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

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NEW YORK, Tuesday—I have a letter from a gentleman in Long Island, New York, which I think perhaps I should report to my readers. During the last few days I have had a number of questions about the book published by Rear Admiral Robert A. Theobald. As I understand it, he defended the military authorities in charge of Pearl Harbor at the time of the attack. I have not read this book nor has this gentleman, apparently.

But he has read newspaper reports and he says, "I would be interested to know whether the admiral quotes the message which was sent to Admiral Kimmel and General Short two weeks before Pearl Harbor, reading:

"'The Japanese are likely to attack at any time from any direction. This is to be considered a war warning.'

"If he quotes this message, it throws out his entire case. If he does not quote this message, the book is a dishonest presentation of the matter."

While I was in Nevada, I had a letter from the Rt. Rev. William F. Lewis, Bishop of Nevada, telling me about a project they had undertaken for which he would like support. He says, "We have heard so much and seen so much of the so-called juvenile problem that some of us felt action was more important than just viewing with alarm. As a result, we are starting a ranch school for boys and girls. It is, first of all, to be religious, with worship, prayer, and religious instruction included as a part of the school's life. The Christian or Disciples Church and the Episcopal Church were the originators of the plan, but we are seeking support from all the churches.

"In the second place, the school expresses our conviction that work is the expression of relationship, and a Christian home life in which children belong is the basic essential of restoring out of step youngsters to a useful place in their community.

"We aim to establish a home atmosphere to take the place of the broken or inadequate homes from which our children will chiefly come. Because most homes include both boys and girls, we feel that a ranch school which includes both groups as part of its normal community life will come far closer to a sound preparation for life than a segregated school. We know full well that such a plan will present innumerable problems and that undoubtedly we will occasionally face failure. But we are willing to undertake the project in this way.

"The school will admit any children from 11 years through high school on the basis of their need and our capacity. Race or religion will have nothing to do with admission. Twenty-three representative Nevada citizens compose the board of trustees. We have an option on an incredibly lovely site in Paradise Valley (appropriate name) in Humboldt County. The environment will permit a maximum of freedom for the young people and a maximum of attraction for any who find the out of doors appealing.

"The school is quite frankly a venture of faith, but in 12 years, I have seen so much of Nevada's generous concern for its young people that I have great confidence that our financial problems can be met.

"If you know of people interested in such undertakings who might find such a school worth investigating and supporting, we would certainly be most grateful to have their names."

I can send the Bishop no names, but if anyone reading this column is interested they can always get in touch with him in Reno, Nevada.

E.R.

(WORLD COPYRIGHT, 1954, BY UNITED FEATURE SYNDICATE, INC. REPRODUCTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART PROHIBITED.)


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About this document

My Day by Eleanor Roosevelt, april 14, 1954

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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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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