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

[Original version of the column. Text in red are tagged with <sic> (needs correction); text in purple are tagged with <orig> (needs regularization); and text in blue are tagged names of persons or organizations. View emended version]

      

NEW YORK, Thursday—This column is a report to all those who so kindly responded to the plea of the French missionary, Father Jean Delmer, for a church bell to call his congregation to prayer at his mission in Tanganyika, East Africa. I had hoped to be able to give you, at this time, word from the good Father himself of the arrival of the bell in Tanganyika. However, that will have to come later. Meanwhile, I think you would be interested in a letter sent to him by J. Austin Smith, president of the company that obtained the bell, so that you will know what your contributions have accomplished.

"Dear Father Delmar: I am happy to tell you that, 'The Bell for Tanganyika' has been shipped aboard the steamship Richard Rush and is expected to reach the port of Dar-Es-Salaam in about one month.

"I am enclosing herewith the necessary documents which will enable you to claim and to take possession of your bell. The freight charges have been prepaid so that you will have no costs to pay. It is not believed that your bell will be assessable as to any import duty because it is a gift and not a purchase. As a further reason for duty exemption, the bell is not a new one. It is an old bell with many valuable associations, but its value lies more in those intangible associations than in money value....

“I wish to thank you for the pleasure and the joy all of us have had in being privileged to be of some service to you.”

* * *

The other evening, some of the members of our Human Rights Commission drafting committee, with their wives, gathered in my little apartment and listened to music which gave us all a great deal of pleasure. Miss Angela Brama, who has been featured on several radio programs, sang some delightful songs and has a really beautiful voice. Miss Brama comes from Detroit and is studying in New York with Mme. Queena Mario, former Metropolitan star. She has a contract to sing a role in "Traviata" for some recordings soon to be made by Toscanini.

* * *

Someone has sent me an amusing clipping in which I am taken to task for the fact that nowadays I am so constantly in one place, and that my column no longer describes far-distant spots. I would remind this critic that the war has come to an end and many people are glad of it! One of the main reasons for my travelling abroad during the war was in order to see our service men who, unfortunately, had to travel willy-nilly to far-distant places. And before that, I traveled within this country in connection with the depression. But I always have loved being at home, and I find that I have an increasing appreciation of the interests surrounding one's own home.

E.R.

(WORLD COPYRIGHT, 1947, BY UNITED FEATURE SYNDICATE, INC.; REPRODUCTION IN WHOLE OR PART PROHIBITED.)


Names and Terms Mentioned or Referenced

Persons
  • Brama, Angela [ index ]
         American singer
  • Delemer, Jean (Catholic missionary priest) [ index ]
         French Catholic missionary
  • Mario, Queena, 1896-1951 [ index ]
         American opera singer, voice teacher, and fiction writer
         [ LC | VIAF ]
  • Smith, J. Austin (manufacturer) [ index ]
         American industrialist; President of Liberty Carillons, Inc.
  • Toscanini, Arturo, 1867-1957 [ index ]
         Italian conductor
         [ LC | VIAF | Wikidata | SNAC ]
Organizations
Geographic
  • New York (N.Y., United States) [ index ]
Other Terms and Topics
  • Great Depression
  • Travel
         [ LC | FAST ]
  • World War (1939-1945)
         [ LC | Wikidata | FAST ]


About this document

My Day by Eleanor Roosevelt, June 20, 1947

Roosevelt, Eleanor, 1884-1962
[ ERPP bio | LC | VIAF | WorldCat | DPLA | Wikidata | SNAC ]

Digital edition created by The Eleanor Roosevelt Papers Project The George Washington University 312 Academic Building 2100 Foxhall Road, NW Washington, DC 20007

  • Brick, Christopher (Editor)
    [ VIAF | ORCID ]
  • Regenhardt, Christy (Associate Editor)
    [ ISNI ]
  • Black, Allida M. (Editor)
    [ VIAF | ISNI ]
  • Binker, Mary Jo (Associate Editor)
    [ VIAF | ORCID ]
  • Alhambra, Christopher C. (Electronic Text Editor)
    [ VIAF | ORCID ]

Digital edition published 2008, 2017 by
The Eleanor Roosevelt Papers Project

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.

XML master last modified on: May 2, 2022.

HTML version generated and published on: May 3, 2022.

Transcription created from a photocopy of a UFS wire copy of a My Day column instance archived at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library.
TMs, AERP, FDRL