MRS. ROOSEVELT'S DIARY

Evening Post, Volume CXXXVI, Issue 64, 13 September 1943, Page 4

MRS. ROOSEVELT'S DIARY

Sydney, September 9. —Nine-fifteen yesterday morning saw us depart for Victoria Barracks, which is a building of much charm, showing' the influence in its architecture of the French prisoners who built it. I reviewed a group composed almost entirely of men returned from the Middle East, congratulated the band on playing the Star Spangled Banner as well as it could have been played at home, and then met on the lawn groups of women belonging to all the auxiliary military services, We had tea afterwards, which is apparently one of the pleasant customs here, one may have mid-mOrning tea as well as mid-afternoon tea. Then we proceeded to a very big American hospital. ( It was a long drive, we did some inspecting, lunched with the patients, and I was interested in talking to the three boys opposite to me. They had all been wounded in New Guinea and had been among General Eichelberger's troops there, so the boys asked him for information . about their friends, and he seemed much pleased to talk with them. I took the names of those within reach and their home addresses and will hope to write their families on my return. It will be nice to be able to say that all are doing well and some are coming home. I talked to some boys in, the recreation hall and later, in the wards. One man had a collection of souvenirs he was sending home to his mother and I had to hand over a pin and the general was asked for one of his stars, which, strange to say, he could not part with. From there we drove to an Australian hospital which had taken in .our first wounded when they arrived here from Bataan. The matron in charge and the nurses had been very kind to our boys and I was glad of the opportunity to thank them. They have a very nice library in connection with their military hospitals which is better arranged for reading than ours generally are. Their Red Cross craft shop and programme is much better, developed than any which I have yet seen in our

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hospitals, but I gathered that the doctors were more interested in it than some of our military. doctors seem to be. Of course one has to remember that the Australian hospitals are permanent whereas ours are built for the duration only. In the course of the afternoon we visited the Zoo so that I might not leave here without seeing some of their prize animals, such as the kangaroo, who hopped about obligingly for us, the little bear who is quite a pet, they tell me, but whose claws seemed to me a menace to my uniform, and some beautiful birds. Our last stop was at a Red Cross blood bank centre, where they keep a list of donors oft whom they call every three months. They tell me that women were among their most reliable donors, coming in whenever sent for. Some people have given as much as twelve times. So much is being sent north now that even though they have forty thousand people registered they are now looking for more. Dinner was at Government House, and it was a pleasant evening for me as I found both his Excellency and the Premier c-f New South Wales were interested in soil erosion and conservation, which have been among my husband's chief interests for a long time. It may be that in this country they are aware of the danger of wasting their land before it is too late. Like all pioneer countries I think they have been inclined to take out more than they put in, which is never a practice you can pursue for long. Incidentally, one of the' amusing sights here is the cars which carry enormous bags of gas covering the whole top of the car. It seems to work, however. I had a little sidelight on transportation difficulties when I was told that the flying doctors were now often used as an emergency shopping service as well, A woman in a lonely spot, may call the flying doctor for a sick child, but she may add, "Would you dome a favour and bring along a pound of sausage? —ELEANOR ROOSEVELT.