Evening star., 1942-04-06
Mrs. Roosevelt Urges
Dormitories Here for
Soldiers on Leave
Expects Action to Be
Token Soon; Defends
N. Y. A. Training Program

Mrs. Roosevelt predicted today
that enlisted men visiting Washing
ton soon will be housed in some type
of permanent quarters here.
She told her press conference that
she had heard about the difficulties
soldiers have faced in finding a
place to stay on weekend leave and
said she thought that some arrange
rnent like the dormitories being con-
sidered for woman defense workers
would be made for soldiers. She
indicated she believes some action
will be taken soon.
On the question of dormitories for
women, she said she thought they
probably we're good thing If they
were not too substantially built to
be torn down at the end of the war.
The main requirements for the dor
mitories, she said. should be that
they were clean, not too fexpensive
and near work. 'r
Defends N. Y. A. Training.
In the face of Congressional
threats to eliminate the National
Youth Administration, Mrs. Roose-
velt strongly defended the contribu-
tion N. Y. A. is making to the
training of defense workers on the
basis that all-around training that
workers received in N. Y. A. shops
would stand them in good stead
when they went job-hunting.
Asked about the equipment which
some N Y. A. critics have said was
not being adequately used and might
be more necessary in war plants,
Mrs. Roosevelt said that the War
Production Board could take out
any specific machinery that was
needed elsewhere, but if all the
machinery was taken out there
might be no place for it.
She said she was sorry to hear Of
the trend toward ending N. Y. A.
assistance to college students. She
suggested that the lists of students
receiving aid could be reviewed so
that the only remaining ones to re-
ceive aid were students ranking high
in their class who could not con-
tinue college without N. Y. A. as
sistance and had prospects of being
valuable to their country.
Mrs. Roosevelt also predicted that
the Woman's Land Army would be
needed this summer and said she
favored the plan of the Employ
ment Service placing workers who
will be employed at the current
wage and permitting them to be
sent where they are needed most.
White House Garden.
The White House, she disclosed,
has a victory garden of its own
under discussion. Some of the
grounds, she pointed out, have been
torn up by construction work and
it wouldn't hurt the sod to plant
few vegetables for the White House
table.
The Presidents wife got first
hand view of crowded Washington
when she emerged from Union Sta
tion today, she said. In the first
place, she alighted on. the wrong
side of the train through the mis-
guided efforts of the train porter.
Since there was not a station porter
in sight, Mrs. Roosevelt said, she
went in search of one, finally located
him and sent him back to get her
bags and the White House footman,
who was patiently waiting on the
right side of the train.
After waiting Is minutes with the
firm conviction that the porter, bags
and footman all we're lost, the White
House party was reorganized and
Mrs. Roosevelt left the station only
to discover large crowds and few
taxis.
She found two soldiers going to
the War College, decided that was
little out of the way, decided to
offer lift to several men she knew
who were going her way, and the
party left the station in the White
House car.