xt70rx937t9n_24 https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt70rx937t9n/data/mets.xml https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt70rx937t9n/data/46m4.dao.xml unknown 13.63 Cubic Feet 34 boxes, 2 folders, 3 items In safe - drawer 3 archival material 46m4 English University of Kentucky The physical rights to the materials in this collection are held by the University of Kentucky Special Collections Research Center. Contact the Special Collections Research Center for information regarding rights and use of this collection. Laura Clay papers Temperance. Women -- Political activity -- Kentucky. Women's rights -- Kentucky. Women's rights -- United States -- History. Women -- Suffrage -- Kentucky. Women -- Suffrage -- United States. Laura Clay correspondence with Alice Stone Blackwell text Laura Clay correspondence with Alice Stone Blackwell 2020 https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt70rx937t9n/data/46m4/Box_2/Folder_5/Multipage1057.pdf 1910 1910 1910 section false xt70rx937t9n_24 xt70rx937t9n _ \ m I ‘ ‘ .V 4 o- , QC 3’10 3" '3./[ f 45 Boutwell Ave.Dorchester,Mass. April 20.1910. Miss Laura Clay, Hotel Arlington, Washington, D. C. Dear Miss Clay:- Miss Ryan writes me that the question of mak: ing the Woman's Journal the organ of the national Associatioq‘ has been referred to a special committee of five, of whom you are one. The Committee have a right to know the details of the last year‘s receipts and expenses to help them in ar- riving at a decision, so I send you the detailed report that was given at our stockholders’meeting a few days ago. I see with much sorrow Xhaxbihe report in this morning's paper that Mrs. Upton and Mrs. Avery have resigned the of- fices to Which they had been re-elected. I am afraid this means that there is a great row on. If so, I don't know whether it is better for the Journal to be made the national organ or not . However, xx I suppose it is best, if we can arrive at a mutually satisfactory arrangement; but it makes me feel less keen about it. Of course this last paragraph is only for you and not for the committee. Yours, always affectionately, ii“ ,' U54-" -;’;,~‘ / a /-, . j r l ‘,~..€7""5 4.1:- w 4 “U". . ,V ‘, («AH/7‘" ”V’M": 3“”. ff - [/7 . 113”?" ,x__.s,'..w€? kits: {1. {mi (. , («Hi phi? ," t... 3 ‘ . .. “I”! (fl./Ca'1/¢r\_ '644 J'j: 44".”. :f{4"'f-~”»’,fr”(,.laa & ,1: a éw" t; ’11:;' ,, Dorchester,Mass. April l$.1910. ‘0 Dear member of the Official Board: I have just heard that at the mid- year meeting of the Board a majority of the members ex- pressed themselves in favor of adapting the Woman's Jour- nal as the official organ, if a mutually satisfactory ar- rangement could be made; and that Mrs.Kelley was to see me when she came to Boston,and talk the matter over. firs.Kel- ley, I understand, was taken suddenly ill while attending the child labor meeting in Boston, and probably for that reason she was not able to come out to see me; and if she wrote me anything about it, the letter miscarried, as I fear many things may have done during my illness. So that the matter did not come to my knowledge till two or three days ago. There had been suggestions of a possible coali- tion between Progress and the Woman's Journal, in the circu- lar letters sent around to the official board by mrs.Harper and Professor Potter; but I was not sure that a majority of the board would favor such a plan, and I felt a delicacy about broaching the subject myself. But if the board want my views, I am glad to give them. Trying to look at the matter as impersonally as I can, it really seems to me that it would be the part of wisdom for us to concentrate our efforts on one national paper, and make that one as strong and good as possible, rather thag.to.Mave two papers in the field. Among the obstacles to a coalition in the past have been the feeling that the natinnal organ must be published at National Headquarters - which of course is the best and most suitable place,- and the conviction that the Association ought to control its organ, which is undoubtedly a sound principle. I do not feel that I can go to New York to live; and I have been very reluctant - perhaps foolishly so- to give up my editorial independence. It has been suggested that the paper might be printed in Boston, but dated from New York, Boston and Chicago. If so, that would meet the first difficulty. And if the Na- tional chooses to adopt the Journal as its organ, I will agree that so long as that arrangement continues, the of- ficial board shall dictate the editorial policy of the pa- per, and shall run its business end. We might either make the arrangement for a year, on trial, or for a term of two or three years. I think myself that it would probably work pretty smoothly,and that both sides would be satisfied to keep on indefinitely. But I should not wish to put the con- trol of the paper permanently and irrevocably out of my own hands, without any certainty how the experiment will work, even though I believe it will work well. In view of the present stringency of the Association's finances, I should not ask any salary for editing the paper. But if I were editing it for the Association instead of on my own hook, I think it would be proper that the Associa- tion should pay for my secretary. If it were not for the editorial work, I should not require a secretary. In the case the board is satisfied to control its organ, and to let it be printed here, I should like to know, be- fore definitely entering into the agreement, what things the board will want me to leave undone that I have been doing,editorially, ort%o that l have not done; and also what they will want to do about the business management. The Woman!s Journal now has a circulation of about 5000.00PieS- This includes the exchanges. The paper is out of debt. Its receipts fall short of its expenses by an amount varying somewhat from year to year, but averaging a little more than $800. This is made up partly from money given on pur- pose for the Journal by various friends, partly from money given to me to use for suffrage in any way that I choose. When I receive a gift of that kind, I use part of the money for the Journal. Whether the Journal is adopted as the national organ or not, I think it will become self-supporting in the near future. All that it needs to make it so is a'competent bu» siness manager. Miss Agnes E.Ryan wants to take hold of the paper with me, or is willing tgafigld of it with the National if desired. She is young, energetic, and full of bright and original ideas. She worked her own way through Boston Uni- versity, and did it so successfully that other students wishing to earn their own way are now referred to her for advice,by the faculty. She has done everything about a newspaper, from setting type to writing editorials. She now has a good position on the Boston American, a paper which has been increasing its circulation enormously; and she knows just how they have done it . Some of the methods of course would not do for the Journal, but others would. Miss Ryan is a very enthusiastic suffragist, and I believe that she is a good,sincere girl. She is convinced that the Journal can not only be made self-supporting but can be made to pay, and that she can do it. I believe she can make a success of it, at least so far as concerns enabling the paper to meet its expenses. It is even possible that she may make it pay, but of this I have more doubts. Some little time ago, she came to see me and proposed to take hold of the Journal with me. I wanted to accept, but told her frankly that I could not afford to pay her. We have had several talks since, and she is confident that she can raise most of the money not only for her own salary, but for making the Journal eight pages instead of four. Of course, on those terms I ask nothing better than to have her take hold. That is what she is going to do for me if the National does not want to take the paper, and I think it would pay you to have her do it for you if you do. I would suggest that you call her before the Business Committee and have a talk with her. Some of our Mhssachusetts women would rather have the Journal keep on as a Massachusetts paper, because they think that as such they could have more space in it for matters of local interest; but I personally should rather have it made the national organ, because of the wider circulation and influence that this would give. Nothing is to be said in public about the possibility of mass Ryan's taking hold of the Journal until she is ready to announce it herself to her present employers; so the part of this letter which relates to her is a confidential communication to the Business Committee. Of course, if the National takes over the control of the Journal for a year or for a term of years, and with it the business management and the financial responsibility for the paper during that time, the official board can employ any business manager they please. I only recommend Kiss Ryan; I cannot insist upon her. But I Judge from files Hau- ser's letter to the Business Committee that there is no one else particularly desirous to do it. Miss Ryan really wants to; and there is a saying that one volunteer is worth six pressed men. However, if you take charge of the paper,all that will be "up to yOu" to decide. The problem is how to have a national paper frequent enough to keep up people's interest and big enough to be a creditable looking organ and to contain all the news, and at the same time cheap enough to be within everyone's reach. These conditions cannot be combined on one paper. To try to do it is to be like the old lady who wanted to buy "a very small Bible with very large printw. Her demand paralyzed the whole resources of the Bible House. It really needs two papers to meet the different needs. If the National ran an 8-page weekly of the Journal's size, it could at very little extra cost run a small weekly like the old Woman's Column,or smalfi?gt 25 cents a year. That came within $100. of paying its expenses the last year it was issued. I discontinued it because it cut into the circulation of the larger paper . There is no doubt that a smaller paper made up from the larger one does do that. But it could be made immensely useful for campaigns, for general propaganda, for literature, and as an inexpensive aid to press work in the States. Of course it could not in any way take the place of the invaluable press work that the Association has been doing in New York City. I think the ideal arrangement would be for the National ultimately to run the large and the small papers together. But I should not advise doing that until the national organ, whether it be Progress or the Journal, is established on a firm basis. I wish, if possible, that the board would decide in ad- vance of the Convention whether it wished to adopt the Journal as its organ on these general lines, and also let the question come up early in the Convention. Then we could. settle the details by correspondence before the end of the Business Committee meetings that will follow the convention. Also, if you decide to do it, it will be a help toward getting subscribers during the Convention. ”7. Yesterday I was allowed to go downstairs for the first time. The doctor says I shall soon be able to get back to work. But it was not possible for me to go to washington. With best wishes for a successful meeting, and kind re- membrancea to all friends, Yours sincerely, " . a- 4 a! . f" 7 ‘ _ , P.S. If one department of the paper can be edited in New York and another in Chicago, it will be very desirable. 45 Boutwell Ave. Dorchester, mass. April 25.1910. Miss Laura Clay, Care: hrs. S.F.Crenshaw, 919 WgFranklin street, Richmond, Va. Dear Miss Clay:— Yours of April 25d came this morning. Miss Ryan has written me nothing about the Journal since she sent a note saying that the Committee were considering the details of the contract which they wished to make. I suppose she has been too overwhelmingly busy. Consequently I do not know as yet any of the particulars. I hope we may be able to make a mutually satisfactory arrangement, - but of course I can tell better when I get some idea as to what the Committee wish. It is tTUe that I should very much rather not change the sfize of the Woman‘s Journal pages; but I might not be absolutely determined against doing so if the change were to be to a /maller instead of a larger size. I feel sure that it would be unwise to have a four.page; paper of a considerably larger size than the present. Twenty—five or thirty years ago a good many weekly papers were published in that form, but it has become almost, if not quite, ob- solete..Among the Woman's Journalknmltitude of exchanges I do not recall a single weekly paper which now uses it. The whole tendency of weekly papers is and has been for many years ;o increase the number of pages and make the size of the pages smaller. The Christian Register was almost the last to change from four pages, and it made the alteration \ nearly twenty years agOIif I remember correctly. I remember . a humorous editorial in the “Register“ at the time, publish- CL ing what purported to be a letter 'of. protest from the Baptist dressmaker, who, saidv‘although a Baptist she had taken the Register because it was the only religious weekly , still appearing' in tge form in which she could use it to cut dreSs patterns out of it; and now even this resource was denied her. The big size of the dailies does not look well where there are only four pages. It would be a case of fienny wise and pound foolish, in my Judgment, to save a few hundred dollars by putting the paper into a shape which would look obsolete rather than modern. It would not make nearly so good an appearance tor nearly so creditable an organ. I should be quite willing as a measure of prudence to be satisfied with the present size and shape until we were sure that we were going to be able to raise the money for an enlargement; but when the enlargement is made I should very much rather have it take the form of adding four pages of the present size. I could reconcile myself to lessening the size of the pages, but I do not think I could to enlarging them. mr. Grimes made that suggestion simply out of his own head. In sending on his letter, I did not mean to convey the idea that I should be prepared to adopt it. I am gladhhat you do not feel as if the disagreement in the Convention would do irreparable damage. Our massa- l chueetts women went down there predisposed to sympathize ‘ with Mrs. Potter in consequence 0f what.I had told them; ~but they came back tremendously diapleased with mrs. Potter and her supporters, and their feelings all won.over to Miss Shaw's side. I.ehall await with interest the outline of the Contract that the committee are willing to make,and shall try to meet their wiShes if I can. Yours always affectionately, Wastington, D G, April 23, L910 .. ,1 I Miss Alice Stone Blackwell, Boston, Haos. My dear Miss Blackwell:- I have received your several letters, and Miss Ryan, no doubt, has kept you informed of the procoodings of the Special Committee appointed on the Woman's Journal business. I am very earnestly in favor of your carrying out the proposim tion, and I hope there is nothing in the contract.of which you will Soon receive an incom— plete form, which.wili deter you from perfecting the arrangement. The whole Convention was very warmly in favor of making the arrangement, but Some saw some practical difficulty in case the paper was really built up to a paying basis in the fact that you are retaining a right to resume the ownership and management. The Special Committee, with Mrs. McCulm loch's assistance, has tried to meet these objections of the convention, all of us feeling that as far as you individually are concerned there would never be any difficulty arising from this source, but recognizing the fact that wnen a legal contract is drawn up all contingencies must be considered. I hope that nothing wil? meet With your decisioo disapproval. I judge from your letter enclosing Mr. Grime’sfestimate that you do not stickle for the Journal to remain in the exact shape and 3128 in which it is now published. If this is the case, please state it in your Letters on the subject; for we had supposed that you would object to any change in the form of the paper. It appears to be cheaper in a larger page, and, therefore, if you do not object, the business management might prefer to use a larger formc I do not think the prospect of a stable business management has been lessened by the unpleasant row, if it needs to be called by thot have, which caused the retoremont of Mrs. Avery and Mrs. Upton. I think this result was brought about by an injudicious notion of Miss Thomas reflecting upon the actions of the officers who signed the note of approval of Mrs. Potter, whichinill be forwarded for your signature if you care to give it. Though the papers made some comments on the fact that Miss Shaw's name was not attached to it, yet I believe if nothing more had been said the incident would have passed away without Miss Blackwell -2, any serious consequence. Even now, though I greatly regret the loss of our true and ltried officers, I believe the breach can be repaired, and in a business point of view I am as much disgosed to recommend your making the arrangement for the Journal as I was in the letter you received from me before the Convention; but I aminot more in fa\mr than I was then. I give you my judgment but you must form your own conclusions. The Convention and friends of an enlarged paper are full of enthusiasm derived from the Convention, aid in that spirit the difficulties are minimized of building up the Journal to a paying basis, but if this is not done within a brief time, or time or a year or two, still I have no reason to think that the prospects of the Journal will be in any degree injured by the arrangement which will be proposed to you. I trust very sincerely you will see your way clear to accepting it. You will obgerve that it is part of our proposition to obtain for the National as many shares as possible of the Woman's Journal stock with the understanding that you shall retain the majority part, which I aniinformed is at least 101 shares. Miss Ryan does not know who has the stock which you do not hold, but much of it is supposed to be in the hands of Mrs. Julia Ward Howe. At my suggestion we are going to ask Mrs. Howe to give her shares to the National immediately, with the expectation and intention that we shall sell them for not less than $50 a share and possibly more. Of course, we know that at present the stock is has no market price, and our idea of selling this hopednfor gift is that we will make the present incornoration serve the business purpose which lies Ryan prOposed bhould be done by increasing the shares, selling them, and raising a fund on which to start the Journal. If we can find the other owners of the stock we desire to ask them also to make an immediate gift of them to the National. We may even ask you to give any surplus over the majority that you possess, but of course we feel that you have already been very liberal, and we merely suggest and shall not in aty way urge it. Of course, those who purchase will do so with the idea of providing a capital to start the Journal on its new career, and with very little hope if any of ever receiving any financial returns. Naturally, none but suffra~ gists will buy on such terms, and therefore we feel that no non suffrage interest will be injected into its managemerm. Miss Blackwell ~3~ In looking around for same one to make this request of Mrs. Howe particularly and of other stockholders o£ whom you may know, it was advised that you would know who would be the best person to apply to Mrs. Howe and to explain the present position. There~ fore, as soon as it seems clear that the Contract will he successfully made between you and the National, we Want you yourself personally to ask Mrs. Rowe or to suggest the person who should ask her. Miss Ryan has been instructod_to find out as near as possible who owns the other shares, and we will take steps to get them into the possession of the National as far as possible, and hope you will help as much as you can to accomplish this. In spite of all,the unpleasant incidents, we have had a grand convention, and we are starting into the new year with great hopes for the futhre. Mrs. Boyer was here and we succeeded in getting the promise from the Board of $2,000 to be spent betWeen the first of April and the last of the campaign, and Mrs. Boyer secured some small indi— vidual gifts. Senator Owen will put through Congress a memorial and will get it franked extensively, and this will be one piece of literature which Mrs. Boyer will have to reach her constituents. We promised Arizona to support Miss Gregg and a stenographer for Mrs. Munds during their campaign; and instructed Miss Show to write to Mrs. Munds that the Arizona campaign committee must manage its own campaign without ary reference whatever to the National, and without expecting any further assistance of any sort. I am glad to say that I hope by this step we will escape responsibility for mistakes which made be made in that campaign, and escape from any other annoyances and vexations attending it. However, at the Washington end of the line I am now engaged in a little effort to get Congress to give the women of Arizona a right to vote for delegates to the Constitutional Convention when statehood is secured. I shall stay a day or two in Wastington for that purpose, and than I arugoing on for another few days to visit my sister, Mrs. S. D. Crenshaw, 919 W. Franklin St., Riclmond, Va. After a few days my address will be my home address. I want to thank you personally for your prdferred arrangemert for the Woman's Journal, which is one I have desired very ardently, and which I believe will turn out to Miss Blackwell N4“ the satisfaction of all parties. I have miased you very much at the convention, and am O pleased to hear that your health is improving so much, so that I hope at the next businesa meeting you will be able t0 be present. Hoping to hear from you occasionally, and to hear of your continued and rapid improvement, I any always your affectionate friend, _~ n _-.r::;"' I“ "$x*."‘ ‘r‘ a! 'jxsh'ill '2?on I .4: T 7 hi ,.\1 iflfflnuud1&im3wuflndr LAWYERS. “04 MERCHANTS LOAN 51. - left. Lia ;u' Sf" ; Vu_ ,um p3" ‘ (D O F" *1 CF to c? O H:O_(D T ouSe lute invaluable to5 au$111.:s ugh; on SiSniS €11,531ny in 1 ts WQSld be _. Uhubl , _ . .1 "Q13’L0.1¢.a..1-.._, V" i‘ L}. _. g“ ‘_, \rgte 4, she; CSS 7‘ - m 5T< : e1uapq _ - 0 S110 ' out a vote. ' :jl“ H 27 U) cf :-17H C I . W F. ‘ 1 ,- F’ . 3... 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