HYDE PARK, Tuesday—I left Hyde Park with my husband yesterday at noon for Watervliet, New York. He inspected the old arsenal which I passed so many times when we lived in Albany, but never before dared to enter. It always seemed to me a quiet place in those days, but yesterday it was certainly a busy spot, running three shifts and employing some 2700 men and constantly increasing in production.

From there we went to the Saratoga Battlefield. The whole staff working with Mr. Al Kress was on hand and we drove to the three sites being considered for the administration building. Governor Lehman was with us during the entire trip and he seemed to share the President's interest in maps of all kinds.

They sat in the car at the top of the hill. The entire staff working on the development of Saratoga Battlefield Park was with them and discussed all that was someday to be done in the fields around to make this battlefield of historic interest to the public.

From there we went to the Saratoga Baths with General Hines of the Veterans Administration. He is interested in new facilities for cardiac patients and hopes to be able to use the wonderful development at Saratoga Springs during the months when it is scarcely used at all.

On the drive through Troy and Cohoes and several smaller towns, my husband had the opportunity of seeing some of his old friends.

Having Governor Lehman with us made the official part of the trip very pleasant. Since the Governor was attending a Parent-Teachers dinner, we parted at Loudonville and went to Mr. Earl Miller's house there for a purely social two hours. The President had not seen his house before and was interested in a glimpse of the inside, but he will have to go back again to see the outside, for it was dark when we reached it.

A few friends, who had been asked to meet the President, had been waiting for some time. I think they were forgiving and understood that on trips of this kind there are always more things to see than are anticipated. My husband left Albany for Washington about 9:00 and Miss Thompson and I returned to Hyde Park.

On the train, I was interested in reading an article by Morris Markey in October McCall's Magazine. It is called: "Let Freedom Ring." I am entirely in agreement with his idea that the way for us to help Europe is to help Europe's children and perhaps he is right that, in the future, it would be well for many of us to adopt, instead of taking in temporarily, these children from European countries.

However, I would qualify his plan a little and say that we must make the effort to take in children who have lost their parents and who, therefore, do not have to be torn away from them when we take them into our homes and offer to make them future American citizens.

We are off this morning for New York City.