My dear Mrs Mead:
Thank you so much for your letters and the vigor with which you have been considering the possibility of Washington. I have been occupied every moment for the last three days with two English Quakers -- Dr Hilda Clark and Edith Pye who are in charge of the Friends' work in Vienna so that I have delayed replying. When I wrote you the office was apparently to be in Chicago and I was much distressed from the International point of view that we would have no continuous representation in Washington during the Conference that the European Women were taking so seriously.
Since I wrote, as you know, the Eastern Committee has decided to establish the national office in Washington with Mrs Odell as executive officer and that may of course change our plan in regard to your service [although] I certainly hope not. I should not [hesitate] to accept Mrs Post's hospitable offer ↑if I were you,↓ which she makes in all sincerity. I can send you at once or whenever you are ready to start [ICO?]. and would do my best to help defray ↑your↓ other expenses as they [accrued].
Perhaps with the national officer there you would not [need] to be there ↑in Washington↓ so continuously as you mentioned in your letter.
I do hope that the National Board are planning for a meeting in Washington for the first week in December and [page 2] by that time we will know much more about the possibility of influencing the Conference.
I did not mean to express any disapproval of going in with the other societies in the [Brandesgoe] house plan, we heard at one time that it had been given up and I suggested the Quaker quarters as free from rent when I [thought] the national office would be in Chicago.
I am getting this off very hastily. I am speaking constantly on disarmament. I had fifteen invitations for Nov 11th from Philadelphia, Minneapolis [etc etc]. It looks as part of our cause at least had at last become popular!
Raymond Robins is a wonderful speaker on the subject.
Please excuse this hurried [letter] and believe me
Always affectionately yours
Jane Addams [signed]
↑P.S. I have sent a copy of this letter from Miss Kittredge and am sure you will hear from her soon.↓
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