Letter from James Mott, Philad[elphia, Pennsylvani]a, to Samuel May, 1853 [July] 14
Description:
James Mott writes to Samuel May informing him they have "engaged the Sansom St. hall for the Decade m[eetin]g on the 3d & 4th of Dec[ember] next for day & evening ..." He tells May that "this matter is fixed & we must do what we can to make it effective." Mott then comments that, "We have no lecturing agent in the field, nor have we any engaged for next fall & winter," since Lucy Stone declined their invitation to lecture. Stone recommended N.H. Whiting to lecture in Pennsylvania, but Mott says of Whiting, "we know so little as not to be able to judge." He then asks May to consult with William Lloyd Garrison and suggest "an earnest & efficient lecturer who can open the hearts & purses of the people." Mott also discusses the health of Cyrus Moses Burleigh, the editor of the Pennsylvania Freeman newspaper. He says that they fear Burleigh "will be obliged to resign his post, on account of the precarious state of his health ... he had a pretty copius hermmorage [sic] of the lungs & this morning another ..." Mott says that while "we might & would continue the Freeman on an emergency for a few weeks," they need a "good, regular editor" if Burleigh were to resign. He asks May to consult with Garrison about this and "see who we can get, in the event of it being necessary, which we anxiously hope it may not be."