December 15th, 1913.
My dear Miss Addams: --
I was very very sorry to have missed seeing you when you were here ten day ago. I had understood that you were to be at a meeting in the Progressive Headquarters that day, and when the meeting took place I found you had not been able to get there, but I saw by the newspapers the next day that you got there after all. There are a number of things I have wanted for some time to talk to you about, and I sincerely trust that the next time you are in New York you will let me know so that I may give myself the pleasure of calling on you.
I am writing now to especially bring to your attention the necessity of our having here in New York on Lincoln's birthday, Feb. 12th, a dinner similar to the one we had last year and of our having you as one of the speakers. I know they want very much to have you go to Kansas to the dinner they are having there. Mr. White has written me about this and urged me very strongly to come to that dinner. From what I know of the several dinners that are being organized in other states, I think that the movement for Lincoln Day dinners is in good shape everywhere, except possibly here, where we are naturally going to have difficulty in securing speakers that will enable us to have a dinner of the size and importance that we had here last year. Col. Roosevelt being away, of course robs us of our star speaker, but I feel we must have the dinner, and my thought is to go ahead and have it, provided we can get you to come from Chicago and Mr. John M. Parker to come from New Orleans. If you are considering or have accepted any other invitation for February 12th, possibly, if agreeable to you, we could adjust that with the people in question. There is no doubt but what the Progressive wave, so-called, has struck New York. The extraordinary reversal and the position taken by our Legislature here in the primaries, the Massachusetts ballot and especially the compensation act, clearly shows this, and we must do everything in our power to take advantage of the situation that is properly ours.
Will you be so good as to very seriously consider the suggestion about the February 12th dinner here and accept if you possibly can? It will mean a very great deal to us down here at this time.
Sincerely yours,
Geo. W. Perkins [signed]
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