D O C . 1 0 7 S E P T E M B E R 1 9 1 9 9 1 The organization penetrated deep into the public conscience. Certainly all who felt impelled toward such causes heard about it and became involved somehow. No one self-confident enough, however, has emerged wishing to replace the original leader, who has currently been sidelined probably for some time to come, and to complete what has been started. The organization nevertheless is vegetating on, al- beit without the personnel to guarantee that something will come of it. It was rap- idly swept up by the ideological stream. They are now working toward establishing programs and agreeing on ideas without having nor trying to gain the prospect of such power as is necessary to win over the relatively limited number of men who come under consideration in our country for realizing such ideas and to motivate them toward implementation. That is why I decided to revert my attention to my profession, without regretting this very instructive excursion into politics. The broadening of my knowledge about people and better insight into the empirical prerequisites toward a more per- fect organization of society are outcomes that to me are worth the half year spent on it. You advised me to lecture on the theory of electricity this winter. I am going to do so. I shall enjoy it well, I think, and only hope I am not going to be the only one. Besides lecturing, I must occupy myself constructively otherwise as well in order to earn my keep. I’ve had my fill of assistantships.[5] I do see two other possibilities, though. The first would be accepting a position in an engine factory, the second, which I would now like to discuss, is in connection with a request to you. For I believe it would generally be of more use for me personally if, instead of being employed at some factory, I were to write a little book on Maxwell’s theory (in conjunction with the lecture). I believe there is a real necessity for it in the for- mat I am envisioning, especially in engineering circles. You know that by this “for- mat” I mean your direct and simple way of presenting something. Moreover, it seems to me a manufacturer in the electrotechnical sector would have an interest in supporting me in this and once make an investment of a couple thousand francs to- ward something different that is perhaps even somewhat more farsighted than usu- al. I am not even thinking of direct advertisement, which—if it works—would be an incentive for the relevant company.– In my experience, I believe it would be pos- sible, with your support in the form of a suitable letter of recommendation, to ob- tain something of the sort. I do not regard it by any means as begging, and it ought not be understood as such, either. Naturally, in all this I am also thinking of me per- sonally. One has to! Nevertheless, I would never force myself to write a book if I did not believe I was thereby serving the public at large. But when that is the case, I may well accept pay for work performed along these lines.