The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1942-10-16

Eleanor Roosevelt

FAMILY IN TEXAS
left Washington one morning by
plane, after delay Of several hours
on account of the weather, and took
q rather roundabout and leisurely
trip to Fort Worth, Texas. We were
held up at different places along the
way for various reasons.
Finally, we came into Fort Worth
at about 1890 at night. To my COM
plete surprise, Ruth, Chandler and
Elliott Jr. were waiting for me at
the gate of the airport. Elliott Jr.
is six years old and I do not think
he has ever been up quite so late
before. Ruth said that while they
were waiting for us they had eaten
ice cream, pop corn and consumed
many soft drinks.
It was almost party as we drove
out to the ranch. Elliott Jr. was
sound asleep before we got there.
Chandler, aged eight, rested her
head on the back of the seat and
looked quite ready for bed.
RANCH ON THE PRAIRIE
Their house is on a hill overlook
ing a brook. along which many trees
grow. In every direction, miles and
miles of rolling prairie stretch
away. If you arrive at night,
shadowy forms of cattle rise up
along the road as you drive in and
the lights from the house send forth
their welcome.
There is quality of soft haziness
in the autumn atmosphere here and
a fascination in the breadth Of view
on every side. Ruth and Elliott
have made it a comfortable and
homelike home. The green lawn
and flowers Immediately around it
speak of infinite care and attention
during the summer months. Every
thing in the house is an expression
of their personal interests.
Books. pictures, prints, beautiful
Mexican saddles. carefully chosen
pieces of furniture and silver (Which
even the children have been taught
to appreciate and enjoy) make an
environment which is part of the
family and an expression of their
growth and development. Every
where Elliott has been, even during
the war period, his heart has been
in the home he left behind, and from
each place he has managed to send
back something.
For instance, the summer spent
flying with the army in Iceland,
Greeland, and Newfoundland has
produced little white bear rugs,
which are in front of Chambers bed
and scattered through the house.
There are things from Africa and
from the West. In fact, wherever
individual members of the family
have gone, whether together or
apart, their roots have been here.
The homing instinct is strong in all
of them.
One morning, Chandler and FL
lott Jr. showed me the new colt and
rode around on their own horses.
All of them exhibit the baby brother,
David, as the first and prize package
IN which they have the greatest
pride. David's major achievement
is to stand in his pen and shake the
sides back and forth.
EDUCATION BEFORE
INDUCTION
II wonder how many people realize
what it costs to teach someone
things he should have learned
in school, after he has come into the
army? DR.. Studebaker feels that
even now this adult education should
be done in the home communities.
There are some $40 men in Aber-
deem, Md, training center, who are
going to school. Ordnance work re-
quires an ability to read. because as
one officer said, If you can't read
the marks on the ammunition boxes
and you get the wrong ammunition.
it is Just the same as having none.
To be sure, certain number Of
these, troops, going to school, are
colored men from the deep South,
but there are also a considerable
Number of white men who are learn
ing what they should have learned in
the primary grades-how to read
and write, add and subtract.
Occasionally. the difficulty lies in
the fact that a man is a foreigner
and does not speak English, or at
least did act 60 to school in this coun-
try. One young man. with whom i
talked, was born in Pennsylvania,
another in New Jersey. The first
boys parents died when he was
eight, and then he went to work in
the mines and has taken care OF
himself ever since, with the result
that he has had four months OF
school in his life.
One man with grazing hair, who
told me he was "A years old, was
laboriohsly picking out letters from
a pile in front of him to spell the
word "dog." The group Of officers
teaching these men are really quite
extraordinary. They have developed
alremarkable system of visual aids.
Many of them have had teaching ex.