the report told of the meeting of the international officers and a number of the national presidents which took place in london in july, 1914, to make arrangements for the congress in berlin the next year. among the many social receptions given were one in the house of commons and one at the home of former prime minister balfour. mrs. catt had just started on her homeward voyage when the war began. the officers in london at once issued a manifesto in the name of the alliance and presented it to the british foreign office and the ammbassadors and ministers in london, which after pointing out the helplessness of women in this supreme hour said: "we women of twenty-six countries, having banded ourselves together in the international woman suffrage alliance with the object of obtaining the political means of sharing with men the power which shapes the fate of nations, appeal to you to leave untried no method of conciliation or arbitration for arranging international differences which may help to avert deluging half the civilized world in blood." they decided to cooperate with the british branch of the alliance in a public meeting, which was held august 3 with mrs. fawcett in the chair, and a resolution similar to the above was adopted. in the next issue of the international news, when war had been declared.