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New York City, Thursday—Yesterday was a rather leisurely day in Washington. A few friends came to lunch and, at 3:00 o'clock, I went down to the Library of Congress. There, the Pan-American Coffee Bureau, presented to the division in charge of records, the recordings of my Sunday night broadcasts.
Back at the White House, I had a most interesting talk with Mr. and Mrs. Edgar Snow, who have been back from China for about a year. Mrs. Snow is deeply interested in the Chinese Cooperative Movement, which receives help from all those interested in industry in China. They are making their own machines and gradually working away from the entirely han-made dproducts. It seems to be the best foundation on which to build a better standard of living for the people.
Later, a few people came to tea and to dinner. After dinner, I went to a meeting of the Washington Newspaper Guild. The bill which is called "The War Secrets Bill", came up for considerable discussion. Though I have never yet had an opportunity to read it in full, I hope it will be very clearly understood and carefully discussed before its final passage.
I took the night train to New York City and began my day with an hour and a half at the dentist. Then my aunt, Mrs. Stanley Mortimer, and three of my young cousins, whom I see rather rarely, lunched with me. It was a grand family reunion.
Several people came in during the afternoon, and I spoke in the evening at a meeting for the freign born, sponsored by the Civilian Defense Volunteer Office, of which Mrs. Winthrop W. Aldrich is chairman.
I was interested to read in a little item this morning, that people may be asked to save their anti-freeze solutions from their cars when they drain them in the spring, since it will be impossible to buy solutions next year. By then, perhaps, both tires and oil will be so well rationed, that few people will use any vehicle except for absolutely necessary work. Even if we had to drain the water out of our cars every night, I imagine we could manage. I am not going to worry about anything so far away as next winter!
In some things, I think it will be wise for us not to look beyond the immediate needs. In others, I wish we could induce people to behave as though the war was going to last an indefinite period. They then would produce with increasing rapidity and forget the haunting fear of empty factories, closed down in the future. We would have more tanks, guns and planes, which are a prerequisite to the final ending of the war.
E.R.
(COPYRIGHT, 1942, BY UNITED FEATURE SYNDICATE, INC.)
Names and Terms Mentioned or Referenced
Persons
- Aldrich, Harriet Alexander, 1888-1972 [ index ]
American civic and social leader; vice-chairman of Civilian Defense Volunteer Office and head of UN Hospitality Committee
[ SNAC ] - Inglis-Jones, Edith Mary Mortimer, 1893-1976 [ index ]
ER's cousin - Mortimer, Elizabeth Livingston Hall, 1865-1944 [ index ]
ER's aunt - Mortimer, Stanley Yates, Jr., 1897-1984 [ index ]
"ER's cousin; son of ER's aunt Elizabeth Livingston Hall Mortimer" - Snow, Edgar, 1905-1972 [ index ]
American journalist
[ LC | ISNI | VIAF | Wikidata | SNAC | FAST | ANB ] - Snow, Helen Foster, 1907-1997 [ index ]
American writer
[ LC | ISNI | VIAF | Wikidata | SNAC | FAST | Brittanica ]
Geographic
- [ index ] New York (N.Y., United States)
About this document
My Day by Eleanor Roosevelt, February 27, 1942
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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The Eleanor Roosevelt Papers Project
Available under licence from the Estate of Anna Eleanor Roosevelt.
Published with permission from the Estate of Anna Eleanor Roosevelt.
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