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

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WASHINGTON, Monday—I don't think I ever had a more interesting group of young people with me than the group which came with Miss Dickerman this past weekend. They all seemed to enjoy their sightseeing and to be full of interest in everything. This group of Todhunter School seniors was divided about equally I should say, between the girls who are going to college and those who are going to take other types of graduate work. I have a feeling that whatever they do, life will hold interest for them. They seem healthy, normal and vigorous young people and it was a great pleasure to have them. Yesterday morning they visited Mount Vernon and Arlington and in the afternoon they went back to New York City.

I had only one or two appointments in the afternoon. One of them was with a lady who was most anxious to establish a hostel for young students who are visiting the New York World's Fair. Later it will be of service to all young people who are coming to New York City from distant places.

Today I lunched with a group of young lawyers who work with the Social Security Board and some of the other staff members. I then had the pleasure of hearing a chorus of young people from Dayton, Ohio, called the "Dayton, Ohio Children Singers." Next I attended the annual fete given by the women of the National Democratic Club in Washington to raise a fund for the liquidation of the mortgage on the clubhouse.

Next autumn, all over this country, I hope we can hold a Democratic Women's Day and raise funds for work in our own communities and contribute a portion to the work of the Women's Division of the Democratic National Committee and the National Democratic Women's Club. The Republican women have their club in New York City and I think it is useful for both groups of women to do all they can in education through their party organizations. The strength of our democracy lies in the active interest taken by every individual citizen in government. That means that all parties should be constantly reexamining their own policies in the light of modern developments.

I received a most interesting letter a short time ago from Mr. Earl Wilcox, a Chicago lawyer, telling of the development in the work for the blind throughout the country. He makes one point which I think is worth speaking about here. He feels that blind people can be economically independent if only there could be an agency to contact employers to make sure that blind people are placed in positions which they can fill. If a blind man fails, the employer is apt to feel that it is just because he is blind, whereas another blind man might succeed. Perhaps all a blind man needs is a little more adjustment than the man without this handicap. It means a great deal to us as a nation to see that all those who can lead normal lives and assume their own burdens should do so. I hope that many people will take an interest in Mr. Wilcox's ideas.

E.R.

(Distributed, by United Feature Syndicate, Inc.)


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About this document

My Day by Eleanor Roosevelt, May 23, 1939

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.

TEI-P5 edition published on April 28, 2017.

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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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