16. January 1917.
Dear Miss Addams,
After posting our letter, we received yours of the 10th November, so that we can take now stand in the issue between you and Dr. Jacobs.
We consider it perfectly proper, that you sent this circular-letter. If Headquarters would have done its duty all the time, you could not and certainly would not have sent out any time over the head of Headquarters. But since Headquarters acted without any regard of properly taken resolutions, there was nothing left but your acting on the request of gathering of 17 committee-members from 7 countries. If we charge Headquarters of not doing its duty in the line of properly taken resolutions we think of the neglect to send out the Manifesto of women issued at your meeting October 4th last year in New York, neglecting thus to publish a document which both politically and from the point of view of womens work for peace would have been of immense importance. Another neglect was the refusal to call a committee-meeting after having taken a referendum which brought a majority wish for a committee-meeting. A third instance, when the Copenhagen gathering addressed Headquarters urging once more the calling of a meeting, it was again refused. It became therefore not only your right but your duty to act and if one has any criticism of your acting, then it is, that you did not act before.
As to the merits of your questions we propose to have the meeting about the time of the Easter-[holy days], this is in the first part of April. We think you could call this meeting by cable. June or July is much too far a date.
In the present state of [affairs] we do not see any need to make the changes proposed in your five first questions. It is impossible for all those affiliated committees, which were not represented at the Copenhagen meeting, to answer this question [page 2] without knowing the reasons why they have been put. We therefore propose, that the questions may be put at the coming international committee-meeting when they can be properly discussed.
As to the place, we have no special preference and believe that if the war should be going on all the time the question of place might have to be changed according to possible changes in the situations.
We thank for your instructions concerning the Congress to be held where the official Conference will take place. We will act according to it.
Hoping to meet you in fully recovered health
we are
very sincerely yours
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