General Correspondence Blackwell Family Blackwell, Alice Stone [Wynner, Edith] Schwimmer, Rosika(Alice Park [*this Alice Stone Blackwell] gave this copy to Edith Wynner, Dec. 15, 1944 in Palo Alto) Then and Now Reward For information leading the the apprehension of- JESUS CHRIST Wanted for sedition, criminal anarchy - Vagrancy, and conspiring to overthrow the Established government Dresses poorly, said to be a carpenter by trade, ill-nourished, has visionary ideas, associates with common working people, the unemployed, and bums. Alien- Believed to be a Jew, Alias 'Prince of Peace, Son of Man', 'Light of the World' &c &c Professional agitator, Red beard, marks on hands and feet the result of injuries inflicted by an angry mob led by respectable citizens and legal authorities. Art Young. January 19, 1945 An Austrian refugee physician friend of mine whom I had shown this gem, suggested the addition: - "and practiced medicine without a license." R.S. [*At this saddest Easter season I cannot think of anything more appropriate than Art Young's satire. With best wishes, Rosika Schwimmer [**Rosika Schwimmer] April 5, 1945][*NYTimes May 17 1947] News Story Protested To the Editor of The New York Times: I regret that The Times inaccurately reported my talk before the Armenian World Congress at Carnegie Hall on May 14. Due to my absence from New York, the news story has just been called to my attention. While it is true that I spoke against sending American aid to Turkey, at the same time I advocated "all aid to Greece," and twice repeated the sentence within the same paragraph. Your omission of this important qualification distorts my views. You have me opposing the "Truman Doctrine." There is no evidence for this presumption. I regard it unwise to help dictatorial Turkey. As an Armenian, born and reared in the Near East, and as an American citizen vitally concerned with the welfare of my country, I am perhaps in a better position to know the Turkish character than most of my well-intentioned American friends. Time will show Turkey to be an undependable and fickle partner. One cannot profit from a partnership with a nation which has consistently persecuted its Christian and Jewish minorities and which sided so loyally with the Kaiser and Hitler's regimes. Also inaccurately characterized was my reference to Turkey. My written speech referred to Turkey not as "the Germany of the Near East," but, more explicitly, as "the Nazis of the Near East." Ample documentation may be found in the events of 1914-19. The policy of genocide - mass massacre of innocent civilians, mass deportation, cruelty and starvation - was inaugurated by the Turkish regime. Two decades later the Nazis followed the Turkish example of race extermination. The Nazi slogan of "Germany for the Germans" was patterned on the nationalist cry of "Turkey for the Turks." John Roy Carlson. New York, May 13, 1947 [*Herald Tribune - Sunday - April 11 - 1948] Mrs. Rajan Nehru talking with Gandhi at Birla House the day before his assassination. Envoy's Wife Talked to Gandhi Day He Died Mahatma Asked That Indian Minister to U.S. Live Simply in Washington and come to Know the Every-Day People of America By Rajan Nehru Mrs. Nehru is hte wife of Ratan Nehru, who is India's new Minister to the United States and the nephew of Jawaharlal Nehru. Mrs. Nehru is scheduled to speak Wednesday at the Brooklyn Academy of Arts and Sciences at 8 p.m. It was my great privilege to have had two talks with Mahatma Gandhi, the first on Jan. 29 and the second on the succeeding morning, which was to be the day of his assassination. We talked of what I should tell Americans about the bloodshed in India and Pakistan-the plain truth, he insisted; of how passions when aroused destroy man's sense of humanity; of his undimmed belief in his countrymen; and finallly of his hope that my husband and I would live simply in Washington, not like diplomats, and come to know the every-day people of America. We were flying on the 30th to the United States as my husband had been appointed Minister in Washington. I was most anxious to see Mahatmaji and to get both his advice and blessing for whatever tasks might lie ahead of us. I was given an appointment at 3 p.m. and arrived at Birla House to find him seated in the terrace garden and as usual spinning at the charkha. The warmth and affection of his greeting completely overwhelmed me. During the previous few months I had had opportunities of meeting him in connection with the work which I had been doing with others for the restoration of peaceful conditions in Delhi. Tell Only the Truth So naturally our conversation started with the same subject. He told me that he had broken his fast as he was assured of real peace and amity in the city of Delhi. But, he added, he would only be happy when the millions of Sikhs and Hindus who had been driven away from their homes in the West Punjab were welcomed back, and when the thousands of Moslems who had left Delhi returned and were greeted with open arms by the Hindus. I asked the Mahatma how human beings could be expected to forget, to blot out in their minds and hearts such painful memories. He patted me on the back and said, "No, it is not too much to ask of human beings. When passions are aroused men lose that sense of humanity which distinguishes them from other living beings. It is to this sense of humanity that I am addressing my appeal. Knowing my people, I am confident that there will be a response." I went on to ask the Mahatma how best on could give a correct picture of what had happened in India against the highly exaggerated reports that were appearing in the foreign press. He appeared very thoughtful for a moment and then calmly replied, "I would expect every Indian, I would certainly expect you, to adhere to the truth irrespective of the color in which it shows up the Indian people. While much that is not true has been printed, you should not contradict or enter into controversies. Do not hide the fact that the people of certain areas in the Indian Union, too, went mad, and that India as a whole was ashamed of the fact. Still, the majority of Indians did not lose their senses, even when facing grave provocation." Wanted Another Meeting While I had yet another question on my lips he gave a quick glance at the typed program card on the table next to him and said, "I would like to give you more time as I feel you really want to discuss problems that affect India, but you must come another time." So I took his leave (with folded hands) and with considerable hesitation asked if I might return the next day at 11:30 a.m. I was surprised when he gave me a sparkling smile and said, "I cannot say 'no' to a good daughter of mine, but are you prepared to wake up really early and come and have your talk?" I immediately accepted his offer and declared that I would come willingly at 5 or 5:30 a.m. (which I thought was early enough). "Really," he responded, "would you then come at 3 a.m.?" I promptly said "yes" without realizing the very early hour he was fixing for our meeting! But he was only testing me. The next minute he laughed and said, "Come tomorrow at 6:30 a.m. and if I am asleep just make yourself comfortable, I am sure to wake up soon." I was there at 6:30 the next morning and it was the 30th. The whole house was hushed. I was shown into a room partially lighted, and it was nut until I had settled down on the carpeted floor that I realized the Mahatmaji was asleep huddled up in white khadi shawls and propped up by the traditional Indian bolster pillow on the floor beside me. In a few moments he opened his eyes, smiled and sat up offering me a corner of his shawl to cover my feet. I did not quite know how to start our conversation. It was difficult to start questioning him immediately after he woke up. So in sheer embarrassment, after a brief apology for selfishly requesting the second interview, I asked whether he could give me a photograph of himself and write something on it as a souvenir to carry from home. He promptly said, "Yes, perhaps, if you give something for the Harijan Fund!" [Untouchable Fund] My reply was just as prompt. I said I would give something for the Harijan Fund in any case and I produced some money from my purse - but that I would insist on having the photograph without this proviso as I had seen him, at our last meeting, sign a lovely photograph for Margaret Bourke-White, photographer of "Life" magazine. He was thoroughly amused and said no one had accused him of being partial to the white race, but since I was implying it, I would certainly have a photograph with his signature and with his blessings. Likes the Americans My last question was how best I could serve India while in the U.S.A. "Remember," he said, "India, though potentially rich, is very poor at the moment. Those who go abroad to represent her should live simply and frugally. Do not get lost in the whirlpool of diplomatic entertainment. Your work will be to create strong bonds of friendship between your country and the United States." "For myself," he added, "I can say I not only like the Americans but count hundreds of them as my dear friends." He asked me to write from the States and tell him how we were getting on. Just then his secretary produced the long awaited photograph and he affectionately penned a line "with blessings of Bapu." Before bidding him adieu I said I would look forward to the day I would be back in India and have the great privilege of working under his guidance. I was filled with a sense of satisfaction, a feeling of immense optimism and hopes of serving India according to this great man's wishes. We left Delhi that day at noon and arrived in Bombay at 5 p.m. There we heard the news of his assassination. The world seemed like a deep dark abyss. . . . Yet I know that Gandhi not only lives today, but will continue to live in the thoughts of all Indians for thousands of years as the greatest man of our century and the maker of modern India.