The well-known American journalist Dorothy Thompson was, during her passage through Beirut at the beginning of last month, the object of the interest and honor of all Lebanese circles, in view of the high standing she enjoys among them. She called a press conference at which she answered the questions the journalists put to her about her journey to the countries of the Near and Far East, undertaken to observe present conditions at close hand. She also lunched at the table of His Excellency the Prime Minister.
Mrs. Thompson had occasion to meet the elite of the women of Lebanon at the sumptuous tea party which Mrs. Najla Saab gave for this purpose at her elegant home. In a warm atmosphere of understanding and cordiality, the American journalist spoke to the ladies of Lebanon of her sorrows and her hopes, and of the progress and prosperity she wishes for the Arabs.
She expressed her pleasure at the interview which Mrs. Intisar Abu Khadra recorded with her in Dhahran, and which appeared in the last issue of The Woman's Voice; she carried it with her to New York, meaning to see to its translation into English.
The women's circles thanked Mrs. Najla Saab for organizing this generous, all-gathering party, which brought together the outstanding figures among the women workers in the various fields.
There was a second tea party as well, given on February 12 last and confined to the fair sex, to which Mrs. Hortense Tamer invited upwards of a hundred Lebanese ladies, among them a bouquet of foreign ones... There,
in her palace overlooking the sea, circles of ladies spread through the sumptuous halls and over the terraces, sipping tea and exchanging talk. Nor did the occasion pass without a turn at the affairs of the hour.
It is worth mentioning that Mrs. Tamer presides over the society charged with the Mar Elias Orphanage — that active society which continues to render the noblest humanitarian services to scores of orphans and to embrace them with love and generosity. The management of the orphanage is overseen and tended, with a care supreme in self-sacrifice, by Miss Ramza Karaoghlan.
A delightful and convivial party it was to which Mrs. Hassaneh Daouk issued her invitations on February 20 last. Around the small tables, set out with taste, gathered bouquets of ladies and young ladies, sipping tea, enjoying the delicacies, and reviewing the chief questions of the hour...
It was natural that the talk should work its way around to the subject of 'the elections,' and it was opened by Mrs. Shayboub, commenting on the 'seminar' held at the home of Miss Ibtihaj Kaddoura.
Around the table gathered Mesdames Laure Tabet, Najla Saab, Ellen Rihan, Heneni Tarcha, Shafiqa Diab, Nadia Sabra, Afifi Majdalani, Alice Nahas, Janette Tadros, and others. The debate grew heated, and scores of ears turned toward the ardent discussants, on what woman is expected to do in preparation for the coming elections, and what the duty of the League of Women's Organizations is in the matter: should it adopt particular names and set about campaigning for them, or content itself with wise guidance? Opinions clashed on the subject, and it was understood that the League has summoned its mem
bers to an extraordinary meeting to study this grave matter and vote upon it...
Opinion was likewise agreed on the necessity of a number of women taking the field in the coming electoral battle...
Following the article by Miss Layla Baalbaki which appeared in a past issue of the magazine, the following word reached us from Amman; we publish it in its complete text:
"There is a feeling that draws me toward that great human sentiment which rebels against word and music, in every moment of the birth of meaning in the article 'We Are at War.'
Ever since our whole Arab existence entered the battle of liberation, and that existence awoke and triumphed, and the millions triumphed, so that life burst forth in the depths, many leaves have fallen, in colors that rebel against all encompassing — and among them words, kneaded with life and the idea of death, blood running along their edges... And this human consciousness was confined in words bearing a thousand colors, flowing through the veins as echoes of the battle of liberation; if they are not the very voice of freedom, then it is from the conscience that they spring.
And they went out through the great door to the millions who embrace their hopes in the world of tomorrow. To that great heart, then, I return the echo of a soul, with greetings laden with thanks: to the mother's voice in Layla, to the conscience's protest against aggression, and to the wrath and revolt against the merchants of wars.
Amman — Muhammad Sa'id al-Junaydi"
