April 14, 1925
Dear Miss Rathbone,
Let me first of all congratulate you very sincerely on your appointment as Assessor on Children's Welfare in the Advisory Committee on Traffic in Women and Protection of Children. This will give you a splendid opportunity of helping to carry out the sound principles of children’s welfare which you have for many years been advocating.
Our British Section has forwarded to me a copy of your letter to our International President, Miss Jane Addams. As she is in Mexico just now she may not be able to reply in time. I beg, therefore, to call your attention to the following subjects in which the majority of our sections are keenly interested:
1. Legislation on education to the effect that
(a) Textbooks shall contain not only the history of wars, but an account of the history of [civilization] and shall show the close connection between the development and the interests of different nations and make the children [realize] the value of personal sacrifice for humanity, art and science, thus preventing the teaching of history from becoming a source of misunderstanding and hatred; [page 2]
(b) useful exercise (gardening, arts and crafts, repair of breakages, etc.) may replace military drill in schools.
Our section in the United States sent to Mr. Kellogg, the representative of their country at the London Conference, a letter warning him not to endanger the welfare of children by the terms he agreed to and suggesting that if an index of prosperity were to determine Germany's capacity to pay, one element in the index should be the standard of health and education of her children as compared with that in the countries which had to decide the amounts to be paid.
It seems to me that it would be extremely useful if in the future the Sub-Committee for Children's Welfare would address such an appeal to the members of every conference dealing with economic agreements.
I will ask our sections whether they wish to commend to your attention any other matters, and if suggestions come in before the next meeting of the Advisory Committee, I will forward them to you.
I am looking forward very much to your stay in Geneva. Having for many years been President of the Hungarian auxiliary of the I.W.S.A., I know and highly appreciate your work as President of their International Committee. I hope you will let me know if I can do anything here to make your stay with us more pleasant and to facilitate your work.
With kindest regards, I remain
Yours sincerely,
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