ROOSEVELT ELECTED 57

cryptomerias, some of them said to be a thousand years old accord-
ing to their rings. These trees are of the sequoia family and are called
the " little brothers " of the California redwoods. They stand like
stalwart guardians of the temples, and the vista from some of the
long flights of moss-covered stone steps, with trickles of sunlight
falling through their shade on the vivid red and green and gold of
the temples, is a sight never to be forgotten.

VISIT TO A JAPANESE SILK FACTORY

November 2, 1932

This morning Alice, Elsie, and I, accompanied by Butts, our
Commercial Attach^, and his wife, drove to Omiya, an hour and a
quarter away, to see the Katakura silk factory. The visit had been
long arranged and they made much of it, the Mayor and Chief of
Police of Omiya and the high officials of the company, including
old Mr, Imai, the Vice-President, receiving us in state. We saw the
whole process including the development of the cocoons, the soaking
in hot water, the unwinding of the silk threads from the cocoons,
the weaving into skeins, and finally the packing in " books " for
shipment, 92 per cent, of all the silk in Japan going to the
United States. The unwinding from the cocoons was much the most
interesting procedure—long lines of machines where hundreds of
Japanese girls watch twenty separate machines at the same time,
the thread of five cocoons passing through one eye to form a single
strand, the thread itself being too fine for the naked eye to see—at
least for the untrained naked eye.

The girls have to dip their hands into water at 150 degrees
Fahrenheit to change the cocoons when they are finished or to mend
the thread when broken, and their poor fingers are pretty raw, but
they work so fast that the untutored spectator can't possibly follow
just what they are doing. There are loud-speakers in the work-
rooms and the girls are continually given concerts to make their
hard work pleasanter. While we were there the loud-speakers sud-
denly thundered out " The Star-Spangled Banner " in our honour;
of course we stopped in our tracks and stood at attention, but the
trouble was it must have been an enormous record because that
noble tune was played about three times in succession and I couldn't
move until it was over.

ROOSEVELT ELECTED

November 9, 1932

My own reaction to the results of the election are those of " watchful
waiting " because I have very little knowledge of Frank Roosevelt's
potential capabilities. Some men, when they get to the presidency,
acquire greatness, and Frank at least has the background. I know
very little of his grasp of foreign affairs, but he has a fine panel from