WASHINGTON, Tuesday—This morning has been a morning packed full of interesting contacts. First of all, Dr. Louise Stanley of the Department of Agriculture asked me to see a young Japanese woman, Miss Yamamuro, a newspaper correspondent who is over here studying American home conditions and schools for her magazine. She brought me a copy of the magazine which is the oldest woman's magazine in Japan, the illustrations are like our own but the text I was unable to read. She seemed to feel quite keenly that it is a pity we do not read Japanese in this country! She asked me what I thought important for our women and I told her that that was rather a complicated thing to talk about, but that I would tell her what I felt were ultimate objectives which all women everywhere were interested in today. First and foremost the preservation of peace, and secondly the improvement in the standards of living wherever that standard is so low that it makes it impossible for people to lead a normal, healthy, happy existence. The reason I set peace first is that it is certainly an impossibility to do anything about the improvement in living conditions when one is involved in war.

Then Mrs. Tullis, a very charming woman who is here in the interests of International House in Geneva came to lunch. She was telling me what a wonderful opportunity that house gives to students from all over the world. Then a group of women who are interested in women's participation in the New York World's Fair which takes place in 1939, came to talk a little about their ideas of what this Fair may mean. Mrs. Vincent Astor and Miss Monica Walsh are working on this and hope to get committees in every state.

Yesterday afternoon Mrs. William Denman, who is deeply interested in the San Francisco World's Fair which takes place also in 1939, came to tell me about her plans which are developing for showing the history of Indian culture in the United States and the other American countries at their Fair. It seems to me that the two Fairs on opposite sides of the Continent might develop cooperatively some plans which would dovetail into each other and make a trip to both Fairs extremely worthwhile.

My husband's cousin, Mrs. Warren Robbins, is spending a couple of days with us trying to get settled here, in preparation for taking up her new work in the State Department.

Last night Mr. and Mrs. Ernest Gruening, and Assistant Secretary of the Interior, Mr. Oscar Chapman, dined with us and they were both much interested in the water colors of the Virgin Islands which we have acquired. One in particular, by a young Washington boy, Michael Jamieson who was sent down to paint typical scenes, is a delightful picture on the water front, and very characteristic of the Islands.

Dr. Gruening was most interesting about Alaska and said he hoped we could get a pictorial record of that development also. When I hear of all these new things it makes me anxious to really see them myself particularly I would like to see the changes that have come in places which I have already seen.