Dear Miss Addams,
We have just finished a five day session of the Executive Committee which I attended as a consultative member and I am writing to make a few comments which will not be found in the minutes.
About twenty in all were present -- a few just as interested W.I.L. members who dropped in for a session or two. There was on the whole a very good spirt, but again and again the difference between the British point of view (shared as usual by the U.S. & Scandinavians) and that of the French and Central Europeans was manifest and there is some fear that the rift is widening. We had the great privilege of Mrs. Swanwick's presence on Sunday and she pointed out very clearly the [page 2] inconsistency of the French Section when it demands that Great Britain be bound by a majority vote and yet refuses to be so bound itself. The French defend themselves by saying that their stand, in refusing to go with the majority in certain cases is "question de principe."
The difference was very marked in regard to the delegate to China. Miss Pye had had a letter from Henry [Hodgkin] advising delay. The letter was a very recent one -- the most recent of any communication considered. They cannot raise money in England for a delegate ↑to go now↓ if Henry [Hodgkin] says "wait" -- they said "if we had definite word from even one Chinese woman of standing saying 'Come' we could use that letter in getting funds." So a cable was sent to one whom you know (can't remember the name) but no answer has been received. But the French (& Co.) are going ahead anyway and cheerfully using the whole reserve [page 3] fund. Mme. Ramondt is strongly against that but hers was the only adverse vote. The others say trustingly "[more] money will come to replace it." (I forgot to say that only five qualified voters were present so that all business was transacted without a quorum.)
The matter of filling Vilma Glücklich's place on the Board came up on the last day and in the absence of any constitutional provision for such a case Mme. Duchêne proposed that the person having the next highest vote at the Dublin Congress -- Yella Hertzka -- be asked to fill the unexpired term. There was suppressed consternation on part of the British at the thought, but all proposals for any different procedure were rejected and the most we could do was to elicit the assurance that all members of the Board not present at the meeting would be consulted before any decision was taken. I am afraid Frau Larsen-Jahn will resign; she feels that she is not being of sufficient use because of her many lines of interest. [page 4] I am afraid that having this Board meeting at the time she had to be present at Assembly meetings discouraged her, too. Our Central European Executive members and the French ignore the League and all its works -- except its bad works!
Now all this sounds pessimistic and I am feeling a bit that way; but Monday's sessions were cheeringly constructive, and the Maison itself and the Executive when off duty are also cheering.
The house is charming -- and not too dressy either -- and it is quite a center these days. Last Thursday after tea Roger Baldwin gave a fine talk about Russia showing that he had been a very intelligent and discriminate observer there. The room was packed and the doorways & garden window held an overflow.
Monday night there was a delightful party -- crowded again -- when Mrs. Swanwick, Mrs. Larsen and [Henni Forchhammer] spoke, the first ↑the principal↓ speaker. Mrs. Swanwick's speech was a masterpiece -- a tactful [page 5] yet clear and forceful disquisition on the difference between clinging to abstract principles and coming into the arena of practical politics. She took [Politi's] phrase "immanent justice and organized justice" as a text and applied it to the W.I.L.
The Pax situation seems to be very good, since Madeleine Doty hopes to come back to Geneva, money in pocket, and do the editing here. Miss Sheepshanks is greatly pleased with this possibility and there is every prospect that she and Madeleine will work well together.
Sept. 15.
In the meantime Misses Wald, Doty, Sheepshanks & I have had a little caucus in which the dangers of the present situation were discussed, and we hope Miss Wald will be able to give you details in person. We agree that the League is very much alive, that it can have a good future, but that your firm hand or that of [page 6] Emily Balch must be applied to these Executive members who override in most arbitrary fashion all opposition to their point of view. Without some check upon them the League will lose the English Section. They will not bluster and threaten as the French do (it happened several times during this Executive meeting) but they will simply walk out.
I do not think we are overemphasizing the seriousness of the situation. You know I have my troubles in Chicago with headstrong members, and understand that we cannot expect uniformity of opinion. But Mme. Duchêne and the Germans ([Gertrud] Baer perhaps the ringleader of them all) think that they [own] the League. I learned yesterday that they were "insulted by Mrs. Swanwick" in her speech and they were scandalized at her suggestion of compromise in [page 7] practical work.
We are having a wonderful time here, with many interesting things happening in the League of Nations and many old friends with whom to be sociable. Rho Zueblin is up from Lugano for a month, and Mrs. Lloyd and her interesting family are still in their apartment. William goes to Antioch this fall, Georgie to the Fellowship School (which she loves); Jessie, just back from Russia is crazy about that land of mystery and promise and is returning for a year. (Just came back to see Mary who is now here). So unless Mary tips the scales for this side of the water Lola will go home for the winter.
The League of Nations is giving signs of a healthy discontent with its achievements and Great Britain, blocking the way to progress, is very much in disgrace and very much on the defensive. [page 8] The disarmed states lose no opportunity for pointing out the unfulfilled obligations of the members which are not only heavily armed but even increasing their armaments. And it is made clear on many occasions that the powerful U.S.A. with no commitments, is the biggest stumbling block of all, in determining what could and should be done in case of aggression. Measures for preventing crises are receiving more attention than ever before and Article 11 is very much to the fore.
I mustn't snow you under! Time for tea at the W.I.L.
Everybody sends love to you and hopes you are in good shape after the summer, -- though public affairs must have disturbed even the peaceful atmosphere of the Maine coast.
Devotedly yours
Ella Boynton.
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