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

      

LOUISVILLE, Ky., Thursday—The other evening, in New York City, I attended a dinner for the New York Infirmary. It was a very distinguished gathering. They were particularly fortunate in getting Bernard M. Baruch to make a speech.

Among other things, he said that his father, whom he described as one of the wisest men he had ever known, had once told him that no man should become a doctor who was looking for any financial return. His reward should be entirely in the good he could do for other human beings. That is a pretty difficult standard to live up to in any age, and I think Mr. Baruch's doctor-father must have been a very fine man.

Mr. Baruch then proceeded to pay the ladies a very wonderful compliment by saying that he thought they would more nearly meet his father's requirements as doctors and, therefore, he believed in the work of the New York Infirmary, which is staffed entirely by women and gives them an opportunity for the best and highest training in the medical arts.

There was a time, many years ago, when this was the only institution in the city of New York where women could get this kind of training. But now they have won their way and they no longer have to face as many difficulties as they did in the past. However, they still have some limitations to overcome, so this institution still fills a great need.

* * *

The dinner launched a drive for $5,000,000 to build a new building, since the one in which the Infirmary is now located is very old and inadequate. We know that, in the medical profession, the latest tools are necessary to accomplish the best results, and doctors must be trained in the use of these tools.

I was interested to find that not only women but many men attended this dinner. Evidently the institution has gained recognition upon its merits and no longer has to appeal purely to the special interest of women in opportunities for other women.

Mrs. Frank Vanderlip, president of the Infirmary, who has been loyal to it for many years, made a delightful speech. And Miss Helen Hayes, the actress, did a really beautiful bit of reading in a dramatic monologue.

Having started my day very early in the morning and having been busy every minute all through the day, including having a number of visitors in the afternoon, each of whom had a particular interest which had to be talked over, I found myself somewhat weary at the end of the evening. I was very grateful, therefore, to be sent home in a kind gentleman's car. But even then, there were a couple of hours of work on the mail awaiting me before I could go to bed!

E. R.

(WORLD COPYRIGHT, 1946, BY UNITED FEATURE SYNDICATE, INC.; REPRODUCTION IN WHOLE OR PART PROHIBITED.)


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About this document

My Day by Eleanor Roosevelt, April 26, 1946

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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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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