April 14, 1939
“WASHINGTON, Thursday—Yesterday afternoon I received the new Ambassador from Brazil and his wife, and the new Ambassador from Venezuela and his wife. As we sat and talked, I suddenly realized how much all our minds run in the same direction these days. For, before very long, we were talking of the situation in Europe. I discovered that anxiety was felt by us all for friends and, in some cases, even for families in the various countries which today seem to be under a constant cloud of apprehension.
Here, in America, so many miles away, the clouds which hang over other countries are felt and, more and more, the thought seems to come home to us that we are fortunate to live in the Americas. I suppose, however, that no matter where you live or under what conditions, you carry on your daily tasks and adjust yourself to whatever circumstances you may have to meet. Probably this is why human beings survive all kinds of situations. Impossible as it seems today that one could ever survive and adjust to certain things, one will find oneself doing so tomorrow and almost forgetting that other conditions ever prevailed…”