NAWSA GENERAL CORRESPONDENCE Freeman, Elisabeth July 17-28 1913 July 17, 1913 Miss Elisabeth Freeman 269 West 18th Street New York City Dear Miss Freeman: Last evening after we had got the paper to press, Mr. Stevens and I went into the Italian quarter to see what we could find out about prices on an instrument for our expedition. We found a woman who deals in these articles. She said she had one she could sell us for $75.00. It is a second-hand affair and is not the kind one uses with a horse. That kind comes higher. New ones cost $150.00. At another place we found a man and woman. They said that if they were buying they would buy from New York for it is much cheaper than Boston for this sort of thing. We have this to go on. Would it not be well not for you to make some inquiries in New York City? We were told that it would cost $35.00 a month to hire an instrument. Miss Blackwell sat up yesterday for the first time. Mr. Stevens has gone to see her today and I am expecting a good report. I have a letter from Miss McKenzie about the maps. It is dated July 13 but reached me yesterday. I am writing her. I am glad you are getting along all right with the Y.H.B.'s. Things look promising. My heartiest greetings to the girl who decided she would sell papers three evenings a week. She is a "brick." I very much approve of the uniforms. Use your own judgement altogether about Washington. I am too busy to study the situation much. I will however send you names of subscribers there and will indicate which ones are especially friendly to the Journal. You cannot expect any help from National headquarters with the present administration. Miss Freeman - 2 - You must be making a great hit among the New York suffragists. It is my experience in order to get people who are selling to keep at it to do as you are doing, sell papers yourself. It is rather hard but I enjoy it don't you? I have hosts of names of individuals, leagues and associations. I am getting more in response to a letter I have sent out recently. Let me know what you want and I will try to send them to you. I believe you are right about the photographs being better than cartoons for selling the paper. It would be great if you could get that artist to do her drawing and to get the drawing used in the Saturday Evening Post. I do hope they will get the words, "The Woman's Journal" in so that we will get that help. I think you can make her and them see that it is really worth while for it is the oldest suffrage paper in the world, the most powerful one in America, and it is the only national paper in this country. I am going to answer your other two letters in a separate letter so it will not make one so long. Yours sincerely, AER.SEH July 17, 1913 Miss Elizabeth Freeman 269 West 12th Street New York City Dear Miss Freeman: Thanks for the money order for $17.50 for papers dated June 25 and July 5.. This helps our cash account. The statement of agreement I find correct. I feel guilty over the expense matter. I accept your offer to pay your own expenses for the first month but it hurts me to do it. Your spirit is the kind I love and you are making me love you. I wish that every woman who cares for suffrage in this country might have a little English training. It seems to me that it engenders the right spirit. Then too those who have served in England seem to have learned how to do things. You say the Y. H. B. Club have decided to take 250 papers regularly now. Is this the order? Are we to send them 250 per week until further notice? DI we send them to the Y. H. B. Club c/o Cummings, 69 West 93rd street, New York City? I ought to have written you before this but didn't realize there was any question. It is too late now to get an answer from you and to get the papers over on time, We are therefore sending 250 to the Y.H.B. Club, C/o Cummings, 69 West 93rd Street, New York City. They are going by Adams Express at 4 o'clock this afternoon. Let me know about this order. I want to get it straight. Yours sincerely AER.SEHG We have our own open air meeting in Madison Sq. this am. & will finish up last week’s papers. Must cease & get my train to Newark. Faithfully Elisabeth Freeman. has a woman who wanted to work with me & whom I found not altogether straight. Such is the humor of this American movement. Someone always trying to cut in on someone else, instead of going off & working where it is needed. Keep the above confidential. I’ll let you know just what is doing. When next I write I’ll tell you some late news about Mrs Pankhurst, a very dear friend of mine has been here, & just returned to Eng. Mrs. P__ is staying at her flat in London. Christable is spending this month with her O.H.P.B. in France It is all right about the Y.H.B. Club 69-W-9.3 - I guess they can go up there always. 2 the ‘hike’ to take much notice, only to fill the necessary engagements. So any help in this line would be most useful. Your summing up of the N.A.W.S.A is absolutely correct. Every one there is very nice to me personally but — enough said. I have not mentioned to a soul that Miss Blackwell has been ill, even when I have heard them discussing her & others. The Sat. Evening Post artist has gone away for a rest. Will try & prod him up again. I am off to Newark again in a few minutes. I promised to come & give them another open-air meeting & thus a chance to sell papers under the cover of a meeting. I find this is the better way. Every time we go out or plan to cover a meeting & usually I find I have to speak, & always 269-W - 12th St. N.Y.C. July 18 - 13 My dear Miss Ryan: - Many thanks for your cheering letters. Truly I was a bit down-hearted, but they cheered me wonderfully. I’ll get on the job of the H.G. as soon as possible. I have been making a few quiet inquiries. I dare not be too bold, ‘cause suffrage news is rather dead & the slightest move is so quickly sent about, & reporters on one’s track. I think possibly it would be a good move to go to Washington, if one could get local help in selling papers. I am not at all acquainted there. I was too ill after wind up with the paper, and always sell out our supply. The Y.H. B's go at it with more vim when there's an object at the end of the walk up B-way. The Junior Newark etc will order the papers for this week & later on direct to you, not through me. They will settle up the money for this last lot of papers The meeting of the new society was rather a fizzle. I only stayed a short time - grasped the situation. There is to be a fight over the N.Y.S. U.S.A at the next convention. The changing of the constitution & the idea of a few is to keep in the old way of 'Club' working so these new ones, 3 in number, are to swell the Con. with delegates, and try to vote down Assembly District work. I left two workers to cover the meeting & one other myself covered one further up town. Again re: the Newark girls. The order for 1000 was from them, they asked me to do it for them. I told them they ought to order this Sat. paper at once. I'll find out what they have done and if not I'll let them have some of the Y.H.B. Club lot one order more for us. The W. P. World is still going. Saw some one selling last eve. at Union Sq. They are now endeavoring to cover all the meetings I do. Mrs. Blatch came to Syracuse while I was there. Complimented me on my good work. I had secured Miss [Glensby?] this time. After she left I received an offer for a position from her. I said "Thank you, I am otherwise engaged." She had heard I was to have this position with the Journal & wanted me to do similar work with the "World." Now she The Woman's Journal 585 Boylston Street, Boston, Massachusetts Telephone–Back Bay 4717 [*See dup. Jul 18*] Editor-In-Chief Alice Stone Blackwell Business Manager Agnes E. Ryan 269-W-12th St N.Y.C. [*ANSWERED JUL 18 1913*] Dear Miss Ryan:– Will you kindly send me more of those Journal leaflets? The green ones "Cash Offer for Suff." and the yellow ones. It will make the writing to all these clubs easier. For N.Y. State I have about 250 letters to get through & that means lots of repeating of this offer. Enclosed a rough draft of the letter I am sending. I had a reply from Mrs Shuler of Buffalo & she says she has kept in mind the talk we had when I went there while up in Syracuse but many of her workers are taking their vacations at this time of the year and they are rather low on sellers. She says she will order a quantity for their campaign during Aug. May I have the leaflets & more writing paper soon? Hope everything is going on well. Faithfully Elisabeth Freeman. July 18, 1913 Miss Elisabeth Freeman 269 West 12th Street New York City Dear Miss Freeman: I have just had a card from the woman who wants to sell us the second hand musical instrument. She says: "Please call on me at once. I can make you better figures ---as I have completed everything at a lower price than I mentioned to you." Will you not investigate prices in New York at once and let me know at the earliest possible moment whether we had better take this at less than $75.00 or not. I have got to give her an answer soon in order to hold it I fear. Yours in haste, AER.SEH [Handwritten notation M 7/18/3.] July 18, 1913 Miss Elisabeth Freeman 269 West 12th Street New York City Dear Miss Freeman: Your letter mailed July 17 has just come. I am rushing off to you 500 sheets of Journal letter heads and as many envelopes, also 100 cash offers and the same number of newsy booklets. There is only one place in the draft of the letter that I would change. You say: "Then wind up with a big demonstration on August 3 to celebrate Lucy Stone's birthday." Do you think that needs explanation? Will all who get your letter know that Lucy Stone was the founder of the paper and that we try to celebrate her birthday every year by increasing the usefulness of the paper? I like your letter immensely. I hope it will pull. Yours sincerely, AER.SEH Boston, July 19, 1913 Dear Miss Freeman Here is a long list of D.C. people. I do not know how much good it will be to you. Of course, the list is confidential and should not be used for any purpose but for increasing the sales and possibly the subscription list of the Woman's Journal. Please return it when you have finished with it. It will save copying. I have marked a very few names with a star (*). The people so indicated are ones that I think are especially friendly and may be able to give you names of girls and women who will sell. Mrs. Tindall (Helen R. or Helen Rank) is ok. Be quite careful as to what you say to others on the list-- even those marked with a star. For instance, there is Mrs. Nettie Ottenberg. She was in charge of the Woman’s Journal sales at the time of the parade in March. She had a fine young corps of from 50 to a 100. They were green then, but doubtless could do a fine stunt now, if you can get them. But she did it under Miss Paul. And for all I know, she and others, no telling who, may be planning to sell their new Bulletin If the Bulletin is not to be sold then, you ought to get a lot of co-operation from everyone. Of course, I do not know that they are ever going to plan to sell the Bulletin. I simply speak to put you on your guard. If I were you, I would get out a lot of letters, right away, asking a whole host to sell. I would write a short, snappy letter, perfectly safe to send anywhere, asking them to sell for the cause and make 50% on every paper they sell over 10, that is, 10 or more. Now, don't you want this office to send out the letter? It can be typed here and sent to you to sign if that seems best to you. If you approve, compose it and send it as soon as possible. yours as ever, A.S.B. is sitting up! [*ANSWERED, JUL 22 1913*] The Woman's Journal 585 Boylston Street, Boston, Massachusetts Telephone–Back Bay 4717 Editor-In-Chief Alice Stone Blackwell Business Manager Agnes E. Ryan Monday: Dear Miss Ryan:– Have just sent you a telegram about H.G.'s Have been to a number of places. At the first I found a very old fashioned affair, about the size of an upright piano, which the man will put in as good order as possible for $50.00. The other places were either church organs or the kind used for circus' tents & roundabouts. The last place has a very nice one, the very latest style, with latest tunes, and promised, if purchased, to put strings in that would not break easily. I learned that the strings break and that means expense & trouble. He told me that the Salvation Army had used one up in Conn. for four weeks 2 and he put special strings in & they did not have any trouble at all. This man wants $85.00 & will crate it for shipment. Neither of these will allow for a horse to be hitched to them, but will sit on a wagon. very much like a piano. And I guess we will have to have sort of wagon to travel in. I found the list awaiting me. Many thanks for all information. I knew Nellie Otterburg before she was married, & saw her in Wash. D.C. when I was there for the parade. I think it would be splendid to have the letter sent out from your office. Does it really matter who signs it? Here is a rough draft letter. I wonder if I can use their headquarters to have the papers sent too & for distribution? The whole situation is so touchy. Faithfully Elisabeth Freeman So glad A.S.B. is getting on. Isn't it great the way the police were fooled over Mrs P? July 22, 1913 Miss Elisabeth Freeman 269 West 12th Street New York City Dear Miss Freeman: Thank you for your special delivery which came this morning and routed me out of bed at an early hour. Has Miss McKenzie arrived? She said she was going to be in New York this week. She and you outlined a route which I said was O.K. Now I have decided that it would be better to start from New York. It will be better for publicity purposes and will be less expensive. You can readily see that would get a lot of stuff in the New York papers if you start from there and if you get it in the New York papers you will get it everywhere. If you start a move like that in Boston it is not likely that the New York papers will copy. Besides, you have been paving the way for the stuff in New York and, as you say, the papers are looking for something new during the dull season. Now here is the difficulty. The trip should, of course, be made in warm weather. The kind of a stunt you will do will be a warm weather stunt. I wish you could start August 1. Of course, you cannot if you are going to be in Washington. How soon after August 1 do you think you can start? How long do you think it will take to reach Boston? Now about the machine. If you start from New York you really must get the machine there. It would save trasportation and I was told they were cheaper there than in Boston. Try the ------- quarter. There is a place on Elizabeth Street. Ask any couple you see on the street or go to Elizabeth Street and ask somebody there. In Boston we find we can get exactly what we want for $100.00. I have another plan to run in with the same stunt. I am going to investigate that this evening. If possible, I want to work in another publicity stunt. I will let you know about this later. Miss Freeman - 2 Regarding the letter to the Washington people, address them yourself if you wish. How many are you going to send? Let me know at once so I can have them struck off on the typewriter. It does not make much difference who signs the letter. Supposing I sign for you to save time. I would not try to send Journals to suffrage headquarters in Washington under the circumstances and especially since their headquarters are very small and crowded, at least, they were when I was there last. I would arrange to have them sent to some other address if I were you. Perhaps if you wrote to Dr. Siewers or Mrs. Tindall they can help you out on this. Let me know about the number of letters you want struck off without fail and, of course, if you address the envelopes send them as soon as you can. Miss Vera Wentworth of England who has been forcibly fed four times is in this state and offers to give me any help she can. I have a little plan by which I think we may use her in connection with this trip. More later. Yours sincerely, AER.SEH [*File*] The Woman's Journal 585 BOYLSTON STREET, BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS Telephone - Back Bay 4717 Editor-in-Chief ALICE STONE BLACKWELL Business Manager AGNES E. RYAN July 23 - 13 Dear Miss Ryan:- Your letter about the machine & etc. just came. I am just off for one weekly selling in Wall St. & district & will afterward go to Elizabeth St & let you know at once about results. Elsie Mac - has not come yet. Expect her this week. I know Vera W- well. Give her my love. Hope she can come with us for a while, at least. I am rather wooden headed today. You ask how long it will take to get to Boston. Does this mean we are to go from N.Y. to Boston? I haven't seen the maps that E.M. has been working on so am a bit at sea. I agree with you about the publicity here in N.Y. if we start from here. I think it would be well to start as near Aug 1st as possible, 2 but this would not be possible if I go to Washington. Do you think it dreadfully important to go? Of course, I am perfectly willing to do this stunt too, but my mind always runs to the financial gain as well as the advertising. Whether I would make my expenses there & back? Whether one could get girls & women to sell on the streets in the heat? Yet on the other hand, one does not wish to loose a single chance of being there on the job. Somehow I find it a bit hard to decide. Guess I am rather tired. Did Coney again last eve. & was awfully late getting home. Several of my girls are a bit timid about going home alone, so I have to play the part of escort, & after dropping them at various spots, I usually get home about 2 A.M. As one's mind goes over this H.G. Stunt there is much to do in a short time. I must get a wagon & horse. This takes much time & labor, for horse trading is still a tricky bit of work. If the Washington affair is decided on. I thought if we sent letters to the eleven (11) star names, and perhaps fifty (50) 3 of the others would be enough to get a few workers. Back to the H. G. Beside the Journal to sell I think we could do well with small flags, buttons, hat-bands, postcards & etc - This will mean a little outlay in the beginning but in will sell enough to pay for them & toward our expenses. I wrote R. Jones to send me the address where she made these purchases for the ‘hikes’. In another letter I'll give you a little idea of the working against us in N.Y. It is a good thing one has a funny bone as well as a wish-bone & back bone. It is most necessary in this moment. Hope I have conveyed a bit of what I am driving at Faithfully Elisabeth Freeman [*Return*] [*over*] The Woman's Journal 585 Boylston Street, Boston, Massachusetts Telephone -- Back Bay 4717 Editor-in-Chief Alice Stone Blackwell 56 Business Manager Agnes E. Ryan July 23 - 13 Dear Miss Ryan:- Have spent the afternoon in Elizabeth St & neighborhood. Every one who has machines wants to make money enough to go back to Italy. All agreed that Mima 2-E-1st St. where I saw a good machine for $85.00 was the best & cheapest place. This information was given gratis &one even offered to take me there. Cheapest from Elizabeth St folk was $250.00 2nd hand at that Perhaps I might beat him down to $75.00 in cash. Mina was 2nd hand & as good as any I saw today. From all sides comes complaints & faultfinding. From the NY Suffragists 'cause of my girls & the selling of the Journal. It shows they are baring twinges of jealousy. Some complaints are mild. Some very vicious, and some absolutely prohibiting us from selling on the street near their meetings, some objecting to the uniform Junior Newark E. S. League 33 Halsey St. Newark, N.J. Will sell 100 copies of the Journal weekly Wrote M.Co. to send 100 each week to begin Aug 2 7/26/13 EF Order given to Mailing Co to send 100 each week beginning with issue of Aug 2 This is due to the fact they hate to see any one succeeding in doing anything worth while, only themselves. Their own papers & magazines don't sell readily nor can they get any one to sell them. Now they see it can be done, if they do as I suggested when I first came here, they are feeling very sore. Poor dears. To-morrow I go to Newark again & will take papers from here of that extra 250. Enclosed is their regular order after this week July 26th. An amusing bit is: the N.Y. Suffrags are awfully glad to accept my services to speak to make their meetings successful. Then they try to prevent me doing any thing with the Journal. Even through I try to dispose of their papers as well. Awfully shortsighted of them. I sometimes wonder if they are really not for the Vote or to scrap with each other. This week-end I go with the Newark Club to Ocean Grove as their guest. This saves us paying expenses. Hope A.S.B is improving. Faithfully Elisabeth Freeman N.Y.C - Old Boston Road to Stanford - 1st night - if possible Norwalk 2nd Bridgeport 3rd Stratford, Derby 4th New Haven 5th Wallingford 6th Meriden 7th New Britain 8th Hartford 9th E. Hartford, S. Windsor 10th E. Windsor 11th Long Meadow 12th Springfield 13 Warren 14 Worcester 15 Framingham or Marlboro 16 Waltham or Newton 17 to Boston 18 This does not allow [allo] for Sundays. Mrs. Isaac Harris 103 Perkins St. J. P. Bill Mrs. Walter Hartstone The Woman's Journal 585 Boylston Street, Boston, Massachusetts Telephone-Back Bay 4717 [*ANSWERED July 31 1913*] Editor-in-Chief Alice Stone Blackwell Business Manger Agnes E. Ryan July 28-13 My dear Miss Ryan:- Elsie Mackenzie is here. She is very anxious to get started, owing to not wanting to be at expense waiting too long in N. Y. C. I am handicapped for want of money to make the necessary purchases. There is the machine $85.00. The wagon will be more. I should judge $30.00 - or $40.00. The wagon used in N. J. by the W. P. W. women will be available next week. I saw them at Ocean Grove and they said they would sell for $40.00. I told them that was too much. I am trying to get on the track of something here, but can make little headway, owing to being so welknown & trying to keep the affair quiet till the right time comes. Then there is the horse, which will be anywhere from $50.0 to $100.00. Rosalie Jones will let me have flags & such like things at cost. She had to take 5000 to get them cheap & she will let me have 2500 hat bands for $25.00 cost price and 2500 flags at $35.00 cost price. She had to take 5000 of each to get them so cheap, these retail at 5¢ each & will go toward paying expenses, that we have to pay in advance for all these things. Re: the machine, I went to a place in Brooklyn where they manufacture them for the Elizabeth St people. & the cheapest was $150.00 Do you think you could get a horse & wagon cheaper in Boston? We could then ship, by freight, the machine, & start from there. Which ever way we go either from here to Boston or versa vica, someone in Boston could come part of the way with us, or come & meet us. Here is a rough idea of the route. In going over the maps I see no shorter way. From my experience in Ohio & on the Pilgrimage to Wash - we could not make the horse do any better than this. With a load of 400 lbs. machine, & two women about 110 each & other trappings making about 800 to 1000 lbs. a horse can only do 10 or 15 miles each day. Some days will be longer than 15 miles. I almost feel that we can get as much notoriety starting from Boston as from N.Y.C. The reporters are waiting breathlessly for that motor car fuel to come in town on their way to Washington. I wish Boston was nearer so we could talk this much more satisfactorily than by letter. I have sent out through this State 105 letters. Some have answered me direct. If any letters come addressed to me at the office, just open them, it will be in answer to the one about selling the Journal. With each letter I sent out a sample copy of the Journal. I wonder if I might have my check by Aug. 1st. I hate to ask you for it, but I am run dry. My expenses have gone up this month, and the carfares &etc. mount up. Just counted up roughly & found I have run up to over $30.00. This includes these letters & the trip to Jersey &etc. The beastly landlord wants his rent. Forgive me asking for it. I am anxiously awaiting the letter to follow the telegram received this A.M. Faithfully Elisabeth Freeman Will send Wash. list back. Can you give me the names of clubs [where] in towns we pass through. EF [*10.00*] THE WOMAN'S JOURNAL 585 BOYLSTON STREET, BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS TELEPHONE - BACK BAY 4717 EDITOR-IN-CHIEF ALICE STONE BLACKWELL BUSINESS MANAGER AGNES E. RYAN [*Answered Aug 1 1913*] July 28th 13 My dear Miss Ryan:- The Ocean Grove affair went off fairly well considering restrictions, & the fear on the part of the Suffrgs. I succeeded in getting several N. J. women who were going to Washington to sell Journals. They took 200 of the 1000 we had down at Asbury Prk. The restrictions are absurd. We were not allowed to sell on the board walk, but we went & were stopped. I asked the chairman of the meeting to anounce the paper, & he said he was not allowed I am not sure of the truth of this, but give him the benefit of the doubt. The Congressional Union, consisting of Rhita C. Dorr, Mary W. Dennett, Helen Todd Mrs. Bjorkman, arrived at Ocean Grove & made a grand entry upon the platform & were introduced with much grandeur I was amused, cause the whole thing was planned in two hours. I asked R. C. D. about the "Suffragist," whether it was out & if it would be sold during this Washington demonstration. She said "It was not in print yet & she was going to launch the idea & policy at the banquet Thurs eve." Then I got busy trying to get someone to take Journals down to Wash. The one in charge of them is Mrs. C. F. Riley of Plainfield & she will telegraph you if she needs more there. Her club in Plainfield will sell Journals. Also a woman from Merchantsville will put it up to her club. I am getting a list of clubs in N. J. & will write them all. I tried to move the Pres. of the Asbury Pk. Club, but she is a dead head. All carried away with her job as Pres. she cannot do any real work. I brought 225 papers from Asbury Pk. to sell in N. Y. cause my papers had not arrived Sat. Over the phone Miss Cumming tells me she has received notice from the P. O. about the regular way. Please cannot these papers be sent by express. By post, it means they go to the P. O. at 103rd st & 7th Ave & Miss C. has to make two trips from 93rd & 9th Ave. This is too much to expect when she has been working all day. If it is more expensive to send P. T. O. The Woman's Journal 585 Boylston Street, Boston, Massachusetts Telephone–Back Bay 4717 Editor-In-Chief Alice Stone Blackwell Business Manager Agnes E. Ryan by express than post we will pay the difference, and save the worry of getting them. Last week the papers came by express to me (250) & the same number by post to Miss Cuming. We sold four hundred. Enclosed money order for $10.00 in payment. Under seperate cover I am sending another letter. Faithfully Elisabeth Freeman P. S. I hope it is not too much trouble to send one order by express. You have no idea the anxiety of getting these papers to their rightful places. And when the order is duplicated the girls get panicky. Transcribed and reviewed by contributors participating in the By The People project at crowd.loc.gov.