DOCS.
337,
338
JANUARY
1912 247
make
you any
definite
proposition, I
wish if
possible
to
open
the
way
for
one.
We have
in times
past
been honored
by
the
presence
here of
such
men as
Professors
Larmor,
Planck,
Lorentz,
and others
on
the
basis
of
such
lectureship.
The
arrangement
has
usually
been that the
visiting
professor
deliver
in the
course
of
four
to
six
weeks
eight
to
sixteen
lectures
in
that
field
of theoretical
physics
in which
his
main
interest
lies.
When
possible
the lectures
have
been
published,
and
you
have
doubtless
seen
the volume
of Professor Lorentz
on
the Electron
Theory
and that of
Professor Planck
entitled, "Acht
Vorlesungen
über theoretische
Physik."
The
compensation
that
has in the
past
been attached
to
this
lectureship is $1200;
and
while this
is
certainly
no
recompe[nse
for]
the labor
involved,
it
is
somewhat
more
than
sufficient
to defray
the
expenses
of the
eight or
ten
weeks visit to
America.
As
to
the
subject
or
subjects
on
which
you might
lecture
we
would wish to
be
guided
by your own desires, though
of
course,
we
would
want to
hear
something
from
you
on
the
Relativity Principle,
and
perhaps
also
on
the
theory
of the
"Energiequanten."
If
you
would be inclined to
consider
favorably
such
a
proposition
as
the
one
outlined
above,
the
professors
of
physics
here
would exert themselves to
secure
the funds
so
that
Dr.
Butler,
the President of
the
University, may
make
you a
definite
proposal.
I
can
assure
you
that
your coming
would be
welcomed,
not
only by
the
men
at
Columbia,
but
by many
from
neighboring
institutions
who have
been interested
in
watching,
even
if not
contributing to,
the
development
of the
Relativity Theory.
Personally
I
have been
very
much
interested
in
the
Relativity
Theory
since
my
attention
was
first
directed
to
it
by
Professor
Lorentz,
and
I
should be
glad
to
see
greater
appreciation
of
it in America,
where
I confess
our
physicists
have
been rather
slow
to
take
it
up.
We
should
be
very glad
indeed
to
receive
a
reply
from
you
that
you
would
give
consideration
to
a
proposition
of
such
a
lectureship
as
outlined,
although
we
would
understand for the
present
that
you
would
not
in
any way
obligate
yourself
to
accept
any
proposition
that
we
might
make.
I
am,
with
best
wishes,
Yours
very truly,
G[eorge] B[raxton]
Pegram
338. To
Fritz
Fichter-Bernoulli
Prague,
17
January 1912
Dear
Colleague:[1]
Dr.
Bernoulli
is
a
dear
man
whom
I
would not want to
begrudge
a
professorship.
But
I
cannot
possibly
recommend
the
man
to
you.[2]
I
had
the
opportunity
to
study
Bernoulli's
publications
rather
thoroughly,
and have
learned that
B. is totally
lacking
in