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

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WASHINGTON, Sunday—Friday noon, I walked out on the steps of the Treasury Building and was delighted with the group of fine looking young people who made up a most colorful picture below and around us. There were gay costumes, signs of every kind and very excellent singing before the speeches began. This display was to mark the participation of the schools in the war savings effort, but theirs was not just a participation in saving in order to be able to buy War Stamps. They were particpating in every way where their training could eventually be of service in the war.

The Mayor of Philadelphia presented the Secretary of the Treasury one of the bricks from Independence Hall. This, a national magazine, with the aid of a Phil adelphia committee, has been instrumental in salvaging while repair work is being done to that historic building.

Such bricks will now be given to the various schools in recognition of their war programs. No one who saw the interested faces of the young people yesterday, can doubt that they were keenly alive to the responsibilities of future activity in war or in peace.

In the evening I attended a rally held by the District Chapter of the American Red Cross to recruit nurses' aides. One of their most charming and recent recruits, Miss Joan Fontaine, flew all the way from Hollywoodto speak. I feel sure she succeeded in making a great impression on all those present because of her charm and evident sincerity. She told me an interesting thing, that she always works harder on a volunteer job than on her paid job and I hope that psychology functions with us all.

Unfortunately, many people feel that volunteers are not always to be relied on. For that reason, those who come into these services first have to prove themselves as capable of doing a professional job.

Mrs. Harry Hopkins is such an ardent nurses' aide worker and so faithful to her jobthat she has more than 300 hours to her credit already and can do certain types of work which newcomers are not permitted to undertake. I thought she and Miss Fontaine made a very pretty picture as they stood together last night.

Yesterday I spent a good part of the day visiting the Ordnance Replacement Training Center at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland. Dr. John Studebaker, Commissioner of the United States Office of Education, asked me to accompany him. I have so many impressions from the trip that I am going to devote tomorrow's column to telling you more about it.

On my return, an old friend, Mr. Louis Ruppel, came in to see me. At 5:00 o'clock, I went to the National Women's Democratic Club to speak for Democratic Women's Day.

E.R.

(COPYRIGHT, 1942, BY UNITED FEATURE SYNDICATE, INC.)


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About this document

My Day by Eleanor Roosevelt, September 28, 1942

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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Digital edition published 2008, 2017 by
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Available under licence from the Estate of Anna Eleanor Roosevelt.

Published with permission from the Estate of Anna Eleanor Roosevelt.

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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