March 22, 1921
My dear Mr. McDonald:
Now as to the rest of your letter -- forgive me if I say that I feel hurt and even angry at the attitude you describe. We are all to blame together, -- you as much as we.
We are miserable and indignant at the conduct of our government and at its weakness in giving way to France all the time. Honestly, we feel helpless, both about Ireland and about Germany, -- and at the want of wisdom at the economic treatment of Austria. But why are we helpless, -- we Liberals and Internationalists, -- not to speak of those of us who are Socialists and Pacifists? Forgive me, but wholly because you have failed us, failed us utterly and entirely.
When you came into the war, we felt glad not so much because of the material help, but because we believed you would help the best of us to make a good scheme of peace. How well I remember my husband's saying that at the time, and how I felt sad and anxious knowing you would have to suffer (and the young men I knew and cared for as I knew, -- and you to this day do not understand we had suffered). How well I remember hearing Mr. Hoover say in Lady Courtney's house (Nov. 18?) that Mr. Wilson would sail away if he did not get his way at Paris, and he failed and, in failing to back the best of him, and in your pride and anger, -- you all failed us. You removed your incomparable weight and left our bad khaki election, its wild and wicked process, and poor, panic-stricken, mad France to work the ravage they have done. What have you done? Collected marvelous relief funds (and incidentally rather failed to recognize the real spirit of our Quaker work and to cooperate) and saved that situation, -- but for the rest, just lost the situation. Could those injustices you speak of ever have taken place had you drawn your weight in pacification and reconstruction? Upon my word, -- your kind letter seems to me the parable of the Pharisee over again -- "Lord, I thank thee that I am not as other men".
The utter crushing tragedy of the whole thing is (have you read Smuts' appreciation of Mr. Wilson? If not, do) that the weaknesses of one man's character and his country's resentment of those weaknesses have left these sorely tried old countries to make the wreckage they now have. "Peccavi" if you like -- but let us all go down on our knees and cry it together.
And, after all, we forgave first. I have been surprised to find a much fiercer, more unforgiving spirit [page 2] amongst you.
My friend, Arthur Gillett, a Quaker banker (brother in-law of Dr. Hilda Clark, head of our relief mission in Vienna) says it's useless blaming these governments or these bankers for turning down Sir William Coode's scheme of Austrian credits. He says that only you can make the credits possible, that we simply haven't the means to. Please forgive me for writing thus. A very leading statesman once said to my husband, "We shall only be on proper terms with the Americans when we can say what we think and not always be [smoothing?] down" (I can't be sure of the words but I know the gist) -- That's so between friends -- my husband is in London with a very important League of Nations Union convention, and what I write has nothing whatsoever to do with him, -- and I write as a person who, till these last months, wouldn't for the life of her feel we were two distinct nations.
I've slaved over relief work for Austria for a year, and the despair and misery of it all have made me obliged to lay down my work for a bit through sheer exhaustion, -- scarcely a glimmer of light. So that I am in no mood for hearing you say that we have "used you". We've good men and bad. Our government is very bad, -- I hope and pray that yours may be very good. You have at least good men in it. But we too have good men and women and true, and they are most bitterly sad that you have deserted them and lost the cause the best of you and the best of us stood for and do stand for.
You seem to me too haughty and not proud enough.
I don't believe you realize how you might have made all the difference in the world, how what you complain of need never happened had you stood by. I think that is all I have to say. Others may not say it to you, but you may believe me that many of us feel it, -- as progressives whose hearts are well night broken, whose pride is trailed in the dirt. It's very difficult to express oneself in a letter. What I really mean is that I feel more and more every day I live that there are no national differentiations to speak of, -- that we and you are miserable sinners, and that right thinking men and women on both sides the Atlantic have no hope put in each other -- yes and right thinking men and women in Germany and Austria too.
With all the apologies possible for my impertinence, I am
Very sincerely,
(Signed) MARY MURRAY
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