February 10, 1927.
Dear Miss Addams,
I have your letter of January 25th and sometime before it came, the monthly allowance for January arrived at the bank. When I ↑came to headquarters↓ [arrived here] it was the custom to pay most of the salaries in advance. That was why when the first of January came I was in need of money but fortunately I had gotten enough in to be able to pay the salaries as usual so that having caught up in this way, it now does not make any difference whether I get the money ↑from you↓ the beginning or the end of the month. As you know, our present budget is considerably larger than the one originally budgeted for by you, Madame Ramondt and Emily Balch. There are the additional items of Anne Zueblin's salary, 400 francs a month, and all the extra postage regularly for "Pax." This means, as I have already pointed out, that I must get in $100 to $200 more than you send me a month. Also there will be the money needed for the [traveling] expenses of three of our Executive members, Glücklich, Baer and Ramondt, as well as my own expenses, to the Executive meeting at Liège. However I think I see my way clear, but as you can see it keeps me running close with no balance ahead so I get a little anxious for my allowance from America.
I have not had time to make the campaign for new international members and contributions that I intended to because the last of December and in January we were crippled by nearly everyone in the Maison having the grippe at one time or another. This also delayed the Congress Report, but it is now ready to be struck off and I hope to have it in the hands of the European members before the Liège meeting.
I am enclosing herewith a copy of a letter to Mary Sheepshanks which you may be interested in. She wrote [page 2] me concerning the points which are covered in my letter. In her letter she said very definitely she did not want to have to raise money while here. Of course, the English Section if they chose could supply International Headquarters with the money for "Pax" as well as the balance needed which was not forthcoming from the National Sections. Think of all the money raised by the British Section through Mrs. Pethick-Lawrence for the Pilgrimage. Personally I cannot help feeling it will be good for the Europeans to shoulder more of the financial responsibility. I think their attitude towards America and the W.I.L. work would be much better if they did. You may be interested to know that the International Migration Service has been forced to turn to Europe for funds because the former funds from America have been cut off. Mary [Hurlburt?] whom you met, who is in charge, has made a very successful start in raising a fair proportion of her budget in Switzerland and France and she thinks it is the only sound way to do. I am sure if the sections would give me a free hand we could raise considerable money over here.
I agree with you that Mary Sheepshanks must of course edit her own paper if that is what she prefers but if the English Section will not back her up financially, I think she may be very glad to have me continue to help her. Any way you can see in my letter just exactly what I said to her along this line.
I think we are lucky to get a person like Miss Sheepshanks for the next International Secretary. There is one thing this office has done in the last year. It certainly has stirred up additional interest in the Maison and in the job of the Secretary. We have, as a matter of fact, five possible applicants, two English, 1 Irish, 1 French and 1 [Czechoslovakian].
You will see in my letter to Miss Sheepshanks that I offered to do over the garden [bedroom] if she wished. Lydia Wentworth has recently sent me $50 to do over a bedroom. I suggested orange and black to Mary Sheepshanks because her friend, Miss Bryant, who is living with us, says that these are the colors she had in her drawing room.
I hope you are satisfied with the plans for the Summer School. You will be pleased to know that I have had a letter from Professor Edward Mead Earle of Columbia University and that he has agreed to come over if we can pay his expenses. I am now trying to see if I can raise that money. Madame Duchêne was anxious we should have Prof. Earle if possible and is of course very pleased with the idea. We felt that if we could have Prof. Earle and Emily Balch the problems of American Imperialism would be adequately handled. Do get Emily Balch to come over here if she possibly can. [page 3]
This I think covers the office matters about which I wanted to write, but maybe you would like to hear about Roger and me. Unfortunately Roger arrived in France with a bad abscess in one of his teeth. It was so serious that it spread into his throat and neck and he got a high fever and had to go to the American Hospital. I was still ill in bed with the grippe and could not go to meet him. However, after a week I was able to get up and go to Paris and three days later he was out of the hospital and quite himself again. We had a lovely weekend at Fontainebleau and then Roger came to Geneva to stay with me for two weeks and a half. He quite fell in love with the Maison and said it was just like home. He certainly made it lively here and we decided that one or two men are needed in this house of "females." I know you will be interested to hear that Monsieur and Madame Rappard had dinner with us one night and that Monsieur Rappard was at last able to assured himself that I had a husband! Roger saw many people and made many friends and is planning to come back here for a few weeks in April and in August. Either just before or after the Liège meeting I am planning to meet him in England for a weekend which he and I are going to spend with the Pethick-Lawrences at their country place. So you see I have some good times ahead of me.
With much love to you,
Always devotedly,
Madeleine Z. Doty [signed]
P.S. I hope you will write me if there is any effective action you think we can take at the Liège Executive meeting on either the situation in China or in Mexico and Nicaragua.
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