WOMEN'S INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE FOR PEACE AND FREEDOM
December 31, 1926.
Dear Jane Addams,
I was so glad to get a letter from you at Christmas time with the little picture of Hull House. We are going to have it framed for the office. It is some time since I have written you but we have been crowded with work. We had a long session with Madame Duchêne and Miss Marshall, the former was here for a week and the latter for three weeks. However, I think these officers' meetings ought to be very useful. I am sure it was quite a revelation to Miss Marshall to see the difficulties of the work here. You wanted me, as you expressed it, to have a "friend at court." Well, I think both Madame Duchêne and Miss Marshall now feel very differently and understand much better what I am up against and the work I have been trying to do.
I showed both Miss Marshall and Madame Duchêne much of the correspondence as it came in and this gave them a new insight. In the Minutes of the September Executive, Madame Duchêne had made some corrections and these corrections were quite contrary to what the English Section believed they should be. As a result I got letters of protest. It was interesting to ↑have↓ them, ↑and have a↓ the French and English [person] here, to see the correspondence for through it they were able to realize that the difficulty lay not with the central office, but with their own difference of ↑in↓ point of view, and yet it was upon Headquarters that the blame was put. Of course, the whole business of internationalism is extremely difficult and it means enormous patience and tolerance and I do not think most of our sections yet are real internationalists. They are much more concerned about having their own national work exactly right rather than having International Headquarters prosperous. [page 2]
I had to chuckle over the English Section's great indignation at Austen Chamberlain's stand on the mandates ↑commission↓. He did not want the English people interfering in what he believed to be the right policy in regard to mandates and yet he acted on the Council wholly as a British representative and not as a disinterested member of the Council with ↑one↓ international point of view. The way he behaved is so exactly the way some of our sections act, though, of course, they don't realize it.
I am more and more convinced that nothing but ↑only by↓ developing team work and sitting around a table for hours and discussing international welfare ↑can we reach↓ is the only way to arrive at a real state where we can make progress ↑in internationalism↓.
I hope you like the idea of having Miss Sheepshanks come when I leave. I think she really wants to come very much and she could, of course, do splendid work if she doesn't have too many details to handle.
By the way, while I am writing you, I want to tell you I have applied for one of the Guggenheim Memorial Fellowships. I have used you as a reference. I hope you do not mind. I asked for the Fellowship on the ground that I wanted to do some traveling and studying of women and world peace and write articles and perhaps a book as a result. I said when I left here the first of next November, I should like to go to Greece, Egypt, India, China and [go] home. I thought if I could get the Fellowship, I might do a lot to start up active W.I.L. groups in the countries I have named and also such a trip would give me splendid material for "Pax" if I continue as editor of the paper. Of course I don't know at all that I will get ↑the fellowship↓ it. I think probably I will be considered too "red," but anyhow I thought it was worth trying.
I am sorry that you do not feel that it is right to continue "Pax" in its present shape, but I had a letter from Roger and he said: "You must not cut down the paper." As he never remarks of this nature about my work, I am sure it means that the Fund will not like it if we diminish the size ↑of "Pax"↓. Also Madame Duchêne, who is no enthusiast about "Pax," is strongly opposed to cutting its size if we have it at all. Lida Heymann would very much like to have us drop the German edition and in the next German issue I will put a little notice asking the readers if they would be content with the English version or if they very much wish to have us keep up the German issue. We will see what results this brings. I am continuing to give the free copies as you wish.
Anne is now doing the stenography for me and I have let the stenographer we had go. I have not yet finished the Congress Report but it has been impossible to do so because I cannot get various of the people to send me back their corrected speeches. I believe, however, it is better to be late in bringing it out and have the people contented with the contents rather than to rush the thing through and have a lot of opposition in consequence. ↑afterwards.↓ [page 3]
We had a very gay Christmas here with a Christmas tree and all the fixings. I am writing Mary Smith a letter about this which I am sure she will share with you.
I suppose you realize that the money you left us was to carry us only until the first of January so that we are ↑now↓ running very close and I am hoping every day that we will get our January allowance. We have perhaps $100 in the bank for the office and that is all. I confess I wish very much I had that balance back, not that I would spend it but it gave me a sense of security and confidence last year which I do not have this year.
All your letters to the Executive members were duly sent to them and by this time you must have the little pamphlet containing the Constitution, Resolutions and Addresses and now can reach everyone yourself.
Roger is at this moment on the ocean and I am expecting he will arrive at Boulogne either Sunday or Monday. I had hoped to go up to ↑to Paris to↓ meet him but, like everyone else in Geneva, I have acquired the grippe and been in bed for several days. The doctors says it will still be four or five days before I can go out and around.
I do hope you are feeling quite like yourself again. I understand from Mary Smith that you have been much better recently. I was so glad to hear this. I hope also that you had a very happy Christmas. Mr. and Mrs. Jerome, who were here, said our party was just like the parties they had at Hull House which made me feel very proud.
With much love and all good wishes,
Madeleine Z. Doty. [signed]
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