Evening star., 1915-02-23
BRYAN RECEIVES
PLEA0F $4,000
Children of U. S. Protest
Against Continuance of
the European War.
PETITIONS PRESENTED
AT STATE Department
Twelve Little Washington Girls
Present Appeal Two-and-a-Half
Miles Long.

Tort to uphold national dignitfes, pro-
test against the deprivation to the
children of Europe of their fathers and
guardians. was laid in the hands OF
Secretary Bryan of the State Depart
| ment this morning by twelve little
girls of the Washington public schools.
all dressed in white. 1t WAS a two
and -half-mile protest from 35o,000
children of the United States. scattered
over forty-five states. against the con-
| tinuance of the European conflict and
a plea to the crowned heads of the
powers at war to declare an armistice.
to submit their troubles involved in
| the present war to The Hague and all
| future troubles.
Secretary Bryan in his Office in the
State Department, where peace and ar
bitration treaties have been negotiated,
| where the seals have been affixed bind
| ing the United States to submit to ar
bitration any international dispute In
which IL shall be involved, received the
petitions, which came in rolls OF several
them on the desk where peace treaties
have been signed and where more may
be signed.
Presents Petition and Plea.
After the party had been ushered into
the office Of the premier and had been in
troduced by Miss Kate Devereux Blake Of
New York city. originator Of the move
ment, Miss Ruth w. Kebler Of the John
son Public School Of this city stepped for
ward with one OF the petition rolls nicely
tied with broad white ribbon. She was
| the first to lay the petition In the hands
of Secretary Bryan. and as she did SO she
said:
"Mr Secretary. we, the children Of the
National Capital. present to you these
petitions from the children Of our United
States in which we ask for peace in
Europe and we pray with more energy to
have war kept from this nation"
Miss Blake, at the conclusion Of Miss
Keblers remarks. asked the Secretary If
he would not go to the front Of the build
ing to have pictures taken of the peace
party.
mo" he said Then came a pause
while the party stood wondering the
| cause.
II am going to say something my
self.
Wears Special Badge.
IT wore down this morning a peace
badge. which. as you see" he said.
pointing to white dove design affixed
to the lapel Of his coat. ''is the dove
of peace with outstretched wings.
Il am very glad to receive petitions
l
ever, think that they can come from
no better portion of the population
than from the women and children. /
| was in the army once myself for four
or five months, not in an active cam
| paign, but In camp. and it was then
| that I became convinced more than
ever that the burdens of war fall hard
est upon those at home.
| THE women at home have to bear
the majority of the burdens of war.
| ha
in the determination cf those condi-
tions which may or may not cause war.
Next to the mothers come the children.
who have a right te say whether war
dren and their mothers should have
| the privilege of reasoning whether
there should be war, because they suf-
fer the burdens.
Sees Coming of Peace.
"In such privileges see the ultimate
coming of peace, and not in the infiu-
ence Of petitions. No one knows how
far your petition will go toward
bringing about an end Of the present
strife. God does not compel US to look
ahead. but he does enable us to decide
| questions as they arise, and 1t is for
you women and children to decide
| whether the time has not come for the
settlement of all international disputes
| Following the ceremonies in the Sec
! retary Of States private Office, Secretary
Bryan went with the women and chill
dren to the steps of the building, where
| they were filmed for the movies AS
| the picture was being taken. Ambas-
sador Naon of the Argentine Republic.
| one of the diplomats who assisted in
| settling the recent differences between
up, and Miss Blake insisted upon him
| getting into the picture as repre-
sentative of another neutral nation.
| The petitions were then taken to the
were piled high on the tables. to be-
come a part of the official archives Q.
the State Department,
| A copy of the petition is to be sent
this city Of the nations. at war. and
| they are to be infor-.ed, and are, in
turn expected to inform their govern
ments, of the receipt Of the petition and
| the fact there is on file at the Ameri-
can State Department a petition two.
and a half miles lonf bearing the
| names of $4,000 school children of the
United States, begging .on behalf of
the helpless children of Europe and
Asia, who are being deprived of their
! fathers and their education, and are
being irreparabIy degraded by the
hideous conditions created by the war;"
that the strife be ended.
Those in the Party.
The following children carried the
petitions to the State Department and
presented them to Secretary Bryan:
Miss Ruth w. Kebler. Miss Margaret
w. Tracey and Miss Esther Edgerton.
pupils of the Johnson School; Miss
Elizabeth r. Swenk. Miss Theodate P.
Wilson, Miss Josephine L. Finkle, Miss
Elsie R. Finkle. Miss Sophia Walman
and Miss Ruth L. Thomas. pupils at
the Ross School, and Miss Catherine
A. PHeffer and Miss Louise Z. Hyatt.
pupils at the Hubbard School, and Miss
Mary J. Pardee, pupil at the Powell
School.
Others in the party were Miss Kate
Devereux Blake. Mrs. L. F. Kebler.
Mrs Franklin Wilson. Mrs. Kate WAL
Ter Barrett Mrs. William Kent, Mrs
Robert NJ La Toilette. Miss Ethel
Smith, Miss Jeanette Rankin. Mrs.
Churchill and Arthur Deerin Call, ex-
ecutive director of the American Peace
Society.
CHRISTENS HER DAUGHTER.
Duchess Talleyrand Gives Second