June 27th
Dear Miss Addams.
I am sure we should take part in the move as to World Court and shall record ourselves as ready at once.
You will be interested to know that we have almost all the money for Miss Balch, only about $30.00 short. Miss Dulles & I went over accounts of W.I.L. money yesterday, & that was the one cheering thing. We sent $100 to each ↑of the foreign speakers↓ when they reached N.Y. to cover their expenses to their [page 2] homes, & any remaining to be kept by them. I understand you in Chicago gave each $50 so we think they have over $100 each beyond any possible expenses, & they were all to spend in New York or take home whichever they wanted or needed most. Do you think this is all right? It seemed to us so. Miss Dulles will send about $225 to Miss Balch at once & the rest I hope we will have in a few days from somewhere. I wonder if we could have a report from each city of what was collected & spent so we could file a report of expenses connected with it, it would be valuable [page 3] to have, & worth reporting in one of our bulletins.
Our other treasury -- the national one is bankrupt & considerable due. We decided to pay back bills, & the most important things at once which empties our treasury. (Really books are in a terrible mess, we have not even found yet what pledges have been paid, we are disgusted with carelessness & unbusinesslike methods -- it is time for some radical changes but this is confidential). We have not yet got a finance Com & might get one & have it at work to carry us on. Have you anyone to suggest in Chicago? Or [page 4] should I correspond with Miss Boynton or someone else in this matter? I am not sure who is the best person to write to in your group. Mrs. Mathes was asked to serve I think, but we have no response.
We have two pledges, one "Miss Addams $100.00" & "Chicago $100.00" and I have $25.00 received which I suppose is on the latter, but it was sent as "$25.00 on pledge for office expenses $50.00." If we could get this money from you & the Chicago group it would help us, we are wishing to get in all the pledges, but there is a mess over [page 5] it, and some have been paid we find & not so recorded & we hate to ask for money already paid, it seems so frightfully unbusinesslike. We arranged to pay one bill lately sent from Mrs. Odell for the printing for our April meeting with a second statement of bill rendered -- our credit will be terrible & if our subscribers find our unbusiness methods they will certainly not contribute.
Mrs. DuBois seems to take hold well & will stay some months if we want her. I am [page 6] delighted to find taking vacation the weeks her husband has off, & at a time our work is slackest. I suppose you will be in Washington for the presenting of the petition to the President, the [amnesty]. I see your name on list, so I can have chat with you I hope. Can we arrange to see each other? I can be there a night I think before or after & want to for W.I.L. work. I would like to call Board meeting though few could come, but I want some action. Could you attend? Let me know if you could & when. [page 7] In hope of things to do and I am trying to systematize plans and get our organization on good basis. I cannot bear to be ever in debt with bills coming & no prospect of meeting them. We owe beyond $300, & salaries are coming due weekly. If all the pledges are paid up we can carry [through] summer, but if some more are paid and not recorded so we can find it, we are that much worse off. We are definitely putting energy now into straightening that out & working out budget, & securing a finance Com. I am too much of a Quaker to be happy on the ragged [page 8] edge of bankruptcy or over the edge.
I have asked Miss Cheever as Chairman of International Finance Com. to act as Treas. of that fund taking dues -- sending lists to Washington office also for file there -- but sending out annual [dues?] notice & keeping it as her responsibility. I hope she can & will do it.
I am not discouraged, hope this does not sound so. I only thought you would be interested in it.
With love yours
Lucy Biddle Lewis
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