his young and sensitive face when he begins to talk about what he wants to do for the dependent children of South Dakota. They are trying to establish a memorial to Grace Abbott, a home where children may be placed while foster parents are found for them.

As it is now, a child who is left homeless or who must be taken from an undesirable home, has to be declared delinquent and may find himself in a reform school with boys who have already learned many things from life that are better left out of a child’s education. All the rest of his life he must carry the stigma of being a delinquent child, simply because there is no other place to put him in the interval of getting some permanent plan made for his future.

South Dakota is one of the states which has been through so many years of drought that it is hard to urge on the people the undertaking of even necessary work like this, for they simply have not the taxable values to meet the demands of state government. This is a misfortune in which the rest of the nation has a stake, for the children of today make up the nation of the future. They do not remain in South Dakota, they may be your neighbors wherever you live in the days to come.

My cousin, Monroe Robinson, who is interested in transportation problems kept us talking over a variety of subjects and I was sorry to bring the luncheon hour to a close.

In the evening, I went to speak to the home economics section of the Land Grant Colleges Association, meeting here for their annual convention. It was good to see Dr. Louise Stanley and Miss Flora Rose, of Cornell University again. Some people lift your spirit just by contact and Flora Rose has always had that effect on me.

This morning at 9:30, I went to the general session of this association. I spoke for a few minutes and then had the opportunity of hearing the Secretary of Agriculture speak on conservation. I was particularly interested in the stress which he laid on the fact that all of conservation has as a primary object the conservation of human beings. I was glad that he pointed out the relationship between the preservation of civilization and the preservation of our natural resources.

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November 20, 1939

Hyde Park, Sunday –
Last Friday evening, we reached New York City just in time to have dinner then, with my son, Jimmy, Miss Thompson and I went to the World Theatre to see a French movie called Harvest. It is a simple story, dealing with the earth and the very primitive urge of a man to work for the woman he loves, and, by doing so, to bring life back to the land which seems to have become useless. He does it by discovering a little patch of unused earth which is still good enough to grow wheat and he does all the work with his own hands.

That is not a lesson we would have to teach in this country, for with us it is a question of accepting scientific modern methods of soil conservation to meet a variety of ills which have befallen our soil because of our past ignorance. We cannot teach the use of one’s hands, for machinery knocks always at our door as a competitor. The basic lesson, however, that man will find a way to work constructively if he has a sufficient urge, is one fitted to all countries at all times.

The acting is good and the surmounting of the language difficulty by translations on the screen is quite remarkable, though the fine points of humor are somewhat dulled.

Saturday morning, I saw a number of people who wanted to talk to me about a variety of things. After lunching with a friend, I stopped on the way to Hyde Park to speak to the Bronx Free Fellowship, a forum meeting where questions came thick and fast. We arrived at Hyde Park in time for dinner and I found my husband full of plans for the laying of the library cornerstone today.

I am glad to say that this morning is a beautiful, clear day, for it makes a great difference when ceremonies have to be held out of doors. I am also glad that the weather is not too cold.

Even with the best of weather, I do not imagine many people will come to see the laying of the cornerstone, but those most interested in this period of history will want to see evry step covering the erection of this building. It has gone up very quickly in the last two weeks and I think the builders’ hope that the roof will be on before snow may be realized. Next autumn, I suppose, will come the real dedication and then the never-ending, interesting task of receiving and cataloguing and making available to the public, the historical documents and collections made by various individuals during this period of history.

I am off for a ride now before our guests arrive.

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November 21, 1939

Washington, Monday –
The ceremonies at the laying of the cornerstone yesterday were very simple and very nice. Both Mr. MacLeish, the Librarian of Congress, and Mr. Connor, the archivist, spoke very delightfully. Except for the fact that the people outside had a very cold time, the laying of the cornerstone went off without a hitch.

Before the ceremonies, many people came into the house to shake hands with the President and have a word with him. Just as everyone was leaving the house, I heard a crash and discovered that one of the card tables around which some people were sitting, had collapsed and all the china had fallen to the floor! It was too bad to break the china, but I had to laugh, remembering the table which collapsed when the King and Queen were with us. We must have something collapse apparently when we are having parties! Much less china, however, was broken on this occasion.

The rector, Mr. Wilson, and his wife and little boys were with us for lunch. I was amused to have the one sitting beside me finish everything that he had to eat and then, having eaten a goodly portion of ice cream and cake, turn to me and say:

May I eat some of the crackers?

A dish of crackers was on the table, destined for those who had begun their meal with chowder. The small boy had scorned that, but after everything else was over, I imagine he felt he must fill up with these, the only things left to attract his attention.

At tea time, a bust of the President, done by a French artist who had never seen him, was presented by Mrs. Cramer, who had bought it after it had been exhibited in the French Pavilion at the World’s Fair. It will go into the new library. Then Mr. Billings, the artist who is doing the decorations for the Wappingers Falls, New York, post office, came to tell the President about some of his ideas for the paintings. He brought an old painting, which I thought quite fascinating, showing the mills about the creek when Wappingers Falls was really an active industrial spot. These old paintings may not be remarkable as art, but they certainly are interesting.

After that, Mr. Bernard Kohn, who had been making a clock for the past six years, for the President, came with his son to present it. It is a double timepiece which registers both Pacific and Eastern Standard time. I shall be able to look at it and know just what time it is in Seattle and Los Angeles. This will probably be a relief to my children there, whom I might call at untimely hours. The President occasionally wishes that some of the people who call him up from Europe would remember the difference in time in this country.

We came down last night to Washington on the night train and found a gray and chilly day down here with most of the leaves blown off the trees. This is a particularly full day with very little time to sit and think about world affairs, which give one a sense of depression in any case.

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November 22, 1939

Washington, Tuesday –
It was interesting yesterday at lunch to talk to Miss Cecile Hamilton about the problems of the woman aviator. Apparently, they may spend a great deal of money learning how to fly and never get a chance at a job. I recalled that some time a ago a study was being made of the resistance of women to different strains experienced in flying, so I asked if this study had ever been completed. Apparently, it is still in the indecisive stage.

There must, however, be possibilities for women pilots to be helpful. It seems to me that it would be well to canvass the value of the service they could render in cases of emergency. For instance, during floods and disasters of various kinds, the Army flies supplies of food and medicine. A woman who could both take a turn as a pilot and be useful on landing in assisting women and children, might be valuable.

I have been wondering for a long time whether, in taking a new census, it would not be a wise thing to tabulate the returns where the women are concerned, from the point of view of their usefulness in emergencies in their own localities. It might even be a good thing to set up certain centers where women could take training in occupations where they were qualified in time of need, every woman would then know exactly what her job was, or what she could volunteer to do. Just now, when we have so many unemployed young people, it would seem to me a great opportunity to develop them for the future and give them a feeling that they are doing something in the way of service to their country.

I spent some time this morning wandering through the exposition of painting and sculpture designed for federal buildings and held in the Corcoran Art Gallery. It will remain open until next Sunday. It is very different from that first WPA show which was hung on these same walls. There is a calmness and security in most of this painting, though a greater consciousness of social conditions is shown in paintings like Contemporary Justice and the Child by Symeon Shimin. For decorative quality, I think our Indian artists always stand out. A group of them are working on decorations in the Interior Department Building, which I am looking forward to seeing.

The winner of the contest for the St. Louis, Mo., post office murals, Edward Millman and Mitchell Siporin, have an extraordinarily interesting design. The work will not be finished for two years. Each of the 48 states held a state competition and the room in which the paintings by the winners of this competition are exhibited would be well worth a long study. It seems a shame to single out any individual for mention when the whole exhibition is so worthwhile. I feel I want to congratulate all those who have sent in work for this exhibition.

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November 23, 1939

Warm Springs, Ga., Thursday –
Here we are in Georgia celebrating Thanksgiving Day, but I do not know how many of my readers will be celebrating it on this same day! Just for my own satisfaction I am going to put down some of the things for which I am grateful, and for which I will willingly be thankful on both the 23rd and the 30th, if necessary.

I am thankful that I live in a democracy and that it is in the United States of America. I am thankful we are not at war. I am thankful that more of our citizens are thinking about their government today and are realizing their obligations to that government.

I am thankful that I can think as I please, and write as I please and act as I please, within certain limits which guard these same liberties for other citizens. I am thankful that in this country, courage can still dominate fear. I am thankful for the answering smile of the passer-by, and the laughter of children in our streets.

Even here in Warm Springs, where many people are facing handicaps which must give them moments of stark terror when they are alone, they can still manage to meet the world with a smile and give one the feeling of a marching army with banners flying.

Do you remember my mentioning a manuscript written by a blind woman who learned to live alone? Now I have been asked to go to see her. The book had so much courage in it that even though I am half afraid of shattering an illusion, I think I will take a chance and go. We always picture to ourselves what kind of person it is who has written something we like, and are a little afraid we may not like the real person as well. Yet I may find a new friend, which is always a delightful experience.

It is a curious sensation to be putting on summer clothes again and adding a few days to a season you felt was over for another year. At this season down here, there is always a tang and a sharpness in the air of the Georgia hills, in spite of soft breezes and warm sunshine, and walks in the woods are a never ending joy.

There are two swimming pools here, one in which the patients take their exercise, the other in which they play. If ever you feel creeping over you a sense of impatience with the work you have to do, which may be somewhat monotonous and slow in showing results, just come down here and stand around the exercise pool for a while, then go out to see a light-hearted game of ball after the work is over. Day in and day out for months, perhaps for years, this exercise work must go on. If watching this does nothing more for you, it will make you feel you should never be sorry for yourself.

Whichever day you celebrate Thanksgiving, my wish for you is that you may have something to be thankful for no matter how dark your clouds may be, and above all may hope and faith in the future always be with you.

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