The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1941-07-04

Eleanor Roosevelt

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INDIAN AFFAIRS
= asked Mr.. John Collier, Of the
Office of Indian affairs, to come in
to tell me something about the Nav
ajo situation.
1t appears that the land on the
reservation, in 81 years, has COM
pletely changed because of over
grazing. What was once meadow
land with plenty Of water and beau
tiful grass, is now practically des-
ert. The wooded slopes have dis
appeared, floods wash away the top
soil and the grass no longer exists.
It is quite evident that, in order to
bring it back, there must be dras-
tic curtailment Of cattle, wild
horses, goats and sheep.
This means that people, whose
average cash income is only about
$l20 year, must either 60 on re-
lief, which they want at all costs to
avoid, or starve to death. The only
other solution seems to be the posi-
bility of carrying through an irriga-
ton project which will allow them
to irrigate enough land so they can
raise crops to feed their cattle at
certain times, and also to grow some
cash crop if the difficulty of trans
portation can be overcome.
The decision on the irrigation is,
of course, up to congress. AT the
present time, I can quite under
stand the argument against putting
money into anything which can be
set aside to be done when the defense
period is over. Still, if congress de-
cides that this is necessary, it seems
to me that they have joint re-
sponsibility with the Office of Indian
affairs to devise some means by
which these naturally independent
American citizens can earn their
living and not feel dependent upon
the government for a chance mere
ly to survive.
AMUSING LUNCH
We had an amusing lunch one
day. DR.. Floyd Reeves and Mr..
Mark McCloskey were our only
guests. We sat on the south portico
looking across the White House lawn
to the Jefferson Memorial. In pass
ing, I should like to say that ! hope
in time the cleaning white dome OF
that memorial will weather to lit
tie softer color.
At a little before six o'clock,
Prince Bernhard and Princess Ju-
Llama arrived. He is as friendly
and simple as she proved to be when
she came on her first visit. met
them on the front portico and took
them up to the Presidents study,
where the President was waiting for
them.
We had small dinner and movie
in the evening. The President had
given me strict instructions that I
was not to put over anything educa-
tional on them, that it was to be an
evening of entertainment! In other
words, he did not want me to use
the occasion to show any of the
government films. Therefore, our
dinner guests are none the wiser as
to our farm security program, our
soil conservation work, the CCC, or
any of the things which they might
otherwise have seen!
When our dinner guests had left,
the President sat and talked to our
two young royal guests on European
conditions until late in the night.
It was a joyful surprise just be-
fore dinner to get word from Boiling
field that Elliott had flown in from
one of our outpost camps now being
built. He telephoned his wife and
made the distressing discovery that
his small son had had an accident
to his eye.
Elliott told me something about
this camp on which these regular
army boys are working Is hours a
day to transform it into an airfield.
The weather has been very trying
and the boys who came up from
Miami are finding it very difficult to
adjust to it. Even letters take q
long while to get there. Elliott
says it is easy to think you have
been forgotten by your family and
friends as well as your government.
TO NEW ENGLAND
We spent one night in cabins jus,
beyond Portsmouth, N. H., bypass.
Several detours, roads in the proc
ess of being mended, heavy traffic
in and around Boston, and occa-
sional showers of rain, made our
trip really longer than it should have
been.
1t is a lovely drive though, along
winding Connecticut roads with
many glimpses of small lakes and
running brooks. Finally, when we
were nearing Newburyport, I had
my first good smell of the sea, which
is always exhilarating.
I thought we would spend the
night in Portsmouth at the old Rock.
ingham hotel. My first surprise
however, was to find myself on the
bypass, which I do not remember
having seen before. 1t is good
many years since have taken this
drive and it may not have been II