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^ 393 tions to the “Solitude of Self.” She has probably drawn a prize Maggie has Miss Ellis here this week renovating her wardrobe, she has [diverse?] & sundry new garments. She & Nora are [doing?] frequent meanderings in the [illegible] of [illegible] Nora has five new shirt waists! Nannie Miller is in Boston, basking in the spiritual atmosphere of the christian Scientists Henrietta Muller 5 is there too, on her way round the world, to visit the Mahatmas, occult seers again & study the mystery of life! Nannie says in a late letter that she would rather life life than study it mystery. adieu U Mother Y ALS, Scrapbook 3, Papers of ECS, NPV. Square brackets surround words that remain in doubt. 1. Maud Nathan Nathan (1862–1946), whose husband shared her father’s surname , was president of the New York City Consumers’ League, where she worked with Margaret Lawrence, and a member of the executive board of the National Consumers’ League. (NAW; ANB.) 2. Vacation from the Horace Mann School. 3. Alice Blatch had just married George Edwards in London. 4. That is, Agnes Blatch Conran. 5. Frances Henrietta Müller (1846?–1906) was born in Valparaiso, Chile, the daughter of a German-born businessman who became a British subject.Henrietta, as she was known, was a sister of Eva McLaren, and a political activist and freethinker in the 1880s. She turned to Theosophy and, as ECS suggests, made trips around the world, especially to India. (Oxford DNB. See also Papers 4 & 5.) ••••••••• 181 • Ida Husted Harper to ECS [Rochester] April 11, 1901. My Dear Mrs. Stanton:— Miss Anthony has just handed me your letter to her, answering mine to you. As she had not seen mine, yours was a surprise to her. 1 I am amazed that you cannot see why the impression should go forth that you and she are antagonistic, and you are only begging the question when you assume that it is simply because your name stands as an officer in Mrs. Blake’s association. 2 That in itself is sufficient, but the public formed this opinion a year ago last winter, [at] the national convention in Washington, 2 april 1901 394 & when Mrs. Blake’s circulars, headed by your name (the only one on them possessing any weight whatever,except her own),were scattered broadcast in the effort to defeat Mrs. Chapman Catt for the presidency. The indignation of the delegates was intense,and nothing but the determination to have a peaceable election and give no ground to the newspapers for a sensation prevented an expression of this on the floor of the convention. 3 They remembered the fight for you made by Miss Anthony at the union of the two associations, absolutely refusing to take the presidency herself at that time or at any other, until you were ready to resign it. 4 After all her years of loyalty and support for you, to throw all the weight of your influence into that convention in order to defeat the woman she had chosen for her successor and trained for that position, was a terrible blow to Miss Anthony and almost more than the delegates could bear. Mrs. Blake claims that her association was formed for legislative action . No one knows better than yourself that this has been the work of the national association for the past thirty years, and that it is still its principal object in every state in the Union and at all its annual conventions. No amount of sophistry on her part, or that of anybody else can convince the public that her organization was not formed in direct antagonism to the National,because she was not made president.It is never referred to in any newspaper in the country in any other way than as an opposing faction to the national. While your name stands at its head, giving it all the prestige it has except from Mrs. Blake’s own national reputation, the public will not consider you in any other light than as antagonistic to Miss Anthony.It will not stop to reflect that your name stands also at the head of the other official board; and if it did, it would be bewildered by the anomaly. As people in general are not able to fathom your good intentions in this matter, they are sure to put a disagreeable construction on your actions. 5 Of Mrs. Blake’s legislative work at Albany too much cannot be said in praise, but when she came to...

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