1931 Annual Report.Pdf
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American Friends Service Committee Report for Year Ending May 31,1931 RGANIZED in 1917 to give a service of love in war time, the American Friends Service Committee has now completed its fourteenth year's work. During the war and the years immedi- ately following, the Committee, in cooperation with the Friends' Ser- vice Council, fed the hungry, clothed the naked, housed the homeless, and cared for the sick in war-torn Europe. Thousands of non-Friends shared with us the desire to express in this way, their love for their country, their fellow-men and their God. Consequently, the American Committee alone was enabled to distri- bute 25 million dollars in money and gifts, during the eight years after 1917. In 1925, when the need for material relief had lessened, the Service Committee was reorganized. The b-utilding of an international social and personal life that will actively make peace, rather than nega- tively permit war, either potential or active, is an even greater chal- lenge than the relief of suffering caused by war. The present work of the American Friends Service Committee is an effort to meet this challenge. The Service Committee is composed of representatives of most of the twenty-nine Yearly Meetings in Canada and the United States, but functions independently through a Board of Directors and an Executive Staff. Three major standing concerns are represented by three sections, entitled,respectively: Foreign Service, Home Service, Peace, the latter including the effort of the Committee for better un- derstanding between the Negro and White races. There are three branch offices, one in Boston, Mass., one in Pasadena, Calif., and one in Indianapolis, Ind. A detailed report of the three main Sections, together with an out- line of certain other interests which the Committee has fostered during the past year follows. The membership of the various Sections indi- cated herein is made up of those who are appointed to serve for the year 1931-32. FOREIGN SERVICE - Members Foreig~Service Section Co-opted HE relief work in France, Germany, Austria, Poland and Russia brought to English and American Friends a wide range of contacts. These have Tbeen continued through Goodwill Centers in Paris, Berlin, Vienna, Warsaw and Moscow. Geneva, the capital of the world, also has a Quaker Center. All of these are maintained jointly by the Friends' Service Council of London and Dublin Yearly Meetings and the American Friends Service Committee. It is not easy to give a satisfactory report because of the varied and personal character of the work, distribution of literature, holding of meetings for worship, providing library facilities, endless personal interviews, acting as guide to foreign travelers, interpreting through the press in America and in foreign countries our inter-relationships, aiding in the peace organizations, providing opportunities for study and discussion concerning points of friction such as Polish Corridor, Ukranian minorities in Poland, conflicts between France and Germany, etc. A brief description, however, of the more tangible phases of our work is given herewith. FRANCE Center: 12, Rue Guy de la Brosse, Paris (5e) . Representatives: EFFIE D. MCAFEE TOOTVAN OORDT HENRYVAN ETTEN ETHELBEHI~NS ELLABARLOW Early in November Effie D. McAfee, formerly professor of Latin at Hunter College, New York, went to Paris to become the leader of the International Center there. Ella Barlow for the third year has had charge of the student work. Twelve nationalities, including more than one hundred individuals, have made up the personnel of the student club the past year. Lectures on Pacifism, various cultural subjects and more distinctly religious topics, together with teas and excursions, suggest the activities of rhe student worlc. The French International Service Committee talces entire charge of the Center library and reading room, and publishes the monthly "L'Echo des Amis," which has a circulation of over 400. Monthly International Luncheons, well attended and addressed by important international figures have been arranged at the Center by Sir Thomas Barclay and Ethel Behrens. Henry and Marcelle van Etten spent three months (October, November and December) visiting Friends in America. Henry van Etten also made a study of American prisons and has continued since his return his worlc in prisons in and about Paris. He has also given many lectures on Quakerism in France and Switzerland. Effie McAfee has not only worked in connection with our Center, but has given a number of lectures in university centers in Paris and elsewhere in Europe. We are still in close touch with the Maison Maternelle, Chalons-sur-Marne. This maternity hospital and nursery founded by us during the war, lceeps up an international atmosphere by bringing its nurses' aides from various countries. Center: 5 Place de la Taconnerie, Geneva. Representatives: BERTRAMAND IRENEPICICARD, MABEL B. RIDPATH. The Geneva Center must always be a bureau of information for all kinds of individuals and organizations who come to this important city. In addition to this service, it provides social opportunities for representatives of various countries to meet together and discuss matters relating to international relations and world peace. The Director of the Center is especially well informed, not only with regard to the organization of the League of Nations and the Labor Bureau, but also on all current topics having to do with international affairs as seen in Geneva. This he uses through the press, writing weeldy articles for the London Friend, the American Friend, the Friends' Intelligencer, the Friend, the L'Echo des Amis, the German Monatshefte and the Australian Friend. In addi- tion to this a syndicate of about fifty newspapers in England and three hundred newspapers in America are supplied with international news material. Bertram Pickard has continued as Honorarv Secretarv of the Federation of International Organizations made up of some forty private organizations which are represented in Geneva. The Qualcer Student Hostel, established in July 1927, is intended primarily for the accommodation of graduate research students. During the past year the Hostel has been exceptionally full, usually having about fifteen students repre- senting from seven to nine different nationalities. The yearly scholarship for international studies given by Clement M. and Grace B. Biddle of Mount Vernon, New York, has been held this year by William E. Livezey who has been a resident of the Hostel. Algie I. Newlin has continued a second year of study in Geneva and was this year joined by his wife, Eva Miles Newlin. Mabel B. Ridpath, an American Friend, is warden of the Hostel. The Geneva Center promises to be of unusual significance during the coming year because of the Disarmament Conference. Berlin: Prinz Louis Ferdinandstrasse 5, Berlin, N. W. 7. Representatives: RICHARDL. AND MARYGOODHUE CARY, DORIS HANDLEY. Fran4ful.t am Main: Leerbachstr. 47. Repesentatiue: DOROTHYHENKEL. Nurnberg: Wetzendorferstr. 25, 111. Representatives: A. MARYT. FRIEDRICH. Richard L. and Mary Goodhue Cary took charge of the Berlin International Center in July 1930. Due to the political and economic upheavals of the past year, the work of our International Center has been of unusual importance. The contact with the American press which Richard Cary had has been used by his sending articles which have interpreted the German situation particularly to America. Richard Cary has also made a study of the problem of minorities in Upper Silesia, has made a visit to Geneva and attended London Yearly Meeting. Work among the students of many nationalities has continued under the direction of Doris Handley. Special attention has been given to the problem of German-Polish relationships during the current year. The Franldurt group has continued its social gatherings, international discussions, etc. The Quaker worlr in Germany is now largely carried on by the German Yearly Meeting through the office of Dr. Hans Albrecht, Clerlr, through the Quaker Verlag or publishing house, the issuing of the Monatshefte, the visits of various German Friends to local groups and also through the visits of English and American Friends. Groups in Germany are located at the following places: Breslau, Dresden, Dusseldorf, Elberfeld, Furth, Gottingen, Hamburg, Hanover, Cologne, IConigsberg, in Prussia; Konigstein, in Taunis; ICrefeld, Riesa, in .Saxony; Sonnefeld, and Stuttgart. A. Mary T. Friedrich represents the Service Committee and the Friends' Service Council in Nurnberg, where she worlrs largely through the local orga- nized group of Friends. Just as the year closes the work of our Center has been enriched and strengthened by the addition to its staff of Corder and Gwen Catchpool of London Yearly Meeting. After eight years of most devoted and efficient service Gilbert L. and Marga MacMaster withdrew about July 1, 1930, to pursue a quieter life, and are now living in Basle, Switzerland. The wide range of contact, the deep sympathy with German people and unusual appreciation of the spirit and message of Friends, together with an ability to command the confidence of officials and per- sons of prominence in the life of Germany, have made the contribution of Gil- bert MacMaster that of a Quaker statesman. It would be difficult to express too heartily the appreciation for this significant service to our retiring friends. AUSTRIA Center: Singerstrasse 16, Vienna 1. Representatives: The Vienna Center is the gateway to the Balkans and the Near East. Dur- ing the past year the Hostel, which is a part of our Center in Vienna, has accom- modated almost one hundred and fifty guests, many of whom are going to or coming from the southeast of Europe. Emma Cadbury has made two extended trips--one a visit to America for about two months, the other an extended trip in company with Alice Nike, of London Yearly Meeting, through the Balkan States and Greece. Small groups of Friends or individuals interested in the Society of Friends were visited as well as those who are interested in the peace movement.