Ruth’s Diary

(37 kilos which we did in 3 hours, including 2 stops We bought our lunch on the outskirts of Geneva & ate it in one of Geneva’s many public parks. Then we rode down into the city & to the hostel. The hostel is a part of a social center which takes care of needy girls. We must have looked especially so because we were cordially received. As usual, the hostel was on a hill in the Tour St. Pierre – a very old & lovely cathedral. Then in addition our rooms were up under the eaves a winding, circular stair that made us dizzy every time we went up or came down. After our usual procedure of washing to changing into wrinkled playsuits we started out to “do” the city. Florence went to the Musee de Grade to see the Spanish & French art then on exhibit. Dot, Helen, & I headed for the Am. Express to find out the best things to do & see in Geneva. We landed just as a tour of the city was starting so we filled the last seats of the bus. We were fortunate for it was a very good trip. We saw the old Geneva – the old residential section, the three walls remains from the Roman period when Switzerland managed to keep its freedom – the church where Knox preached, the center of Calvin’s preaching. We saw Mont Blanc – & the junction of the two rivers the Arn & the Rhone. The Rhone, a lovely blue, the Arn muddy & brown. So much silt is washed down that cement factories have been constructed along its banks to make commercial use of this gravel. The tour ended up with the new palace of the League of Nations. We had an American guide for an unusually large group of Americans. Many of the materials of the building have been donated. In the Assembly Hall there was granite from Finland & marble from Italy. The other floors of the building are mainly a contribution of the Dutch – a composition of rubber which takes a very high polish. In the Assembly the countries’ representatives are seated alphabetically, each country having 1-3 members. The secretaries sit in little tiers on either side of the room, higher is the press gallery & still higher the diplomatic gallery for those countries interested in the work of the Assembly. The U.S. sits there. An interesting feature of this room was the equipment for translating the speeches being given, a gift of Wm. Filene of Boston – each seat is equipped with dial so that if one does not understand the language in which a speech is given he may dial to any language he wishes. Translators sit in little booths & broadcast the language. There (sic) were also beautiful paintings in the room which were donated by France, the main theme of which was “Peace as a protectress of labor & equality among nations”. We were then taken into some of the committee rooms, all done differently but all equally lovely. All had indirect lighting – & air conditioned. The Library of the League is a gift of J. D. Rockerfeller, Jr. There are some 290,000 volumes, & increasing yearly at the rate of 20 or 30 thousand. In the lobby were the works of an English sculptor. The climax was the Council Room for public sessions. There are 14 members on the council, the 3 permanent are Eng., France, & Russia. Then there are 11 other nations represented for 3 year periods. Rather ironical were the panels given by the old Spanish Republic: Jose (But) did the murals (sic). The mural on the ceiling shows perfect perspective. At the end of the tour we were shown a short movie showing what the League was attempting to do in the prevention of disease & how war interrupted this work, and the work that was still being done in China under the greatest obstacles. At the end of the tour we went back to the house for supper. After supper we went down by the lake. While we were standing there a man in uniform came up & gave us free tickets to the concert. We went in & heard selections from Beethoven & others whose names were not familiar to me. We went over to the cafe in the park & ordered “glace” (sic) – it really was fun – listening to Beethoven, eating Swiss ice cream in a little cafe by Lac Leman with the lights of the city all around. We did not wait to hear the end as the rule of the hostel is to be in at 10 P. M.