WOMEN'S INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE FOR PEACE AND FREEDOM
May 24, 1926.
Dear Jane Addams,
Your letter has just come dated May 10th and I hasten to reply. Yes, I think everything is going very well now with both the Congress and the Summer School and I will reserve your double room at Gland for two weeks from August 14th to the 28th and then the double room in the Maison Internationale with us until you leave. The Assembly does not open until the 6th of September so that you ought not to start for Germany until the end of that week if you wish to really see the League at work and I am sure you will find it interesting. It is extremely helpful to note the same difference of temperament among the representative of the League of Nations as among our own members in the W.I.L. I understand much better now why the League of Nations doesn't work better. It isn't all just that they are conservatives and representatives of governments, there is a real difference of temperament and nationality.
I hope you will let me know at once just what you want me to do about the traveling expenses of the delegates. I certainly agree that we ought not to spend more than $2000 on them. Is the list of people that I sent you satisfactory? Are they the ones we should help? Shall we buy them round-trip tickets and merely deliver the tickets? When will the money be available to do this? Would you prefer to send the money to the Wayfarer's Travel Agency or perhaps part of the money and have them give out the tickets? We are expecting our delegates to travel third class except on the water when we are making it second. If you have not already written [me] about this will you please cable. The different [illegible] sections are [clamoring] [page 2] to know whether we can give them assistance so they can make their plans.
I think it would be splendid if we could get Bernard Shaw to speak for us. I have just sent you a cable to that effect. If you could write and urge him to come I can then on my way to Ireland on the 20th of June stop and see him and make a further appeal. I, too, happen to know him, Mr. Massingham having taken me to luncheon with him one day. We certainly ought to have a headliner and I did not know who to get. Here are some other names in case we fail to get Shaw. Please let me know what you think of them. Ramsay MacDonald, H. G. Wells, Selma Lagerlöf. Is there no well known American who is coming over at that time? Please let me know also for our public meeting on Economic Imperialism who should speak for America. I suppose Prof. Edward Meade Earle is not coming over? Is there any one who is? I really think we need some outside speakers. No one will object to any one whom you may ask, whoever it is. Therefore I think it is much better that you should choose and let me go ahead and do what I can to get them. The French want Monsieur Delaisi and the Swedish and Germans Prof. Barany. I hope we can get both of these men but the outside speakers ↑suggested↓ thus far are few.
Many thanks for the check for May which has just come. I do not know why Gertrud Baer should be under the impression that I am getting more from you than V. G. I have distinctly told them I am not and further refused to take any increased pay when it was suggested at the Executive Committee. They wanted to give me my room rent free in the Maison and though I think this should be done for every Secretary I refused to accept it until after the Dublin Congress. Of course, our budget here has increased. We are spending on an average as I have told you, of about 3300 to 3500 Swiss francs a month which means that I have raised a considerable amount of money but all this money has been raised in Europe. Through Pax we keep getting in driblets nearly every day and all these sums added together amount to a good deal. Besides this, of course, there is the additional money which we get for the printing. Our output as well as our income has much increased since last year as I will be able to show by a chart that I am bringing to exhibit at the Congress. The only way I can account for Gertrud Baer's impression about the money is that when I came in the office, America was one month, or 2500 francs, behind on the installments. It is this amount which, as I have written you, by paying after my arrival, gave us the $500 ahead and from which I turned over $400 to the Summer School.
You will be much interested, I know, to hear that we have just been having small tour for Marcelle Capy. Mrs. White arrived from America and on the 15th of May we started off in an auto car which Mrs. White hired. We went to Bern, Basel, and Zurich to see our Sections there and [page 3] had Marcelle Capy speak to them. The Swiss Section is very slow in taking any kind of action. It needs much stirring up but I succeeded in getting the different sections to agree to form a delegation with you as its head which should go and call on their Government Officials in August while you are here and discuss particularly with the Minister of War the question of Conscription. I pointed out to our Swiss members that by conscripting every Swiss male as they do, they are setting a very bad example to the rest of the world and particularly to America. I hope you will feel it is worth while to head such a delegation and call on these Swiss officials. Of Course, I only said that I would suggest it to you and see if it could be arranged.
Another thing we did while on our trip, was to take the auto car over the St. Gotthard pass and go down to Milan. This was extraordinarily interesting. We gathered eight or ten of our members together in a room in Milan while Marcelle Capy and I talked to them. The situation there is terrific. Fascism completely controls the country. Everyone is obliged to take an oath of allegiance. Dr. Vassalini, our member and teacher in one of the schools, is at the moment faced with this situation and feels she will lose her position. I think it is important, Italy should be well represented at the Congress. You will be pleased to hear that Madame Genoni says she will do her best to come and will also try to come to the Summer School. Dr. Vassalini would come if this would ↑we could↓ pay her travel expenses. Our little group in Milan are ready to take any action which we think best. I suggested they try to organize a meeting in a church and that perhaps you would be willing to speak for them when you are in Switzerland in August. It would be magnificent if someone could talk publicly about Peace and Freedom and Brotherhood in Italy for no one as yet has dared to under the present strict regime.
We got back from our auto trip last evening, Sunday, having been away over the two weekends but I am sure it was worth doing.
Tomorrow we have a meeting here in Geneva for Marcelle Capy. I am enclosing a copy of the program. I was away when this was made out and they have given me, and ↑my↓ small report which I mean to make on the United States Section and what it is doing for Disarmament, much too big a place, ↑on the program. -- I will of course merely say you called on the President & talked about Conscription & Disarmament.↓
I have received from Pennsylvania the appeal for Disarmament signed by large groups of people and these according to instructions from Bessie Kind I am going to present to our representative here, Mr. Hugh Gibson on the morning after our meeting.
With much love to you and looking forward to seeing you soon,
Madeleine Doty [signed]
[written up left margin] ↑You will be distressed to hear I know that Marcelle Capy tends more & more to join the Communists. In other words if a revolution comes and the workers use violence she will stand with them. She is against force but not if feels if the workers finally resort to force she must stand by them -- This will not come out in her speech tomorrow for she will merely speak for Disarmament and then go away & not answer questions.↓
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