My dear Miss Addams,
I regret that a speaking engagement will require me to return after the dinner on Dec. 7th so that I can not attend to anything after that unless we could hold a brief executive session before my train leaves.
I have not yet heard whether Mr. Angell can speak but I understand that Mr. Lynch can. I am sorry that we did not have more time to formulate our two statements. I feel that the Italian disaster is making every one more determined that we must beat Germany and I question whether now is the time to say that "we long for an assurance that American soldiers will not be permitted to fight for the territorial ambitions of other nations with whom we are cooperating". I did not like this sentence when we accepted it, but the time was pressing and we had to go over again Mrs. Spencer's statements and I did not want to delay matters. I have been talking it over with one of our best informed and valued members and I find her alarmed that we should say such a thing now. I do not feel as strongly as she, but I think that just at this juncture we could accomplish nothing by saying this and should be [criticized]. How does it seem to you?
[written on left margin of first page] ↑I am very sorry indeed to lose dear Mrs. Thomas whom I love and admire greatly but I suppose [you] agree with me that she does right to resign.↓
I wrote Mrs. Karsten about delay in sending out our longer statement until our board could read it over and study it as we could not in hearing it read aloud. It would have been disastrous to send it out as at first written, beautiful as it was. I am not sure that in our hasty oral corrections we said [page 2] everything exactly as we wanted to and although this prevents its going out with the notice of the meeting and involves more postage, I thought it was worth it.
Mrs. Forbes is greatly stirred [over] "[Four Lights]" and its tribute to La Follette etc. I do not know how long she will feel that she can remain if the New York branch is to gain any more influence and seem to represent us. I confess I have considerable apprehension as to what will happen when we discuss on our second day of the annual meeting.
I suppose either you or I should make some statement about Mrs. Thomas and her resignation which I suppose it is a [foregone] conclusion we shall accept at our executive session on the 5th of December. I wish very much that you would say what you think proper. I wonder if it would not be well to say that she offered her resignation last summer and that you asked her to wait until our board met. That relieves her of any criticism for remaining with her name on our letter head as Executive Secretary after she went on the Ec. board of the People's Council. I have heard this criticism. I think that either you or I might say something that would make it plain that at this time it would be better not to seem to have interlocking directorates, and thus give a hint to the New York branch.
Personally I should not object to Miss Eastman on our board, but I think it would be very wrong for her to accept a nomination when she is so conspicuous in more radical organizations. Let us allow three hours for our next executive meeting. I want to read part of my secretary's report to make sure that you all approve. It is difficult to say the right word just now and I should like to know just what ground you will cover in your remarks, so that I can govern myself accordingly.
If Mrs. Thomas is not to be an officer, perhaps she should not do as I suggested to her and help about the taking credentials etc. What do you think of asking Mrs. Taussig to do this? This would make Mrs. T. less [conspicuous] to reporters and not seem to be an officer. Ordinarily these small matters would be of no account, but one never knows now how quickly one ↑may get into trouble [through] suspicious reporters.↓
Yours cordially, Lucia Ames Mead. [signed]
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