Amy Woods to Jane Addams, September 16, 1924

↑Important official question asked by Executive Committee. When will you be in the East? Very anxious to have a Board meeting with you present. Can change time and place.↓

Sept. 16 1924

Dear Miss Addams

We had a small meeting of the Executive Committee; so many of the Board are still in Europe; Miss Balch was in bed with a feverish cold, and the others all felt physically under the weather, and this of course affects money raising courage.

They voted to accept my plan until December first, in so far as Miss Balch and I are concerned; -- with the expectation of granting me a leave of absence. Mrs Post does not feel it is best for her to take on the Editorship or to act longer as Assistant Treasurer.

It did not seem wise with so small a number present to elect any new members to the Board. -- Mrs Taussig has just arrived from Europe and we have written her to take the chairmanship of the financial committee -- which is quite a good & wide spread one ↑committee↓ -- and we are depending a good deal upon her energy to get us started. If you have time & could write her a welcome home cheering her on, I think it would help to get things underway.

We hesitated to touch upon the Presidential campaign because we are nonpartisan. I think we ought not to let it go unmentioned -- and we can circumvent this difficulty perhaps [page 2] by asking Harriet Connor Brown to write why she will vote for La Follette -- or rather support him, Mrs Mead -- on Davis; and somebody or other if we can find her in our membership who believes in Coolidge. Then we can refer to your article in the New Republic. If we don't do something of the sort, I can well believe that our left wing will perhaps justifiably tear itself wholly away from the body and soar off by itself.

We can urge every member to emphasize our policy program while working hard in the elections for the next two months. I wrote this suggestion to all the members of the Committee who were at Mrs Lewis' and I think they will feel with me that it is wise. At least I hope so.

It really is left to Miss Balch and me to develop the general idea of the Board into an active campaign. I'm hoping that she will be able to be here by the first of next week.

As I plan it, I will put in my three days a week -- organizing the campaign through the Branches to the Outlawry of War -- that is [started now] -- the last [ten] days in October. I will visit the Branches as far as St. Louis -- stopping especially in Madison to confer with Miss [Hochstein] on the study. Hurrah! She has said she will do it and is keen about it. Please send her material whenever you will now. The last ten days of November I will go on a speaking trip South as far as Texas & sail from there December first [page 3] with or without leave of absence it doesn't matter. I am sure that with the National [&] the International will let me use my communication with the W.I.L. to help along our friendships and on my return -- I can speak for the Branches.

My plans for South America are pretty well formulated -- they are all interlocked with W.I.L. -- but for the most part can be carried on in my [own] three days until December first.

I would like to have the studies we are putting out -- have more of a series form, leading to definite objective incorporated into our manifesto. -- Here is the series as I have outlined it sketchily.

Propaganda Series --

"Total Abolition of Army & Navy on land sea & air."

1. National Defense Act.

2. Police Function of the Military

3. Ship Subsidy & its Relation to war.

4. The Use of Chemicals in War.

5. The Chemical Dept. for War.

6. Extension of Military Training through the College for Naval Reserves, already begun -- Large Naval Approp. to be asked of Congress this year.

7. The Air Service -- Its relation to Private manufacture and banking.

8. The Radio -- as a public utility and a private investment, stocks now controlled by Telephone, General Motors, & United Fruit.

9. The Motion Pictures & Politics. Propaganda & War. Watch Will [Hays].

[illegible] -- in print

[Hochstein] -- [illegible]

Odell -- in print

Thomas -- asked by National to serve on the [illegible] Committee [page 4]

I am urging Frederick Libby to make the repeal of the Japanese Exclusion Act his objective this winter. To accomplish it if possible -- but especially to show the other countries that we the people protest it.

The Indian Bill is on the [topic] this year also.

3. Economic Series

1. Pan American Exchange Woods, of Raw Material

I am going to ask [MacPhail] & Woodsworth to help on Canadian Raw material, [Canadian] Farmers.

2. The Shifting Farming Problem of the U.S.

I am going to ask Mrs John Sinclair of Minneapolis & Senator [Shipstead] to help.

3. Tariff -- as effecting commodities and people brought out in the first two studies.

4. Transportation -- a [similar?] study

5. U.S. Federal Reserve System -- with illustrations from the previous studies.

6. Private investment in Foreign lands

7. America's Imperialism [illegible] in print. Prof Moulton of the Carnegie Institute of Economics has just put his bibliographer at my service and has offered to have a 12 page pamphlet written [page 5] from "America Agriculture & European Markets" by [Nourse] which they have just bought out in book form -- [illegible] for our especial use. He will circulate our entire membership without expense to us -- giving us a [illegible] editor.

It is a very interesting exposition of the changing agricultural markets of the world.

I would like to have the Board accept this offer -- quickly -- It will have to be printed at once, & have a W.I.L. leaflet enclosed explaining the relationship of the subject to W.I.L. Resolutions national & international.

Does this sound like a wild program to you? or a practical program? Do you think it of help to the W.I.L.

Affectionately

Amy Woods.

Write your letters to me in the very easiest way for you I am not a stickler for ceremony or form.

Springfield Republic Sept 10 prints signed article that Attorney General Stone has replaced Detectives by lawyer, -- "The American Defense Society & the men & women who misrepresented & tried to prevent the holding of the biennial Congress of W.I.L. & their summer school are no longer to turn to the spies of the dept of Justice" etc. [etc.] [written up right margin] signed Lothrop Louis Boston.