June 5, 1912

New York: Children's event; Admiral Peary; Women's Union; wings to both hearts and minds

Peary in naval uniform c. 1910

Mahmud: "In the morning, the Master, together with some of His servants, went to Brooklyn to attend a children's event given by the Unity Club. The gathering included dignitaries, civic leaders and national statesmen. After exchanging greetings in the drawing room, the Master went to the dining room. All of the rooms, as well as the salon, were exquisitely decorated with flowers of various hues. Many kinds of dishes were brought, some of which the Master did not touch. At the table some of the eminent people spoke to Him. Among them was Admiral Peary, the famous explorer of the North Pole, who gave an account of the voyage he undertook to further his exploration. 

Peary

Admiral Peary then praised the Master and spoke of his good fortune in meeting Him and the importance of the teachings. He asked the Master to make a short speech. Although `Abdu'l-Bahá had not planned to speak, He delivered a discourse on the perfection of creation, its present defects and the need for education capable of producing great results by removing these imperfections. He also spoke on the importance of the education of children. Although there had been many speeches, this address created a great excitement, capturing everyone's attention. When it was time for `Abdu'l-Bahá to leave, He gave permission for Him to be photographed with us.

In the evening there was a meeting at the Women's Union.* A number of men were also present. `Abdu'l-Bahá spoke on the education of women, service to humanity and the freeing of oneself from ego and desire. His address strongly impressed the audience, giving wings to both their hearts and minds."

Mahmud, I like your phraseology here! Wings to hearts and minds!  We need those wings now.

Juliet on this day writes about the experience of having `Abdu'l-Bahá sit for her [on June 1 and June 3].  I have added these sections to the posts for those days.  Oh, marvel of marvels, this tale will culminate in New York being named the City of the Covenant on June 19.

But, dear reader, you have to content yourself with this foreshadowing--as the story must unfold a little at a time!  The thread will be picked up again on June 11. . . .  Patience, now. . . .
________

* I think the Women's Union must be this organization: "The Women's Trade Union League (WTUL) was a U.S. organization of both working class and more well-off women formed in 1903 to support the efforts of women to organize labor unions and to eliminate sweatshop conditions. The WTUL played an important role in supporting the massive strikes in the first two decades of the twentieth century that established the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union and Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America and in campaigning for women's suffrage among men and women workers. . . . The WTUL saw suffrage as a way to gain protective legislation for women and to provide them with the dignity and other less tangible benefits that followed from political equality. [Rose]Schneiderman coined an evocative phrase in campaigning for suffrage in 1912:

What the woman who labors wants is the right to live, not simply exist — the right to life as the rich woman has the right to life, and the sun and music and art. You have nothing that the humblest worker has not a right to have also. The worker must have bread, but she must have roses, too. Help, you women of privilege, give her the ballot to fight with.

Her phrase "bread and roses", recast as "We want bread and roses too", became the slogan of the largely immigrant, largely women workers of the Lawrence textile strike." (from Wikipedia)