The Eleanor Roosevelt Papers, Digital Edition > My Day
My Day by Eleanor Roosevelt

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WASHINGTON, Friday—I went to my first Christmas sale for the benefit of French War Relief yesterday afternoon. The French residents in Washington certainly carried out the reputation which all French people have for using their needles and their fingers in making attractive gifts. I bought a number of things which I know will please someone at Christmas time.

Later in the afternoon, I received the members of the War Hospitality Committee at tea. This Committee has done a very remarkable job. The District of Columbia is a mecca for nearby servicemen, who want to see their nation's capitol when they have a furlough. There are all kinds of military organizations here, outside of the military people who actually work in the departments.

The result is a constantly shifting population of servicemen and women who do not know the city and who may be looking for temporary or permanent places in which to live. They may be here for just a few hours and want to see as much as possible. Whatever they want, this committee tries to see that it is provided and, by and large, I think they succeed.

We have another difficulty here. Civilian war workers in offices have to be considered on nearly the same basis as the service people, since many of them come from other towns and are strangers here and need help and advice on arrival.

I notice in the papers today that some of the results of the ballot taken by the United Council of Church Women yesterday are beginning ing to come in. The questions asked were interesting. One—"Would you be willing to instruct your Senator and Representative in Washington to vote for a bill which will authorize the United States to join a world organization for the purpose of insuring a just and durable peace and share in its expense and all other responsibilities involved?" Any who answer that in the affirmative will be accepting whole-heartedly their world responsibilities.

Two: "Would you be willing to continue for a period after the war, such war time regulations as the rationing of food, gasoline and restrictions of travel, etc., if such are necessary to relieve distress and restore order and help other nations to recover from their war damage?" This is pretty specific. It tells very clearly what may lie before you if you vote in the affirmative.

The vote coming in is largely in the affirmative on both questions so far. The ballots were taken in many states in the Union, so it should give us a clear indication of the feeling of women on this subject.

E.R.

(COPYRIGHT, 1943, BY UNITED FEATURE SYNDICATE, INC.)


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About this document

My Day by Eleanor Roosevelt, November 13, 1943

Roosevelt, Eleanor, 1884-1962
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Digital edition created by The Eleanor Roosevelt Papers Project The George Washington University 312 Academic Building 2100 Foxhall Road, NW Washington, DC 20007

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MEP edition publlished on June 30, 2008.

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Transcription created from a photocopy of a UFS wire copy of a My Day column instance archived at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library.
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