(5 of 5)
Sunday was an unusually quiet day for Mrs. Roosevelt—friends for lunch and supper, then the night train for New York, where she attended an Iturbi concert.
Such a routine would soon put many an ordinary woman in a sanitarium. Mrs. Roosevelt is no ordinary woman. Her supply of vitality is apparently inexhaustible, corresponding with the tireless energy of her husband's mind since his affliction. Even Mrs. Roosevelt admits, however, that "the job of being a homekeeper, a wife and a mother plus some other job is quite a job."
"It's Up to the Women" It is only natural that anyone who circulates as fast as Eleanor Roosevelt and sounds off so often on so many subjects should not consistently display Minervan wit & wisdom. Fortnight ago she published a book, It's Up to the Women.* Her theme is characteristic: "We are going through a great crisis in this country. . . . The women have a big part to play if we are coming through successfully. . . . Many of us are afraid because we have lost pleasant things which we have always had, but the women who came over in the Mayflower did not have them, . . . No chain is stronger than its weakest link and it is well for the women . . . to realize that the time has come when drones are no longer tolerated."
In her 264 pages indefatigable Mrs. Roosevelt has spread her talent very thin. It is not half so rich and keen a book as her cousin Alice's, published simultaneously (TIME, Nov. 6). Nevertheless, the volume and catholicity of subjects Eleanor Roosevelt touches on—from preparing stuffed eggs to the NRA—proves her once more a lady of illimitable interests. Excerpts :
"For every normal human being, fresh air is essential."
"People who do not sleep should not worry about it. They should lie there and rest and think about pleasant things."
"Fear is a bad thing at all times and should be eliminated from our lives as much as possible."
"The modern grandmother cannot be the old-fashioned grandmother, but she can contribute much to the world of today."
"The civilization of Rome came to an end because individual citizens lost faith in each other. . . ."
"I cannot lay claim to more than the usual ordinary individual's education or culture but I have had opportunities for mixing with a great many people in a great many parts of the world and no one can do this without being forced to think out a certain philosophy of living."
* Stokes,$1.25.