WASHINGTON, Friday—Yesterday morning I slipped over to New York City for a few brief hours. I did not do anything special, but had a look at my apartment and saw one or two friends. We had some good talks and one came back on the train with me, so I had a very pleasant day. It is wonderful what a lift to one's spirit it is to spend a few hours with people with whom one is happy to be. I felt enormously repaid for the hours spent on the train, because I was able to read so many things which otherwise might have stayed for a long time unread on my desk.

I want to speak particularly of a little booklet called "War Jobs For Women," which the Office of War Information is getting out. I read it through yesterday and found the information very well put together.

The pictures of Puerto Rico, which accompany Martha Gellhorn's magazine article, which I have just read, took me back to my own visit to that rather overpopulated island, which is at present the subject of some controversy. She told me she felt that Governor Tugwell was doing a remarkably good piece of work for the island, but perhaps his plans were not so acceptable to certain people with vested interests of different kinds there.

I hope Governor Tugwell will be able to give Puerto Rico a program which will last over a long enough period, so that we shall be able to tell what its effects are before something new is tried.

This morning I made a round of visits, calling on Secretary Stimson and General Arnold. They sent an officer to show me my way around in the new Pentagon Building, which was certainly an interesting place to visit for the first time. It is much more convenient since all the offices are under one roof, but I think until one gets really to know it well, one might walk several miles before finding the right office. Secretary Knox came to see me at noon and I was happy to tell him of our visit to Londonderry.

A few friends came to lunch and I have been working on tonight's broadcast the whole afternoon, which I hope will give some information to the women of the country who want to hear about their boys in Great Britain. Of course, many of those boys have moved on and will move on to new scenes, but their spirit will be the same no matter where they go. I have a feeling that even if the natives in Africa can't understand their words, they will understand their deeds, and those deeds will be kindly.