Dear Miss Addams
I am sure you never heard of me but I feel as if I had known you for a very long time. I am a member of the W.I.L.P.F. though ↑we↓ are not rich enough to have a group here. I have followed the working of the W.I.L. ever since 1915 since you all got up to that wonderful Women's Peace Conference at The Hague, and during all the years since I have got all reports of your congresses, summer schools [etc.], and followed them with the greatest interest and admiration. Recently we have got into personal touch through Miss Lambrick who met many of the W.I.L. at Geneva & also at Dublin. Being Irish the achievement of having a Peace Congress in Dublin appealed to me very much. I subscribe to many of the magazines, wh. are organs of Peace Societies in Americas & Europe & through them also I have read of you. Well now we hear you are to be in Honolulu in August, and I have been wondering if the spirit will not move you to come along to Australia? you would get a very hearty welcome from our Peace Branch of the [page 2] old London Peace Society, & also I know from the Melbourne Branch of the same. We are a very poor society (financially) our only means of support that we can count upon being the 2/6 annual subscription to membership. I could not therefore offer to pay your [traveling] expenses wh. we should love to do, but I can offer to pay all your hotel expenses for a week or so, if you can be tempted to come. We are terribly isolated here & have never had a distinguished Peacemaker to speak for us, other than our local adherents, with perhaps the exception of Dr David Starr Jordan once, long ago, & Miss Lambrick recently. If you would come I can promise you a good audience, not in the Town Hall, for the Peace cause is not popular, but certainly in one of the smaller halls, and we should be prepared even at short notice to get up such a meeting in any month of the year if you would give us 2 or 3 weeks' notice. On We have been in existence since 1907 & have kept the Peace flag flying all [through] those years even during the war. This is probably one reason why we are so very [page 3] unpopular, because the "British Empire" set are very powerful here. Against us we have the secular Daily Press, the Parliament, the University, & to a large extent the pulpit also!! Things are improving a little now, but those who want Peace, prefer the League of Nations & some have deserted us to join their Union.
I must tell you I had a keen disappointment last night. Miss Maud Royden is here & we hoped great things from her, but she, though a Peace woman, has not helped us ↑one little bit↓ as she preaches the "British Empire" and the League of Nations & is quite ignores all other movements past or present. Never mentions The Hague Conferences, the Parliamentary Union, ↑W.I.L.↓ nor any of the hundreds of Peace Societies all over the world!! I tackled her with that last night at question time & she did not deny it, only made some thin excuse for ignoring all that led up to the L. of. N. Under these circumstances a visit from you would be doubly welcome, if you will "come over & help us!" Mr. Stead gave me the name of the lady sec. who will arrange about the Aug. Conference, but I have forgotten it, so hope this may reach you. Yours cordially
(Mrs) S. Harwood.
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