An Opportunity to be Better - Chapter 3 Page 4
The meeting on Carson's porch concluded with the decision that the town adopted would be chosen by a vote of Morganville's citizens. It appears that for a few days people could stop by Carson's home to read the materials Todd had sent and then vote. Carson described the process to McKee:
We thought a long time because we knew that after we
voted, the others wouldn't be ours. Some of the men came in from plowing. While trying to keep the gnats away, we
wrote down the names of our towns and then retired to count the votes.
When the chairman announced the result with a catch in his voice, we found we had chosen Fèves "for better or for
worse." But we were glad to be doing something definite - this was the one affirmative thing for peace we'd been
looking for.
Location of Fèves
On July 26, Todd wrote to Carson confirming their selection and describing what would happen next. These excerpts include his primary points:
Telephone Murray Hill 6-4986
OPERATION DEMOCRACY, INC.
369 Lexington Avenue New York 17, N.Y.
July 26, 1948
Mrs. Velma Carson
Morganville, Kansas
Dear Mrs. Carson:
Your letter, with its talk of ice cream socials, etc., made all of us here in the New York office a little
homesick. Actually, it is letters like yours that make this whole business of town affiliation seem so
worthwhile.
Briefly, now that you have decided on Fèves (pronounced FEV), the next steps are these:
1. We will cable France immediately for complete information about the village, including the names of many of
its citizens. This will probably be sent back airmail.
2. ... our friends in Paris ... will send someone to Fèves, talk to the Mayor and organize a little committee. It
will probably consist of the Mayor, a priest, a school teacher. As soon as we have the names ... we will forward
them to you. At that point, it would be a good idea for you to write the Mayor, telling him about your town, and
explaining in simple terms why you want to help.
3. ... point out that we cannot, in any way, help them to rebuild their cities - that is the task of the
Marshall Plan. But we can help them with little ordinary things of everyday life.
4. ... you will work with American Aid to France here in New York. They will give you free shipping privileges
direct to Forbach [a village 40 miles east of Fèves]. From there, your gifts will go to Fèves by truck.
Letter from Todd in response to the choice of Fèves
The Marshall Plan Todd mentioned was
officially named The European Recovery Program or ERP. George C. Marshall had been the American Chief of Staff of the
Army during the war. After the war, Marshall became the U.S. Secretary of State. His support for the plan caused his name
to be associated with it.
The ERP provided assistance to European countries to rebuild infrastructure, the armed forces and other long-term
projects. But these took time. "Affiliated towns" was intended to provide for immediate needs, such as food.
George C. Marshall