Martha Carey Thomas to Jane Addams, October 21, 1907

October 21, 1907.

Dear Miss Addams,

We are greatly disappointed that you are unable to speak for us this autumn, as we hoped. I do not know to whom you could have written in the summer, because Mrs. Susan W. FitzGerald, the Chairman of the Boston Committee on College Equal Suffrage lectures, had not heard from you and has written me several letters this autumn to know your dates so that she might arrange them in the New England colleges. Since receiving your letter I have conferred with Mrs. FitzGerald and with Miss Garrett, and we all agree that the next best thing to having you in the autumn will be to have you in March.

A special delivery letter came from the Boston Committee this morning saying that their [program] was being published and asking to know definitely the dates in the spring on which you would be available. I therefore telegraphed you at once asking whether you would not reserve for us the three weeks beginning March 16 [illegible] ↑We now wish the three weeks beginning Mch 2 and ending Mch 21↓. These three weeks would perhaps be the best three weeks of all in the spring. The Easter vacation begins April 15 and the mid-year examinations of most Colleges end by the 1st of March ↑Wellesley, Smith & Mt. Holyoke begin their [spring recess] on the 25 of Mch↓, so that between the 1st of March and the 25th of April ↑Mch↓ we must get your addresses in! If the three weeks from March 2 to April 4 ↑Mch 21↓ should contain an important Trustees' meeting or an important meeting of the Board of Education for you, we can either begin them earlier or close them a little [later].

I will enclose you a [brief] outline of the itinerary we propose. I would suggest that you come directly from Chicago to Bryn Mawr, making the first address here, say on Monday, March 16 ↑2↓, if you accept this [time]. Apart from the great pleasure of hearing you first, this would have the additional advantage that Miss Garrett and [I, being] such devoted suffragists, might be able to make some suggestions in case we felt that some of your points should need a little more driving home. You must not forget that we regard you [page 2] as our very strongest advocate, and we anticipate that you will leave very few to be convinced by other speakers for the College Equal Suffrage League who will follow you next year.

ITINERARY

As you will see from this suggested schedule, I have left three ↑four↓ days, thinking that you might not wish to speak in the afternoon and evening on the same day, as we have arranged for several places. If you did this, you could finish by the 21st of April ↑[Mch]↓. If it were possible for you to do this and to give us until the 4th of April, you could then [go?] to Cornell University and Wells College, both of which are important.

We had thought that the Committee might be able to offer you your traveling expenses, entertainment, and $500.  Would this be satisfactory? [page 3]

It is possible, of course, that the dates would have to be rearranged on account of engagements in different colleges, but we should plan to mass them together as above so that the traveling would be as little fatiguing as possible.

Please do not disappoint us.

With kindest regards, in which Miss Garrett joins,

Very sincerely yours

Miss Jane Addams

Of course you understand that you would deliver exactly the same address before each college chapter, as in no instance would your audience be the same.