NEUTRAL CONFERENCE FOR CONTINUOUS MEDIATION
May 11th, 1916.
My dear Miss Addams,
Miss Balch tell me that she is writing a long and explicit letter to you. She will no doubt be able to give you a much better summing up of conditions here than I can, for I have been in the thick of it so long that I have probably lost the perspective somewhat.
The wonder to me is that we are moving on in spite of the tremendous odds against us. At first it was the newspaper riff-raff that followed us throughout the Expedition; and then it was the unfortunate [controversy] with Madame Schwimmer. Now the danger is the policy of penuriousness and of a lack of distinction between questions of pure business administration and of the policy of the Conference. There has been many a difficulty arising because of this mixing up of two distinct things. It is awfully hard to lay that before Mr. Ford in a letter, and there is nothing that I would welcome more than an invitation from him to come back for a while to report to him in person, and to lay before him those vexing little things that, taken one by one, are really insignificant, but that, when occurring again and again make for waste of energy and for lack of efficiency. I am coming back again and again to my original conclusion that it is not right for Mr. Ford to place all responsibility in the hands of one person. It is a world job to stop a world war, and no person is big enough to understand the various [page 2] ramifications of the problem. Rosika Schwimmer did the best she could in her day; I did the best I could when I shared responsibility with her; now Mr. Holt is doing the best he can as he sees the problem. But I still maintain that the system is a wrong one. Mr. Holt's health is becoming undermined, and I can only have the feeling of pity for him.
You have no idea how people here are wondering why you, Mr. Ford and Mr. Bryan are not coming. It is an easy thing to explain your case, and our explanation is always accepted; it is not so easy to explain the case of Mr. Bryan and Mr. Ford. They ought to be here at least for a while, no matter what the cost to them. Only this morning I received a letter from Romain Rolland in which he declared that he is losing faith in our whole movement because the "illustrious persons" above named are not coming.
Our Appeal to the Belligerents is certainly "starting something." It has been republished in practically all the belligerent countries, though I am not so certain about France. I have, however, seen it in a number of French-Swiss papers, which papers I understand regularly go into France.
We all here feel very sorry about the fate of Mr. Kliefoth. He came here with the best of intentions, only to find himself out of a job because Mr. Liebold cabled that Mr. Kliefoth is not to be engaged by Mr. Holt. I understand from Miss Balch that Mrs. Thomas is rather prejudiced against Mr. Kliefoth. Whatever the grounds may be upon which she bases her distrust, I, for one, firmly believe that it must be due to a misunderstanding. [page 3]
I do hope that your health is sufficiently improved so that you can come over soon. Miss Balch has been a tower of strength to us, but we feel that there ought to be more like her. Your coming would be the greatest boon that could possibly come to our Conference. You have been with this idea of neutral mediation from the start; you had the courage to make the pilgrimage throughout Europe when everybody else scoffed; you first stated that the approach to the European situation must be made not in a governmental way, but by a number of humble, private citizens. These are but a few of the reasons why I am so tremendously anxious that you should come soon.
It is sometimes extremely hard to understand the ways of Providence -- why you should be stricken down just at this time of all times, when the greatest possible work seems cut out for you, it is hard for me to understand.
My family is here and is cheering me up whenever I am not as hopeful as I ought to be. They all send their love and affection, as, of course, I also do.
With warmest regards and in the fond hope that your health is constantly improving, I am,
Most cordially yours,
Louis P. Lochner [signed]
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