WOMEN'S INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE FOR PEACE AND FREEDOM
May 10, 1927.
Dear Jane Addams,
We are having a lively time here. Our house is full of interesting people. We have two of the women delegates to the Economic Conference staying with us, Barbara Wootton, head of Morley College, England, and Dr. van Dorp of Holland. Then Louie Bennett is here as our representative to the Economic Conference. Roger is also here for a couple of weeks and people are continually dropping in. The other evening Eleanor Rathbone took dinner with us and last Thursday at our afternoon tea, Gertrud Bäumer, the German representative to the League, and Julia Lathrop and Alice Hamilton were here to meet the delegates who are staying with us. We really felt very important with so many prominent people.
I have been particularly glad that Julia Lathrop and Alice Hamilton were here so that I could talk over with them our China campaign. You see the plan of sending two delegates to China was enthusiastically adopted by the whole Executive Committee and it will be difficult to go back on it now, and yet it is going to be very hard to raise the money over here for our European delegate, Camille Drevet. Our sections are not responding at all well financially and it looks as though I would have to get the money from individual people who are interested. I cabled the Washington Office the other day asking [if] the British raised the money to send an English woman to China as one of the delegates, if the American Section would help finance Camille Drevet's trip. After I had sent this cable I happened to have lunch with Miss Rathbone and Miss [Jebb] of "Save the Children Fund." Miss [Jebb] on this occasion said that the next place where they hoped to give assistance was China. She said she was thinking of going to America in September to raise money to feed Chinese children where conditions are most pitiful. Now it suddenly occurred to me that there was nothing we could do that would be more likely to create a real bond between women of the East and the West than to feed the Chinese children and I wondered if we could not [page 2] combine our China campaign with that of securing aid for Chinese children. I thought we might send our Chinese delegates to investigate with this in view, that if they studied the conditions of women and children in China as a part of their peace mission and then came back and told the story it might be that some of the large foundations would contribute big sums to such a cause. Perhaps Hoover might help us and even the business men who purely out of reasons of self-interest do not want a break with China.
I had a long talk with Miss Lathrop and Dr. Hamilton about this and I was under the impression they thought well of the idea. It seemed to me that the person to send would be Julia Lathrop. She happened to say casually to Roger that the one place she would like to visit was China. However, when I suggested the idea she said it was quite impossible. But of course if we could get someone like Julia Lathrop or Alice Hamilton to go I don't suppose there would be the least bit of difficulty in raising money for their trip particularly if we connected it with the idea of feeding Chinese children.
Of course if we attempted this more elaborate scheme we would have to have both an American and an English delegate so that on their return they could make propaganda in their respective countries. Camille Drevet would not be of use except in France for she does not speak English. However, with this more elaborate program, it might be possible to send three delegates, one French, one American and one English and not send them until the fall. It was, I think Miss Lathrop's opinion, and I strongly agree with her, that it would be easier to get large sums from big organizations to feed Chinese children than it would be to get the money to carry out our simpler plan.
There is to be an officers' meeting here sometime between the 20th and the end of the month. If you have any ideas on the subject as to what would be advisable, I do wish you would cable us. I expect that Louie Bennett, Madame Ramondt and Madame Duchêne will be at the officers' meeting and it may be that Gertrud Baer and Clara Ragaz will join us.
I have a feeling that the French and German Sections may think that the idea of feeding children is too philanthropic, while I believe the Scandinavians, the English and the Americans together with many of the sections in the smaller nations will probably think well of the idea.
I shall send copies of this letter to Emily Balch and Hannah Hull so they also may be thinking the matter over. [page 3]
Later.
Since dictating this letter Miss Bennett and I have had a long talk with Miss [Jebb] who would be most delighted to combine with us if it seemed advisable. What she wants to do is to establish a model school in China where the children work as well as study and where they are fed, similar to the model school that the "Save the Children Fund" established in Budapest. Of course we do not know anything about this school or its value. The plan as presented to us has many drawbacks. It is all a matter to be considered. It might be that the Quakers would like to do some work in China and would be very glad to combine with us and we could work with them better than with the "Save the Children Fund." But in any case the plan would be for our speakers to come back, make speeches telling what the Chinese women want, and as a result of these speeches either the Quakers or the "Save the Children Fund" collect money and administer it in China.
Thank you very much for sending me a copy of the report concerning the Lauterbach estate. I certainly do hope we will get that money and I am also hoping it may go towards buying the Maison. We have just found that we can cut a small door from the garden room into the office in the Maison. The door will have to be a small one so you will always have to engage a very thin secretary! But this door is going to be an enormous addition. I think this will mean that Mary Sheepshanks will be willing to live in the Maison for she will have a secluded room in the garden room and yet she can step from it right into her office and into the bath room without going up or down a step. Fortunately the Boston Section has just sent me $57 for the house and we are going to use it to cut this door. It will more than cover it. I do wish you could see the house now. It is very attractive. The garden is full of flowers and the dining room is brilliant in its lovely new paint and the library shines with new wall paper and a fresh coat of paint. Both Julia Lathrop and Alice Hamilton seemed delighted with it all. I really think now we have gotten the place in such condition that we will not need to do anything more to it at all unless we buy the house. Then of course we should put heating and a bath on the top floor.
Mr. Hooker has been here attending the Economic Conference. He had luncheon with us the other day in the garden and reported that you were looking very well indeed. I do so hope you have your strength back again. How I wish you were coming over this summer!
With my love to you and all the people I know in Hull House,
Madeleine Z. Doty [signed]
Ever devotedly, [page 4]
P.S. I trust you have long since had the Congress Report and the other material you asked for. I have been waiting to send a large bundle of Congress Reports to the Washington office until Dorothy Detzer should tell me how many she needs. By the way we now have according to my lists considerably over 1000 U.S. international members, in fact we are sending "Pax" to between 1100 and 1200 so that if all these people pay their dues you will have almost enough money to pay the U.S. contribution to Headquarters.
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