Catt, Carrie Chapman SPEECH, ARTICLE, BOOK FILE Article: "Ten Suggestions to Young Workers for Peace" 1930 TEN SUGGESTIONS TO YOUNG WORKERS FOR PEACE Carrie Chapman Catt Be guided by three resolutions: (1) Be certain that you are thinking straight (2) Be certain that you are speaking straight (3) Be certain that your action is in strict accord with your straight thinking and speaking. A. How to think straight 1. Organize yourself into a Committee of One. You are the Chairman, the Treasurer, the Constitution. Make your aim to think straight; speak straight and act straight. Get at least ten other girls to become Committees of One also and invite them to meet with you in order to take the first lesson in thinking straight. Many persons hold that all the things wrong in the world must be made right before war can be brought to an end. This is very crooked thinking. War Must Be Abolished. Let this be your first clear thought. Let each of the ten girls tell why war should be abolished. Consider why only, not how or when. 2. Buy one or more copies of "Halt! Cry the Dead." Young Men's Christian Association Press, 347 Madison Avenue, New York. Regular price, $1.50. Assign subjects from it to each girl. For example: Wars should be abolished (a) Because they cost too much money, (b) Because they cost too many lives, (c) Because they cost too much injury to civilization, (d) Because they sow seeds of more wars, (e) Because they destroy morals slowly gained, etc. Hold a few meetings to discuss these themes. B. How to speak straight 3. Assign ten subjects (the above will do) to the ten girls and ask each to prepare a five minute speech. Let each begin: War must be abolished (a) Because Bring the group together and hear these talks. Criticize kindly; -2- first, the statement of facts; second, the method, and third, the manner of speaking. Suggest improvements and hold another practice meeting. 4. Investigate where and how you can get very cheap, very clearly stated and simple literature. Read it at a meeting and let those girls who cannot or will not speak be literature girls, keeping it in their handbags for distribution. As literature costs money, this may be a problem, but keep at it. This kind of work and the education it brings is greatly needed. C. How to act straight 5. Hold a meeting at the Young Women's Christian Association and invite other girls. Let the program consist of ten speeches made by the ten Committee of One. Invite the visitors to become Committees of One and to do likewise. Perhaps a short address can be added by a local worker. The literature girls should distribute literature at this meeting. 6. Establish an Honor Roll. Write thereon the names of those who have done something especially well; for instance, those who have made the most effective speech written the best paragraphs for a brief bit of literature, or the best press letter, etc. Make the Honor Roll a real merit system. 7. Write an occasional letter to the press, stressing peace, or ask a question to be answered by the press. 8. Make one day in the year a money day and arrange to gather as much money as possible. Each girl should give at least ten cents on that day. The total might be given to the Peace Department of the Young Women's Christian Association. You might ask if it can be used to buy or print literature for -3- your circulation. 9. Form Committee of Two and visit all department and ten cent stores for the purpose of learning what they sell of military toys, soldiers, forts, airplanes, guns, etc. Also examine small boys on the street to see what use they are putting these toys. Perhaps these things will only be noticeable about Christmastime, but protests ought to be presented before such toys are ordered. Present your completed report to your Y.W.C.A staff with the request that an authoritative protest be made by the entire organization. 10. Close your year's work with a grand meeting under the auspices of all the Committee of One. Do your own speaking. Open with a resolution and let all the speakers support it. Have some singing. If there are girls enough, they might march to their places, carrying flags or banners. Hold this meeting to make converts and to enlarge your numbers. Make it as unusual as possible. At the end of the year, you should think more clearly, speak more logically and act more effectively than when you began and you should then make a still stronger program for the second year. Transcribed and reviewed by volunteers participating in the By The People project at crowd.loc.gov.