October 26, 1925
To the Members of the Executive Committee of The National Conference of Social Work:
Dear Friends:
This letter is being forwarded to you separately because Mrs. Jackson's health requires us to leave for California four days after our next Executive Committee meeting in New York and I fear I cannot attend.
Therefore, I take the liberty of forwarding to you the last part of my letter of September 24 to my friend, President Vaile, as follows:
"Immediately on coming home from the New York meeting of our Executive Committee I talked over the matter with Director Haynes of our Welfare Federation and deeply concerned with the Cleveland Conference. He seemed never to have heard any criticism of Major Parker's secretaryship. His personal experience with Major Parker's services has been quite satisfactory.
The matter was next mentioned to Miss Parrish in the family division of the work of the Welfare Federation, a woman who attends the National Conference. She managed the largest and most successful of the city Conferences which Cleveland has held. She was surprised and wholly out of sympathy with the move to change National Secretaries and stated that in her [judgment] the speech which Major Parker made at the annual public meeting of the Associated Charities two years ago was the best that has been ↑there↓ made, by anyone. The concurrence of Cleveland opinion is that it was well up to the average in a long series of meetings addressed by the strongest people which the Associated Charities could secure, included several ex-presidents of our National Conference.
Mr. Eugene C. Foster, Director of the Indianapolis Foundation, chanced to be in the city. I told him of the movement against Parker and the criticism of his ability as a manager and a speaker. Foster's judgment was that the general conduct of the Conference business is very satisfactory. He was particularly surprised at the comments on some of the speeches which Parker has made in other cities, for he said that the Major's speech at the Ohio State Conference at Toledo, four or five years ago in his judgment was, in its idealism and presentation, the finest speech he had heard in years in State Conference.
I am by no means suggesting that Parker is giving satisfaction to the people who say that they are dissatisfied, but I believe you will be glad to hear of speeches which he has made that were of unusual strength.
On the financial side, we should not forget that our Secretary renders such service to a Cincinnati organization as to cause it to give the National Conference unusually favorable terms in rental or clerical service or both. I do not recall the exact details. Last year I was impressed to hear that he was saving us from $2,000 to $2,400 a year in return for [page 2] aid to that society. In the event of a change, we could not expect to continue that important saving.
For years, I have held that the function of the General Secretary is to conduct the Conference and edit its Proceedings, in both of which activities Parker has been singularly successful. The day has passed when the Conference needs to send an emissary about the country to drum up attendance or to explain its ideals. Those results are being achieved without cost to our national society by leaders in the various cities and states.
Of course, Major Parker is not perfect. No Secretary will long please us all, but personally, I am sorry for the propaganda which has been strongly carried to you concerning him for I believe, by and large, there is no one in the Conference who will give us more satisfactory service for the total amount of expenditure than will Parker. However, I owe him nothing and I do not know of any way that I could owe him anything for I have no ambition that he is in any way able to help gratify if he were in the mood. Moreover, I believe he has leaned over backwards to stay out of Conference politics.
As suggested the other day, Cleveland is anxious that there be no change in the Conference secretary, at least until after the Cleveland meeting. After that, we have no more right to consideration than has any other city. As I previously said to Major Parker, 'my ambition is that the most numerously attended meetings which the Conference has held shall be conducted with the delicacy of touch and friendliness of the Denver Conference.' That certainly is a larger order but to that I have conscientiously addressed myself. Major Parker's extensive acquaintance in Cleveland will make it all the easier for him to render us needed assistance in achieving that result. If he were to resign, or if the Conference should not longer want his services, a new man should enter the service mid-summer. Any man capable of the job could handle the Conference in such a city as Chattanooga, which has the most marvelous equipment of any city in the United States for Conference purposes. Whereas this big Conference, with its inherent difficulties needs to be staged with the aid of the man who started with the local arrangements and in whom Cleveland has full confidence.
A matter of this kind creates unhappiness and discord. Neither the welfare of the Conference nor the cause of fairness is promoted by a big stir-up. Therefore, I think this matter should be settled as soon as possible, although if for any reason a change should be made, it need not be consummated until next summer.
I thoroughly sympathize with you in the problem which has been thrust upon you but the experience is there must be a ferment and turmoil with regard to some Conference subject every few years. I have always believed in your absolute fairness and in that belief I take pleasure in transmitting this letter to you for any use you may choose to make of it."
I believe it is incumbent upon me to testify to my faith that Secretary Parker should continue in the service of our National Conference as [long] as he can be held. I believe he does and will continue to execute [page 3] the arduous and exacting duties of his office with greater net satisfaction than anyone else who could be secured, results and costs being fully considered.
I thank you for permitting me to speak in absentia.
Respectfully yours,
↑To Miss Grace Abbott↓
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