Catt, Carrie Chapman General Correspondence National council of women National Council of Women, Inc. United States of America Telephone, Pennsylvania 1400 Room 1534-370 Seventh Avenue New York, N.Y. Cable Address: "Natcouncil" New York Dr. Valeria H. Parker, President Dr. Emma E. Bower, Treasurer Mrs. Amy Brown Lyman, Recording Secretary Mrs. Glen L. Swiggett, Corresponding Secretary April 27, 1927. Personal Mrs. Carrie Chapman Catt, 171 Madison Avenue, New York City. My dear Mrs. Catt: I find that Mrs. Swiggett has our only remaining copy of the D. A. R. letter so I am writing to Mrs. Park asking her to have a copy made and sent to you, as Mrs. Swiggett will be in Florida for the next few weeks. Meanwhile, I am enclosing an account of the White Plains meeting conducted by Mrs. Lund and also a copy of a personal letter from Miss Mary Anderson. Yours Sincerely, Valeria H. Parker Valeria H. Parker, M. D. President VHP:B enclosure Affiliated with the International Council of Women copy U.S. Department of Labor Women's Bureau Washington April 22, 1927 Personal Dear Dr. Parker: I want to tell you about the meeting of the D.A. R.'s last night. It was the evening meeting at which the following were speakers: Senator Thos. F. Bayard, Mrs. Flora A. Walker (Mrs. William Sherman Walker), Chairman of National Defense Committee of the D. A. R., Lieut. Col. Smith, and Capt. Geo. L. Darte, adjutant general of the Military Order of the World War, (otherwise, the man who assembled the names of persons and organizations and affiliations and gave them to Congressman Blanton, who published them in the Congressional Record.) Senator Bayard lunged out with an attack on the Children's Bureau. In fact, his whole speech was on that subject, beginning with the first child labor bill, and the second one, and then the Child Labor Amendment and the Sheppard- Towner Act. And then he said 'And now we have another monster coming along to take away the last vestige of freedom from the citizens of the United States, in the name of the Education Bill, with a Secretary in the Cabinet!' The Daughters cheered him to the echo! Then came Mrs. Walker's report, which was nothing much, only generalities, and the last of all the speeches was that of Capt. Darte, who mentioned names and organizations frequently. Among the 'Red' journals was the New Republic and The Mercury, and among the organizations, the Joint Congressional Committee. Mrs. Kelley was the only name mentioned in connection with the Joint Congressional Committee. He even accused Nicholas Murray Butler of being one of the "pinks"-- "Poor, old, misguided Nicholas." Then one of the Daughters from New York stood up and moved that all these speeches be printed so that they could distribute them among the membership throughout the country as a warning to the citizens of the United States of the persons and organizations carrying on Red Propaganda. It was carried by unanimous vote, 12 o'clock M! - 2- If there could only be a concerted effort of the membership of the D. A. R. to write letters to Mrs. Brosseau and tell her that she is hurting the organization by permitting such an outrageous program, not only permitting it, but putting it on, knowing what she knew about it. It was done purposely by her and the program committee. Of course, most of the delegates didn't know what was coming and didn't understand it when it did come. All that they realized was that a Senator of the United States said so, and it must be so. (Of course they don't know that the Senate itself doesn't think much of Mr. Bayard.) I felt so sorry for Miss Abbott this morning. While a person of course tries not to take it too seriously, at the same time it does hurt, and the fight is so much harder. With best wishes, Very sincerely yours, (signed) Mary Anderson MA:IH General Summary Of Meeting Held at Greenridge Inn, White Plains, N.Y. February 4, 1927. No action was taken at the meeting over which Mrs. Arnold presided at the Greenridge Inn (of which she is proprietor) Mrs. Lund quite forcefully and convincingly presented a serious state of affairs and suggested a possible way out if enough work and funds were pledged toward an Institution of Patriotic Education. This Institution would have no membership, thereby eliminating the possibility of a "block" by socialists who might join under pretense of being eager to further this piece of work. There would be a corps of efficient instructors. Anyone interested would be eligible for enrollment in classes and would pay regular tuition for same. Anyone proving undesirable would be discharged as in colleges of other natures. Mrs. Lund stressed the point that the majority of women active in Women's Clubs, have the very best interest of "the people" at heart, would lay down their lives for bettering conditions for the more unfortunate, but the Welfare Group are merely misinformed and will not take time to check up by listening or by reading chronicled facts. She stated that Socialist literature definitely states that their program must be promoted through maternity centers. They know that women are easily touched and will work untiringly to pass legislative measures, thinking they are bettering humanity , when in reality they have "merely read the labels" never stopping to see what is inside. Socialists are in every sort of office, They have their own statisticians who juggle statistics in the way most convenient. Appropriations such as Sheppard-Towner, are used for more propaganda only! Women are bewildered by these facts and although they wish to straighten matters, they feel that they don't know where to begin so do nothing but lament the state of affairs. Such women should be informed that they are generally safe in standing out against anything which points toward centralizing power in Federal Government. Much better to accomplish things locally as there is much less opportunity for graft. People holding local office are more likely to know citizens for whom they are working and are more desirous of performing a service. Federal officers are more likely to think only of the job which pays good wages and feeds his family. He will do anything to keep the job and will be entirely forgetful of actual results of his votes or decisions. EDB 4 copies 2/15/27 Report of Greenridge Inn Meeting, 2/4/27 (Not verbatim, merely as the subject was presented; as it appealed to the listener if in accord with Mrs. Lund) About thirty women gathered for an informal meeting in the large, attractively furnished living room of the Greenridge Inn, White Plains, New York. Mrs. Arnold, who owns the Inn, had invited representatives from Patriotic Clubs to meet with Mrs. Lund. Mrs. Arnold gave a welcoming greeting to those present. She spoke of the courage necessary to stand out against the crowd and see things clearly when one knew they were rated as "crazy" and unable to work with any other woman. She then read from the Congressional Record, January 12, 1927, Page 4, a letter to Hon. Sheppard, favoring the Sheppard-Towner Act. This was signed by women representing; National Board of Y. W. C. A., National Council of Jewish Women, National Congress of Parents and Teaches, General Federation of Women's Clubs, Mrs. Swiggett--National Council of Women, and others. Mrs. Arnold asked how many women knew of this letter, how many understood what it was all about and how many belonged to at least one of the organizations named. Almost every woman present belonged to one or the other of the organizations; two of them knew about the Sheppard-Towner Act, most of them had heard of the name. "You see" said Mrs. Arnold, "it isn't really the voice of the people." Mrs. Lund first spoke concerning the Sheppard-Towner act which, she stated, was introduced by Florence Kelley a student of Frederic Engles, a pacifist and communist. Her name is not Kelley at all but something Russian instead. (Mrs. Lund gave the name but I can neither spell nor pronounce it) Mrs. Lund quoted from the teaching of the pacifist "propaganda must be promoted through maternity centers." In a direct investigation in Michigan it was found that Communist women are trained for nursing, first aid, and legislative leadership. The women who are working for legislative measures are desirous of doing the very best for humanity but are so busy doing things they hear are right, they will not take time to look at things squarely, will not listen to the other side, will not take time to check up facts. One instance was mentioned of statistical Department in Efficiency Bureau which was headed by Herbert Brown who is distinctly a communist and who compiled statistics to suit his needs. Pacifists point to the enormous sum spent by the U. S. War Department but do not mention that at least one-half is spent on Peace Education. In the beginning--national organizations did not have power but merely voiced the sentiment of the people. That is the most satisfactory way at all times. Delegates to National Conventions are those who can afford to go, not necessarily the ones most fitted for the mission. Mrs. Lund had yet to find a woman in business who is not at times advised by men. Politicians know women are sensitive to welfare movements and would do anything for the betterment of humanity. Their sympathies are listed in this manner, unknowingly, for the very agents which they think they are working against. Women are prejudiced for or against a measure according to their like or dislike of the person who is behind a movement. 2 Report of Greenridge Inn Meeting 2/4/27 One time in Washington a legislative group met in Pinchot's Drawing Room to prepare the Child Labor Amendment. They had just assembled when Mr. Pinchot said they would go up to Mr. Gompers office for a while. (Thus no opportunity for discussion was given.) Mr. Pinchot is a communist. The group consisted of a representative from the General Federation of Churches, Mr. Lovejoy, Mrs. Maud Wood Park, Grace Abbott and others. Three people made speeches in favor of the bill and as no one else was allowed to speak, it was considered that all were in favor of it. At 2;00 in the afternoon the meeting was again assembled. Miss Abbott made a lengthy speech upon the absolute necessity for the Child Labor Amendment in order to make the states enforce their laws. It was then that Mrs. Lund spoke up, insisting that the states had adequate laws and should enforce them alone. She offered, if someone would point out an individual who was mistreating employees, to show by experiment, that by advertising the employer's faults no other action would be necessary. This, Mrs. Lund proposed without expense to anyone other than herself. Some listeners were much interested. Mrs. Swiggett, a sweet little woman, came to her saying "you have thrown a great light on subjects I had not thought of." (paus) "They have her back again now!" An article recommended for reading was "Legislation by Black Hand" by Richard W. Child. This appeared in last year's Saturday Evening Post. To show that individual's opinions are not represented when power is invested in national head, Mrs. Lund took for example one of the largest organizations; The National Council of Women, composed of something like 48 national organizations. At their Biennial Meetings each organization is allowed 10 minutes to report two year's work. "do you think the proceedings of an entire organization can be presented in 10 minutes?" This organization is made up of some of the finest women in the country but they are misinformed. Some of their chairmen leaders are; Mrs. Mead - socialist, pacifist Prof. Whitney - " " " " Mary Anderson " " " " Every one conscientious workers and thinking they are on the right side. If you could lock some of them in a room for two weeks and make them read some material they would be convinced, and devote their time and energy in the opposide faction. In Decatur in 1922 at a meeting of the national council of Women, Mrs. Lund suggested that an investigation be made by constituent organizations within themselves. She thought this only fair to disprove propaganda that all national women's organizations did have socialists for members. At once there were objections to this which would seem that they had real reasons for fearing such investigations. Mrs. Lund stated this was the real difficulty. Women would not take time to check up on the situation. That if they would, their views would be entirely changed. This she said was proven by the instance of the Decatur meeting where she was allowed to speak from the floor only, but through that was able to change the vote on resolutions proposed, from 13 to 23. "Red Destruction of the Family" by Solomon, was highly recommended by Mrs. Lund for anyone who had only a limited time for study of the subject. Report of Greenridge Inn Meeting 2/4/27 3 In conclusion Mrs. Lund offered a glimpse of the program she would promote if opportunity presented itself. This was of the Institution for Patriotic Education. She does not think America is in any immediate danger from the "Reds" because they are discernible and are openly surpressed. It is the "Pink" element which hides behind the sentimental welfare groups. The Rand School of Social Science teaches its workers to promote their program in this way as they know Americans are so sincere and honest and trusting that they do not suspect others of misrepresenting causes which so vitally concern the welfare of our citizens. * * * * * * EDB 4 cps 2/15/27 Transcribed and reviewed by volunteers participating in the By The People project at crowd.loc.gov.