WOMEN'S INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE FOR PEACE AND FREEDOM
5 June 1926
My dear [Madeleine] Doty:
I sent you the following preferred cable [today]: "Regret cutting Delegates expenses to one thousand [Sending] that immediately with five hundred for [half staff] expenses."
I had talked with both Emily Balch and Madame Ramondt and we all felt very strongly that a thousand dollars is all we could allocate for delegates' expenses at the rate the money [is] now coming in. I supposed you had already invited those whose names you [sent] and am much relieved to find you have not. I should think one person from each Section is all we could afford to pay. Why two from Bulgaria? Or two from Italy, especially as Piatti-Tango is one? I doubt whether she is the representative we want at best. I certainly would cut out Turkey, and as I understand it the Ukrainian Section is far from active. There are certainly objections to the charming Nadya [Surovtseva], and I think under the circumstances it might be better to invite neither her nor [Dragomanova]. Why do you suggest Olga [Misař] if we have several others from Austria? Little Miss Llanes has long since gone back to the [Philippines]. I think it is very difficult to select people this way. It should have been done by the Executive Committee or through a certain sum given to each section. I am all for Gobat, [Lucie] de Jardin and of course, Marcelle Capy, as speakers.
As to the method of dispensing the money, I have never had anything to do with that. I think Madame Ramondt who is coming to Dublin is the very person who will do it best. She is also financial secretary and ought to do it. [page 2]
The five hundred dollars is to be put on the expenses of the staff who leave Geneva with you and for the preliminary stationery and printing. I am also sending the usual five hundred for June, I am getting them all off on Monday morning but I think that the five hundred ought to be largely spent in Dublin so that the Irish women will feel that we are really helping with the local expenses.
I also sent you a week-end cable letter as follows: "Much admire Widegren's plan for Summer School. Strongly recommend paying her expenses for six weeks." I sent her plan on to Emily Balch with the request that she read it at once and send it to you. It seems to be much more what we had in mind when we planned the school for peace workers, than anything I have seen.
I hope very much that Miss [Gleditsch] can come from Norway. She is a pupil of Madame [Curie], you know, and quite a distinguished person. I am most anxious to have northwestern Europe represented in this congress. I am sorry to have been so stupid about writing to you about the delegates. It did not occur to me that you expected me to do any planning as to the methods of getting them there. The Staff expenses you made out as follows: Irma Tischer $50, [Madeleine] Doty $100, Dumont $50. Baer $50. Stenography at Congress $50. Minutes Congress Meeting $100. [Stationery] and Printing $500. Please keep the special five hundred for those expenses unless there are preliminary ones in Ireland.
Do you know Sybil Jane Moore who worked for the Quakers War Relief for a long time in Philadelphia and has always been one of us? She is now in Paris at the Woman's University Club [illegible] 4 Rue de Chevreuse. I She has been helping me in regard to rooms etc and I suggested the other day that she might like to help with the Summer School. She said that if it were registration or work of that sort she would be glad to do it. She might conceivable be induced to come to Dublin. She would work, of course, on a volunteer basis. Mary Winsor is coming to Dublin as you may know and would like to speak. [page 3]
I cabled Mrs. Swanwick in regard to Bernard Shaw, asking her to see him for us. Of course, it would help enormously if you could see him in London. I have so far failed to secure any distinguished American speaker, but we may yet land one as I have still several on my list who expect to be in Europe this summer. The local situation in Ireland is so intense that we have to be very careful as to Irish-American sentiment.
Always affectionately yours,
P.S. I understand you to say that you had a special fund for Miss Surles. I should be very unwilling to have any of this fund used to bring her over. We [illegible] will be at least a third short of what we hoped to receive and we must have enough money left over to run the Geneva office through the summer, as the international memberships from the U.S.A. will not come in then.
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