HYDE PARK, Thursday—On
the morning before we left Campobello, Elliott and the children and I
went over to see a Mr. Vogl's fish-canning factory in Eastport, Maine. I knew
his sister when she first came to this country from Czechoslovakia, and she is
now helping him in his business. It seems curious to find a man from
Czechoslovakia canning fish in Maine, but he seems to be doing a very
intelligent job.
We saw the production
line where fish were being packed in the Norwegian way, the California way and
the Gloucester way! Upstairs, women were packing herring in the Maine way, and
the rapidity with which they worked took my breath away. It was all very clean
and efficient, and we found it most interesting.
* * *
Then we proceeded to
visit Quoddy Village, which I had not seen since the National Youth
Administration days. The Navy has left a number of fine buildings, and there
are, of course, various proposals for the way in which these should now be
used.
Some people in Eastport
told me that Sen. Owen Brewster is backing a plan, in which a Mr. Cohen is
interested, to train displaced persons in assembling farm machinery, light
trucks and tractors, and then to send these people with the machinery to South
American countries. I understand the city of Eastport would have to sponsor the
project, and it seems to me it would be a rather difficult one to put through
successfully.
They told me of another
proposal in connection with displaced persons who are students in medicine.
This would be in connection with an established university and seems to me
perhaps a little easier to handle. But I did not feel that enough information
was available for an outsider to have any opinion on these projects.
* * *
Because of having been
so far away, I have only just heard some very sad news. The death of Dr.
Harriet Elliott came as a shock to me, even though she had been ill for
some time. She will be remembered for her work in the University of North
Carolina and, during the war, in the Government in various capacities.
I think no one who
worked with her could fail to have the greatest respect for her ability as well
as for selflessness. She was never trying to gain personal distinction, she was
always trying to do a good job. I have never heard anything but praise from her
associates, either in North Carolina or in Washington.
I did not have the good
fortune to know her very well but no one could fail to sense her quality. I
realize that a life of invalidism is something that no one of her caliber would
want. But I wish she could have regained her health and lived longer to help
with the things that are so important now, and to give her friends the joy of
her presence.
I have not mentioned,
either, the death of T. Arnold Hill of the National Urban League. He is a great
loss, since men such as he, who have a calm and disinterested outlook and are
willing to give of themselves for the good of all people, are rare to find. He
had a full life and accomplished more than most people can hope to achieve. His
passing will be deeply felt not only by his family and friends, but by the work
which he carried on so well.
E.R.
(WORLD COPYRIGHT, 1947, BY UNITED FEATURE
SYNDICATE, INC.; REPRODUCTION IN WHOLE OR PART PROHIBITED.)
Eleanor Roosevelt, "My Day, August 15, 1947," The Eleanor Roosevelt Papers Digital
Edition (2017), accessed 10/21/2017,
https://www2.gwu.edu/~erpapers/myday/displaydoc.cfm?_y=1947&_f=md000732.
-=-=
No comments:
Post a Comment