March 13, 1911.
My dear Miss Addams,--
Things are going along at pretty rapid rate. We miss you every minute but are doing the best we can in your absence. Mr. Kingsley was in charge all day Saturday and the meetings were going on from eleven in the morning until six in the evening. First there was a pretty big meeting at eleven, and then the chairman of committees met individually with Dr. Harvey until six, except for a time between three and four, when there was again rather a public gathering. Yesterday, Mr. Allison, Mr. Thurston, Mr. Kingsley, Mr. [Burchard], Mr. Colin Fyffe and I met with Mrs. Blaine at her home. The thing is taking on larger proportions that you anticipated and it is going to be much more costly. The present estimate seems to be $30,000 or $35,000. Mrs. Blaine seems eager not to admit any pecuniary limitation. There is to be another meeting today, about which I will add a postscript, at which we are to determine whether to go on with this larger plan. She says that if we do, she will undertake to raise the sum required over and above Mrs. McCormick's limit.
The Auditorium proves too small and the time too short, so that negotiations are on again now for the Coliseum. I think already through the organization of the committees there is an enormous amount of interest, and if it is bigger than you planned in physical [page 2] ways, and from the point of view of cost, I think it will be bigger than we had any idea from the point of view of interest. However, I am going to try myself to keep it down as far as possible, because I know that the time is too short to undertake much additional work, and that is going to be our danger. Mr. Shailer Mathews, for example, has got a most representative committee of denominations -- Catholics, Lutherans and Jews. He thinks the New York exhibit wholly inadequate and inapplicable and wants to get a new one, as with the health people, want to spend $2,000; the settlement people $500.
If you have any idea about bigger speakers for the conference will you not send me a line? I had thought that I would like very much to have Dr. Welch of Baltimore on the subject of child life; I would like him very early in the game. Do you think it would be worth while to bring on Dr. Morrow for the social hygiene? I am told that he had one of the biggest conferences during the New York exhibit. Would you like to have Dr. Devine, Miss Wald, and Mrs. Kelley enough to pay their traveling expenses? Mr. Hervey made it quite clear that we wanted neither Miss Doty nor Miss Strong. The matter of Mr. Burchard is taking care of itself in a number of ways.
Do get some rest. It was sweet about the Greek loving cup. There seems to be no further word from Springfield; we just wait until you come back.
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