Catt, Carrie Chapman General Correspondence Peck, Mary Gray 1940-47 Jan 1, 1940 Carrie Chapman Catt 120 Paine Avenue New Rochelle New York Dear M. [GP?] We like our lamp immensely. We like it dim we like it bright and we like it medium and our moods fit all its possibilities Many many thanks for this glorious Xmas gift. On this New Years Day of 1941 I wish you a happy prosperous peaceful stable healthful painless loving New Year [Join me in my resolution never before taken. I shall try to adapt myself, my habits and my ideas to the changing ways of the world I live in.] I think it will keep us busy. I wish I had adopted it eighty years ago! Lovingly Carrie Chapman Catt Carrie Chapman Catt 120 Paine Avenue New Rochelle New York July 17, 1940 Dear Mary: I got your letter and I am very glad, for your sake, that you are not coming home immediately. Indeed, I hope you will stay quite awhile. I think you may want to come home at once when you hear my tale. Tomorrow, I am going to Mrs. Wilson's home with the whole of the book. The only exceptions are the two biographies, - the biography by Mrs. Sweet which is promised but not yet here and the one of Mrs. Stanton - and the preface to which I have not yet set my hand. The copy goes with a dedication, a re-baptism of titles for book and chapters, but that is not what will frighten you most. I came upon the biography of me in manuscript. I conclude it is the one you sent to Mrs. Wilson. I could not possibly stand for it. In the first place, it is much too long and, for that reason, it had to be cut short, so I dictated my own biography and made it very brief. Then Alda added extracts from the biography you wrote and Henrietta insisted that she knew something which should go in, so, between us, we have made a nice biography and we have signed your name to it! I hope you are having a nice time and that it is having a smoothing effect upon your temper, so that nothing can possibly ruffle it! Be a good and forgiving girl. Lovingly, Carrie Chapman Catt Miss Mary Gray Peck, c/o Dilman, Castle Street corner Brook Street, Geneva, New York. CCC:HW. WOMAN'S CENTENNIAL CONGRESS 1840-1940 Carrie Chapman Catt, Chairman HEADQUARTERS 1624 Grand Central Terminal Bldg. 70 East 45th Street New York City - Telephone: MUrray Hill 6-8273 EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Josephine Schain, Chairman Mrs. Halsey W. Wilson, Secretary Mrs. Bert Hanson, Treasurer Henrietta Roelofs, Program Mrs. Albin Johnson, Arrangements Alda H. Wilson, Budget 120 Paine Avenue, New Rochelle, New York December 10, 1940 To the Authors of the Memorial Book I am informed that you have been presented with a deluxe edition of the book. This special volume was paid for by Mr. Samuel Woodward of Massachusetts, and none of them have been sold or paid for in any other way. We have given a copy to each of the hundred women selected as representatives of women's careers; to outstanding suffragists who have served long and well; to a few members of the management of the Congress. #1 is going to Mrs. Roosevelt and #2 to the Congressional Library. It was out intention to send the last one hundred, or portion of them, to the most outstanding women's colleges and universities, but a different suggestion has now been made and we have accepted it, and that is, instead of sending them to the libraries who will get it anyway as a reference book, we send it to the most outstanding presidents of the League of Women Voters. They took over our work and they should have it as a reference book. Thus the three hundred copies of the deluxe edition has been pretty well exhausted. No person has received two copies. If an author, such as Mrs. Brown and Mrs. Park, received one of these deluxe editions as a member of the National Board, she does not get it as an author. If we have made any mistakes in our plans, we apologize. Of the Wilson Company twenty-five books may be bought for $25. Therefore, if you and some of your friends can combine together and buy twenty-five, you can get them for one dollar apiece, which is the price the NAMSA have paid for them. Sincerely, Carrie Chapman Catt Carrie Chapman Catt Chairman November 25-26-27, 1940 Hotel Commodore New York City My dear Meary: I am glad you arrived safely and are enjoying your variety of scrubs. I do not see why you could not get in the janitor with a pail of soap suds and a good scrubbing brush and have it done at home cheaper and perhaps more effectively but perhaps you would get too clean. If we were not so busy I would write you a nice letter Yesterday, there were three gardeners. One name Valerio sowed the entire place with a mixture of lime and complete fertilizer, another named Hugh took off some storm windows washed screens and windows and put up screens and awnings. He is still at it. The third named Kershoff painted at three new trellises and is still at it. In the house Mrs Wheeler wrote monthly letters Henrietta took dictation and paid bills. Jean fed us Alda attended the League of W. Voters and I dodged around among them and along toward night bought a blue dress and received a caller. I'm hoping the war will end in the South East and that the Greeks in their white pettys will chase the Nazis home where at least one will commit suicide. When we meet again I will not be so clean as you are. Like Mary Wollstonecraft you will be "A Shining Woman" Looking forward Carrie C. Catt Tuesday, 1941 April 8, LESLIE WOMAN SUFFRAGE CONTINUING COMMITTEE Room 1624 70 East 45th Street, New York, N.Y. Telephone: Murray Hill 6-4144 Directors Carrie Chapman Catt, Chairman Mrs. F. Louis Slade, Vice-Chairman Mary Gray Peck, Secretary Mabel Russell, Treasurer Mrs. Thomas B. Wells 120 Paine Avenue, New Rochelle, New York. May 19, 1941 To Caroline Slade, Mabel Russell, Mary Gray Peck, I hereby call the annual meeting of the Leslie Continuing Committee to meet at my house, 120 Paine Avenue, New Rochelle, at 11 o'clock sharp, Wednesday, May 28th. A train from the Grand Central Station leaves at 9:55 and arrives at Pelham at 10:26. I refer to Daylight Saving time. My car will be at Pelham to meet anyone coming on the train. This will allow time to get you to my house and take off your hat before 11 o'clock. Three members of the Leslie Continuing Committee, including myself, are also members of the Board of the National American Woman Suffrage Association. I am inviting Mrs. Raymond Brown and Mrs. Halsey W. Wilson, the other two resident members of the National American Woman Suffrage Association Board, to attend this meeting as guests in order that we may discuss certain matters together. If any other members of the National American Board are in the vicinity at the time, we will try to bring them into the same circle. We will serve luncheon at 1 o'clock and I think it will be necessary to have some time after luncheon before the business is completed. Very sincerely yours, [signed] Carrie Chapman Catt Carrie Chapman Catt Chairman Leslie Continuing Committee Carrie Chapman Catt 120 Paine Avenue New Rochelle New York June 9, 1941 Dear Mary: Whatever put you in such a predicament? I thought that spring had come and that you were like a lark singing on a bough; instead, I hear that you have gone to a hospital with a whole string of diseases, none of which are famed to be enjoyable. Whatever the difficulty is, I know the remedy. It is a detective story and nothing else can take its place. We are ransacking the house to find one, but as you have already perused all that were written before last week, I am not sure that we will be able to provide you with one on short order. Henrietta came today with a copy of the minutes for the Minute Book and your copy which is to be returned to you. She also had her camera with a design on taking a picture of your bed. We are much distressed about you and hope your absence will not be for long. Lovingly, [signed] Carrie C. Catt Miss Mary Gray Peck, 30 Eastchester Road, New Rochelle, N. Y. 30 Eastchester Road, New Rochelle, New York, September 30th 1941. To Whom It May Concern; Mrs .Carrie Chapman Catt is one of the best known women in the United States and throughout the world, having been prominent for many years in the Woman Suffrage and Peace Movements. As President of The National American Woman Suffrage Association she was chiefly responsible for the adoption of the 19th Amendment to the Federal Constitution, giving votes to women. She organized the International Woman Suffrage Alliance for the purpose of uniting the women of all races in the organization. She has received honorary degrees from leading colleges and universities of this country. She has received many awards for distinguished public services, the latest of which was a gold medal presented at the White House in May 1941. I have had the privilege of knowing Mrs.Catt personally since 1909. Mary Gray Peck An American citizen decended from five ancestors who took part in the American Revolution. Carrie Chapman Catt 120 Paine Avenue New Rochelle New York October 16, 1941 Dear Mary: Will you do me the honor of dining with me Tuesday, October 21st? The hour is 6:30. The place is 120 Paine Avenue, New Rochelle, New York. Lovingly, [signed] Carrie Chapman Catt Miss Mary Gray Peck, 30 Eastchester Road, New Rochelle, N. Y. Carrie Chapman Catt 120 Paine Avenue New Rochelle New York October 21, 1941 my 74th (not 75th) b'day with b'day box various canned foods My dear Mary: One night you will have planned to go out for dinner but it has stormed all day and the night is windy wet and disagreable. That night, and only on such a night you will open this box and find your dinner in it. It will be necessary to keep yourself provided with a can opener butter etc. If you happen to have some lettuce in the house your salad will be more enjoyable. There is no salad dressing provided. Do not open the box before the appointed night. The menu and directions are inside. Lovingly, [signed] C. C. C. Directions for chicken scrape off the jelly or juice Take a tablespoon full of flour, add salt, pepper to taste stir well and dip chicken in [in?] rubbing it all in. Have a skillet hot, melt butter or bacon fat in it and quickly broil the chicken. Remove the chicken, pour the juice or jelly into the pan. If you like add a bit of cream and thicken with a little flour. Brown Bread. Heat to boiling point water in a pot big enough to contain the tin of brown bread. A half hours cooking will not hurt it. Then open the can and enjoy hot good corn bread. The can of soup can be heated or the sauce may. Menu Mary's Lonely Dinner Cocktails Grape fruit juice. Orange and Grape fruit Make your choice Soup Heinz Onion Soup. Rinse out the can with milk and add to soup when heating. Dinner Fried Chicken Gravy [*Extra Pork and Beans for next day luncheon] Tomatoes Peas Currant Jelly Relish Salad Mims lettuce and dressing Dessert Peaches cookies and jelly from 75th birthday apple trees. Cocktails Orange and Grape fruit juice without sugar or preservative Soup Heinz Onion Dinner Course Fried chicken with gravy Small tomatoes Peas Relish Brown Bread Dessert Home Farm style Peaches 75th Birthday Apple Jelly 3 varieties hand cookies. The Battle Creek Sanitarium Battle Creek, Michigan December 20, 1942 My dear Mary We are tired and worn with the efforts of this institution to ascertain whether we are worth saving. They (a considerable staff of men and women) are not through hunting yet. We now enter upon three days of living on fruit only. If we survive you will get a letter. Now I write to say that Mr Kerschoff lost the gas rationing book the day he took me to town and I am writing him today to tell him what to do about it. I knew this when last I saw you but utterly forgot to tell you that we could not "h[??]d base" any coupons we do not have. Now I read that the A ration books may be suppressed any way I am glad you have Mrs Brown and Miss Suon to keep you company if you get shut in. It was my intention to write you a long letter but I am not equal to it. There are not many people here now for which I am glad. It is quiet we have exceedingly comfortable rooms and we will pass on our opinions later Lovingly, Carrie C Catt LESLIE WOMAN SUFFRAGE CONTINUING COMMITTEE Room 1624 70 East 45th Street, New York, N. Y. Telephone: Murray Hill 6-4144 Directors Carrie Chapman Catt, Chairman Mrs. F. Louis Slade, Vice-Chairman Mary Gray Peck, Secretary Mabel Russell, Treasurer Mrs. Thomas B. Wells 120 Paine Avenue, New Rochelle, New York. November 12, 1942 To the Leslie Continuing Committee: When we held our last meeting, I had proposed that we make certain arrangements which would permit us to dissolve the Leslie Continuing Committee and it was voted that Henrietta Wald's salary should be paid to November 1 1942. Henrietta's salary has been paid to November 1st and there is left in the bank account $466.82. There is also one bond left. I now suggest that we hold a meeting at your convenience and make arrangements for the disposition of the small amount of money remaining and that we dissolve. Owing to the scarcity of fuel oil, I have concluded to close my house for the three coldest months during the winter and to go elsewhere. I shall certainly be here until December 1st and perhaps a little longer. As you know, we keep house with the aid of a couple. This couple was not very capable and when we gave notice that we might close our house in early December, the couple left at once. We have a girl who comes in three days a week to clean the house and Alda Wilson and I give ourselves three sketchy meals a day. In the midst of this quiet country life, I fell downstairs and so Alda has been cheated out of whatever useful assistance I might have rendered as housekeeper. We could manage to receive the Leslie Continuing Committee at the house for luncheon, provided you had a good breakfast and were assured of a good dinner in the evening! A disposition that could be made of the money would be to put it into the funds of the National American Woman Suffrage Association which must go on living. I persuaded the Executive Committee of the Woman's Centennial Congress to buy with the money remaining in its treasury copies of the book, VICTORY - HOW WOMEN WON IT, to be distributed among the important libraries of the country. The National American Woman Suffrage Association had about $250. in its treasury, largely obtained as royalty on this same book. I therefore made a bargain with Mr. Halsey W. Wilson, who had printed the book, and we have disposed of nearly all the books he had left on hand. -2- Believing that the National American Woman Suffrage Association had never been without money in its treasury since it was organized in 1890, I left in its treasury $9.50 as a "nest egg", although a vote had been taken by the Board to give all the money remaining in the treasury toward the distribution of these books. At present, this precious $9.50 is in an envelope in my bank vault. There may be something to do with the money remaining in the Leslie fund other than what I have proposed and if so, you would have the opportunity to make such a suggestion if a Leslie meeting could be held. I now write to ask if you would like to attend a meeting of this kind, what date you would prefer (probably between now and December 10th) and would you be willing to dissolve? Very sincerely, Carrie Chapman Catt Carrie Chapman Catt Chairman CCC:HW. Carrie Chapman Catt 120 Paine Avenue New Rochelle New York December 30, 1942 Dear Mary: We have been here two weeks today and this is the first day I have felt that I might write a small letter to the end. We too have had cold but not so far below zero as in New Rochelle. This building is warm every where and our rooms are cheerful, neat and comfortable. I go to the basement and take ten minutes in the "electric chair." It jiggles and shakes you I am taking this for my general good but especially for my feet and legs. We have walked on the big broad porch awhile and Alda has now gone for a longer walk to which I am not equal In the afternoon we go to the bathing quarters again. I take leg baths. My feet are plunged in a tall tub of hot water, then lifted out and plunged into a similar tub of cold water and this is done three times. Next I am laid on a table and have very hot formulations on my abdomen and an ice cold towel applied three times. Next the hot and cold formulation is put on my spine. Then I get into the tub and sit on a stool. I am either scrubbed with soap or salt and doused with water. Back on the bed I go, get dried and have an oil rub. This is followed by the electric chair again. Alda gets more things done to her We are all expected to take sun light baths, but I got burned won't do it again. There are lectures many evenings and some afternoons There is a woman's string group which gives short and agreeable programs after. There are radios but these do not fit our needs and our own is not satisfactory. Picture puzzles of complicated nature are to be had and we all play at them until tired. When we go to the table again, we find others have built in additions to the picture and when finished they are beautiful. On Christmas Eve there was a very nice short concert. 3 Early Christmas morning boys singing Xmas carols went through the halls before daylight, rapping at every door and handing us a red stocking for each occupant. A handful of nuts and reform candy wrapped in paper filled the toe. A big delicious apple and a popcorn ball filled the leg. The dinner came at 1 pm. Music and some singing accompanied the meal All the house is prettily decorated including several trees. For the Xmas dinner a corsage of red and green was tied to our chair. I do not remember what we had to eat but the dinner was elaborate and nice without meat or coffee of course. The menu was wonderfully printed on a souvenir cover. The dining room was well filled with guests from outside In the evening we had a "song fest" followed by some very enjoyable movies. It was all a surprise and made a very enjoyable day towel applied three times. Next the hot and cold formulation is put on my spine. Then I get into the tub and sit on a stool. I am either scrubbed with soap or salt and douched with water. Back on the bed I go, get dried and have an oil rub. This is followed by the electric chair again. Alda gets more things done to her We are all expected to take sun light baths, but I got burned and won't do it again. There are lectures many evenings and some afternoons There is a woman's string group which gives short and agreeable programs after. There are radios but these do not fit our needs and our own is not satisfactory. Picture puzzles of complicated nature are to be had and we all play at them until tired. When we go to the table again, we find others have built in additions to the picture and when finished they are beautiful. On Christmas Eve there was a very nice short concert. 3 CARRIE CHAPMAN CATT 120 PAINE AVENUE NEW ROCHELLE NEW YORK Early Christmas morning boys singing Xmas carols went through the halls before daylight, rapping at every door and handing us a red stocking for each occupant. A handful of nuts and reform candy wrapped in paper filled the toe. A big delicious apple and a popcorn ball filled the leg. The dinner came at 1 p m. Music and some singing accompanied the meal All the house is prettily decorated including several trees. For the Xmas dinner a corsage or red and green was tied to our chair. I do not remember what we had to eat but the dinner was elaborate and nice without meat or coffee of course. The menu was wonderfully printed on a souvenir cover. The dining room was well filled with guests from outside In the evening we had a[n] song fest! followed by some very enjoyable movies. It was all a surprise and made a very enjoyable day. I am not yet ready to comment on the food nor the value of the treatments. When I have made up my mind I will share my opinion with you. We have decided to stay at least till the 20th — perhaps a week longer. I have read four books — two about constipation and the colon, one a detective story sent me by Minnie Schreiner and one of the [?] story. You will be pleased to know that I went to a Seven Adventist sermon last Sunday evening. There was an audience of 13 present and Alda was not with me. These people are nice people and I shall study them a little more. They like several other denominations do not approve of war. Less talk of war. We get the Times but tardily. On Sunday we read the Saturday paper. On Monday we got the Friday paper and the Sunday paper arrived on Tuesday! I must now go to lunch, then to a lecture on the colon next [?] treatment, so this is the best I can do. I hope you can read it. I may come back looking like a prize fighter, but I do not feel very fine yet. Lovingly Carrie C C Dictated by CARRIE CHAPMAN CATT 120 PAINE AVENUE NEW ROCHELLE NEW YORK Battle Creek Sanitorium Mich January 3rd 1943 My dear Mary; We have just put you on the list to receive literature from B. C. Sanatorium, I do not know what you will get, but thought you might be interested or some of your friends might be interested to look it over. The big old Bldg. famous in the minds of many people has been sold out and out to the Federal Government. They have made it into a Federal hospital for service men. I understand that there are some from the last war, still in hospitals, who are to be moved here. The Government also bought the Sanitorium at Miami, Fla. The money from the sale is to be used to build another building, after the war, more up to date in every way. Once upon a time an enterprising company built this Bldg. where the Sanitorium now is, as a rival establishment. They called it The Beefsteak Sanitorium, but it did not go. The Kellog Co. used it as an overflow Building and now they have added to it and enlarged it to use for the duration. Their alterations are not yet completed in every way. Some rather extreme additions are just being put into commission. Last night we had a real entertainment in the auditorium which is reached by going through a long incompleted corridor with doctors offices opening off one side and a room intended for a library at the end. The place was filled with town-people. The object was an illustrated lecture on Taming Wild Animals, specifically otters. The man gave a very interesting talk, illustrated by three reels of moving pictures showing otters in the wild as well as the tamed state. It seems people use them as pets instead of dogs and that they make very good "retrievers", At the end of the lecture he blew a whistle and said "come on {?}" and an otter was released from a cage at the back of the hall; it hurried up the aisle mounted the stage and by using a chair it climbed into a large glass tank which stood on a table. It swam around and seemed to be having a good time but when he would whistle and speak to it it would climb out and follow him around then hurry back to the water. He then walked up and down the aisles followed by a dog and this otter so that all might see. The dog was very unconcerned and caught a flea much to the amusement of some children down in front. It was a great sight and we enjoyed it thoroughly. As to my health. I will confide to you that there were times before we left the house when I wondered if I would survive the effort of going and coming, but now I am quite rested and have decided to return to New York and try to outlive Hitler. Much love to you from C.C.C. {?} Dear Mary Peck; When this was being dictated she tried {?} make the health statement much worse than the above, but I talked her out of it. The truth is that she stood the trip out here splendidly and has been much interested in everything. The "treatments" were doing her good and she is walking much better. Just now she told me that she was feeling "much better". On day before Tuesday she developed a slight nose-cold had her dinner in bed, felt better the next morning but missed her treatment again and went to bed early. Yesterday was their "Sabbath" so she did little except go to meals and the lecture and today she has had an enema a treatment and seems to be O.K. Will write again soon. Alda Dictated by CCC to Alda Wilson--at the Battle Creek Sanitorium Mich. CARRIE CHAPMAN CATT 120 Paine Avenue New Rochelle New York January 10th 1943 My dear Mary: I received your letter today. It contained twenty-five questions. I have no time to answer them because I must go to so many treatments. Please save them until I come back and then they will all be conscientiously answered. I will tell you however, about my birthday. The afternoon before, on January 8th, there came a rap at the door and a lady came in bringing a large white basked with a high handle filled with pink roses, white veronica and asparagus fern. The whole thing was about as big as a Cathedral and was the most wonderful boquet you ever saw. It was from the Sanitorium. We lived with it all day the 9th and it is still beautiful this afternoon although its first freshness is gone. It was a real joy. At four P.M. Jan. 9th we went in one of the Sanitorium cars to a beauty parlor, which was at one time a part of the Institution. It was very nice and very modern. We each had a shampoo and finger-wave. We then telephoned, as directed, to the man who had promised to return for me., but he did not come and we waited a whole hour before we could be returned. We telephoned several times and tried in vain to get a taxi, bit it was a disagreeable P.M. and Saturday so we had no luck that way. There was a reason why we should have gotten back before quarter to seven. We had been invited to take dinner with the Hostess of the San. and our doctor at 6 30. We found them waiting all dressed up in long tailed gowns, but we had to go in just as we were having no time to put on our best clothes as we planned. We have been living on a reducing diet but last night we did not reduce. We had everything the house could provide and it was a very nice dinner, but imagine my surprise when they brought in with the ice cream a Happy Birthday cake with lighted candles all around. It was a good cake too. The reason we had not been called for was interesting. When our man had met the evening train he picked up two soldiers and their wives. Now B.C. is overcrowded with all kinds of war-work and a big camp of men. The hotels were all full and would not even talk to them. Finally the driver telephoned the Sanitarium and persuaded them to take the two couples in to some of the patients rooms which happened to be vacant. When he got them settled our man came for us much to our relief. I received numerous cards, telegrams and letters and as it was the "Sabbath" here and no "treatments" given it was a real holiday. Each Saturday evening they have an entertainment in the Auditorium. Which can be reached without going out doors. This time it was an impersonator who changed costume and make up without leaving the stage. He recited many poems and little skits, some familiar some new to us. It was very interesting and the children, who were present in large numbers were delighted. We retired about ten-thirty and decided that we had had quite a day. This will inform you that on Thursday, January 21st, we will arrive at the Women's University Club. It is my hope that we will not be there long and when and if we get located we will invite you in and tell you all you wish to know about Battle Creek. You said in your letter that when you reached town you would buy something for me. I beg of you not to do it. Just put that off for "the duration." Hoping to see you very soon I am Very lovingly yours Carrie Chapman-Catt [?] (Dictated but not read) P.S. Alda is taking the whole works and thinks she is being much benefitted. I hope that I too am being helped. C. Too much electric apparatus [?] Radio [?]. Dictated by CCC to A. Wilson THE BATTLE CREEK SANITARIUM Battle Creek, Michigan January 13th 1943 My dear Mary; I am enclosing a letter from an Elmira College woman. I have acknowledged it and have said that I would be back in New York City after January 21st and that if she were coming to New York she could communicate with me through the Women's University Club. I could then give her my new address and make an apointment to see her. I think that you could help her as much or perhaps more than I could, but if she wishes to take the trouble I would see her. I had a little note from Mrs. [E?wing] saying that they had had trouble finding a place to stay in N.Y. City. That scares me a little, but time will show. Mrs. Brown has offered to find a place for me and I am hoping that she will not find it too difficult. According to the Times (which we read one day late) the new restrictions on automobiles are pretty strenuous just at present 2 I think you must yearn for the old freedom of abundant gasoline. We will let you know what we do as soon as we know ourselves. We are very comfortable here but it grows a little tiresome after four weeks of thinking about what you are putting in to your stomach and how you can remove it from the digestive tract in short order. We are looking forward to seeing you. Lovingly yours CCC [?] (dictated but a bit changed in transcription) Dear M.[?].P. This climate strikes me as being somewhat odd. We have light fall of suon almost every day with brilliant sunshine almost every afternoon. Some days all suon, some all rain, but usually changes at intervals some of each. We have had goo[?] weather only once. The night of January 8th it drooped to 9 degrees below but by morning it was back to around 20 degrees above again. They do not chase the suon from there sidewalks so C.C.C. takes her walk on the porch. They say eight times around is a mile. We do four or five. I try to walk the streets each day for a mile or two. The town is not very interesting. C.C.C. is now consulting the doctor I thought best to give her a chance of a private talk, but here she comes. So farewell - Alda THE BATTLE CREEK SANITARIUM Battle Creek, Michigan Guest Stationery _____________________________________________________________________________________________ ELMIRA COLLEGE DIVISION OF FINE AND APPLIED ARTS ELMIRA, NEW YORK FIELD OF SPEECH December 19, 1942 My dear Mrs. Catt, I am taking the liberty of writing you to ask if it would be possible for me to come to New Rochelle to see you in relation to some work I am doing. My dissertation, as one of the final steps for the doctorate, is based on the lives and work of Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony. I would like to use you as an authority in discussing their public work. It occurs to me that you may be spending the winter in the South but if you are at home and would be willing to let me come to talk to you I would be deeply grateful. We are having a long vacation from our college work and I think I might be able to come down to New York around January tenth or so, providing that civilian travel is not entirely curtailed by that time. Sincerely yours, (Miss) Geraldine E. Quinlan Associate Professor of Speech Elmira College Elmira, N.Y. Home Address (to be used in reply) 531 West Clinton St., Elmira, N.Y. Dictated to A. Wilson at Battle Creek Sanitarium Mich CARRIE CHAPMAN CATT 120 PAINE AVENUE NEW ROCHELLE NEW YORK January 17th 1943 My dear Mary; This morning a very distinguished parcel arrived which contained a dear little sewing-kit. This will allow me now to have a sewing-kit upstairs and one down-stairs. So these will be no longer an excuse for holes in my elbows and toes. You should not have sent it to me. I told you that for "the duration" presents were not allowed. However, I do thank you most sincerely. We went to Seventh-day Adventist church yesterday and this morning I had a call from the minister. When I get back I shall gather you and Frances Brown together and tell you his story of just what that denomination stands for & why. Blessings on you! and do not delay too long before coming to see me as I have much to relate. Lovingly yours, C. C. C. [???] Jan 25, 1943 Carrie Chapman Catt 120 Paine Avenue New Rochelle New York Hotel Carlyle 35 E 76th St Dear Mary: We got into our accommodations here toward night on Thursday, By degrees our baggage brought with us sent by express and left in New York has been gathered in. Alda and Henrietta went to New Rochelle, emptied the post office box and brought back the important things and from the house brough two bags of dishes etc.. All is now in order and our time is organized Henrietta comes three mornings each week Monday, Wednesday and Friday and will leave at 12:30. Tuesday Thursday and Saturday will be free days. So if you can conveniently choose one of these days we invite you to come and spend the day with us. Please tell us what you would like to do. We could meet you at the station, go to the Museum, take lunch there and then do what further we choose to do. We cannot drive around for pleasure. We would like you to come to see our new quarters and you could come here first and we could go somewhere for lunch and the afternoon. Or you can suggest something new and different. I await your reply We have much to say to you . Hoping to see you very soon. Lovingly C C Catt Carrie Chapman Catt 120 Paine Avenue New Rochelle New York Hotel Carlyle, 35 East 76th Street, New York, N. Y. February 18, 1943 Dear Mary: Henrietta is now here with the last page of the minutes, copied according to my instructions. I enclose the last page. Will you please write in your name where it is typed and will you also sign the paragraph at the bottom of the page, if you can find room to do so. I thought it best to put my name there too by way of proving that it was correct. Please return this page to me and then the business will be finished. I received your letter. I agree with you that we may have cold weather for some time and it may be better to make our arrangements for the Museum next week instead of this one. That was interesting news about Mr. Picker. Thanks for the information. If you come to town and have nothing better to do, let us know and perhaps we may be able to lunch together or do something. Lovingly yours, Carrie Chapman Catt Miss Mary Gray Peck Beechmont Towers, 30 Eastchester Road New Rochelle, New York. CCC:HW Carrie Chapman Catt 120 Paine Avenue New Rochelle New York April 19, 1943 My dear Mary: It is probably a very wise trip of yours to hasten off to the hospital as soon as you found it inconvenient to take care of yourself, because, otherwise, there is not any very good arrangement for a stray woman like you. I conclude that you are not to be worried about, nevertheless, I shall feel very much happier when your temperature is gone, your pains are no more, and you have returned home, free from all your symptoms. Then, I have a good lecture to give you which will keep you right all the rest of your days. In the meantime, I think you need something to amuse you and I wonder if a detective story would not just about fill the bill. I have not yet found one, but I am still hunting and when I find one, it will appear at the hospital. I have been hunting over the house to see whether there was any stray book that properly belonged in Maud Park's collection and I am writing the girls a letter to advise them about the Blackwell matters. If there is anything in this world that anybody can do to make you more comfortable, either there or at your home when you return, please send us a postal card or have someone telephone us and it will get done. The next time I see you, I am going to ask you for your sister-in-law's and your niece's addresses, so that I can write them when I think there is something appropriate for me to say. Very sorrowfully but lovingly yours. Carrie Chapman Catt Miss Mary Gray Peck, New Rochelle Hospital, New Rochelle, N. Y. Carrie Chapman Catt 120 Paine Avenue New Rochelle New York April 20, 1943 Dear Mary: I have ten deadly complaints this morning, so I think if you can rid of your room-mate, I could come down tomorrow and take her place. We could have a radio and tell riddles to each other. None of my diseases is "ketchin". We would both recover soon. Meanwhile, here are my love and good wishes. Lovingly, Carrie C Catt Miss Mary Gray Peck, New Rochelle Hospital New Rochelle, New York. Carrie Chapman Catt 120 Paine Avenue New Rochelle New York April 24, 1943 My dear Mary: This is the time when our chauffeur is a fireman and cannot drive us out. We can come in a taxi if there is need but I'm thinking that the fewer callers you have, the better. I chased up your doctor to inquire about you and I put the question to him; is this new symptom serious and he said - "not at present" and I may never be, so don't worry. You have lots of friends around here who stand ready to come to your side whenever you call. Alda's sister died at Ames. She spent one day with her niece helping her to get off. Alda will not go to the funeral but we feel a bit gloomy here. We are sorry to miss you from our Easter dinner 'altho' you do not miss any spread of a dinner. Next Sunday the little girl - was as tall as Alda - daughter of the mother who has gone to Iowa will be here. Cheer up. The sun is shining and it soon will be spring. We write you to come visit us and stay while in this convalescent home. We will have to caucus over the question: how are old ladies to be looked after in wartime? I am in favor of a Carrie Chapman Catt 120 Paine Avenue New Rochelle New York new kind of old ladys' home perhaps under the roof of your apartment house with Alda and me moving in as the only charges! Blessings on you. Lovingly Carrie C Catt Holy Saturday Carrie Chapman Catt 120 Paine Avenue New Rochelle New York Dear Mary: Alda is going down to the station to meet her young niece, so she has picked these flowers for you The violets came from the garden but everything is backward and unpromising. I... am awfully sorry that I cannot come to see you and thus find out how you really are. Alda must be fond of roasts. She has been fixing her ambitions on one and now with the help of your points and some from Ruth, she has actualy got one for Sunday dinner. We expected you. How about coming up in an ambulance for one o'clock and stay a little while!!? Lovingly, CCC Carrie Chapman Catt 120 Paine Avenue New Rochelle New York May 6, 1943 Dear Mary: When you return, you will find a stack of letters and this will be among them. I have sent Mrs. Stantial all the things that we agreed to forward to her. I wrote her that you had been in the hospital, that you had asked me to send the biographical sketch you had written a few years ago, and I said that when you were strong enough to go over it, you would edit it and bring it up to date and that you would then send her another as a substitute. In order that you may have it to read when you are ready to do so, I enclose a copy. I will see that it is copied and sent if you ever wish to do it. Please do not do any work at present. Mrs. Algeo has written a tribute to Miss Yates which I enclose. You may throw it away after you have read it. Lovingly yours, Carrie Chapman Catt Miss Mary Gray Peck, 30 Eastchester Road, New Rochelle, New York. Carrie Chapman Catt 120 Paine Avenue New Rochelle New York January 20th 1944. My dear Mary; I am just now approaching the end of my list of friends to be thanked for Christmas and birthday-gifts. I was so miserable that I was not able to do it before. I am just able to start thinking of work once more. So, at this late date I am writing to thank you for your Christmas-gift of a modernistick-boquet. It does not quite seem to fit with the surroundings of an old lady. Nevertheless I apreciate the kind thoughts and the effort you expended trying to find something for me. [*Alda Wilson spelling!*] I have just received a notice to say that you are sending me the New Yorker. Goodness Gracious! you should not have done that. I am also too old fashioned for that magazine. You should have made that discovery. Please remember that I am one of the antiques. Lovingly yours, Carrie C Catt Carrie Chapman Catt. CCC-a. Carrie Chapman Catt 120 Paine Avenue New Rochelle New York December 8, 1944 Dear Mary: When you receive "Soviet Russia Today," with a card enclosed doubtless saying that I am the person who has sent it to you as a Christmas present, do not jump to the conclusion that I have turned communist! They have sent me this paper free for two or three years and I have read it every week and, while it has not made a communist of me, it has made me see the necessity of a more understanding kind of viewpoint concerning Russia, and, when the war is over, those of us who feel right about it will have to do a good deal of talking to smooth out the feelings of the people who think it positively dangerous to have any association with Russia. One of our organizers in the suffrage campaign is the editor of the paper. Lovingly, Carrie C. Catt Miss Mary G. Peck 30 Eastchester Road New Rochelle, New York University of Minnesota University Extension Service Minneapolis General Extension Division Department of Community Service Dunner Cottage Battle Lake, Minn Sept 6 -'45 Dear Miss Peck, [I have just finished reading your biography of Carrie Chapman Catt and I cannot refrain from telling you how much enjoyment I have had in reading it. Biography, I am disposed to think, is not the easiest form of composition. But you had a good subject and you have done a good job. There is not a dull paragraph in the whole volume. I know, for I have read them all. ] It as in the summer of 1902, as I recall it, that I first heard Mrs. Catt, and melted under the magic spell of her eloquence. Even in those early days, she was an outstanding platform figure. The occasion was a teachers convention in the old Exposition building in Mpls. The room was so crowded, I remember, that I had to stand during the performance. Some years later, in the early twenties, I heard her at a down town banquet at a time when there was much talk of revolution in the air. When Mrs. Catt got up to speak, she remarked that if we could have more confidence in evolutionary methods, there would be less occasion for revolutionary ones! [What an inspiring career Mrs. Catt presents to the world. One thinks of the aphorism of Wendell Phillips: "How prudently most men lie down into nameless graves while now and then one forgets himself into immortality."] I congratulate you on an outstanding piece of work. Sincerely Yours H.B. Gislason 4215 Garfield Av. So. Minneapolis [Gislason] P.S. Mrs. Gislason (Bessie Mae Tucker '06) was in your classes and remembers you well. I spent about 40 years on the Campus and am now retired. H B Gislason I have a letter from Mrs. Catt allowing me to use an excerpt from a speech in my book. Art of Effective Speaking. Carrie Chapman Catt 120 Paine Avenue New Rochelle New York December 26, 1945. My dear Mary: I thank you for coming to our Christmas dinner yesterday. The turkey has not yet arrived, but some greens from Colorado have. Several things I wanted to tell you are waiting until you come and hear about them. My apron is a fit, the basket is just right, and the cake has not yet been tried, but will be when you come. Many many thanks for all you have done for me and have been to me. Blessings on you. Let me know when and if the oranges and grape fruit arrive. They have reached New York, and have arrived in at least once place. Let me know when you can come. It cannot be too soon. Lovingly yours, Carrie C. Catt Carrie Chapman Catt 120 Paine Avenue New Rochelle New York December 31, 1946. Dear Mary: I have that rug on my mind. You ought not to have spent so much money on anything as I know you did for that rug, but I have to confess that I like it very much. I have had three good naps under it, and it fits just right. I would like to have you know that I like it, but I have a constant regret that I know you spent too much money for it, and by and by you will have to go to an old ladies' home and will not have money enough to get in. I am trying to think what I can do about it. Lovingly yours, Carrie Chapman Catt Carrie Chapman Catt 120 Paine Avenue New Rochelle, N.Y. January 28, 1947. To the Board of Officers of the N.A.W.S.A. This will inform you that we held our Board meeting on January 22 1947. Miss Mary Gray Peck served as proxy for Mrs. Maud Wood Park, making a ninth member present. Those present were: - Mrs. Raymond Brown, Mrs. Halsey W. Wilson, Mrs. Mabel Russell, Mrs. F. Louis Slade, Mrs. George A. Piersol, Miss Esther Ogden, Mrs. Harriet Wells, and Mrs. Carrie Chapman Catt. At eighty-eight I thought it time for me to be relieved of obligations. Mrs. F. Louis Slade of 49 East 67th Street, New York, N.Y. was elected in my place. Mrs. Slade was a director, and that made her position vacant. Miss Mary Gray Peck was elected to that post. I was made temporarily an honorary President with a vote. This, therefore, made one more New York vote, and we may be able to get a majority at future meetings. Presumably we will not have another meeting until 1948. As usual proceedings of the meeting were not many nor were they startling. We had a little further report about our expectant bequest, but it was not important and will keep until the next meeting takes place. I hereby inform you that Mrs. McCormick's husband, has just died in Santa Barbara, California. If any of you wish to write her, her address is - Mrs. Stanley McCormick, Hotel Marisol, Santa Barbara, California. She has been a marvelous patient, and painstaking caretaker of an ill husband for more than forty years. Lovingly yours, Carrie Chapman Catt January 28, 1947. Board of Officers of the National American Woman Suffrage Association Honorary President - Mrs. Carrie Chapman Catt 120 Paine Ave. New Rochelle, N.Y. President Mrs. F. Louis Slade 49 East 67 Street New York, N.Y. First Vice-President Mrs. Raymond Brown 55 East 76 Street New York, N.Y. Second Vice-President Mrs. Stanley McCormick Hotel Mirasol Santa Barbara, California Third Vice-President Mrs. John Henry Thompson Farmington, Connecticut Fourth Vice-President Mrs. Guilford Dudley Harding Place Nashville, Tennessee. Fifth Vice-President Mrs. Maud Wood Park 21 Ashmond Street Melrose 76, Mass. Treasurer Mrs. Mabel Russell 10 Mitchell Place New York, N.Y. Secretary Mrs. Halsey W. Wilson Greenhold, Croton Heights, Yorktown Heights, N.Y. Directors Mrs. J. C. Cantrill 520 Capitol Ave., Frankfort, Kentucky Mrs. Richard E. Edwards 50 North Hood St., Peru, Indiana. Mrs. George Gellhorn 4366 McPherson Ave., St. Louis, Missouri Mrs. Alfred G. Lewis White Springs Farm, Geneva, N.Y. Miss Esther G. Ogden Petersham, Mass. Mrs. George A. Piersol 83 Evelyn Place Ashville, N.C. Mrs. Harriet Wells The Lowell Hotel 28 East 63 Street, New York, N.Y. Miss Mary Gray Peck 30 Eastchester Rd. New Rochelle, N.Y. Carrie Chapman Catt - Personal Letters My acquaintance with Mrs Catt began in September 1909. My friend, Frances Squire Potter, and I had resigned our positions as Professor and Assistant Professor of English in the University of Minnesota, in order to take active part in the woman suffrage movement. That year the headquarters of the National American Woman Suffrage Association were move to New York, Prof. Potter was elected Corresponding Sec'y of the association and I became Headquarters Sec'y. Dr Anna Howard Shaw was President. I met Mrs Catt for the first time at a suffrage luncheon in New York on her return from a Congress of the International Woman Suffrage Alliance in London, and I was aware at once that she was the vital center of the movement. From that moment I made it my business to see as much of her as possible during the rest of her long life. Ten of those years were devoted to writing my biography of her, published June 6, 1944, H. W. Wilson Co., New York Mary Gray Peck Oklahoma City University Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Department of Speech and Drama 1010 W. Parsons Norman, Oklahoma June 3, 1955 Miss Mary Gray Peck 30 Eastchester Road New Rochelle, N. Y. Dear Miss Peck: At last I have completed my study on Carrie Chapman Catt's public address. It is in the process of being microfilmed by the University of Oklahoma. After Lola Walker and Ruby Draughon did their studies I changed my approach slightly in order to make a different contribution. My concentration treats in detail two aspects in her speeches: invention and arrangement. The dissertation totals 481 pages of elite typing. The enclosed summary will give you some insight into the approach. If you are still interested in seeing a copy, I could lend you a carbon, or as soon as the microfilm is ready for library exchange, you could read the original or film. You have contributed much to this study. May I express my sincere thanks to you for your many kindnesses. I hope you will feel that I have done justice to Mrs. Catt's speaking. Sincerely, [signed] Irma Clevenger Mrs. Earl Clevenger University of Oklahoma The Graduate College Final Examination of Ima Fuchs Clevenger B. A., Abilene Christian College, 1924 M. A. , State University of Iowa, 1928 For the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Monday, May 23, 1955, 3:00 P. M. Room 306, Kaufman Hall Committee in Charge: Associate Professor Jack E. Douglas, Chairman Professor Charles P. Green Professor John W. Keys Professor Sherman P. Lawton Professor John P. Pritchard Associate Professor Albert J. Croft Outline of Studies Speech Place of Speech in Human Behavior, Rhetorical Theory, Conference Leadership, American and British Public Address, Oral Interpretation of American Poets, Phonetics, Advanced Audiology, Speech Clinic. English Rise of Drama, Modern Drama, Shakespeare and Modern English, Milton Prose and Poems, Literary Criticism to Pope, Humanistic Tradition. Thesis Invention and Arrangement in the Public Address of Carrie Chapman Catt This study presents a rhetorical analysis of invention and arrangement in the speeches of Carrie Chapman Catt promoting woman suffrage and peace. In this study invention is treated as an analytical and creative process resulting in the discovery and selection of the speaker's ideas and materials. Arrangement is that rhetorical function which determines the order of ideas within the whole speech and the proportion of its parts. For this study one hundred speeches were selected from a total of about one hundred and fifty extant texts. These speeches were selected for analysis by virtue of their comprehensive coverage of issues, arguments, and premises, and of their representation of her rhetorical practices. The issues were determined and each speech analyzed according to traditional rhetorical concepts. Thus, the results of this study fall into the following categories: (1) the speaker's premises and arguments, (2) logical proof, including patterns of reasoning, kinds of argument, methods of support, refutation, (3) emotional proof, (4) ethical proof, and (5) arrangement. Mrs. Catt's basic premise was a firm belief in the ballot as woman's natural heritage resulting from the evolutionary advancement of civilization. As she approached the victory she rejected states referenda and advocated a federal amendment as a surer, quicker method of attaining the ballot. She advised the new woman voter to be nonpartisan as a member of the League of Women Voters, but to participate in the political party of her own choice. She described war as a well-established institution, entwined with law and precedent; peace as the negation of war, supported by neither men nor money. Her solutions for the abolition of war ranged from international legislation to strong moral persuasion. At the height of her career she depended on deductive reasoning in hypothetical and disjunctive enthymemes cast into sorites, thus unconsciously following Aristotle's advice: the enthymeme is the tool best adapted to persuasion. Her early and late preference for induction meets more fully the depends of the rhetoric of Campbell. These differences may be attributed to changes in purpose, occasion, audience, and the period in her career. The speaker's fundamental reasoning occurred as casual relations in categorical form adapted to variant circumstances. Amplification characterized many of her early and late speeches delivered to women, while proof occurred more frequently when addressing Congressmen and mixed audiences. When the need for persuasion became most urgent, the complexity of her rhetorical devices increased. Few circumstances aroused her to extreme emotion. When attempting to motivate suffragists, she asked them to master their tasks and to seek political approval. She urged Congressmen to assume their just duties by enfranchising women thereby preserving the reputation of democratic America. when advocating the abolition of war she appealed principally to the motive of self-preservation and to the emotion of revulsion. She employed ethical proof by establishing herself as an authority on woman suffrage and as a sincere, confident, and persevering woman, desiring to improve social and political practices, contenting herself with moderate rebukes of her opponents. She complied with Aristotle's teaching in her reliance upon logical proof and reenforced it with emotional and ethical proofs, especially in her late war speeches. She upheld Whately's concept of unity of theme by employing a close integration of the elements of invention and arrangement. Mrs. Catt was unique in that she spoke several thousand times over a period of sixty-four years while advancing only two major causes. She received almost no training in rhetorical theory or practice, yet she conformed, more often that not, to traditional rhetorical canons. BIOGRAPHY Born, Sayre, Oklahoma, January 24, 1903. Training: Sayre (Oklahoma) High School, 1916-1919. Abilene Christian College, Abilene, Texas, 1919-1921, 1922-1924. State University of Iowa, 1927-1928, 1930, 1938. American People's College, Oetz, North Tyrol, Austria, Summer, 1934. University of Southern California, 1939-1940. University of Oklahoma, 1953-1955. Teaching: Rural School, near Sayre, 1921-1922. Hope (New Mexico) High School, 1924-1927. Freed-Hardeman College, Henderson, Tennessee, 1928-1929. Western Oklahoma Christian College, Cordell, Oklahoma, 1930-1931. Abilene Christian College, Summer, 1931. Cameron State College, Lawton, Oklahoma, 1931-1934. Panhandle Agricultural and Mechanical College, Goodwell, Oklahoma, 1934-1935. Oklahoma City University, 1946--. Transcribed and reviewed by volunteers participating in the By The People project at crowd.loc.gov.