International Committee of Women for Permanent Peace
October 30th, 1918
↑Dear Miss Balch↓
Do you not think the Committee of Five ought to call the thirty-five together within the next few weeks? Of course, we can have nothing to do with the International Conference arranging for the armistice but it is conceivable that the Peace Conference will follow very quickly after the armistice has been arranged for.
The majority of the board of the W.P.P., as you know, decided to hold a board meeting in Boston on the third of December. Shall we hold the meeting of the thirty-five on the day after that or shall we hold it in New York the last week in November, say Sunday, November twenty-fourth, in order to avoid Thanksgiving Day. On the contrary it might be possible to hold the meeting on Thanksgiving Day itself, which is a vacation. Will you please vote therefore on the three dates: the fourth of December in Boston, Sunday, November twenty-fourth, in New York, or Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, November twenty-eighth, in New York. There are certain advantages, perhaps, in the earlier dates.
The enclosed[1] is a list of the people who replied in the affirmative to the last questionnaire as to whether they still expected to attend the Congress After the War. If I remember rightly we agreed informally that Mrs. Hull, whose husband expects to be present at the time and place of the Official Peace Conference, was to have the first vacancy. Assuming that my memory is correct, we are giving Miss Woolley the vacancy created by the death of Mrs. Ella Flagg Young and appointing Mrs. Hull, who is President of the Pennsylvania Branch of the Association of Collegiate Alumnae, to represent the National association.
Mrs. Charlotte Perkins Gilman said in reply to the questionnaire sent out last April:
"If you still consider me a member of your committee and if I have the money to go with, I shall be glad to attend the meeting after the war. I no longer belong to any peace party and I hold that Germany must not only be absolutely conquered but surrender all her stolen goods and land, must pay for the damage she has done if it takes her a hundred years, and must [page 2] be permanently restricted in armament; all is essential to any kind of peace on earth.
My constructive views you know.
As to the specific questions, 1st: the above may prove me not in accord with your spirit and purpose.
2nd: I could attend a meeting in New York, etc.
My special contribution toward the end we all desire, is a special appeal to women, which I endeavored to set before your committee the last time I attended a meeting. This was considered to be entirely outside the scope and purpose of your work. Permanent peace I hope for and shall work for, but we might disagree on methods.
Yours cordially,
Charlotte Perkins Gilman"
Will you, as a member of the Committee of Five, please vote whether in your opinion Mrs. Gilman should be invited to attend the next meeting and be in line for the Congress.
If you vote to eliminate Mrs. Gilman, the candidate we have already discussed is Crystal Eastman. There is to be said in her favor that she is also from New York and that we were very much urged by the International Committee at The Hague, to have a good representation of Socialists. We are rather short on Radicals and certainly she would qualify under that heading. If you do not vote for [Mrs.] Eastman will you kindly indicate another choice?
We are sending the enclosed list as it stands at present. All the names have been regularly voted upon, although we have in one or two cases changed the representation, Mrs. Blankenburg's failure having left a vacancy in the General Federation of Women's Clubs. If this is not acceptable, it can easily be modified before publication.
Please reply immediately to me ↑at Hull-House↓ concerning the time and place of the meeting, as we are most anxious to send out the notices to the remaining thirty members of the Board.
Faithfully yours,
Jane Addams [signed]
[1] [written in left margin of page 1] this list will be sent in the next mail.
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